10/08/09

Happy hour with La Cachette Bistro

by Jackiee031

Hey, my name is Jackie and I am working with LCB. If you are in the Santa Monica area stop by for our great happy hour specials from 4:30 to 6:30, M-F. You can get some great dishes like Hawaiian Ahi Burger on Brioche or Organic Grass Fed Beef Burger with Fig Chutney for $6. See you soon!

• Pros: Great Specials

07/14/09

She ain't what she used to be

by saxifrages

It had been years since my beau and his friends had been to La Cachette but they had some fond memories. My beau craved French for his bday so I arranged a celebration with the friends there. While waiting for our pals, the friendly chef/owner told us that the location will be closing and they will reopen in Santa Monica as more of a bistro. He said that the hard to find location had been hurting their biz. We noticed mostly white hair loyalists in the faded dining room.

The service was great and we had no complaints about service. The food, however, was absolutely flavorless. there was a tremendous lack of salting. I had the special foie gras and it was bland. I ordered cassoulet, the most French of all dishes, and it tasted like Refried Beans. We sent the cassoulet back and the chef apologized, agreed with our finding and sent back a substitute that was not much better. Nothing that the four of us ate was enjoyable, including lackluster desserts. It appears that not only is the chef delegating too much prep to the unskilled but he, himself, has lost all sense of taste.

It is not the location which has diminished their business.

Everything we had was not good. Yet the bill was crazy high. We could have eaten at Melisse for the same amount and had a world class meal in an elegant environment.

• Pros: good service
• Cons: really bad food, very expensive

04/05/09

Trez Disappointing

by sschalin

If you're looking for fine, traditional French cuisine, look beyond La Cachette in Century City. The name translates into "the hideaway" and it is indeed off the beaten path on little Santa Monica Blvd, tucked into a neighborhood of apartments.

The setting is perfect for a date night out. The lights are dim, the decor very soothing with soft whites hues and plushy seating.

We started with a martini and Cosmo at the tiny bar to unwind and slowly roll into the evening that we wanted to enjoy and make last. When we finally sat down, Leslie started with a generous plate of beef carpaccio, served chopped with a sugary balsamic-pomegranate glaze that over-whelmed that meat completely.

I opted for a smoked trout dish which was light and pungent with an almost-herring-like vinegar taste over micro-greens. Good, but not great.

The entree selection is very French provencial. The menu reads like you've just stumbled into a farmhouse near the south of France. Lamb shank, veal stew, venison chop and several steaks along with some traditional French seafood dishes that you would expect from that lower region.

I opted for the Cassoulet. If you're unfamiliar with this dish it's a thick stew infused with soft, white beans, like Navy beans swimming alongside fork-sized chunks of duck and lamb. The meat was tender and the broth thick and rich. If you could imagine a cold, rainy night in the French countryside, this would be the dish to order. But its sheer decadence and heavy stock made a little go a very long way.

Leslie opted for the Bouillabaisse. We were in Nice one time many years ago which claims to be the town that invented this dish which is France's white-brothed answer to Italy's Cioppino. In fact, we specifically ate a restaurant where the owner - a character in his late 70s - claimed to have practically invented the version of the soup that has become world famous. There, the broth was light and fishy, with a hint of saffron and the taste of the sweet ocean.

Unfortunately, La Cachette's version was a thick, fishy mess. It had the consistency of carmel pudding, complete with a semi-thick layer of skin on the top. This being one of their signature dishes, we were surprised that it had the taste of something made many, many hours ago and left to sit.

With every entree hovering near $30 there is no quarter given to mediocre dishes. La Cachette is a hideaway best left hidden.

• Pros: Ambiance, service
• Cons: Food