Hinoki and The Bird
3 Stars out of 5
At first glance, Hinoki and the Bird appears to be a trendy new LA restaurant full of booming music and buzzing voices. Once settled into a teeny table for two, however, I was able to see the Bird's true colors. First, the music was so loud that I could barely hold a conversation with my loving boyfriend (who took me here on Valentine's Day). I was shocked that this didn't seem to be bothering the other patrons, but upon closer inspection, my boyfriend and I were the youngest diners by at least 10 (maybe even 20) years. These wanna-be-hip middle aged groups and couples clearly weren't bothered by the loud music merely because they were trying to be "cool."
Although the music created an interesting atmosphere, it severely inhibited the communication between the myself and the waitress. I ordered a seasonal fix drink with vodka and blackberry and was shocked when I received a drink with a strawberry on top. The drink was not what I ordered, but strawberry had been my second choice, so I decided to keep it anyways. The drink was light and refreshing with a lemon base and a hint of muddled strawberry. When I re-ordered a drink and said "This time can I get blackberry," the waitress gave me a puzzled look (had she understood that I said blackberry the first time? I'm not sure). The blackberry muddled drink was fantastic, I definitely would have preferred two of them.
Luckily, our food orders came out without any confusion. We started out with the Chili Crab Toast ($16) as it was highly recommended in other reviews. Slightly sweet, slightly spicy, completely amazing crab is piled onto tiny pieces of toast, creating a symphony of complementary flavors mixing in your mouth. Although small, this appetizer was the highlight of the entire meal.
Our next appetizer was the Beef Tartare ($15). When the waitress told us to mix the bowl because there was a quail egg in the middle, I knew that this place was trying really hard to be "trendy" and "hip." The tartare was good, but nothing special for the price. I would order it again, but only because I was dissatisfied with some of our other meal choices.
My boyfriend's favorite food is lobster, so I was beyond excited to taste a famous lobster roll. This Asian twist on a classic cold lobster roll was meant to have flavors of green curry and Thai basil inside, so I was a little nervous, but excited nonetheless to try it. When the roll came out on a black hot dog bun, I was a little confused. Overall, I was extremely disappointed in this dish. I didn't get any flavor of curry, basil, or lobster anywhere inside the black flavorless bun. It was extremely bland and may as well have just been filled with chunky mayonnaise, in my opinion.
Next, we were served two trays of oysters, only to have one of the waiters pick up a tray and take it away immediately after placing it down. I was confused, to say the least, and a little shocked that he did not say anything to us amidst the confusion. The oysters were good, but the pear mignonette was nothing special. I wouldn't have wanted a second tray of the oysters even if the waiter had left them on our table. Especially not for $18 (that's $3 per oyster!)
Finally, I come to the most disappointing dish of all. Our final dish was the Coconut-Curried Mussels with sausage and cauliflower ($19). The coconut curry was excellent, but did not mesh well with the flavors of the mussels. The dish made me honestly wonder why a chef would choose to pair these two items when they did not complement each other. The flavor of the sausage, however, paired very nicely with the curry. I only wish there were more than two tiny bites of sausage in the entire bowl. I kept spooning around to find more, thinking that they would not only give us 1/6 of a sausage. Unfortunately, I was wrong.
In the end, I left Hinoki and the Bird disappointed. The mediocre dishes paired with the uncomfortably trendy atmosphere left me wondering why this restaurant was thought to be one of the best in LA. Until I went through the dishes one-by-one, the devastation of a terrible lobster roll and poorly done mussels left me feeling that I did not like the restaurant at all. Although I have to say that the Chili Crab Toast and the drinks were phenomenal, I would not come back here for an entire meal. I would, however, recommend sitting at the bar and having drinks and toast!
At first glance, Hinoki and the Bird appears to be a trendy new LA restaurant full of booming music and buzzing voices. Once settled into a teeny table for two, however, I was able to see the Bird's true colors. First, the music was so loud that I could barely hold a conversation with my loving boyfriend (who took me here on Valentine's Day). I was shocked that this didn't seem to be bothering the other patrons, but upon closer inspection, my boyfriend and I were the youngest diners by at least 10 (maybe even 20) years. These wanna-be-hip middle aged groups and couples clearly weren't bothered by the loud music merely because they were trying to be "cool."
Although the music created an interesting atmosphere, it severely inhibited the communication between the myself and the waitress. I ordered a seasonal fix drink with vodka and blackberry and was shocked when I received a drink with a strawberry on top. The drink was not what I ordered, but strawberry had been my second choice, so I decided to keep it anyways. The drink was light and refreshing with a lemon base and a hint of muddled strawberry. When I re-ordered a drink and said "This time can I get blackberry," the waitress gave me a puzzled look (had she understood that I said blackberry the first time? I'm not sure). The blackberry muddled drink was fantastic, I definitely would have preferred two of them.
Luckily, our food orders came out without any confusion. We started out with the Chili Crab Toast ($16) as it was highly recommended in other reviews. Slightly sweet, slightly spicy, completely amazing crab is piled onto tiny pieces of toast, creating a symphony of complementary flavors mixing in your mouth. Although small, this appetizer was the highlight of the entire meal.
Our next appetizer was the Beef Tartare ($15). When the waitress told us to mix the bowl because there was a quail egg in the middle, I knew that this place was trying really hard to be "trendy" and "hip." The tartare was good, but nothing special for the price. I would order it again, but only because I was dissatisfied with some of our other meal choices.
My boyfriend's favorite food is lobster, so I was beyond excited to taste a famous lobster roll. This Asian twist on a classic cold lobster roll was meant to have flavors of green curry and Thai basil inside, so I was a little nervous, but excited nonetheless to try it. When the roll came out on a black hot dog bun, I was a little confused. Overall, I was extremely disappointed in this dish. I didn't get any flavor of curry, basil, or lobster anywhere inside the black flavorless bun. It was extremely bland and may as well have just been filled with chunky mayonnaise, in my opinion.
Next, we were served two trays of oysters, only to have one of the waiters pick up a tray and take it away immediately after placing it down. I was confused, to say the least, and a little shocked that he did not say anything to us amidst the confusion. The oysters were good, but the pear mignonette was nothing special. I wouldn't have wanted a second tray of the oysters even if the waiter had left them on our table. Especially not for $18 (that's $3 per oyster!)
Finally, I come to the most disappointing dish of all. Our final dish was the Coconut-Curried Mussels with sausage and cauliflower ($19). The coconut curry was excellent, but did not mesh well with the flavors of the mussels. The dish made me honestly wonder why a chef would choose to pair these two items when they did not complement each other. The flavor of the sausage, however, paired very nicely with the curry. I only wish there were more than two tiny bites of sausage in the entire bowl. I kept spooning around to find more, thinking that they would not only give us 1/6 of a sausage. Unfortunately, I was wrong.
In the end, I left Hinoki and the Bird disappointed. The mediocre dishes paired with the uncomfortably trendy atmosphere left me wondering why this restaurant was thought to be one of the best in LA. Until I went through the dishes one-by-one, the devastation of a terrible lobster roll and poorly done mussels left me feeling that I did not like the restaurant at all. Although I have to say that the Chili Crab Toast and the drinks were phenomenal, I would not come back here for an entire meal. I would, however, recommend sitting at the bar and having drinks and toast!
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