Providence Los Angeles – Two MICHELIN Stars [Review]

Since its inception in 2005, Providence has consistently garnered critical acclaim, establishing itself as one of the finest dining establishments in the United States, renowned for its award-winning cuisine crafted by Chef Michael Cimarusti.

Their seafood-centric tasting menu is inspired by the bounties of California as well as flavours from Asia and the Mediterranean.

Aside from being a two MICHELIN star recipient, they have also been awarded a MICHELIN green star in recognition of their sustainable practices.

Providence pushes the boundaries of sustainable seafood practices by committing to only use wild-caught; sustainable products; as well as growing an on-site rooftop garden, and a zero-waste bean-to-dessert chocolate program.

I made a solo dinner reservation for Providence via OpenTable and here is my experience.

As a solo diner, I was seated at the bar. It was nice that they accept solo diners as I regularly encounter MICHELIN starred restaurants that need a minimum party of 2. My main server was the bartender who is also the beverage director.

To start, I was handed the beverage menu and dinner menu.

I went with the French gamay from Blain Soeur et Frere, Cote De Brouilly. $19 for one glass.

The $295 tasting menu featured choice for one of the main courses (either Japanese King Mackerel; Liberty Farms Duck or A5 Wagyu).

Here are all the dishes that were presented to me.

Snacks

Rice flour cup with butterfish tartare, lemon zest and marinated black truffle.

Pastry puff with smoked in-house black cod, pickled beet puree and pickled beets.

Waygyu beef tartare with black and white puree and oyster aioli.

Amuse Bouche

Uni cracker with nori kombu, pickled kombu and housemade uni butter.

First Course

Macadamia milk foam with golden Kaluga caviar, caramelized shallot, and chopped macadamia nuts.

Second Course

Japanese yellowtail sashimi (hiramasa) dry-aged in-house, thinly sliced arranged like a rosette, sitting on a relish of celtuce and pickled radish. Dressed with olive oil from Portugal made from cold-pressed from ripened black kalamata olives.

Add-on

The infamous Uni Egg with soft poached egg yolk, uni, champagne beurre blanc, brioche croutons. $35 add-on price.

Third Course

Handmade tortelli with California spiny lobster, Dungeness crab, uni, topped with more uni, fermented turnip in the shape of flowers and flowers from their garden. Finished with a 2-day crab consommé that takes a full 48 hours to make.

Bread Basket

A basket of Red Fife Sourdough along with butter from Normandy France and sea salt.

The fife was dry-farmed by Weiser Family Farms at the foot of Tehachapi Mountain, 100 miles north of Los Angeles. Dry-farming means that it is only watered by rainfall and not through artificial irrigation.

The red fife loafs are made during a three day process, and the boules are baked nightly at the beginning of dinner service. Accompanying the bread is butter from Normandy, France made by the master craftsman Rodolphe le Meunier.

Fourth Course

Hokkaido sea scallop with Spanish black truffle on a leek fondue with two sauces: an aerated scallop tea and brown butter scallop nage.

Fifth Course

Santa Barbara vermilion rockfish with California chanterelle mushrooms and snap peas. The sauce is made with smoked butter and shio koji.

Sixth Course

Japanese king mackerel with salsify, braised bloomsdale spinach and black truffle.  Salsify purée, sauce of black truffle and squid ink.

First Dessert

Blood orange sorbet on a pink peppercorn marshmallow fluff with raspberry and orange compote; batons of meringue and a raspberry consommé.

Second Dessert

House-made Ecuadorian dark chocolate, sauce from passionfruit and caramel, chocolate cremeux, a layer of temper chocolate, passionfruit curd, a tuile made from caramelized coconuts, and a gelato made from caramelized milk.

Providence has a house-made chocolate program that is sustainable and no-waste. They source directly from cacao farmers who practice sustainable growing, then processes and utilizes every part of the bean.

The beans are processed to nibs, which become part of the desserts and even the empty cacao bean husks are steeped into tea for guests to enjoy near the end of the meal.

Petit Fours

Sesame praline from house chocolate, Ecuador dark chocolate macaron, petit fruit yuzu & persimmon, salted caramel custard tart with a vanilla bourbon cream.

I thoroughly enjoyed my dinner at Providence where the tasting menu highlighted delicious seafood in beautiful presentations. I appreciated the diversity of the dishes and flavours. The dishes seemed well-balanced. All the courses were unique and I did not feel that there were any overlaps between the different courses.

The service was friendly and professional. I sat at the bar so it was a slightly more casual experience than the formal dining room but nonetheless wonderful. The guests who sat at the bar seemed more relaxed than perhaps those who were in the dining room.

The timing of the dishes was on point. They also seemed to not have any issues with me capturing videos and photos which was great.

I would highly recommend the Uni Egg as an add-on. That is their signature dish which has been on the menu since they opened. I saw some other guests order the Santa Barbara Spot Prawns which looked great too.

My other favorite dishes were the Caviar and Macadamia Milk Foam; Tortelli; the Yellowtail Sashimi; and the Chocolate, Passionfruit and Gelato dessert.

In terms of dress code, I think business casual would be a minimum for Providence. However, there were some guests who were dressed to the nines.

For my reservation for Providence via Opentable, they did not take a deposit. The policy was no-shows or cancellations less than 2 days in advance will be subject to a charge of $295 per person. Changes to guest count made less than 2 days in advance will be subject to a charge of $295 per person.

As for the gratuity and other fees, there was no auto-gratuity set or other employee health or benefit fees.

Really, the way Providence does their reservation and payment is very friendly for the current times, especially for a fine dining restaurant. That is very nice of them!

Overall, time and money well spent at Providence. I had a great experience and would recommend giving them.

Providence is located at 5955 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA.

Check out my recap video below:

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