It's hard not to notice a new restaurant in La Mirada, especially one that has a bit of an upscale vibe and Korean-Italian fusion--without the drive out to Buena Park. After wondering about this place for a few months, we finally came for a Saturday brunch and were not disappointed. The wait was about 30 mins when we came around 12, but we put down our name and number on a waitlist and came back when we got the call. In short, prices are fair for the quality of food, but mileage will vary depending on what you order. Based on this visit I'd pass on coffee and teas. The pasta, however, is worth trying! The breakdown:
Service (3/5): Service was standard. When I asked about their lattes, the waitress explained the difference between the cream and custard latte. Waitresses came by a few times to ask how everything was during our meal. I liked that they provided a cup of water and plastic eating utensils for the baby just in case.
Drinks (2/5): We ordered the peach iced tea and the custard latte. The peach tea tasted okay, but it was very, very overpriced for a half cup of ice with a Twinings English teabag and some peach syrup (see my photo). The custard top on my latte was tasty, but the coffee itself was very, very weak...if I had to describe it, it was like someone mixed a sachet of instant latte with too much water (it was NOT good at all). Mixing the custard into it helped, but for value and quality, I think we'd pass on their drinks next time and just stick to food.
Food (overall 4/5): We ordered the Mentaiko Pasta and the Gamberry Rose Pasta, two creamy dishes I had been eyeing on the menu to try for some time. The linguine pasta was cooked to perfection, a nice and chewy al dente. The buttery baguette slices that came with the two dishes complimented them well and were perfect for dipping in the sauce. However, I wouldn't recommend doing two creamy pastas at once, as they ended up being too heavy for us...maybe a salad/appetizer and pasta would be a better combo to share in my opinion. Further breakdown of the pastas below:
* Mentaiko Pasta (3.5/5): This dish was rich and creamy, and came in a bed of sauce that was just enough to coat each strand of pasta without overdoing it. It was as tasty as it looked, and you could see the mentaiko (cod roe) thoroughly mixed into the creamy sauce. I liked that it had bits of green onion in it too to give more texture, but if I were being honest, this dish was just okay. It tasted like an alfredo linguine with a slight seafood taste, but nothing really "wow" about it.
* Gamberry Rose Pasta (5/5): We LOVED this pasta dish, and my husband and I would come back alone for this one. It was rich, savory and slightly sweet, with bits of onion swimming throughout the creamy sauce. It had several pieces of shrimp in it that also went well with the pasta. The spicy kick was really nice for us, but those of you who can't handle Buldak chicken ramen may want to have an extra glass of water nearby; the spice level on this dish is maybe just a level or two below it.
Considering we are just about 5 minutes away and that Gamberry rose pasta was absolutely lovely, we will probably be back. Their drinks were a total miss for us, but some of their other dishes look pretty good and may be worth a shot. It's a nice restaurant and the freshness in their food shows, so that may be enough justification for the price for some folks, but maybe not all. Personally, I'd pass on the drinks at this establishment but the food is worth a shot. read more