Cavatina at the Sunset Marquis Hotel — West Hollywood, California
Image: Cavatina at the Sunset Marquis Hotel
Tucked away behind the hussle and bustle of Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, the Sunset Marquis Hotel is a three and a half acre oasis improbably hidden in the heart of Tinsel Town. Unlike its brash competitor, the Chateau Marmont, which towers over Sunset Boulevard in all of its faux Gothic glory, the legendary Sunset Marquis offers visitors a discreet getaway from the urban jungle on well manicured grounds.
At its worst, Los Angeles is a sprawling megapolis where unititated visitors can spend hours driving between disperate locations on gridlocked freeways. At its best, like any global city, LA is a city of distinct and vibrant neighbourhoods. West Hollywood, fashionably known as WeHo sits at the heart of California’s largest city. If you are looking for a hip and thriving place to dock, WeHo is a perfect port — with Santa Monica Boulevard, Melrose Avenue and Sunset Boulevard all offering visitors a world class range of entertainment, retail and dining options.
At the end of a residential street in trendy WeHo, you unexpectedly come upon the entrance to the Sunset Marquis Hotel. For fifty years the hotel has been home away from home for rock and movie stars, entertainment executives, and vistitors to Southern California wanting a taste of the good life.
To mark the Sunset Marquis’ sesquicenteninary, a new restaurant has opened in the midst of the hotel’s lush and verdant grounds. The menu at Cavatina has been developed by the acclaimed Boston-based chef and restauranteur Michael Schlow. Day to day preparations are handled by Executive Chef Roger Eggleston, who previously worked in several well known restaurants in Northern California’s Napa Valley. Eggleston explains that the food served at Cavatina is what you would have at home with friends. If only we could all hang out with talented friends with a very extensive food pantry at their disposal.
Complex comfort food is the fare. The dinner menu is divided into four courses: Snacks, Crudo, Small Plates and Entrees (what we call “mains” Down Under). Seemingly simple dishes combine varying tastes and textures to delight the palette. For Snacks: the warm and crisp Homemade Potato Chips hold their texture when dipped into the cool “sunset secret spice mix” with green-chile onion dip ($7). The Spicy Jalapeño Tater Tots are a twist on an old stable: the spicy, crunchy exterior and warm, soft interior are scrumptious when smothered in Smoky Béarnaise sauce ($8). The Crostini with Homemade Ricotta and Truffle Honey is deliciously sweet, salty, crispy and soft ($7).
For Crudo: the Chilled Yellowtail with Uni and Caviar combines the sweet taste of urchins with the salty delicacy of caviar to offer a cool and refreshing dish ($19). The Ahi Tuna with Marinated Cucumber with red jalapeño, meyer lemon, crispy rice, maldon sea salt offers a subtle and complex combination of flavours and textures ($16).
For Small Plates: The Grilled Spanish Octopus with black chickpea purée, fresno chiles, olives and parsley is delectable ($17). And the Tender Beef Tongue with beluga lentils, bacon, salsa verde literally melts on the tongue ($15). For Entrees (or mains outside of North America) you need go no further than chef Michael Schlow’s famous Marquis Cheeseburger with crispy onions, cheddar cheese, horseradish-black pepper sauce ($19). Schlow transforms this every day fast food into a gourmet delicacy which you will want to eat very, very slowly.
Like the Sunset Marquis Hotel grounds around Cavatina, the restaurant’s vine covered pergola laced with fairy lights is beautifully landscaped. The venue would be a perfect place to hang out with friends or to wine and dine an entertainment executive, if you ever get the chance. The night we ate at the Sunset Marquis a manic young man at the next table over pitched his story idea to his silent dining companions while we sampled the extensive list of world class wines on offer and took in the drama with all its delicious offerings. Whether you are heading to LA for business or pleasure, the Sunset Marquis provides guests with a magical visit to a sumptuous back lot in a town renowned for its back lots.
Cavatina at the Sunset Marquis Hotel
1200 Alta Loma Road,
West Hollywood, CA 90069
