For Christmas, my wife gave me a gift card to République. Since they are located relatively close to my cousin’s house, we decided to use this as an opportunity to join them for dinner. After all, they enjoy food as much as we do.
The server asked about food allergies and my cousin responded that she does not wish to have anything with pistachios and walnuts. Many restaurants won’t alter their cooking based on a request like this and I was surprised that we could order dishes that contained pistachios and they would simply omit them from our dish.
Margarita’s Baguette with French Butter
Beurre de Baratte, better known as French Butter, is paired with Margarita’s baguette. This butter is remarkably rich, smooth and has a velvety soft texture. This French baguette had a crisp outside and fluffy inside. The baguette is also available with pan drippings.
At République, co-owner Margarita Manzke oversees the pastry department, bakes the popular breads, and is largely responsible for the success of the daytime operation.
Grilled Octopus Salad with wild arugula and cabbage
The grilled octopus salad included wild arugula, cabbage, chile and a delicious dressing made with chile lime juice. The licorice and citrus flavors paired quite nicely with the smoky flavor of the grilled octopus.
Roasted cauliflower with spinach and cilantro
That evening the kitchen made a change to the sauce for the roasted cauliflower and served it mixed with a yogurt sauce with celery root instead of the regular French gribiche. They added spinach and cilantro to elevate the taste and to enhance the color of this dish.
The Diver Scallops were plump Maine diver scallops. They were perfectly cooked, juicy and absolutely free of any grit. The addition of red quinoa gave this dish some crunchiness. I really enjoyed the addition of smoked beets, blood orange and cilantro.
Agnolotti filled with butternut squash and brown butter
Agnolotti is a ravioli-like pasta only a tad smaller in size. It was filled with roasted butternut squash, brown butter and almonds and was topped with grated parmesan. I really enjoyed the combination of brown butter and roasted butternut squash.
Cook Ranch heritage pork chop, pork sausage and pork belly.
When we dine with my cousins, we will usually order one large entree. We settled on the pork plate – Cook Ranch heritage pork chop, pork sausage and pork belly. While this was a lot of meat, they effectively distributed it with grilled brussels sprouts, sliced fuji apples and potato mousseline. The presentation of the dish was outstanding as it was served on a dark wood platter.
Chocolate cake drizzled with a warm caramel sauce
For dessert we ordered a Chocolate Cake and Apple Tart and split them among the four of us. I think the head nod went to the Chocolate Cake. It was extremely moist and utterly decadent
One of their three kitchens onsite.
If you go, my advice is that you treat République as a special occasion restaurant. While the food and the service is impeccable, their prices are quite high. To clarify, 4 entrees are in the neighborhood of $50 each and a Tricolore Salad with arugula, endive, radicchio, hazelnuts, fuji apple, parmesan is $19.
République excels in food that is expertly paired and presented. The service is outstanding as well.
République, 624 S La Brea Ave. Los Angeles, CA
http://republiquela.com/