Savory

My favorite dining experience in Malibu. There’s nothing in Malibu like coming here on a Thursday night and dining while the beautiful and sultry Jacqui Hylton sings Billie Holiday, standards, Cure covers, her own original songs. Everything I’ve tasted here tastes great but I always return to their signature gourmet burger, the Wolfmother – Kobe beef cooked to perfection and topped with blue and brie cheese, caramelized onions, and arugula. A must-​try for burger aficionados. Get their homemade mayo equivalent with your cut fries!
I’ve spoken to the talented chef, Paul Shoemaker — he’s a no-​nonsense, hands-​on chef/​owner who really cares about his craft and insists on using local and fresh ingredients. He’s on it!
A perfectly intimate and romantic restaurant that belies its strip-​mall surroundings! Highly recommended!

***Savory has a strong focus on seasonal and high quality ingredients and it really shows in Paul Shoemaker’s food; I’ve had several dishes here (salmon with beets and carrot purée, prosciutto and burrata pizza, burrata and figs salad, pork chop with frisee and lentils) and I dare say that some of their food is as good as anything else you will find in L.A.***
Paul Shoemaker’s (Providence) Savory is an upscale neighborhood restaurant in Malibu. The restaurant is quite a drive from L.A. so it draws mostly locals. The food can be exceptional here and I would put their best dishes up against any other restaurant I have tried.
The décor is nice too. The dining room has a very contemporary and sleek look. In many ways, the room is similar to Houston’s. Nice medium woods contrasted against black chairs and design elements (light fixtures) that are contemporary but not overly showy. While the design of the room may not seem unique, it perfectly aligns with the type of restaurant that Savory is trying to be – upscale and sophisticated but also casual and rustic.
Their complimentary bread basket was freshly made and included a nice brioche roll as well as a soft bread that kind of reminded me of focaccia. The bread’s crust was seasoned with fresh herbs and even had a little bit of heat to it.
I started with one of the specials, which was a salad. Savory’s menu changes constantly – partly due to the restaurant’s commitment to seasonal, local produce as well as the chef’s desire to improvise.
The special salad was a mix of summer squash, heirloom cherry tomatoes, burrata, and roasted figs. The salad was amazing. Everything went so well together and it seemed liked every ingredient was at peak form.
The burrata was creamy and had a nice flavor (at a lot of other places, burrata is too firm and salty). The figs were big and nicely caramelized. They provided a great sweetness to the salad and were very juicy. The summer squash was very cool and refreshing and the tomatoes were moist and light.
I would say it was the best burrata dish, best figs dish, best squash dish, and best salad I’ve ever had.
I also had Chinese long beans that were tossed with peanuts, bacon and a sesame vinaigrette. This was a good contrast to the salad because it was a warm dish, but it would have been a better dish to share because the flavors were very strong and it was a generous portion of green beans.
The dish though was good. The green beans were nicely cooked. The bacon was very crispy and savory. The peanuts provided a good crunch and the sesame vinaigrette provided a sweet and tangy sauce.
Shoemaker is known for his fish and I had salmon here last time and it was one of the best cooked fish dishes I’ve ever had. I decide