Somerville celebrates South LA in grand style - Review - Los Angeles - The Infatuation
"Hats off to everyone at Somerville, the best-dressed crowd in Los Angeles. If you’ve been itching to wear your favorite linen suit, consider this your moment. Whatever the occasion, dinner at this retro supper club will feel innately special, and it’s not because of the months-long waitlist, the Ruinart champagne by the bottle, or the caviar dripping from your fried chicken slider. A splashy night at Somerville is special because it’s an unabashed celebration of its community, as much as it is somewhere to celebrate anything with a glorious bang. photo credit: Jessie Clapp photo credit: Jessie Clapp photo credit: Jessie Clapp photo credit: Jessie Clapp photo credit: Jessie Clapp Pause Unmute Luxuries like truffle butter and fancy cocktails are part of what makes this South LA spot a destination for upscale dining, a category of restaurant Slauson Avenue has historically lacked, but its most enjoyable attributes come from the transportive space. From the Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen people (and a little-known actress named Issa Rae), Somerville pays tribute to the neighborhood’s bustling jazz scene that dates back to the 1920s, and the results are undeniably cool. A nightly jazz band with a grand piano lights up the handsome mahogany-clad room as vested servers refill wine glasses. Dates, birthdays, and family gatherings line every curved gold-tinged booth. And while Somerville’s glammed-up American menu has some notable hits—and a miss or two—they ultimately feel secondary to the energy in the room. Somerville’s dishes can best be described as comfort foods with premium touches, like glossy parker house rolls that melt on your tongue with chive-y truffle butter. A collard green lasagna glued together with bechamel is a bomb of richness at first, but grows on you as the bitter greens shine through, and the caviar-studded créme fraîche on the fried chicken delivers a tangy-briny double punch. Aside from the inconsistently cooked steaks, nothing at Somerville flat-out disappoints, even though many dishes do feel relatively simple for their steep prices. But when the check arrives, it’s worth remembering that many other places in town with live jazz bands playing nightly tend to charge a cover just to enter. At Somerville, it’s baked into the menu. Before you plan your next birthday here, know that getting a reservation is still stubbornly tough. During our first visit, our server was quick to let us know that they were fully booked for the next three months. That said, we’ve had success with OpenTable notifications, so don’t be discouraged. If there’s an experience worth putting in some effort for—whether that’s tracking down a table or donning out your best eveningwear—it’s a grand night out at Somerville. How to get into Somerville Weekends are packed solid, but as long as you give yourself a few days notice, scattered late evening tables are available during the week. Keep in mind that the live band stops at 9:45pm so try to get in as early as possible for the full experience, or show up early for drinks at the bar. Food Rundown Parker House Rolls If you thought a table at Somerville was a hot commodity, wait until you hear about their bread. These perfectly symmetrical, shiny-as-a-new-penny rolls tend to sell out, so order them while you can. (Our server once gave ours away to a VIP table, but luckily, they had one batch left.) They’re pillowy, soft enough to peel apart with a single tug, and come with chive-heavy truffle butter that will haunt your breath afterward. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Ahi Tuna Crudo We’re pretty crudo’d out at this point, but the one at Somerville is at least unique. The coconut-y calamansi sauce tastes like a summer cocktail and is perhaps a tad too sweet. But given that dinner here usually entails fried chicken, beef, and bechamel, a refreshing bite feels right. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Fried Chicken & Caviar Sliders The best bite of the night. The buttermilk-brined chicken is juicy and plump, with a craggy, thick crust that holds the dollop of caviar créme fraîche on top in place. Is adding caviar an excuse to mark up a fried chicken slider? Maybe, but the savory fish eggs do add a lot of flavor. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Steaks The steaks at Somerville are solid but inconsistent. On our first visit, we ordered the now-discontinued wagyu steak and it was overcooked. On our next visit, our New York steak was also overcooked. And when our social team went a few weeks later, their medium-rare steak arrived nearly blue. Could be bad luck, but we’ll allocate our funds elsewhere. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Collard Green Lasagna Every person we’ve brought to dinner has said the same thing about this dish: it grows on you. Served in a cast iron lasagna pan, this slice of pasta tastes like greens smothered in thick cheese sauce at first, but as you eat it, the salty bitter greens cut through the bechamel. For $34 a pop, it’s an expensive appetizer-sized entree, but it’s worth its price in decadence. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Sorrel & Pear Granita A mouth-puckeringly sour shaved ice with pops of sweet meringue. If you feel the collard green lasagna sending you toward an early bedtime, this is a refreshing pick-me-up to end a rich meal. photo credit: Jessie Clapp" - Sylvio Martins
