The Wallace

There were several restaurants nearby and this has to have been one of the more full locations which is always a great sign. Since it was packed it was a little noisy for great conversation but it suites the location.
My business partner and I were greeted by a friendly hostess and immediately seated. Within two minutes a waiter came by to take our drink order and I asked for a water and ordered the appetizer calamari and right then and there the waiter sped off to get that calamari order in and bring me my water … Leaving my business partner with his mouth open ready to ask for a beverage but our waiter not even aware that he didn’t wait for that. Apparently I was the important one at the table! We just laughed it off and in another few minutes a second waiter came to take our drink order so it was all fixed quickly.
The steak sandwich was small and the perfect size for a lunch meal. It was out of this world delicious. The grilled onions were sweet and creamy and almost cheese like in the sandwich and then their were thinly sliced pickled onions which were more like pickles. The steak was cooked well and not chewy. I would order this again in heartbeat.
The calamari was delicious. Perfectly cooked, the pieces were lightly battered and not greasy which was awesome and the dipping sauce was delicious.
Given the opportunity I would certainly revisit this establishment and would be proud to bring company to check out this eclectic menu.

My boss happened to be in town for our regional meeting, so when she said we could discuss the LA market over dinner, I immediately went on my search for a great restaurant to take her to. The Wallace came up as a participant in dineLA’s Restaurant Week, and after looking over the menu, I decided this would be the spot, and The Wallace did not disappoint!
The Wallace was majorly hoppin’ on a Thursday night, so I’m glad we made reservations, and we were seated immediately. The noise level is pretty lively, but we were still able to converse and hear each other well. The prix fixe menu they had slightly deviated from the one posted online, but mostly in layout, which I think actually worked out in our favor.
Our four-​course dinner started with the Jars. I would HIGHLY recommend the Duck Rilletes – this was phenomenal, and I would come for just this – and the Tomato & Basil was quite nice as well. Following this was our Vegetables selection: we decided on Lollipop Kale (this was fantastic!!!) and the Cauliflower. My boss ordered the Flat Iron Steak as her main, and I ordered the Alaskan Halibut. Both were really rich in flavor, with the halibut being quite buttery, and the steak quite flavorful with spice. Finally, we finished with the Coconut Tres Leches Cake and the Rocky Road. The cake was deeeelicious with a fantastic passionfruit drizzle, and I also really enjoyed the Rocky Road. Even though I’m not a huge fan of marshmallow, they did it really well as a whip, and the chocolate mousse was divine.
The service started off a touch slow, as we waited a little while for someone to come around to take our order, but once the courses started, everything was quite well-​paced. Our server also came around routinely to check on us, and was great with his suggestions at the start.
Overall, The Wallace was an exceptional value for dineLA. The dishes were beautifully prepared and wonderfully flavorful, and I will definitely be back to explore the rest of the menu. Cheers!

Overall the review is a bit over a 3, but it had some deficiencies!!!
A buddy and I had the DineLA special.
— Half order of oysters: good.
— Duck Rilletes was fabulous. My buddy’s smoke trout was ok, it was fishy.
— The lollipop Kale and the Brocolli (they were out of shishito peppers) were both cooked very spicy. The kale was good, but the spicy was a bit of a surprise. Overall 2 good dishes.
— Main course: we both got the Halibut which was good, a bit salty, but the eggplant sauce was a nice surprise. The rice pudding didn’t really fit the dish I felt, but it was something different to say the least.
— Service: a bit slow, but nothing bad with service or attitude.
— I asked for a Moscow mule. Bad choice. It did NOT taste like a moscow mule, did NOT come in a copper cup and it was $ 16. Really? At lease make it presentable in a Copper Mule cup!!! –1 for this. If not for this, it would be around a 3.7÷3.8.
— Parking is also a challenge in this side of town.

The Wallace is a nice restaurant meets gastropub. Easy parking most of the time in a parking lot around the corner (free 2hrs).
Definitely start with the Tomato Basil on the nicely toasted slice of bread. If you’re into duck rilletes, it is pretty good and a great portion size. It’s served in a mason jar in the form of a meat paste.
Finally vegi’s for adults who dont like vegi’s. The cauliflower is delicious, with a nice sauce that has a fantastic kick from the radish and some other delicious ingredients.
The flat iron steak was ok! Nicely cooked, but an interesting flavor. Go with the fried Chicken, it’s juicy, and crispy at the same time.
If you still have room, try the chocolate pudding.
Finally, the service really adds the final touch. The bar tender was really nice and so was our server. Inspite of it being busy, the service was great and pretty fast.

ENVIRONMENT
Very well done interior with lots of seating and a great bar with TVs.
BRUNCH
The food is perfect for anyone who may be hungover. Lots of amazing choices and interesting combinations.
Mushroom Hash — served in a skillet with two eggs on top, this dish is delicious. The bacon marmalade makes this sweet and savory and perfect for the toast. I’ve never had anything like this, it’s a must try.

My friend and I spent 30 minutes in my car trying to decide where to eat for dinner. We weren’t craving anything specific. So we went on his bookmarked page and blindly chose The Wallace. We didn’t know it was so close to my apartment, but we drove over anyways. There is free 90 minute parking at the nearby garages. Closest one is probably the one at Trader Joe’s.
We were seated right away, although the restaurant was pretty packed. The menu is all tapas, and the server suggested 4 dishes for both of us to share. Everything sounded really good, and we had the hardest time deciding again (seriously most indecisive night ever). So finally our waitress picked for us:
Mushroom Toast — Comes with 2 large pieces. Very earthy and great unami flavor. Bread was thin and crunchy on the edges. Got a little soggy in the middle from the pâté, but I actually didn’t mind at all!
Grilled Octopus — So tender. My butter knife has no problem cutting through it. Loved the fried yucca that accompanies it as well.
Short Rib Ravioli — Really great dish, except after eating the mushroom toast and octopus, this felt a little heavy. If you start with one of their lighter veggie options, this would have been perfect. The raviolis themselves were cute and bite sized, but filled with a good amount of short rib meat.
Fois Gras — Comes with corn bread, blueberries, and maple mousse. I’ve had many sweet fois gras dishes before, but this was another unexpected combination that works! You take a piece of the corn bread, spread some mousse, cut a piece of fois, and top with with a blueberry. Yum!
Basic Bitch Cocktail — I ordered this without the help of the waitress. Mainly because of the name but turns out it has everything I like (vodka, fruit juices, ginger, honey, etc.). Why am I not surprised, this was pretty much made for me. Just kidding! It was refreshing, but very light in both flavor and alcohol content. My first drink of 2016, so cheers to that!
The dishes came out one by one and very spread apart. So if you’re in a rush, this is not the place for you. Also harder to share with a bigger group since the portions are pretty small. Our bill added up quickly, but worth it for the quality you’re getting.

My GF tried this place before and raved about it so she kindly took me here for date night :). The restaurant is located right next to Hanjip. There is plenty of street parking, structure parking and they also offer valet parking. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted and seated. The restaurant itself is bigger than I thought. It was a full house so it was a little noisy but I don’t mind that. I rather have noise than a dead silent restaurant.
Duck Rillettes — goat cheese, whole grain mustard, spiced fig:
We both enjoyed this dish. My GF even said it was better than the chicken liver mousse. The way they cook the duck meat makes is super flavorful and really tender. The spiced fig give it a little sweetness that cuts into the richness of the duck meat and goat cheese. My only complaint is that they only gave us two pieces of bread — which were perfectly toasted but not enough!!! I want more bread!!! ⁴⁄₅
Cauliflower — purple carrot juice, chinese mustard, mint, radish:
We always get Cauliflower at any restaurant we go to because my GF loves it. This is one of the better ones we’ve had lately. The cauliflower was perfectly cooked and they sauce was so flavorful yet light and not overpowering. ⁴⁄₅
Wild Mushroom Toast — crimini pâté, balsamic, chive, almond:
The waiter recommended this dish for us since he said we should probably order between 5 – 6 dishes. This one was amazing! It was rich, creamy and flavorful. ⁵⁄₅
Thai Snapper — miso broth, edamame, mizuna oil, tokyo negi:
My least favorite dish of the night. The miso broth was good, but I feel like the edamame was kind of a throw in — it didn’t go that well with the dish. The Thai Snapper was a tad overcooked. ³⁄₅
Short Rib Ravioli — braised greens, beurre veau, vincotto:
Rich and savory. This is one of their popular dishes and I can see why. This is meant to share since if you finish it by yourself it could be too rich. ⁴⁄₅
Seared Foie Gras — pistachio cornbread, blueberry, hibiscus sugar, foie maple mousse:
Who doesn’t like Foie Gras?! This one was a pretty generous portion and it was perfectly cooked — pink in the middle. The pistachio cornbread soaked up all the Foie Gras fat. I did’t care about the rest of the rish. ⁴⁄₅
Service here was outstanding. Food was good. Will be back!

First thing I need to say is that they charge for water, which is fine. What isn’t fine is that they don’t even tell you about this, shady.
Anyways, came here on a Thursday night around 8pm and was seated immediately even though it was pretty packed. Ambiance is very nice, loud but not too loud.
First things first, as I was getting over some jetlag, needed to get some drinks first. I can say that they were very creative with their drink names, had a pretty good laugh with some of them. Ended up going with how ’bout them apples and my friend got the basic bitch. Both drinks were very good, pretty strong and had a ginger-​y taste which I enjoyed.
Now onto the food:
Grilled Octopus: fried yucca, salsa negra, fresno vadouvan, mezcal
Really great starter dish, the octopus was cooked perfectly and the yucca was very flavorful. Definitely a must get
Wild Mushroom Toast: crimini pâté, balsamic, chive, almond
A pretty good dish overall, comes with 2 slices of bread with mushroom and this paste on it. I’m pretty biased since I like mushrooms though
Short Rib Ravioli: braised greens, beurre veau, vincotto
You could really taste the short ribs in the ravioli which I enjoyed, bite sized pieces so you don’t feel overwhelmed. good flavoring and cooked to perfection
Seared Foie Gras: pistachio cornbread, blueberry, hibiscus sugar, foie maple mousse
Definitely the dish that I was looking forward to the most. Looks kind of like a dessert and there’s a lot going on in this dish. Eating the foie with the bread + pistachios and the maple mousse was amazing even though it required a lot of work.
I really like how they don’t rush and send out all the food at once and also how they give the food to you in a certain order so it makes sense in the sequence of a meal. Portions were pretty small, but to be honest, the 4 dishes was perfect for the 2 of us.

If you are looking for decent new American food, The Wallace is definitely the best option. I have always avoid going to the same restaurant multiple times because I felt like there are so many great restaurant choices in Los Angeles worth exploring, however, I could not resist to come here for second time because of their delicious food.
Grilled Cauliflower –5 Star (purple carrot juice, chinese mustard, mint, radish)
The dish itself just look so appealing and artsy. The taste was way beyond its look. It was a bit sour, salty and sweet. I enjoyed the look, flavor and texture of this dish a lot.
Wild Mushroom Toast –4 Star
You will go crazy for this dish if you love mushroom and cheese. This toast was super crunchy with rich mushroom on top. The mushroom was cooked perfectly. This dish definitely surprised me in a great way!
Short Rib Ravioli –5 star
This is my second time ordering this. The short rib ravioli was creamy, flavorful and juicy. The meat filling was delicious. The meat was super tender. I wish they gave more ravioli because I could finish this on my own!
Seared Foie Gras –4 Star
Seared foie gras came with the corn bread and some blueberries. I’ve never tried foie gras with something sweet. This was a great combo. The crunchy corn bread created the great texture with foie gras. It was sweet and salty when combined them together. The foie gras also melted on the corn bread once u take a bit.
Duck Rillettes –5 Star
This is not the ordinary mousse you would expect. The duck meat was straight in the jar with some other sauce. I was surprised that the goat cheese did not overpower the duck rillettes and instead, it created a great flavor. The bread was also delicious. I prefer not to dip the spread with the bread and instead, eat the duck rillietes alone.
Thai Snapper –5 Star
We ordered this dish after we killed all the dishes listed above. We were satisfied but felt like we could take one more dish. Our waiter highly recommended Thai Snapper to us and I am glad that we tried it. The mizo broth was AMAZING. Fish was crispy and delicious. Interesting thing is that they put peeled edamame to the dish. Every edamame have the broth taste and the texture was unique. This dish is to die for!
Coconut Tres Leches Cake –5 Star
OMG this was amazing. First, the coconut flavor was not too strong and there is this passion fruit flavor in the cake! The passion fruit created a exotic fruity flavor to the creamy tres leches. I was so happy after this dessert.
Parking is mostly street parking. I really had a blast in this restaurant and honestly enjoyed every dish I tried here. Service was great but sometimes waiter could ignore you if it gets too crowded. Will def be back.

I would give it 5 stars but some of the reviews are right, a little food a lotta money. At first glance, the prices are not shocking, $ 10-​$ 20 for various items is not too bad. But, 2 pieces of gnocchi for $ 14, c’mon! Imagine 3 girlfriends, yah, we almost fought.
The food is good and the vibe is right, so 4 stars to ya Wallace!
Lots of recommendations for the chicken liver mousse. I concur. The smoked trout in a jar was great. You gotta order the cauliflower. The short rib ravioli was very good but, again, portion size was miniature.

Came here for my hubbie’s birthday. We came with our 18 months old baby and we had a very nice dinner together :) I really liked their old fashion. Not sure what kind of whiskey they used but it was very smokey and delicious it comes in a jar and as soon as you open it a genie comes out! (U have to try it to see what I mean) food was pretty good. Wasn’t a fan of the fois gras dish but everything else was good. My favorite was the lamb shank. Very tender and fell off the bone. I love culver city restaurants I wish I lived closer!

Quaint tapas joint in downtown CC. Large inside that extends pretty far back with bench seating that flanks one wall. The tiny outdoor patio is super tiny. So make reservations if you want a seat out there. I’d been wanting to get here for months since another friend recommended it. Finally, the stars aligned. I was completely satisfied.
Service is super friendly considering the food is a bit sophisticated. The dishes were all inventive and fresh. There’s a spin on many of the traditional plates. Of course my friend and I shared… it’s a tapas place after all. Here’s the run down — roasted beets is a MUST, grilled octopus was different but tasty, hamachi crudo was a bit too mushy for our liking, ricotta dumpling (there’s just 1), and shrimp with mango salsa was delish (not on menu any longer I believe). The dessert we had so yummy — basically a ding dong with homemade ice cream in a bed of raspberry sauce. What? It was good.
Parking is a breeze in the public structure. Reservations are recommended if it’s a date night or you’re on a time crunch. It can get crowded here on any given week or weekend night.

Yummy food and great ambiance (rustic-​industrial).
ROSEMARY GARLIC POPOVERS– Light, airy, and flavorful.
LOLLIPOP KALE– Loved the tangy carrot salsa and the sweetness of the apples and currants.
THAI SNAPPER– The snapper was cooked perfectly (skin was nice and crispy while the inside was soft) but the miso broth could have been more flavorful.
SHORT RIB RAVIOLI– Good flavor but the ravioli were a bit too al dente. Portion size could have been bigger.
Great place for a date. Would definitely come back!

Cool spot in downtown Culver City for drink and food. The place was definitely popping on a Friday night. The bar and restaurant was completely full. I wish it weren’t this this but most restaurants these days are so noisy you can hardly talk to the people you are with.
The one cocktail and I did try was very interesting.
Rebel with a cause — the drink itself taste like a mixture of beer and juice. The interesting part is that they give you a little flower that you first chew on for 30 seconds. Your tongue and mouth starts to tingle and then you sip on your drink. Worth a try!
Chicken Liver Mousse — one of my favorite dishes of the night. The light liver mousse is topped with a sweet balsamic glaze. You put this together with their toasted bread and it taste so good.
Lollipop kale — by no means is there any lollipops in this dish. Super flavorful dish that I definitely recommend.
Shishito peppers– lots of tiny peppers that weren’t too tasty. If you’ve had these at other places then you would know what it taste like.
Fried Mary’s chicken– crispy and a little on the sweet side with the garnishes.
Southern Pecan Pie– such a small piece of pie. Totally not worth it.
Breakfast Bread Pudding — Wasn’t impressed.
I’d definitely come back to have drink and a couple of the plates the I tried like the chicken liver mousse and lollipop kale. There were some dishes they ran out of so that’ll be on my list. I’ll pass on the dessert though.

I had a late weekend dinner here recently and loved the vibe but the food was hit or miss.
This is a small plates restaurant, and the portions are definitely on the smaller side for a tapas place. We ordered four items for the two of us plus a dessert:
Mushroom toast: two heartily topped slices with a massive amount of 3 – 4 types of fungi, and an incredible spread underneath that seemed a bit like eggplant purée and was delicious. This was the best thing we had.
Flatbread with three jarred dips: pork belly chunks, red pepper and a (watery) hummus. This looked really cool but I would pass next time.
The short rib ravioli: recommended by our server as the best thing here, it wasn’t that good. The meat filings were dry and the pouches were too chewy and al dente. It was definitely on the smaller side too with eight mini bites.
Cauliflower: this was very citrusy and had a lot of coloring from the beets. Pretty solid except wish it wasn’t so sour.
Salted caramel and chocolate dessert: we really loved the interplay of flavors and textures. I would recommend this. It was artfully arranged on only half the plate.
We eyeballed other people’s cast iron fried chicken and regretted not getting it!
Dishes are around $ 12 – 15 and seafood tapas aren’t much more expensive. We didn’t try any because my friend is allergic but it would recommend it because it seemed like a better value.

I wasn’t sure what to expect given the mixed reviews but my cousin and I enjoyed everything we ordered. We started with the popovers, which came with a bit of Gruyère and chives. Next we had the beet salad and sunchokes starters, both of which were delicious. For our entrees, we ordered the short ribs ravioli and octopus; I don’t like seafood and even I thought the octopus was good! The ravioli was as delicious as expected. We finished off the meal with a dessert that had horchata ice cream on it (everything nice?), which was also yummy.
Service was excellent. The only downside to this place is the portions — they are a bit on the small side for the price. Nevertheless, I still think this place is worth checking out given that the food was so tasty.

I’ve been waiting for a restaurant like this to open in Downtown Culver City for years! Was it worth the wait?
The Wallace is a restaurant for upper middle class to upper class foodies. The few times I ate here it was filled with young professionals. They have a pretty respectable wine list, fancy mixology cocktails and a menu that reminds me of Bestia in many ways. In other words, mostly small dishes, with the exception of a few larger meat dishes like the lamb.
Overall I like this place but if I’m spending about $ 200 for a dinner for 2, I expect to be blown away, period. Was I? No. It was good, just didn’t transcend into greatness for me. For the price, I’d rather go to Bestia or other similar restaurants in Beverly Hills.
The overall ambiance is excellent here. There’s romantic interior seating nearest to the entrance, it’s most brightly lit towards the back by the kitchen and the outdoor patio seems to be filled with couples almost every night.
The service here is good. For a diverse menu like this, I was hoping they would walk me through it or make some suggestions but that didn’t happen on both occasions.
Recommend:
Chicken Liver Mousse (love the bread here)
Grilled Octopus
Pork Belly
Bone Barrow (add salt to taste)
If it’s amazing, I don’t mind paying more. But some of the things here just weren’t that amazing. I’ll continue coming here because it’s close but it won’t be often due to the value/​quality/​taste ratio.

This is a nice addition to the selection of restaurants in downtown Culver City. The menu is split into 4 sections (appetizers, salads, sea and land), and everything is served tapas-​style, in small plates meant for sharing. The waitress suggests that each person order 2 or 3 dishes, which was perfect for my group of 4.
There’s also a nice drink menu, with a great selection of beers. The Peanut Butter Milk Stout on tap is pretty amazing. I’ve never had anything like it. It’s a dark beer with a taste somewhere between peanut an root beer.
The Ricotta Dumplings are incredible! Rich and delicious. The Lollipop Kale Salad was probably my favorite dish of the meal. Fresh & crunchy, with a nice spicy kick. The Albacore Tartare was really good too, I just wish they served it with more of the crispy-​cracker thing, because it pares really well with the tuna, but there’s just not enough.
The Roasted Scallops were great, served with sweet potato and the pomegranate seeds give a surprising crunch along with the tartness. The Alaskan Halibut was good, I liked the eggplant purée, however it really did need the sauce because it was a bit dry.
The Fried Mary’s Chicken as very crunchy, and was great when dipped in the hot sauce. It’s served with Chow Chow, which is like a pickled cabbage. The tartness pared well with the crispy & spicy chicken. The Parker House Roll seemed like an after-​thought. I’m even sure why it was there.
The Squid Ink Capellini was not as good as I hope it would be. The flavor was a little fishy. It wasn’t bad, just not as great as some of the other dishes.
For dessert we shared the Southern Pecan Pie, which is served with Sweet Potato Ice Cream. OMG, it is A-​MAY-​ZING! We also tried the Everything Nice, which is a Snicker Doodle cookie curly-​cue served with Dulce De Leche and Horchata Ice. This was really good too!
The service was great, very attentive. Was is served in tall, serve-​yourself bottles which were replaced as soon as they were empty. (The only weird thing is that they put a $ 1 charge on your check for water service.) Our food came out quickly, and our plates were cleared quickly as well. The room has pretty horrible acoustics, so it got really loud when the place was busy. Also, the chairs are pretty uncomfortable.
For anyone that misses Paiche in Marina Del Rey, this is a great replacement. Not as expensive, but not quite the same level of explosive flavors either. But I will certainly be back to try the rest of the menu!
There’s a great parking structure 1 block over from the restaurant, first 2 hours free and only $ 1/​hr after that. The only downside is there’s usually a slow line to get out.

Came here for my birthday brunch a few weeks ago. They were super accomodating for my party of 15 and even though their policy was a set menu for parties of 12 of more, they didn’t ask me to do a set menu when I changed my rsvp last minute to 15. So thank you!
Most of my party ordered the bottomless mimosas or the punch. Mimosas are $ 14 if you want bottomless and if you want to do both the punch and mimosas, it’s $ 16. The mimosas come in 3 flavors (mango, orange, and something else I don’t remember). And the punch was vodka based that day we were there.
I think all of us were expecting bigger portions for our food, like maybe breakfast potatoes or side salads with our entrees? They had a breakfast burger but it didn’t come with fries either. The food was tasty but since we were there for so long drinking our mimosas, it was kind of awkward because everyone finished their food so quickly.

The drinks here are amazing. Probably the best drinks I’ve ever had in my life, and I love going to mixology bars.
For The Watch, Early Ace, Morning Sex, and all the others are so creative and taste absolutely amazing.
The food is delicious and they can make a lot of things without garlic, which makes me very happy, as I have a garlic allergy.
Try their creations in the pots, those are delicious.
Fried chicken was probably our favorite, though