I made an 8:30 reservation on Thursday in October at Melissa after reading it was declared the #1 restaurant in los angeles. Reading a few reviews, we decided to take on the tasting menu for $95. First, the menu is quite confusing with a tasting menu that includes a wide variety of meals, many of which have an add-on fee ranging from $5 to $150 (for certain truffle dishes). So your tasting meal could easily turn from a $190 adventure to more than double that. The atmosphere here is subdued, quiet, with a well manicured interior that while clean and neat, is not remarkable. The service was superb, with choreographed serving of all plates (ie. 2 people = two servers time coordinating the plate delivery. The waitress, while quick and efficient was not personable at all. The tasting menu provides for one appetizer, two ""meat"" dishes, and a desert. Once we deciphered the menu, we decided upon the lobster pasta appetizer and a sashimi dish. Both were excellent and the presentation was superb. The lobster dish could be a light meal in and of itself. We chose 2 more dishes each for the main courses - Halibut and Lamb Chops and Salmon and Duck. Too much meat - I don't think there was a chicken option on the menu and the dishes are very busy - we 5 or six different subdishes, sauces, etc....The Halibut was tasteless and looked like it had been sitting, and the lamp chops were slightly gamey, though the lamb ""shoulder"" was flakey and good. The Salmon was well prepared in a pea sauce, though not remarkable or worth of it's a la carte price tag, and the duck while good, was more about presentation than about delivery. I wasn't sure what half of the duck plate contained. The highlight of the meal was the dessert - A caramel dish and ""chocolate, chocolate, chocolate"" - Total bill with coffee and tip $325 dollars ( we also had a short rib dish - which had ground up beef - ok but not great). I recommend this place as a nice dessert experience - but not for dinner...
Pros: Exquisite Dessert, Superb Service
Cons: Overpriced, More Presentation than Taste
more