Chez Melange

06/06/09

Good Enough

by EDinRB at Citysearch

Just to make clear this is the NEW location Chez Melange, not the old! Upon arriving at Chez Melange we walked through the charming but very noisy gastropub to enter the restaurant. First impression upon entering the dining room was that this is an upscale and intimate dining ambiance: white linen tablecloths, candlelight. Once seated I immediately noticed that my silverware was dirty and the tablecloth had remnants of someone else's food on it. Not a good start as I am very particular about cleanliness, especially at a restaurant like this. Once the server arrived at our table we ordered a bottle of wine and asked him to replace the dirty silverware, which he did promptly. We were given a very unexpected table snack of pretzel rods and wasabi cream to dip them in. The pretzels were tasty but the wasabi cream was kind of blah. I never expected to see pretzels on the table at a nice restaurant. I was impressed with the variety of cultural cuisine on the menu, as I was expecting it to be only French cuisine. We ordered curry lettuce wraps for an appetizer and that came out quickly and it was a nice light starter. I ordered the bacon wrapped scallops and my Husband ordered what was basically a meatloaf. My dinner was fantastic, the scallops were cooked just right, very tender and moist. My Husband's meatloaf was "nothing to write home about". He wished he had ordered something else because it didn't have a lot of flavor. We shared a chocolate bread pudding for dessert that was a delightful way to end the meal. We don't mind dropping a large amount of money on a fabulous meal, but we felt the menu was a tad overpriced. Being that the cleanliness factor weighs heavily on my mind that was kind of a downer for me from the start. The service was great, almost too good because while we were eating our entree the same person stopped by our table 3 times to ask how everything was. We appreciate the attention, but it was a little annoying the 3rd time he asked. I am not sure if we will be returning to the restaurant, but we will check out the gastropub that looks fun and interesting. It's worth giving this spot a try, after all we lack quality restaurants in Redondo Beach.

• Pros: I found some unexpected and exciting items on the menu
• Cons: lack of cleanliness and prices

08/21/08

Bad Experience

by suehb at Citysearch

After not being to Chez Melange in quite a few years my family decided to go there for a birthday dinner. Our experience was not good. First started with being out of the wine we ordered, and those not drinking wine waited for their drinks while they tried to find us another bottle (guess they can't multi-task). There were loud and disturbing people next to us that finally got moved and a medical emergency in the main dining room that required paramedics....not the restauants fault but no apology to us for the commotion. The light above the table didn't work so we sat in the dark until the waitress found candles and then the topper was we waited over 30 minutes between starters and main course, which when it finally came the fish was overcooked and greasy. Lucky us, we got to pay over $300 for this wonderful experience....never again, too many fine restaurants in the South Bay to pick from.

06/08/08

great customer service

by ezrhino at Citysearch

the food here is good not great. the service is good as well. just don't do catering with these guys. the service is scattered and stressful, and uses a lot of filler for the whorederves. we had to constantly wait for rock shrimp to come out while no one was eating the little tomato pizzas. the owner (british dude) was underprepared and did not know how to work the grill properly. the son is also rude at one of the weddings i was at. don't know if its because he's going out of business or moving to another location. but i wish them the best of luck, cause if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!!! great seafood though.