Ben N.
Yelp
After a decade-plus of being let down by OTR restaurant hype (think the big early trio of Senate, Bakersfield, and the Eagle), our expectations are no longer very high when we enter the neighborhood for dining.
When we first visited last year, though, Sacred Beast was, for us, the first OTR restaurant to blast past that now-lower threshold. The name, which seems to fit into the urban-bro aesthetic of the Vine Street restaurant row, wasn't very promising, but the menu, with its high-end-diner and higher-end-app-and-entree mix, was at least fascinating.
It was a very simple dish that immediately served notice that Sacred Beast was something special: just a shaved veggie salad, but it was artfully assembled and amplified the flavors and textures of a variety of fresh vegetables you don't see every day. Almost every menu item we've had after that (three visits so far) has offered up either wonderful surprises or was simply delicious, if not both. Sacred Beast has easily surpassed our expectations.
On that first night, we also had the deviled eggs. Who gets excited about those? But Holy Baby Bejeebus, these are just about the best, and most beautiful (check the photos various diners have posted), deviled eggs you've ever had. They've got chilis and pork-rind bits and are sprinkled with mustard seeds and look like they're painstakingly assembled by a pastry chef. ("This ain't no picnic," so to speak, but deviled eggs from a marvelous alternate world.) I also had the smoked salmon "lox" sandwich, which wasn't exactly the most exciting concept ever but, again, all the ingredients were very fresh, and they clicked. That night, the wife had the chili crunch chicken, which looked like a high-end version of some kind mall-food-court Chinese item--frankly, it seemed kinda ridiculous--but it ended up having huge but balanced flavors and was really good.
Next time, we had the salmon tataki, and I had an apparent mainstay from the menu's entree section, the chicken schnitzel. The tataki included kimchi, which I thought might overwhelm the salmon, but they actually worked great together. And the schnitzel was topped with what amounted to a big arugula salad, which I though might ruin the crispiness of the fried chicken. But it didn't. Both dishes were excellent.
On a third visit, we started with beef tartare. This, of course, wasn't the classic version with capers, etc., but instead had manchego cheese. Perhaps the first surprise that wasn't a home run, because this was a bit bland even if all of the products were top-shelf and the dish was fresh-tasting and texturally pleasing. But a cod beurre blanc really showcased the kitchen's fine-dining chops--a simple dish beautifully composed and executed. And at only $22, a good value by 2023 standards.
So yeah, Sacred Beast calls itself a "diner." The wife did order the omelette (piquillo peppers and goat cheese) plate this last time. The restaurant hit that nail on the head, too. But for me, Sacred Beast's real value lies in mixing and matching items from the non-diner parts of the menu.
Although slick and urbane like many other OTR restaurants, Sacred Beast is owned and operated by a family, and they seem to apply quite a bit more personalized care and imagination to what's going on here than you see elsewhere. (No "restaurant group" painting by the numbers here.)
Service has been great for the most part, the cocktails are good and fairly priced, and the music program is certainly better than those of most restaurants. All pluses.
All in all, one of the more satisfying restaurants in town.
