Summer DineLA At Patina

DineLA, restaurant week, in Los Angeles is held in January and July every year. I've visited a few restaurants for DineLA in January (different years), but I haven't been very consistent at making a post and sharing photos.

Patina Restaurant is located at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown Los Angeles and serves Contemporary French Cuisine. I have been to this restaurant before, but I usually go in December (my birthday month) and I usually order from their regular three-course menu. While they do have their regular three-course menu and Chef's Tasting during DineLA, this was the first time that I came here to try out their DineLA five-course menu. Every meal I had here was amazing, remarkable and astounding. The wait staff and management were always amiable, charming and delightful. This is the only fine dining restaurant that I've been to more than once. While the food is amazing, I keep coming back mainly for their customer service. The wait staff, especially management, is charming and extremely sweet.

Normally, I prefer to make my blog posts about different events and places very unbiased so that readers can decide on their own terms to try (or not) these different events and places, but when I've been to the same restaurant and made a blog post more than once, it's hard to continue sounding unbiased. If you're curious, here is a blog post. I forgot to make a blog post from my first visit in 2016.

Please forgive as I don't have the names to each plate or bite as not all of them were listed on the menu and I can never remember the names to all of them even though the wait staff always tells me.

rye bread (top) and brioche (bottom). I also tried the miso bread and fig (?) bread, but the brioche and fig were my favorites

Hokkaido Scallop Crudo

Braised Veal Tortellini

Wild Long Island Skate Wing

Binchotan Grilled Snake River Farms Ribeye

Summer Fruit Pavlova

Strawberry Sorbet

Patina Restaurant - Downtown Los Angeles

A little late...not really, more like a year later as my last visit to the Patina restaurant in Downtown Los Angeles was last December (in 2017) for my birthday. Patina is located near or at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and has valet parking where the restaurant can validate for you or you can park at one of the nearby pay parking lots. You can enjoy a show or an orchestra at the Walt Disney Concert Hall after your meal at Patina or enjoy a walk at the Broadway Museum across the street before your meal.

Patina is/was one of those restaurants where you could sign up for their birthday meals (you get a $50 off coupon emailed to you). I came here for my birthday in 2016 and really enjoyed my meal/dining experience. Normally, I am not a "Fine Dining Restaurant" type of a person and I am always afraid to think that "expensive" meals will be disappointing with petite meals, but I returned last year for my birthday and had a much greater time dining there. Diners can choose from the three-course meal, six-course meal, or from the chef's tasting menu. There are other special menus for different occasions such as Christmas, New Year's and Valentine's Day. They also participate in the Winter DineLA (11 to 25 January 2019) and the Summer DineLA (TBD). Sometimes I will make reservations for DineLA and then cancel from getting cold feet. I don't know why I get cold feet for DineLA.

Anyway, I ordered from the three course meal from both visits. I usually like to park at one of the nearby pay lots because I like to wander around for photos before my meal. I purposely (and not on purpose at the same time because I have to fight rush hour traffic) arrive early because I like to wander around for photos before my meal. I was warned from my first visit that each course would be "petite" which was true, however, three courses was plenty for me and the food was delightful and exquisite. The wait staff had been extremely friendly and the manager (named Martin? I think he was at both of my visits?) was so sweet. I did not go to Patina this month (December), however, I made reservations mid-January. I thought about not going this year, but when they made my dining experience spectacular, I found it hard not to return. My birthday coupon expires in February.

There was a server who had a "bread" platter. The brioche was so good that I couldn't stop eating it when he came by my table

Please forgive as I don't remember the names to each dish/course because my last visit was one year ago (last December). While I ordered from the three course meal, I received a few more dishes to my meal.