la.foodblogging

I thought I knew of all the good restaurants in downtown, even if I haven’t been them all. I guess I have been out of LA too long because I was just introduced to Pacific Grille. I never would have discovered this little place, located in the lobby of one of the high rises in downtown, on my own. After taking care of some business, the nice man I was coordinating an event with suggested we go there for lunch. He said the food is pretty good, and I was sold on that alone.

The fact that Pacific Grille does “Express” concerned me a bit at first, since I haven’t had an awful lot of luck with express restaurants. Turns out the “Express” is for take-out, literally, as we had to sit there for quite a while before our order was take and for almost 40 minutes before our food was served. My lunch companion assured me Pacific Grille did not usually take this long to serve lunch. The place was very busy, and seating was tight. Seems like this restaurant had previously (and perhaps even currently) relied on take-out orders and catering. Things are changing though as the decor was nicely done and emotes a pacific feel. This is important, as Pacific Grille will be starting to serve dinner in just about two weeks (January 2006). The menu is fairly eclectic - think Californian meets Asian-fusion meets Italian. I had a difficult time coming to a decision, too, as I watched the servers carry out many appealing entrees to diners. Many items looked good on the menu: Green Tea Steamed Salmon $22, Broiled Miso Marinated Halibut $22, Shrimp Ravioli $20, and Roasted Carnitas Sandwich $19. What caught my eye in the end was the Shrimp Risotto $22.

While I can’t say the Shrimp Risotto was worth a 40-minute wait, it was quite good. I couldn’t really taste the lobster in lobster chardonnay sauce, but the orange sauce complemented the presentation of the saffron risotto. The shrimp was fresh, but as with most shrimp dishes I order, not enough of them included. The baby vegetables were really just tomatoes and baby asparagus. Still, the risotto was flavorful and very filling. I know it may not seem like it from my review, but I enjoyed this dish. I even stuffed myself silly by finishing the whole thing. I’m just very finicky about my risotto. (Best risotto I’ve had, by the way, was the black truffle risotto at Patina. Now you know why I’m so particular about my risotto.)

As this was a business lunch, I thought it would be inappropriate for me to pull out my camera to snap some photos. It was very tempting, as my camera was in my purse right next to me.

Pacific Grille
601 S. Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Restaurant: (213) 485-0927
Express: (213) 485-0354

By Pauline (see more of her posts).