LA West Elite Event at Herringbone

Can’t believe I forgot to finish this Unilocal review until now!
This is my first Unilocal event and wow I feel so spoiled to be able to attend this event. Seriously, thank you so much Brittany F. and her team for an amazing event. Herringbone is a beautiful restaurant with large open space and unique decorations. I love the unique blowfish hanging on manzana trees. The giant fishing boat and other fish. We (my husband and I) both each received these nice Unilocal earphones and a nice wooden cuttingboard with «Herringbone» on it. In addition, Chef Brian Malarky (he was on top chef) was at the restaurant and went around to speak to us all.
We taste a total of 9 or so different things but the stand out are below:
* Baja Stone Crab: This is seriously the winning dish of the night. The crab, the crunchy rice, and the limey sauce with a hint on fish sauce was just amazing. This dish had a perfect combo of texture and flavor. I cannot wait to come back for more of this.
* Whole Fish Ceviche: Beautiful presentation and very fresh ceviche. Definitely another favorite at my table
* Slow Cooked Angus Short Rib: This is a very good main dish. The meat was very tender and flavorful
* Beignets are amazing. Seriously one of the best beignets I’ve tasted. Very fluffy.
Overall, beautiful place and great food. There is a happy hour menu which I can’t wait to come back for.

As my first Unilocal Elite event (yay) I was happy as a clam to be surrounded by people just as passionate about food, eating, and restaurant experiences in general. My husband and I met some kindred spirits sitting across from us, I think we could have shut the restaurant down just talking about food all night :)
Parking was a bit confusing when too many people are lining up to valet… I felt a wee bit unsafe when there was no room to pull to the curb and traffic was maneuvering around cars piled behind me also trying to valet. I’m sure on a normal non-​event day they can keep up with the number of cars coming to them.
Walking into the restaurant I felt like I was drifting through someone’s playful underwater dream garden, with giant sculptures of sea creatures above your head, and a floor-​to-​ceiling living wall to greet you (herbs, greens, etc.).
As for the food, the standouts for us were as follows:
Oyster Amuse Bouche — what better way to start a seafood feast
Whole Fish Ceviche — so light and fresh, and the plating was beautiful
Baja Stone Crab Crunchy Rice — one of our table’s favorites
Short Rib — Between this and the Seared Tuna, this by far was the favorite main course
In general I felt the appetizers were more memorable and inventive than the main courses, and were the true highlight of the «seafood» experience. It’s not that we didn’t enjoy the short rib and tuna, it’s just easier to find these plates at other restaurants. I would probably have picked different main courses from the menu as a regular customer (not part of the event).
Overall we really enjoyed the experience, and looking forward to the next food adventure in this wonderful city.

Five stars for the overall experience!
This was my first elite event and it was well organized. Thank you Brittany F. for setting up this unique experience!
Setting and ambiance: The Herringbone is a beautiful restaurant. The décor was very rustic meets underwater museum. They had pufferfish trees, large fish displays, a live wall, a bar, an oyster bar, and an open kitchen which according to the chef was specifically designed so that the chefs can watch their guests’ reactions when they eat the food that they worked hard on preparing. I really loved the patio displaying a hanging garden or herbs that they use for cooking. There was a couch style seating area by the bar and a live guitarist playing. I can imagine this being a nice place to hangout just for drinks and snacks.
The event: We were seated in the area next to the open kitchen which was great because we were able to watch the chefs cook. However, it got a bit warm. We got a couple of goodies, a charcuterie board from Herringbone with the restaurant’s name on it, and some Unilocal earphones. The chef took his time to introduce his culinary background, mission, staff, and their menu. He also gave a nice thank you to all the Unilocalers and those who organized the event.
Food: Many of the reviews on here were very detailed so I will focus on what stood out to me.
–The Baja stone crab spicy crunchy rice was awesome! It had a nice kick of spice to it which immediately become addicting (like eating a whole bag of hot Cheetos back in high school only this time, I felt classy). The rice texture seemed like they kept cooked rice on a hot stone for a while then mixed it with the rest of the rice which created a well balanced texture.
— The Oyster was very light! They added their own flavoring and garnishes to the oyster which meant I didn’t have to create my own concoction but whatever they added was so light that it added and highlighted the ocean fresh oyster flavor which I love!
— Whole fish ceviche was just as fresh! It was beautifully plated as they kept the fish tail and head on each end and placed the ready to eat ceviche in between… Check out the pictures.
— Everyone on my side of the table loved the short ribs. I enjoyed it as well but some of the pieces were a bit chewy/​fatty. It did have a good flavor to it.
–Brussel sprouts were cooked perfectly! Brussel sprouts may sometimes come out too bitter but the acidity of this one cut through he bitter taste. I couldn’t stop eating it.
— Beignets were good. I might have ate it too fast but I remember it being just as good as an average beignet.
–The also had a chocolate mouse cake which was presented beautifully! Now that one was delicious. It has a hard cookie crust to it which unlike some places, didn’t ricochet all over the place when cut by a fork.
Parking: a pain… $ 10 valet was the only option at that time. There are metered parking if you can snag one…
Meeting fellow Unilocalers was a blast! By the end of the night our passions for wanting to share our experiences with each other became apparent as we ended up discussing the many places we want them to try and vice versa.
Thanks for such a wonderful time. I’m looking forward to more in the near future :)

Omygahhhhh! The herringbone is breathtakingly beautiful and modern. I love the «live wall», herb garden, and the beautiful architecture.
This was an amazing, organized event. The food was top notch! Fresh and flavorful ingredients, what more can you ask for?! My favorites were the seared albacore tuna, whole fish ceviche, and baja stone crab.
The other items featured were brus