Mike W.
Yelp
dineLA menu was $45/person
Another wonderful evening with our YELP friends, Nikki B. & Jeremy B. We've been to Shiro before, separately, but decided to hook up this time to celebrate dineLA Restaurant Week.
SERVICE: Christina assisted us on this visit. She greeted us and told us about the specials for the evening. Their menu is created daily using fresh ingredients. She was friendly, knowledgeable, and very efficient. In fact, the entire staff was on their game.
DRINKS: Last year, my Old Fashioned was super strong, which killed the flavor. I think it was a very heavy pour to compensate for the small ice cubes, vs. the larger "block" cube. My wife's Lemon Drop was spot on, with extra sugar on the rim, the way she likes it. This year, we started off with a round of cocktails: The French Quarter for Jeremy, the "1505" Martini for Nikki, another Lemon Drop for my wife, an Old Fashioned for me. All our cocktails were on point. The French Quarter was like a Mint Julep. Nikki really made a point to hi-lite the tartness that the natural pomegranate juice added to the "1505" Martini. I also noticed that they returned to the "block" ice cube for the Old Fashioned.
FOOD: Amazing! We received a basket of warm French bread on the table with butter. The bread had a nice, crispy crust with a fluffy interior. Nikki & Jeremy ordered from the daily menu, while we ordered from the DineLA menu.
We started with the Romaine Salad with toasted pine nuts, tomatoes, and a Roquefort Cheese dressing, and Shiro's Wonton Ravioli with a shrimp mousse filling and shitake mushroom cream sauce. The salad was good, but the ravioli was amazing! For our entrees, we had the Pan-Roasted Mexican Shrimp & Canadian Sea Scallops with ginger lime sauce, and Roasted New Zealand Lamb Chops with rosemary & garlic au jus. Both dishes were perfectly prepared and very tasty.
Jeremy chose the Ventura Farmer's Mixed Baby Greens with house Vinaigrette to start and the Prime Black Angus Filet Mignon, aged in-house, with a Chateaubriand sauce. He said it was one of the best he's ever had. Nikki decided on the Ventura Farmer's Mixed Baby Greens, because she wanted to make sure and have dessert. Everything was beautifully presented, and the entrees came with scalloped potatoes, sautéed zucchini, and cauliflower, all of which were good. We also had another round of drinks, a glass of Taittinger Brut Champagne, a Jack 'n Coke, a glass of Chardonnay, and I had the red wine flight.
DESSERT: Nikki & Jeremy split an Apple Tart, which was light, flaky, and the apples weren't over cooked. The caramel sauce drizzled over top was tasty. We had the Chocolate Soufflé cake, which was light and had a good flavor, as well as the Apple Tart (both choices on the DineLA menu). My wife thought the apple tart was one of the best she's had. Along with dessert, we ordered a couple glasses of Ice Wine (German) and some Port. Both the Ice Wine and the Port were enjoyable and paired well with the desserts. Both desserts came with ice cream, which tasted like they were made in-house. In all, the desserts really hit the spot to wrap up a nice meal.
There's plenty of free parking in the lot next door and behind the restaurant, as well as the surrounding streets. Overall, a fantastic evening was had by all. As is usual for us, we closed the place down. It's always a fun time with Nikki & Jeremy. I highly recommend you give Shiro a try.