Saturday, June 6, 2009

Fig Restaurant

After purchasing a $25 GC from Restaurants.com for $3, I was excited to try Fig.

My gf and I came here the other night, valeted the car and headed into the hotel. We were early for our 8 pm reservation, but the hostess seated us anyway. We asked for a patio table, but she said they were all reserved. So, we ended up at a booth right by the door.

View from our booth


I liked the creative table setting.


First up, drinks. Alcoholic drinks. I had the Bubble & Squeak and she had the Fig mojito. Neither one were great. In fact, mine tasted like rubbing alcohol. Blah.

Bubble & Squeak- more like blah and squawk


We perused the menu and the curly endive salad caught my eye. In terms of main courses, nothing in particular stood out. I was really looking forward to trying the butterfish, but since they didn't have it, I ordered the trout. She had the Jidori chicken.

After we ordered, out came the famous arugula butter and 2 small sticks of bread encased in paper wrapping. I had a few bites, since I didn't want to fill up on bread, and was quite impressed with the arugula butter. It had a nice bite to it. And it was green. Never seen green butter.



They brought us amuse bouche of something on cucumbers, but for the life of me, I can't remember what it was! It was good though.



Curly endive salad with soft poached egg, crispy pig's ear and cider vinaigrette. OMG! This was one of the best, most original salads I've ever had. The poached egg was awesome, and the pig's ear was delicious! I loved it.



Whole trout with green garlic, peas and baby savoy cabbage- Um yeah, I guess I didn't really read the part about it being a whole trout, complete with head and tail. I can't eat fish if it's staring at me, so I cut off the head and had the waiter whisk it away. It was tender inside and I only got a few pieces of bone. Loved the cabbage and peas.



Roasted Jidori chicken with rocket panzanella and capeberries- This was just roasted chicken. I didn't taste anything fantastic or different about it. My gf agreed. Don't bother getting the chicken, I'd opt for the duck.



We were pretty stuffed after dinner, but I really wanted to try the Fig Bars for dessert. I'm glad I did, because the greek yogurt ice cream it came with was so damn good! I've never had this flavor before and it really enticed my taste buds. They should make a dessert of just the ice cream. For reals. Fig bars were decent, nothing too exciting.



Service was good and attentive. The manager came by a couple times to check up on us. Ambiance was chill and classy. I liked it.

Dinner was $100 before tax and tip. Next time, I'm gonna stick to martinis. Their special cocktails were not up to par. I'll have to return for happy hour- Fig at five.

Fig Restaurant
Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows
101 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 319-3111

5 comments:

Justin said...

another harsh review. it started out pretty good. you're a tough critic

Pandalicious said...

i guess i have high expectations.. but the entrees were really not as awesome as everyone said.

Buddha said...

I generally avoid any restaurant that has a drink called "Bubble and Squeak"... :)

Pandalicious said...

hahha.. this place wasnt bad.. the drinks just suck!

SinoSoul said...

I've now had the ENTIRE starters and snacks menu, and half of the mains, half of the charcuterie. Next time, stick to the small plates, they do 'em exceedingly well.

Also, FIG's restaurant.com program JUST ended over the weekend...