Offbeat South Bay bistro Vin Folk is pure charming fun - Review - Los Angeles - The Infatuation
"If you watch enough underdog sports movies, you know there’s always a scene where some character passionately declares their team “has heart.” Vin Folk, a spunky neighborhood bistro in Redondo Beach, is what we’d call a restaurant with heart. On the surface, this laid-back wine bar seems pretty familiar: a candlelit date spot with a small open kitchen and a post-punk playlist that happens to be located a few blocks from the ocean. But peek under the hood and you’ll find distinctive elements that set it apart—not just in the South Bay, but across the city. It starts the moment you sit down, when you’re greeted by someone in an apron and chef’s whites eager to go over the menu. All the chefs double as servers, which means they’re eager to dive into how and why the pea chawanmushi landed on the menu, a personal touch that can sometimes feel like information overload, but is ultimately endearing. photo credit: Kim Fox photo credit: Kim Fox photo credit: Kim Fox video credit: Kim Fox Pause Unmute Run by a husband-and-wife duo who used to cook at tasting-menu spots like Somni and Vespertine, Vin Folk injects geeky fun into the usual wine bar standards, like chopped salad boosted with crispy lap xuong, a pseudo patty melt with pork headcheese, and yellowtail crudo layered with Russian eggplant caviar. Think of it as casual fine dining—a place to drink interesting wines or a low-ABV negroni on a breezy patio, or just have a bite that will remind you why you still bother with small plates. The menu is divided simply into “snacks,” “cold,” and “hot.” The dish descriptions can lean toward the inscrutable, which might seem annoying until you try a few. Did we know what pork jowl, mackerel tonnato, pickled carrots, and mashed potatoes would be doing on the same plate when we ordered it? No. Are we happy we did? Without a doubt. Occasionally, dishes feel a bit too clever for their own good, like a deeply crabby crab risotto with an unnecessary splat of fried egg foam on top, but the misfires are few and far between. We could spend another few paragraphs talking about the reasonably priced wine list full of unique picks or the heady dessert menu engineered by a dedicated pastry chef, but all you need to know is that Vin Folk is run by people who not only have a clear love of restaurants, but know how to make them feel cozy, thoughtful, and a little surprising. If that’s not heart, what is? Food Rundown Headcheese Toast Your server will tell you this two-biter is inspired by the patty melt at Langer’s. That might be a stretch, but it’s a fantastic drinking snack. The soft milk bread is toasted to a golden crunch, the pork headcheese is fatty and juicy, and the molten slice of american adds a touch of nostalgia. Dab on the fiery hot mustard served on the side to cut through the richness. photo credit: Kim Fox Yellowtail Another crudo? Yes, but with enough interesting things going on to demand your attention. A spread of Russian-style eggplant salad on the bottom adds heft, while fried shallots, briny capers, and a dose of aleppo pepper cling to each slice of fish like a toddler with their binky. photo credit: Kim Fox Chopped Salad If you feel the need to order a salad, make it this deceptively simple one. Somewhere between a niçoise and a cobb, it’s got sliced potatoes, snappy green beans, crispy bits of Chinese sausage that crunch like croutons, and a creamy dressing umami-boosted with preserved black beans. photo credit: Kim Fox Jowl & Mackerel The duo you didn’t know you needed. Apparently inspired by a plate of mashed potatoes in Eastern Europe that were so good they made one of the chefs weep, this hodgepodge dish looks like one of those timed challenges on Chopped. But the combo of snappy grilled pork, lush mackerel sauce, escabeche-style pickles, and buttery dill-flecked taters works. photo credit: Kim Fox Chili Crab We’re not sure this creamy risotto quite lives up to the spicy Singaporean dish it’s named for, but it’s certainly tasty and properly crabby, amped up with crab stock and tender flakes of rock crab. It could lose the splat of fried egg “espuma” on top, though, which is a bit of a hat on a hat. photo credit: Kim Fox 30-Day Dry-Aged Steak Don’t let the cheffy whimsy at Vin Folk fool you. They know how to cook a good old-fashioned steak. We love this 16-ounce ribeye’s concentrated beefy flavor, even crust, and spot-on temperature, as well as the pool of herb-rich Café de Paris butter that’s more like a pesto. photo credit: Kim Fox Koko Crunch This over-the-top dessert (named after by a kid’s breakfast cereal from the Phillipines) would be silly if it weren’t so delicious. The menu promises chocolate six ways: milk chocolate crémeux, chocolate squares, chocolate soil, shaved chili-infused chocolate, puffed chocolate rice crackers, and a chocolate amaro sauce poured on top. So yes, it tastes like chocolate. The sea salt grated from a giant rock tableside and a sidecar of ice-cold milk are nice touches. photo credit: Kim Fox" - Garrett Snyder
