Cadet

I came to Cadet for the rabbit boulettes. I am a fool for rabbit, and LA has so few restaurants that prepare bunny well. Cadet does a tremendous job with their delectable lapin.
But, ho, there were so many good things besides the rabbit.
Two words: Drunk Monk. Now that is a cocktail. Bourbon, ale (not much), maple syrup, and egg white. Shake it. Close to egg nog in taste, but not overly rich. It is, however, overly delicious.
Biscuits and honey butter? Oh, yes. It’s as good as it sounds.
Bone marrow with grilled bread? Yes, please. Outstanding.
Grilled carrots with mint pistou. Wow.
Bavette steak grilled over wood with creamed corn and maitake mushrooms. I practically took the finish off of the plate not wanting to miss a bite.
Did I mention the Drunk Monk? Once isn’t enough.

The bottom line is the food is good. We shared a few appetizers. The Rabbit Boulettes were very tasty. For my main entrée I had the Jindori Chicken which had a nice flavor but could have been more tender. When Cadet is busy it is just simply LOUD! Other than the loudness which is not going to change as long as they have concrete floors and brick walls this is a great place to dine. I wish they had some sort of happy hour as the prices are definitely on the high side here.

I don’t know what a cadet is but I think it’s a like a little boy that always dresses up as a sailor, or maybe his parents dress him up as a sailor. Or his grandparents. Basically, someone dresses this poor kid up and now he’s a cadet.
This restaurant is like the wood fired restaurant version of that little boy. It may not want to be a restaurant but someone keeps dressing it up as one. I think cadet secretly wants to be a big fireplace.
No food. Just fire.
But since it does have food, I ate some of it. Rabbit roulettes. They were pretty rad. Pork collar. Not that rad.
Booze drinks were good. The ox tail soup was good. The valet guy was nice.
Four stars? Yeah why not. Three feels too low. Low like the chances of that little boy becoming a sailor.
Not gonna happen little bro.

Nice, casual restaurant with a very nice setting. Pretty typical for Santa Monica, not as good as Gjelina or Tasting Kitchen, but a reasonable addition to the SM scene. But I am not seeing the «French» description in the Unilocal profile … other than the wine list (more on that later) it looked like a pretty typical gastro-​pub sort of menu to me.
For dinner, we had the pork fritters (exactly what it sounds like! imagine a croquette made of chopped up pork and deep fried), very tasty (although they made me wish I had started with a beer instead of wine). We also tried the squid and pork toro with potatoes, which was okay, although I definitely would have appreciated more pork in the dish. The mushroom tartine was probably the high point of the meal, with a wild assortment of different mushrooms, a bit of cheese and thyme. So filled with umami, really excellent! We also tried the sourdough long beans, which were a close contender for the best dish, they are basically really long green beans that are dipped in a light batter and deep fried … even if you don’t like green beans, you ought to try these!
As for the wine list, we were disappointed. We felt that the selection was very limited (less than 10 choices for red) and consisted exclusively of California and French wines. We sampled several, but really didn’t find anything that blew our socks off. Seems like an area that the management should focus on improving.

I really like the overall ambiance of the place. The brick, wood beams, wood thatch flooring and mix matched chairs with nice lighting and tea lights, nice. The china, glass and silver are also well thought out and very attractive.
The hostess and staff were very pleasant and accommodated my request for a booth instead of against the windows. The menu is simple though I’m not sure I would call the cuisine French/​American. Maybe French influenced. Either way I enjoyed everything ordered. Mushroom tartine, chopped shrimp and avocado (note: I reduced one star for no avocado?), rabbit boulettes and pork fritters and pot de crème.
Just as a point of reference it is a good idea especially if you are a new restaurant to make sure your website menu and actual menu match. Not a big deal just an observation. I’ll be back for brunch!

This is a pricy gem place for brunch and dinner.
Parking. Metered street and metered Parks. Some free 2-​hour park and walk.
Seating. Best cool area to dinner is near the couples window table and semi outdoor patio. On cold days, sit next to the wood fire glass grill.
Food 4/​5, had wood fire steak and complimentary peach blueberry salad. Steak needed a sauce to balance out the wood fire char. Not completely composed dish. I’ll have try to more.
Value ²⁄₅. It small plate, a little too tiny for my liking. I expected perfect food for this price and super small portion.
Service ⁵⁄₅. Ryan, Megan, and other staff provided great relaxed service with a friendly smile. They would check on you every 5 – 10 minutes if you needed anything without delay.
Venue 5.5÷5. The main seating is modern with bricked walls. The back patio is something special. It’s rustic and an airy oasis. See my pictures to more detail.
–Would go again for dinner with reservations, but not often.

Cadet seems to be a casual, yet trendy restaurant in Santa Monica. Exposed brick acts as a décor on the wall and if you look closely enough, there are remnants of elephant wallpaper acting as crown molding. The back patio is fairly spacious, romantic and can get you sweating on a hot summer day.
Kris Tominaga who had stints at the Hart and the Hunter is hired as chef for the restaurant. The biscuits at the Hart and the Hunter are probably one of the best in town, but essentially the Cadet biscuits fall short of being a ‘major.’ I guess when you have a taste of something already pretty darn good, it’s hard to not compare the two, especially if the chef comes from the same restaurant.
As I’m sitting and waiting for my food, behind is the loudest group of people on the planet. I had to nearly shout to get my conversation across to my friend. All the way at the end of the bar, I could hear the conversation going on with their party. Either the people who dine at this restaurant are really loud or the place just echoes of voices.
MY FAVORITE DISH. CREAM BISCUITS ($ 6.00): These little bad boys were piping hot. The cream complemented the biscuit with the tangy blackberry jam. The biscuit itself was sweet, buttery with a crisp exterior and a soft interior. Although its not nearly as good as the Hart and the Hunter biscuits, I believe its the best item on the menu.
WOOD GRILLED BAVETTE STEAK AND EGGS ($ 20.00): Watercress, Tomato, Herb Vinaigrette. The steak was ordered to a medium-​rare and it was definitely cooked to a medium-well…which was quite unfortunate. The chimichurri sauce that came with the steak was decent, but wasn’t my favorite. I enjoyed the watercress salad to give a freshness to the already hearty dish. The eggs were at least cooked perfectly.
DUTCH PANCAKE ($ 15.00): Berries, Lemon, Honey, Crème Fraiche. I appreciated this dish, but it wasn’t amazing in my opinion. It was sweet and the pancake was cooked perfectly, but I felt the dish was missing something. I liked the creaminess from the crème fraîche and the peaches were a little on the crunchier end. I enjoyed the presentation and the thyme was a nice touch. I think it’s still worth a try.
RICOTTA CAKE AND BLACKBERRIES ($ 8.00): Mint Ice Cream, Cocoa Nib Nougatine. So all the ingredients were pretty good, but together, I wasn’t a fan. They used the real mint ice cream that is similar to the Sweet Rose Creamery fresh mint ice cream. The ricotta cake was soft and moist. The blackberries gave an acidic factor and the nougatine a bit of crunch. It just simply wasn’t a cohesive dish all together. I think the mint ice cream overpowered the dish.
Overall, Cadet is a decent place to get some brunch on the Westside if you’re looking for a place that isn’t overwhelming with brunch options. The menu is simple and pretty straight forward. I wouldn’t say the restaurant is French per se, but I would say they at least attempt to do so. Trendy… yes! Décor… pretty darn cute! The food… it’ll do. Check out
for further reviews!

I’ve been meaning to try this place since it opened because the décor looks really cool and I love french food. Unfortunately, the experience was just okay /​borderline underwhelming. The menu selection wasn’t that great and the prices were high for your typically run-​of-​the-​mill dishes. For example, $ 25 for a salmon salad… I guess having it wood grilled means you can charge a few extra bucks for it. Additionally, they don’t have ketchup for my fries… ahem…potatoes wedges. I’m sure Sang Yoon approves but I don’t. Although the tomato jam with bits of bacon that the waiter recommended was good. The garden mojito looks cool with all that shrubbery but tastes as good as a regular mojito. All in all this place just feels palpably pretentious, therefore I’m giving it 3 stars.

While good, this place was freezing for me and I thought most of the food was good, but not great. The bread was grilled, but was sliced so thick and was pretty hard and the butter had no flavor. The salad was good, but a little too much on the sweet side. They charge for soda water. And we got the shrimp/​octopus entrée with white beans which was good, but came out lukewarm vs piping hot. Not sure I’ll be coming back as for the price, I would rather just go elsewhere. VERY cute place tho, love the décor.

This restaurant is absolutely phenomenal. We seem to be in the midst of an era where small plates/​appetizers are both more highly regarded and much more affordable than main entrees at a large number of LA eateries… and Cadet is no exception.
A hundred and one people have already mentioned to not leave without trying those divine rabbit boulettes, and they’re all correct. What a remarkable dish! The Manilla clams were delicious. The tomato tartine was brilliant. Good beer list, better cocktail list. Well-​oiled service.
High fives all around.

What a cute and shabby chic dinning area in the back.
A++: Rabbit Boulettes — wow, unlike anything I’ve tasted before. The soft, tender meatball sat well on the buttery bread. MUST TRY
A: Pork Belly — as tender as can be, almost looks like you’re diving into mush. great sauces to accommodate
C: Shrimp and Octopus — very straight forward, flavor was meh, you can skip this
B-​: Ricotta Cake and Blackberries — beware, when they said minty ice cream, it is EXTREMELY minty, this plate was interesting but not suited for my traditional dessert palate
They have a brunch menu… I shall be back :)

Whoops, this review has been sitting in draft for over a month.
Anyways, my friends and I met here for a dineLA dinner after work. It’s a beautifully lit bar and dining space, albeit very (nay, VERY) loud and a bit cramped space. We were a party of 3 and seated in one of the booths, which made it actually very hard to talk with one another — 1) for the volume, and 2) for the width of the booth, which separated us quite a bit.
The food: they both did the rabbit boulette, which they found savory and satisfying. I had a kale apple salad, which was meh. Main course: I had the mushroom tartine, which left a lot to the imagination because tartines are more on the appetizer level (for reference, I basically ate a mushroom bruschetta for my dinner). One friend had baverette steak, which didn’t astound him but he felt it a fair cut of beef; the other friend had the shrimp and octopus, which was fun for him because he just rarely eats octopus and it was cooked surprisingly fairly. Dessert was so-​so. The chocolate clafoutis would be one we’d order again. We were not happy with the ricotta cake unfortunately, and the peach cake was a solid fruit option.
None of us would return here voluntarily, but if part of a bigger group and it was someone else’s decision, none of us would refuse. Best part of the experience was the bar and the great menu of spirits. Even their well drinks were a bit higher quality.

**dineLA summer 2015**
Friend and I got here around 630pm on a weeknight. There were open tables galore, but by 8pm it was a full house. The restaurant looks pretty new and it is beautiful and elegant inside.
For appetizers we got the tomato tartine and rabbit boulettes. It was our first time trying rabbit. It was pretty bland, like ground turkey. The gravy and herb dumplings were delicious though. The tomato tartine was also tasty and was a nice light dish compared to the boulettes. For the main course, we got the wood grilled shrimp and octopus and the bavette steak. The server recommended the steak be medium rare, but my friend didn’t like it so much. She usually eats her steak well done. I liked my shrimp and octopus dish. There was only one large piece of octopus leg, but lots of grilled shrimp.
I think dessert is always the highlight of any meal; we shared a chocolate one and a peach, corn cake, ice cream dessert (forgot the names.) Both were delicious, but I liked the chocolate one better. It was pretty rich though. The peach dessert only had a few crumbles of corn cake, but again a nice palate cleanser which complemented the rich chocolate dessert.
Overall, a good dineLA meal. Loved the ambiance of the place. Oh, the garden mojito I had was beautiful to look at and tasty as well. I had never had such a pretty mojito.

My gfs and I tried to grab dinner at Milo & Olive down the street but there was over an hour wait so we decided to come here since it was just down the street. I have been wanting to give Cadet a try since their opening so this was the perfect opportunity. I definitely recommend ordering family style to try a little bit of everything. I liked that they were very accommodating because they were able to seat my party of four right away at their communal table with no reservations. One con for me was that they had a very short/​limited menu. Also, I saw a lot of things on Unilocal that I wanted to try, but they switch out their menus seasonally so they weren’t there anymore :(
Starters:
–Rabbit boulettes: These were rabbit and herb «dumplings», but I would say there were more comparable to meatballs. This was my first time having rabbit and it’s probably not my favorite type of meat, but the biscuits that it came with were awesome.
–Wood grilled squid & pork toro: This was a nice and light summer-​y starter. However, we barely got any pork toro.
Entrees:
–Mushroom tartine: Bigger than most tartines at other restaurants, but only comes with one to share. Lots of mushroom with some bits of abalone, but nothing overly spectacular.
–Wood grilled bavette steak: Probably my favorite dish of the night! The meat was nicely cooked with lots of fresh sprigs of thyme on top. It served over creamed corm and hominy. soo good.

Great ambience. I loved the décor and the overall feel of the place. It felt like a hipster’s log cabin.
Came here for a late dinner with a friend.
We didn’t order any drinks, but the food spoke volumes.
I ordered a hangar steak sandwich, which was extremely delightful.
The slices of steak made it hard for the meat to stay together in the sandwich, so I took a fork and knife to this now deconstructed sandwich.
The steak on its own was amazing. Great seasoning and medium rare, just as I had asked for.
Will definitely be coming back for the brunch that everyone seems to be talking about, and perhaps a drink or two?

Shared a phenomenal meal here with my favorite westside gals. It’s a relatively new restaurant, but definitely packs a punch! Dinner was divine.
SETTING:
Industrial city chic, but not too hipster. Rich rustic details but still modernist and clean. Beautiful décor, with a central bar and wood tables around. very open floor plan with a few booths along the walls. Décor was artsy but not stuffy.
SERVICE AND BAR:
Waiter was so sweet and told us when we ordered too much food. Had excellent recommendations for what would go well together. Bar tender is so talented — order the gin tonic with sour and dill, or the pimm’s cup. AMAZING. strong, delightful tasting, and beautiful. Really, an art form. He’s so talented, you can do Bartender’s choice and just let him know what liquor you like and flavor profile and let him do his magic.
THE FOOD:
The pork and squid toro was divine — smoky grilled pork pieces (almost like Vietnamese Thit Nuong) with wood-​grilled squid circles (not tough at all) served over slightly sweet melons. It was the perfect flavor combo to start the meal. The kale and apple salad was also amazing. Walnut vinaigrette was almost buttery on the blanched (yes, the correct way to serve kale) and chopped kale, with bits of apple and nuts inside. I rarely scrape the bowl with salads, but I sure did here. The rabbit bites appetizer was also lovely — like rabbit meatballs, but so tender they fell apart to the fork’s touch. Finally, we ended the night with the wood-​grilled Rib-​Eye, topped with bone marrow, with sardine butter. RICH RICH RICH. The fatty pieces and marble melted in your mouth. It was just divine.
Would happily come back again. Wonderful date night spot, girls night out, and birthday restaurant.

Cadet is such a cute little restaurant. I think it’s still flying under the radar at the moment too so go while you can before the masses find out about it and it gets really busy!
I’ve been to Cadet on two occasions now, once for brunch and once for dinner. The brunch was really good. The Dutch pancake is amazing, not only in looks but also in taste. Sweet but not too sweet and the seasonal fruits pair really well with this entire dish. Another good one was the Tomato and Bacon tartine. That tomato bacon jam really jazzes this dish up. It’s not often that I walk out of a brunch thinking the food was really good and I’m happy to say that Cadet is one of the few occasions where I did.
My dinner happened last night and it just so happened to be dineLA.
Appetizers: Rabbit Boulettes and the Kale Salad. I usually don’t like to eat cute, little innocent animals but this was the «must try» at Cadet, and I almost hate to say how gooooood they were. As for the kale salad, how you make kale salad taste unbelievable is beyond me. Cadet has yet to figure it out. It was good, but nothing to rave about.
Entrees: Wood Grilled Shrimp & Octopus and the Wood Grilled Bavette Steak. Neither of these dishes really blew my mind. The shrimp seemed to be a bit overdone and the steak was tender and everything but nothing really special about it. I couldn’t done without both of these dishes and ate more bunny wabbit meatballs.
Desserts were standard fare as well. In short, I suggest ordering the Rabbit Boulettes because they are really really good and also going for brunch. Now, if only Cadet had the Rabbit Boulettes on the brunch menu… that would change the game.

SoooOOOooo this place!
¼ doesn’t offer happy hour
½ drinks are misleading. i, e a margarita tastes like Spicy parchita vodka (hope you know parchita) ;) a sweet and sour fruit from South America.
¾ the food isn’t good. My friend ordered the beets salad and the beets were hard solid like rocks. Besides that everything comes on tartaras event entrees. Everything! No wonder why the food fills you up.
⁴⁄₄ the bartenders at the bar like to talk about people. What bartender does that?
The two rating stars is for the nice décor the place offers and the effort put into making a something look nice in the west side.
Save your hundred dollar bill you’ll spend here for a dinner for two and go somewhere else nicer and better imo.

We selected this restaurant for our monthly dinner club and walked out of there feeling a bit meh. We came on a Tuesday evening at 8:30pm, so the restaurant was definitely not packed! Let me break it down:
Pros:
1)Great ambiance: dim lighting, nice gray and white color combo throughout the restaurant
2)Amazing drinks (the mixologist was fantastic!!!): we loved the creativity and flavored in the margarita, bourbon based cocktail, and the 22 (scotch based cocktail)
3)Convenient location on Wilshire with metered parking or valet available
4)Friendly hostess
Cons:
1)Didn’t have all the items on the menu (no broccolini, no fava bean tartine, and one other item) — we were baffled at the waitress that didn’t really seem to care as she told us the different things they were out of!
2)We told the waitress our dessert order while we placed our dinner order, yet we still had the pleasure of sitting at our table with empty plates and then proceeded to wait for our desserts while watching the staff hang out in the kitchen tasting some fruity pebbles looking item. We kept staring at the kitchen and a waiter walked by and inquired if we needed anything. Yeah… we wanted our dessert so we could get the hell out of there.
3) Long lag time for food– hello! If the restaurant is more than half empty and you have staff twiddling their thumbs, there shouldn’t of been such long wait times between food and dessert.
4) Inattentive wait staff
All in all, the food was okay. The tartines were on thick French bread that should’ve been sliced thinner and toasted. The kale salad and the frisée salads were delicious, but the Jidori chicken was nothing to rave about. I think this place has a lot of potential if the service was better (more efficient and friendlier) and all the menu items were actually available so people aren’t forced to try items that they didn’t really want to in the first place.

Atten… hut!
Cadet reporting for duty. Fork up, napkin in lap, taste buds ready.
* DRK — Foreign Exchange = loved Mlynarczyk’s drinks when she was at Ink so it’s no wonder I’m a fan here as well~
* DRK — Bardot = companion loved this drink~
* CMP — Complimentary sides of grilled tomato, lettuce, dips & sauces and sourdough flat-​wrap (only slightly thicker than crepes)
* GET — Oxtail soup [gruyère, crusty bread] = amazing depth to soup~
* GET — Wood-​grilled Rapini = perfectly-​grilled veggie sides
* AOK — Pear Tartine [walnut butter, pecorino, red cress] = Not bad
** GET — Beef Tartare [Roquefort, marrow, butter chive]= Yeeees, so light and citrus-​y good… a must-​get appetizer
** GET — Pork Toro [collar & milk braised loin w/​natural jus] = melt-​in-​mouth pork goodness!
* GET — Black Cod [garlic, chive, smoked butter] = deliciously good
** GET — Lemon Blueberry Tart = amazing!
* YES — Cute date place or friends gathering
* YES — Full bar, booths along walls, table seating
* YES — Loud noisy ambiance = brick walls equate to little noise insulation
* WOA (words of advice):
— Takes reservations
— Valet for $ 8 out front or street metered parking in area

Bön. Treeeeees bon.