Do not pass Spago | Review: Spago Beverly Hills

Spago Beverly Hills has always been more than just a restaurant. It’s a symbol, a benchmark of Hollywood glitz and glamour. The flagship restaurant of Wolfgang Puck is about a man who has constantly reinvented himself since he came to L.A., a random Austrian with a few hundred dollars in his pocket in the 1970s.

I have no doubt many deals that resulted in legendary movies were done while relaxing at a power table here.

Amusingly named and cleverly crafted, you expect a $20 cocktail to be something special, and they are

Spago Beverly Hills was renovated in 2012. The dining room inside is elegant and cosy. A patio with a retractable roof says comfort, convenience, and glitz all at once. The food itself has a lot to live up to. Flagship restaurants that are past their heyday too often seem old hat, as food fashion changes more than designer retail.

The cuisine here is Californian, nuanced with Italian and Japanese. The first thing you notice about it is the atmosphere – it’s exciting. Not necessarily exciting in a “that’s Angelina Jolie over there!” way – it’s more to do with the anticipation of the experience. And Spago is very definitely an experience. You get attention that is exquisite but never in your face. It’s flirtatious, amusing, but careful. It was almost as if the waiter was psychic. He knew I would love the Revenge cocktail. It involved tequila, Japanese cucumbers, limes and basil. The cocktail menu itself was perfect, each drink a work of art. I was also tempted by the Crouching Tiger, made with jasmine flower and green tea infused vodka and lemon, and the Hello Kitty with passion fruit, rum, orange, cranberry, chilli and fresh ginger. Amusingly named and cleverly crafted, you expect a $20 cocktail to be something special, and they are.

An amuse bouche was heaven in the mouth: A mini sesame miso tuile cone was presented with the creamiest avocado and the crispiest cucumber. It went perfectly with my Revenge. Next came falafel macaroon with lebnar, the most divine way to eat falafel and humus on the planet. Then came the bread bowl: in itself, a meal of considerable greatness. The pumpkin seed bread was just crunchy enough, and just nutty enough; paired with super creamy butter that tasted so fresh, it could have come from a cow being milked in the kitchen.

These people are on top of their game. This is a quintessentially L.A. restaurant that is not just bang on trend – it created trend and always has done.

From the get go, to the softly lit booths, you are transported to another place. Forget the rest of Beverly Hills and the outside world; while you are here, it’s all about the receipt of pleasure.

I had a pasta dish that I can count as one of the top three I have had in my life

Everything on the menu looked delicious; it was hard to choose. So I added an extra course. First we had roasted quince with burrata and aged balsamic. The tang of the quince set off the cream of the mozzarella and danced on the tongue with the balsamic. We also shared an apple and endive salad with blue cheese, date puree, baby beets and candied walnuts. How could a simple salad be so amazing? The ingredients seemed to come from a line of super foods. The most perfect apple ever created with perfect date puree; the texture of crisp and soft all gorgeous together. The vinaigrette dressing was a simple lemon but it was perfect.

I read somewhere that Puck liked to call his style of dining a progressive tasting menu. Technically it’s not a tasting menu, but you do want to taste everything on it.

I had a pasta dish that I can count as one of the top three I have had in my life: hand made agnolotti with Italian chestnuts and French black truffles. If it was a scent, I would wear it; if it was a candle, I would burn it; if it were a man, I would marry it. People talk about black truffle being exquisite; never more so than on this plate. (My other favourite pasta courses were a gnocchi knockout in Dolce & Gabbana’s restaurant Gold in Milan, and something involving orange rind in Sicily).

Some of the main courses had an Asian fusion theme, including my companion’s steamed tofu prepared Hong Kong style with black bean sauce, farmer’s market vegetables and mushroom vinaigrette. The tofu was silky and flavourful. I had a bento box with various gorgeous vegetables, including Brussels sprouts with miso mustard glaze and curried cauliflowers. The Brussels sprouts combo was amazing.

We didn’t have room for dessert, but of course could not resist it. We went for a Meyer lemon blackcurrant vacherin with lemon ice cream, blackcurrant sorbet, meringue, cream Chantilly and amoretti crumbs. Divine, refreshing, multi textured and touched by angels. We also had a dark chocolate parfait with chocolate custard, candied cumquats and blood orange sorbet. Just putting all those words in that order can give you a glimpse of how good this was, but putting it in your mouth in no particular order was even better. We also had a mille feuille of caramelized pink lady apple, vanilla cream, house made puff pastry and Tahitian vanilla ice cream. Apple tart does not get any better than this – ever.

If you think of an experience in a restaurant as the holy trinity of food, wine, and service, Spago Beverly Hills gets you to that divine place and more. It was more than the sum of its parts. It’s a benchmark for cuisine, for Hollywood, for glitz and glamour. It’s special. I want to go back there right now. C

Spago Beverly Hills, 176 N Canon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, USA
+310 385 0880; wolfgangpuck.com