RESTAURANT REVIEW: Belcampo

1026 Wilshire Blvd.

Santa Monica, CA 90401

424-744-8008

belcampo.com

Price: $$$

By Michael Aushenker | Contributing Writer

As any adventurous Westsider residing in Pacific Palisades knows, these days Santa Monica has no shortage of exciting contemporary cuisine havens. Some are better than others by degrees. Belcampo is an experience not to be missed.

Spun off from the original Belcampo in Larkspur up in the Bay Area about four years ago, Belcampo, which also has locations in Palo Alto and San Francisco, planted its first LA flag at downtown’s historic Grand Central Market. Paired with a full-service butcher shop next door, this restaurant is a treat on every level, from its open, airy, interior to the architecture of its cuisine and the artistry of its drinks.

Co-managers Erin Mitchell and Jamie Alexander, formerly of local Italian eatery Modo Mio Cucina Rustica (2004-14), offer attentive hospitality, as do the waiters and servers.

The 72-seat Belcampo delivers quality farm-to-table New American cuisine, its beef hailing from its own ranches of grass-fed cows up in Mt. Shasta. What’s great about Belcampo is that the hard liquor here is not merely regulated to the glasses bee-lining from the bar but incorporated into the cuisine to winning effect.

Heaps of credit should go to the man leading this location’s kitchen. Originally from Annapolis, Head Chef Brett Halfpap has a clear bead on what he’s doing here at Belcampo Santa Monica. He recently worked for Todd English’s restaurant in Manilla for two years before relocating earlier this year to Los Angeles and matriculating into Belcampo Santa Monica’s fold.

For starters, the appetizers here are all winners. We started out with French Dip Éclair ($10), a small but quality French dip roast beef sandwich accompanied by bone broth jus and packed within halves of fresh baguette. We really enjoyed the Kale Salad ($14), topped with avocado, pecan, roasted onion and a tarragon vinaigrette with bacon morsels added that were not the typical. These were high-end, savory and flavorful porcine chunks that completely illuminated this otherwise common salad and propelled it into the stratosphere. Also right on point: the beautifully executed skillet of Roasted Brussells Sprouts ($11), a magnificent appetizer alive with sage sausage, bacon, maple syrup and rye whiskey.

Of the various tartare plates (which include beef, lamb and seared lamb heart), we went with Hiramasa Tartare ($24), a yellowtail affair with jalapeno, pickled black radish, bacon avocado, lime aioli and house-made sesame rice crackers that is not only nimble and subtle in taste, it’s stylish and visual in presentation.

Seared Loch Duart Salmon ($36), on a bed of red bulgar tabbouleh, kumquat and shaved fennel with orange oil and upland cress, satisfies your craving for said fish. While the salmon served here presently comes from Scotland, the restaurant is on the verge of making a major change and sourcing its seafood from Santa Barbara Dock to Dish.

Another highlight here: 100-Day Dry-Aged Burge ($28), which comes with ground beef aged at the century day mark, raclette, whole grain mustard aioli, caramelized onions and a shpritz of 100-proof whisky (administered by your server in front of you). Accompanied by a side of delicious tallow fries, this mouthwatering gourmet hamburger certainly earned its place on Eater LA’s recent enthusiastic, if imperfect, list of LA’s essential hamburgers. Equally intriguing to me on the menu was Lamb Burger ($22) and Belcampo Burger ($18), with its half pound of grass-fed beef patty. However, as there is only so much we can sample on one outing, those gourmet burgers will have to wait for now.

As much as we’d love to say the highlight here was the 12-ounce Boneless New York Strip ($62) or even the coveted 100-Day Dry-Aged Burger, in actuality both had their thunder stolen by a simple skilletful of Potatoes Au Gratin served with the former. As simple as this side dish may appear, using my French mother’s cherished recipe as a reference point, this Potato Au Gratin is not to be missed.

We’d be remiss in describing the food here and not detouring into mixologist Josh Goldman’s bevy of cocktails, handcrafted just for this location. (Because, in fact, Santa Monica’s Belcampo is the only outlet with a liquor license.) Not one drink here missed its intended bull’s eye, not the BBQ Old Fashioned ($16), made of Balcones Baby Blue Bourbon with brown sugar, smoked barbecue bitters and a sliver of Belcampo Meat Company’s beef jerky for decoration; nor the Port of LA ($13), an unusual mix of white port, Taptio reposado tequila, maro Abano, lime juice, prickly pear and Belcampo Farm’s egg white, shaken and served, which bears the letters “LA” in bright magenta syrup on the surface. Even more unusual—in this town currently obsessed with cucumber-based cocktails—is To Pea or Not To Pea ($15), a sugar snap pea alcoholic beverage, laden with Bol’s Genevar, Lustau Fino sherry, verjus, lemon, mint and pea tendril, all shook up. Surely the most unusual-looking libation, even among this motley crew, is the Lincoln County Detox ($16), an unusual looking libation in that the mix of Tennessee whiskey, Koval jasmine liquer, lemon juice, sea salted white honey, soda water and jasmine essence arrives pitch black, due to the activated charcoal and further embellished by black ice. Trust us though, we just scratched the surface here. There are many more great drinks to explore, with intriguing names such as Snapping Turtle ($15), Nordic Vacation ($15) and Goldman’s self-referential Beets By J ($13).

Likewise, there are many more entrees to enjoy here as well. Refreshingly, there are no safe or well-traveled roads to be found at Belcampo Santa Monica. With its classy collision of exquisite ambiance, elegant cuisine and kinky mixology, this is easily a modern speakeasy worth revisiting.