Barely one year old, Estate restaurant and bar could not have existed pre-2000.
This contemporary, farm-to-table restaurant is truly a 21st-century experience—with its vast, ultra-slick (yet not uncozy) interior and postmodern menu, which borrows from all corners of the world. Here, Chef Hasashi Yoshiara has created a culinary construct wherein the food’s quality truly matches its attractive presentation, but not at the expense of portions.
For starters, we ordered Tuna Crispy Won Ton Tacos ($11), one of their most popular plates: the Ahi tuna tartar base, pinched by pickled cucumber and ginger guacamole, gives your palate a nice kick.
We delved into the scrumptious Natural Canadian Scallop ($15)—soft, white and warm inside; a crispy potato shell on the outside, wallowing in a spicy green curry vinaigrette with edamame. If you’re craving something savory, try Colorado Lamb Meatball ($15), three giant spheres of lamb with a Parmesan tuile Mohawk and bathed in heirloom tomato sauce and spiked with Kalamata olives.
Char Siu Pork Flatbread ($16; one of three flatbread platters they make here, the others being the more veggie-oriented Farmers Market and Roasted Portobello) is substantial, practically a meal in itself. Smoky pork slices come counterbalanced by mozzarella, chiles and some green onions that lend a Vietnamese hint.
Straight from Chef Yoshiara’s wok, we explored Pad Thai and Estate Fried Rice (each $16). Estate is a fusion restaurant where the flourishes are pan-Asian, sometimes reflecting the chef’s heritage (i.e. the Spicy Kurobata Ramen bowl with braised pork) or paraphrasing, as these delicious dishes do, Thai and Chinese cuisine. This pair of entrees does nothing to reinvent the wheel beyond offering Yoshiara’s exquisite, refined takes on some popular comfort food. Nothing derogatory: both dishes, if less original than some of Estate’s other items, are still made very executed.
The plates we enjoyed most hailed from the seafood sector. First, there’s the unbeatable Lobster Fettucine ($29), a eye-catching phalanx of Maine lobster morsels, black squid ink pasta, peas, and lobster-tarragon brisque with a sliver of grilled baguette. The combination of soft, buttery crustacean fluff and sea-kissed flat noodles makes for quite a union. Whole Branzino “Aqua Pazza” ($29), a satisfying platter shimmering with caramelized fennel roots, cherry tomatoes, house herbs de provence and Mediterranean touches, features a full sea bass imported from Greece. If you’re looking for something healthily prepared and not heavy with sauces or superfluous carbs try the Branzino.
However, if it is beef you seek, look no further than New Zealand Lamb Chops ($28); a divine row of three lamb shanks, situated like spoons across the platter, each atop beds of French black lentils, celery root puree, roasted tomatoes and vadouvan sauce. We preferred this over Van Wells Farms Rib Eye Medallion ($29): 7 oz. steak slices criss-crossed atop Estate’s signature smashed red creamer potatoes and grilled asparagus and doused in a Carbernet-Szechuan pepper sauce.
Keep in mind as you’re feasting that you’re going to want to save some room toward meal’s end because dessert here should not be missed. We hear they make a mean Warm Frangelico Flourless Chocolate Cake, however, we opted for something less common on the menu boards of Los Angeles’ restaurants: the light, airy Green Tea Tiramisu, a Japanese spin on an Italian favorite with a bright green sweet sauce atop it and a couple of chocolate-almond cookies nearby.
No dessert here though can prepare you for how sublime, caramel-drenched Fuji Apple Cannelloni is; on a crosshatching of cream, made irresistible by a boule of salted caramel. This proved a spectacular finish to our Estate experience, well worth every naughty calorie.
Hand-crafted cocktails ($12) are a thing here, so we kept the libations flowing, beginning with an Eastside, their version of the very hipster, en vogue cucumber aperitif. Estate’s version entails gin, mint, lime and muddled cucumber to nice effect. Their most unusual drink though is The Third Estate, and if this vodka, strawberry, lemon and cava concoction reads on paper like a vodka strawberry lemonade, make no mistake, it’s far from it. Rather, this fresh-tasting drink resembles liquid marzipan, thanks to the infusion of orgeat informing its formidable almond aftertaste. Third Estate’s opposite may be Your Number, a brooding glass of blended scotch, fernet vittone, grenadine and lemon that’s perfect if dark necessities are part of your design. For something different, try The Shrink, a mescal, beet juice, honey and lime juice mix with turmeric rim; sweeter than it sounds while packing edge. Our favorite beverage is the upbeat Whiskey Tango, a complete winner incorporating whiskey, fair rum, lime and cilantro to bright, kaleidoscopic effect.
Estate’s menu falls into the following categories—Share, Wok, Ocean, Land and Sides—and each offers plenty to choose from.
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