We dined at the Lavender Bistro in La Quinta, CA. Their outdoor patio is quite breathtaking with an array of gorgeous flowers and white lights, accented with lavender colored napkins and purple seats. A romantic and elegant setting for a perfect dining experience. But you can’t always judge a book by it’s cover.
The restaurant was busy and we waited a bit before anyone greeted us at our table. After taking our drink order, we were served their pretzel style bread sticks with ramekins of butter and hummus. I found the bread to be quite dry and tasteless and the hummus a bit bland. For a starter, I ordered their appetizer special of a Foie Gras Brûlée with toast points. Everything on the plate was the same color and it wasn’t very visually pleasing to me. The dish was plated with care, however it lacked in execution. I barely tasted any foie gras. It was over-laden with cream and lacking in flavor. The sweetened fruit on top was the best part of the dish.
My husband had their Wild Mushroom Soup with truffle oil and chives and said although tasty, it was unremarkable.
The next item selected was their San Daniel Proscuitto and Black Mission Fig Salad made with Port Wine infused Figs, baby Arugula, Radicchio, Burrata cheese, roasted Hazelnuts and Apple Cider Vinaigrette. It really was the prettiest item that we received and had a nice mix of contrast with salt and sweet from the meat and figs, as well as a creamy element from the burrata cheese and the crisp, fresh greens.
For my entree, I ordered their Steamed Pei Mussels prepared with white Wine, Thyme, Garlic sauce and served with Truffle French Fries. The mussels, although small were tasty. The broth was not the usual – succulent, must dip your bread in and eat with a spoon, broth that I normally get when ordering mussels, so that was a disappointment. It was a very generous portion though and it was presented well.
The truffle fries were served in a cone holder with cool newsprint paper which is a popular way to serve them these days and quite appealing. They were the real thin style which I usually like. I found these to be a bit under done, not quite hot and I really couldn’t distinguish much if any truffle flavor from them.
So on to dessert! We ordered their Chocolate Molten Cake and Pecan Pie. It’s difficult to go wrong with a melting chocolate cake and ice cream so the cake was quite yummy. Again nicely plated with a few berries and mint garnish. I think this was the best dish of the night.
The pecan pie, however, was not quite as good. Not enough pecans for my liking with too much filling. Their artistic design was very pretty with the sauce plating, however throwing the same few berries on was not necessary and didn’t really tie into the dish.
Most of what they served us looked better than it tasted. Although the setting was divine, their lack of execution in the food makes it a “no go” for me. Such a shame.