Chef Davdi Fricaud brings French flavor to Hotel Oceana
Within days of opening its doors, the cozy and elegant La Monique– the new Parisian-style restaurant occupying the first floor of the vine-decorted Ocean Santa Monica– had diners inside buzzing about celebrity sightings. “Paris Hilton was here Saturday,” a stylish woman who looked like she was about to audition to be a cast member on Selling Sunset gushed from a nearby table.
Glamour is key in this secret garden of upscale dining, fitted with a gilded bar, mirrored ceilings, eclectic vintage art and green velvet – pure artistic style that is the brainchild of acclaimed designer Martin Brudnizki. It made perfect sense that celebrities have already found his hideaway helmed by Top Chef France semifinalist David Fricaud.
Steak tartareCredit: Courtesy La Monique
This grand French brasserie and its 44 hard-to-come-by seats makes one feel like Marilyn Monroe would be holding court on the corner settee enjoying escargot croquettes with the Rat Pack. It would be difficult to find anyone – alive or dead – who didn’t enjoy Fricaud’s escargot poppers. La Monique moves around a very French menu anchored by an array of steaks (wagyu and dry aged cuts), impressive seafood towers and house-baked baguettes, which are worth the trip down Ocean Avenue just for a slice with hand-churned butter. However, this menu has unexpected modern twists, like a French onion grilled cheese that’s every bit as spectacular as it sounds, and a lemony tuna carpaccio.
Arugula and roasted beets saladCredit: Courtesy La Monique
The mixologists take great pride in their creations, whether it’s an increasingly trendy mocktail or signature cocktail. Trying the desserts is worth getting the side-eye from the pretty, and clearly disciplined, neighboring diner on a first date.
Reservations are hard to come by, and while the restaurant might be reminiscent of a Manhattan speakeasy, its 10 p.m. closing time is definitely more Santa Monica than SoHo. But overall, even Angeleno Eastsiders won’t be sorry they made the trip.
La Monique is located at 849 Ocean Ave. 90403 in Santa Monica. It is open daily at 5:30 p.m.
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Dining and Cooking