Le Grand

One of these days I’d like to create a Downtown Los Angeles dining guide but there are always new spots opening. One of the latest is Le Grand. I checked them out for dinner and drinks with friends recently.

I would call Le Grand modern European based on their menu. There’s a lot of Greek influence but the menu encompasses so much more.

One of the drinks I tried is the Gin ‘n’ Roses. It’s a nice gin and tonic variation with a little grapefruit and elderflower to keep things interesting.

Gin ‘n’ Roses – gin, grapefruit, elderflower, tonic

pita with black garlic tzatzki

We enjoyed our pita with the add on of black garlic tzatzki. I would also like to try the smoked ricotta or beet root next time to go with the wonderfully chewy bread.

hamachi

I’m not sure what I expected with the hamachi crudo but the color initially threw me off until I realized they were just dyed from the amaranth tabbouleh.

shrimp saganaki

My favorite dish I tried was the shrimp saganaki. I always liked saganaki. Who doesn’t like to see flamed cheese? However, chef has taken this concept and applied it to shrimp. Served with their heads, I loved digging into every part of this dish. I ate the succulent shrimp but also broke down the head and ate the tiny feet like chips. Oh yeah, we went primal here.

drinks at Le Grand

The other drinks we tried was the Penicillin. They do this well here. And their version of an Aviation called BBC. These are nice drinks and ideal before or after dinner. Perhaps Happy Hour!

Penicillin – blended Scotch, Islay whisky, honey, ginger, lemon

BBC – gin, Creme de Violette, maraschino, crisp basil

spanakopita

The spanakopita is not an entree but it might as well be due to its enormous size. Although it’s listed under appetizers so perhaps it was meant to be shared. I tried a bit of it since it was really my friend’s main course.

Aspen rib eye cap

I got the Aspen rib eye cap. This was good steak. I loved the little “boats” of passion fruit. I’d be interested in trying their large format steak next time. They have a tomahawk and a porterhouse.

lobster buccatini

My other friend has the lobster buccatini. It came out with this beautiful “lace.”

Brussels sprouts

If we didn’t get enough veggies in a meal, we always order more. We got Brussels sprouts to round out our meal.

But that left us too full for dessert. Ah yes, next time!

Le Grand

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