BARBRIX

I am finally writing about my dining experience at Barbrix (yes, I fudged the date)—that is the problem when you eat more than what you can write…the evening had started incredibly rocky.

I had made the reservation a week ago just to find my two friends and I to dine all the way in the back at the counter, sitting on the stools right in front where the chef cooks…now I normally don’t mind sitting in front of the chef but there were 3 people and it’s not sushi. The hostess attempted to fool us to thinking that was those were the best seats in the house, right by the chef…and next to the bathroom. No seat that is next to the bathroom is good. If looks could kill, mine certainly would; my evil glare went on autopilot. The hostess seated us outside, and at the time, Barbrix did not have outdoor heating lamps (they do now); we froze to death, but luckily they knew we were not happy campers as our teeth were chattering, and seated us at an inside table.

After five minutes, the owner came up to us, apologizing that we had to move as he had promised the table to a client. I believed all our jaws dropped. SO…we waited for a side table to clear up. The inside is a backward L-shape. At first we were annoyed that were seated at the side table (closer to the front) instead of the main area (the mid –“L” part) but then realized that it was best there as it’s SUPER LOUD inside. Do not take a date to Barbrix unless you are sitting outside. The hostess continued to dig herself in a deeper grave by saying, “we don’t have much option” (something along that line), as we would have had she placed a “reserve” sign on a table! The owner felt bad about our situation and treated us extremely well after we were seated –REALLY well, our jaws dropped even lower than the first time.

Enough about the huge hiccup and let me move on to the important stuff –the food and wine! The owner recommended the Qupe-Syrah, which was excellent—simple and smooth.


I heard about Barbrix through the Zagat. It had noted the owners are from La Terza and I was sold. I am in love with La Terza, which is now called Minestraio Trattoria. I have yet to try Minestraio Trattoria, but am confident that the food is just amazing as it was when it was La Terza. Unlike La Terza and Minestraio Trattoria, Barbrix is a wine tapas bar/restaurant. The portions are small reasonably priced and meant to be shared. That said, we ordered a lot—not every woman is on diet (ironically I am on a raw diet now…) and here are the dishes we had:

Deviled eggs: safe, nonetheless delicious

Spring faro salad: you must order it! love it!

Wild boar sausage w/ bean ragu & green apple mostarda: The sausages was not too spicy.

Prime skirt steak “tagliata” w/ arugula, parmegiano-reggiano, balsamico: good

Crispy grilled polenta w/ shitake mushrooms & creamy gorgonzola fonduta: another must order!
Roasted Alaskan halibut w/ fregola, leeks & asparagus w/ tomato-caper salsa: good –just remember halibut is not a flavorful fish

Burrata w/ eggplant caponata: another must order! the eggplant is not overpowering; I hate eggplant.

Monkfish w/out chorizo and tomatoey chickpea sauce: this dish was another surprise because I’m not a fan of chickpeas but find myself enjoying this dish

Shrimp and chickpea flour tortilla: I’m allergic to shrimp but my companions seemed to enjoy it.

Lemon torte: We were disappointed that they didn’t have a chocolate dessert, the lemon torte suffice our sweet tooth. It wasn’t too “lemony.”

Adria’s Favorite Ginger Shortcakes: My companions liked this dessert more; I just not a fan of ginger.

Despite the gad awful start, the food won us all and the service was stellar after we finally reached our final destination. We will be back very soon.

Address: 2442 Hyperion Ave Los Angeles, CA 90027
Phone#: (323) 662-2442
Rating: 4 out of 5

Share