THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Laurel Restaurant & Bar

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Laurel Restaurant & Bar Restaurant Review:

THIS ESTABLISHMENT HAS CHANGED NAMES We continue to love Laurel, with its stylish mustard banquettes, supple leather booths and sleek white interior; we find it sophisticated with a touch of whimsy. The menu, formerly overseen by chef Brian O’Connor, focuses on California cuisine by way of France, Spain and Italy. Start things off right with elegantly displayed Cabrales and black Mission fig wrapped in prosciutto. These perfectly paired ingredients are skewered on a fork and drizzled with jammy Medjool date vinaigrette; the only thing left for you to do is pop it in your mouth and savor. The spring roll appetizer creatively matches tender short rib meat with feta and pickled red onions; the minted yogurt dipping sauce keeps it light. The individual, made-to-order torta español is served warm with spicy chorizo, lemon crème fraîche and domestic caviar. Seafood is done well at Laurel; we recommend the Parmesan-crusted Alaskan halibut with lemon verbena beurre blanc. The Red King salmon with more spicy sausage (merguez this time) and an heirloom tomato sauce is packed with flavor. The desserts fall flat---the cleverly named ice cream “samich” (chocolate waffle with caramel ice cream and macadamia nuts) sounds divine, but doesn’t meet our expectations. Ditto the trio of overly sweet sorbets. We prefer to end our meals here with the artisan cheese board and one of the ports.