The Stillroom

Simply the best seafood in Pasadena… and gives the rest of the seafood restaurants in LA a solid run for their money.
Since our first discovery of this little gem hidden in the back corner of an unassuming strip mall, we’ve been back several times. The welcome is always warm and sincere and the chef, Kitchen Confidential legend, Sam Goldman has made it a point to come chat regularly. His dedication to making Still Room ever evolving and improving is admirable for a chef of his stature.
Having grown up on the eastern shore, I have longed for a local seafood place that could be a destination for quality oysters, shrimp and crab. Stillroom hits the mark.
The fish chowder is dead on delicious. Not thick like some can of Chunky… but smooth with nice pieces of fish filling every spoonful. The chowder has a richness that is so elusive. I’ve never encountered this depth of flavor anywhere west of the Mississippi.
Happy hour six days a week with discounted oysters, clams and shrimp can not be beat. Fantastic artisanal cocktails but be careful, well drinks are the only cocktails discounted at happy hour.
I’ve always ordered the specials and have yet to have something anything less than spectacular. When I say spectacular, I mean perfect. The right balance of simple and sophisticated. Goldman understands that seafood shines best with subtle sophistication from sauces to presentation. His humility and reverence for the seafood itself is apparent in every dish.
While they have wonderful dishes for landlubbers too, Stillroom is a spot to discover and return to over and over as it is an instant classic that is always fresh and seasonal.

Better name would be Stilborn.
Went there Thursday night for a business dinner. Overall the service was amateurish, food aimed high but missed the mark and the attitude was mixed.
We sat at the table near the bar and asked the bartender to turn up the lights so we could see. He obliged only to come back later in the dinner asking if he could lower them again because thy were on the same circuit as one of the tables in the dining room that appeared too bright to him. He had an attitude that we didn’t appreciate.
We ordered several appetizers so we could sample the talent of the chef. The bowl of fish chowder was thin and watery and extremely hot, I mean we could not touch the bowls. Either they sat under the heat lamp or were microwaved. We had to ask for a spoon, in fact each corse we had to ask for silverware, not once I’d they bring it.
Fish Flan was just wrong. The wrong texture to go with the fish taste.
Ceviche was well prepared and seasoned well. That was the best dish of the night.
Salad With fennel and grapefruit was unique but under seasoned.
In the end they comped a desert to make up for the lack of service. One of the owners cam by and we told her about the silver situation and she promptly retrieved some for us.
To sum it up they were trying to please but just not ready for prime time in my opinion, There are so many other good restaurants in Pasadena to chose from before I go back to StillBorn
Ambiance was meh, seems like a place to take your grand parents. Not happening at all.

Good upscale seafood restaurant. Seafood flan starter is great texture, not rubbery flan but the right density almost like a timbale. Scallop entrée used largish day boats not the bland overlarge farmed scallops most often served. The monkfish special was sauced with tomato, bit too much like pasta sauce. I prefer light or cream based tomato sauces with fish. I liked the lobster bisque very much, tasting a bit of cayenne and not as floury as many I’ve had. The room was dark wood and comfortable. The cocktails looked great. The bartender made me a non-​alcohol version with blackberry and not so much sweet fruit tastes. Really super with seafood, not as much sweet as tasting good semi-​tart.. Did not try any of the non-​seafood items, but reports are that the steak is great.

Fantastic place to treat yourself to a great meal and a cocktail. Great décor and a warm inviting atmosphere. If you need a resturant to take someone special, this is it. The food is delicious and the presentation shows that the kitchen staff cares about what comes to your table. The service is attentive without being intrusive. Bookmark this place. It’s special.

This little gem called The Still Room,’ has become my go to spot after long workdays!!! The décor is spot on! It’s cozy yet classy,’ elegant without being stuffy & the food is not only pleasing to the eyes but oh so scrumptious! Yum! The staff welcomes you like you’re family,’ Sammy the Head Chef is personable and always around to greet & meet new patrons! Oh Yes,’ The Bar!!! I can’t say enough great things about it,’ but let’s start with its my second home…:)

Came here for a Mother’s Day Brunch. The Stillroom is in this unsuspecting little plaza near Blair High School. From the plaza itself, I didn’t expect much. But the Stillroom itself has a lovely ambiance about it. It’s like French café meets an American dining experience.
Their mimosas were fantastic but I have a new Sunday Brunch drink = the Hummingbird (really light and fantastic w/​a hint of sweetness from the Elderflower syrup).
The food itself is simple, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The only thing that really stands out is the french toast. (we ordered the fried fish, wild mushroom omelet, and a cool spin on an eggs benedict w/​smoked salmon & lobster cream sauce as well) I don’t usually like french toast but it was crispy and PIPING hot.
Service was fantastic & there was live band! The band played great sunday brunch music. I’m interested in checking out their lunch as the menu looks much more robust.

First of all when you walk into a new place and are greeted with the most enthusiasm I have been greeted with in quite some time, you know it’s going to be good.
This place is so cute and well thought out, the attention to detail is ridiculous… little stacks of books, figurines, and tiny little jars filled with herbs and fruits for the bar. The bar manager (who is also not so hard on the eyes) mixes up some seriously good concoctions. which by the way Alan below, we were probably the cheerleaders from the night you were there… IHOP is around the corner, thats my advice to you.
Oysters and shrimp happy hour is genius and the french fries fried in beef fat… well they speak for themselves.
We were back 2 days later for dinner and it proved to be consistently good.
Love small businesses like these, We will be regulars and you should be too

Incredible food, outstanding service, well worth the price! The wait staff was prompt, very warm and personable without intruding at all.
I’m not a cocktails guy, but the bartender tipped me off to the jalapeño cosmo — fantastic. My wife had the rosemary cosmo and loved it.
We’ll be back, with clients and friends.

From corporate dinners to chillin out the Stillroom fits the bill. Had a company dinner on a Wednesday and could not be more pleased with the service and food. The extra unexpected bonus was the live band (sketch orchestra) playing mello jazzy tunes nice touch for the ambience. AJ the bartender, Lesley and Casey the owners made my expected hum drum evening to be a surprsing great experience. highly recommended.
Note: Live music is Wednesday evenings and the band website
check em out…

After reading the other reviews from a person who admits to having NO EXPERIENCE WITH COCKTAILS, and another who devotes 7 paragraphs to an experience he repeatedly describes as «forgettable», and another who says he doesn’t like lobster bisque in general, I have to say:
This restaurant is not for you. Take your goddamn two stars and get the F out.
I’ve been twice. On Christmas Eve, and a week and a half ago. The fish chowder is exactly the consistency and flavor of the Cape. If you don’t know what the Cape is, take your two stars and get the F out.
I’ve had the scallops and the swordfish. Oh, are they good. I also had a fantastic martini with a slice of fresh jalapeño.
The place has a nice East Coast feel, partially because the chef comes out on the floor and waxes nostalgically about places where he’ s collected his palate, partially because the fish is presented cleanly, and partially because liquor is a respected ingredient in both sauces and cocktails. If you can’t get with this, you know what you can do? (You can take your two stars and get the F out).

Me and the GF were looking for a Valentine’s Day spot for dinner, and the StillRoom looked pretty good online so we made a reservation. To be honest, the Valentine’s Day menu didn’t even look interesting to me, I would much rather have ordered off the regular menu but I couldn’t since it was V-​day.
It’s a nice looking restaurant, they served us some sourdough bread to start along with some hummus which was kind of funky in my opinion.
We ordered three appetizers, Lobster Bisque, the raw seafood plate, and baked oysters. I’m not a big fan of lobster bisque as it is so can’t say I enjoyed it here. I just think the soup in general tastes too much like alcohol to me. Raw plate was pretty good, probably hard for a restaurant to screw up though. Just gotta make sure the seafood is fresh. The baked oysters were really good though, there were 3 pairs of oysters and all of them had different toppings.
Next up were the salads, which were pretty forgettable. One had grilled asparagus which was nice but the salad had a bunch of edible flowers on it which was probably for Valentine’s Day but once you get over the fact you’re eating flowers you realize that they don’t really taste good at all. The other salad was arugula with palms of heart which was a pretty boring and forgettable salad.
The meal had been very average at this point, and the entrees didn’t do much to help it. I ordered the tuna loin, and the GF ordered the filet mignon. Both came with some sort of potato cake which basically reminded me of a hash brown. It was tasty but not anything special. My tuna was overcooked for my tastes. I like my cooked tuna to at least have some rawness in the middle but mine was cooked all the way through which made it kind of tough and dry. I don’t know if they always cook the tuna all the way through or leave it more rare sometime, but I certainly didn’t enjoy it much. Same thing with the GF’s filet mignon, overcooked and forgettable.
Dessert was good, some chocolate mousse and a fruit tart.
It wasn’t a horrible meal by any means but it was just very forgettable especially when we got the bill and the damage turned out to be about $ 100 per person, tax and tip included. It’s a shame I couldn’t order off the regular menu because those dishes sound friggin’ delicious. too bad I’ll probably never find out if they are.

Stillroom
One fish, two fish, three fish, blue fish…
Dinner at a table: I’ve had the monkfish a solid good. The striped bass is excellent. I inhaled mine. It perfectly prepared with the right veg and starch to accompany it (fennel and potato). The scallops are amazing & I heart the scallops. While beautiful I was doubtful until my first bite (scallops on top of spaghetti squash). Brilliance and love on the end of a fork. Amazing texture and flavor… I think no matter how these were prepared they would be brilliant it’s the quality of the scallops!
Bright lights and light bites: My time at the bar.
Super oysters on a half shell, followed by vodka (full bar yes!). I called it smoked salmon forgive me it’s Gravlax, and it’s delicious matter what you call it. I would like more, that’s my only complaint feed me make it grow bigger on my plate! Try teh preserved fish trio the name is complicated, the dish is just delicious.
Excellent cocktails with fresh fruit. I like cocktails that take time, it means your date will drink one maybe two and see you as the angel you are (or art). Remember a handcrafted drink takes time (you work hard, so treat yourself).
Inside ambiance, beautiful, romantic, lush, warm… it’s kind of sensual without being overblown, like a rose blossoming but not dropping petals. Outside (well it’s city land you step into the StillRoom and you forget about the city).
Service has always been courteous and friendly.
Actually I’m curious about brunch… Also I need to try dessert and look at the wine list on my next visit.
It’s not a kid friendly environment, it’s let’s relax and be adults environment… but not stiff and snooty (reread the sensual ambiance part).

We stopped by the Raymond to have a drink or two and some appetizers but decided to leave after one drink. (see why by reading my review of their 1886 bar). Anyway… Already a bit perturbed, we probably would have rated anything highly after that experience. That being said, the stillroom EARNED this rating.
We knew that the stillroom was new on the scene but thought we should give it a try. Wow! They treated us like they were happy to have us there and promptly took good care of us. We decided to split the new York steak and an order of clam chowder, they dry age the steak themselves and it was wonderful. The chef came to see us and we told him how great it honestly was.
Kathy was our waitress. She was great. She uses the word beautiful a LOT! … Oh… The desert is beautiful, the margarita is beautiful… Etc… But she was cute and kinda beautiful herself so it didn’t bother us a bit… We enjoyed her.
We met and talked to kayce who said she was a part owner. She was super nice and we enjoyed chatting with her.
The ambiance is very nice once you get by the fact that they are in a stripmall. Once you are inside you will forget about all that.
This spot used to be a place called derricks. I had never been there and wonder why they failed…
I have high hopes for the stillroom. I’ll be back for a full dinner soon. It was a BEAUTIFUL experience.

Ambience — 5 stars
Food — 4 stars
Service no stars
The waiter was very nice but somewhat overwhelmed. We waited 90 minutes for our meal. We were not offered drinks past our initial cocktail. I started to place our order and the waiter was distracted and abruptly left the table to deal with something. Everyone who arrived after we were seated were served before us. Our dirty cocktail glasses remained on the table throughout the meal.
The only consolation was that the food was truly spectacular. Given that, and the wonderful ambience, I will give this place another try. Sometimes you have to work out the kinks when opening a new restaurant. I really hope they can get it together

Overcooked, overpriced, overrated.
The sea bass was overpowered by the fennel. The rockfish (replacement for the monkfish) was both overcooked and lacked a starch side. Besides the hostess’ bosoms, the staff was forgettable … which is just as well since they forgot about us. At least the chef came out to schmooze with the table next to ours, who also got crappy service.
Nice ambiance, but if the $ 160 bill for two entrees, a shared appetizer, shared desert and three drinks were half the price, it’d still only be three stars.

We came to the restaurant around 7:00 and were promptly seated. The first thing I will say about The StillRoom is that the restaurant is gorgeous and extremely tastefully decorated. The layout makes the individual tables seem private, but the whole restaurant has a nice open flow to it. We started with some flaky bread with pureed white bean, a nice change of pace from the standard butter. Things seemed great, and after our waiter stumbled through the specials (literally could not remember the components of each dish), we ordered our food and drinks. I’ll describe each as it came.
Drinks:
Old Fashioned: I don’t know anything about cocktails, so I don’t have anything intelligent to say about this. It was fine, there were no complaints.
Allagash White (Beer): How do you mess up bottled beer? The pour, which the waiter really mangled, leaving me with no head on this beautiful witbier at all. Maybe it’s just a pet peeve, but if a waiter pours a beer for you, he should at least have some idea of how to do it.
Starters:
House Made Fresh Mozzarella with Roasted Red Peppers: The first starter of the night was a letdown. The red peppers were really well roasted, tender and pungent with a little bit of smoke – perfect. The mozzarella, however, was just bland and about as unexciting as could be. I was really looking forward to the house made mozzrella, but honestly, the stuff at Trader Joe’s puts it to shame. It was dressed with olive oil and herbs, which was fine but a bit boring. Little did I know, this would end up being my favorite course of the night.
Simple Green Salad, Sherry Vinaigrette, with Goat Cheese and Heirloom Tomato: I am trying to be kind, but this was just a joke. This salad consists of, literally, a giant pile of underdressed greens, about a quarter of a bland yellow heirloom tomato in one corner, and a funny, tiny little tart with some goat cheese in it. Not only was there not nearly enough tomato or goat cheese (I wish I could have taken a picture, the proportions were truly unusual), but the presentation of the goat cheese made it difficult to incorporate with the greens. I like «simple» salads, but this was not a simple salad, it was 95% lettuce with some things on the side.
Main Courses:
Special of the Day, Grilled Yellowtail with Fresh Slaw and Root Purée: At least this is how it was explained to me. I actually had no problem with the fish, it was a little underseasoned and only moderately overcooked – boring but reasonable. The other stuff on the plate is just a mystery to me though. The fresh slaw was more like a salsa, but I had no idea what it was doing sitting next to mashed sweet potatoes and turnips (I think). It looked and tasted like it would have done well on some tacos, but I really had no idea what it added to the yellowtail other than some missing flavor. The root purée was fine, though its heaviness was a huge contrast to the light salsa. They didn’t work on the same plate.
Moroccan Style Vegetable Tagine, Dry Fruits and Pilaf: Imagine throwing some rice, vegetables, fruits, and liquid into a pot and just letting it do its thing for awhile. This is exactly what this tastes like. Not horrible, but the entire dish had a sloppy consistency and uniform flavor that I found unsatisfying. The saving grace of the dish is that it came with some really great, spiced za’atar (a middle eastern spice blend mixed with olive oil). I actually found it worked well with the yellow tail.
Desserts:
Black Muscat Dessert Wine: I don’t know what this restaurant considers to be a dessert wine, but this tasted sort of like a moderately sweet chardonnay. Even if it was technically a dessert wine, I don’t know why The StillRoom would choose to call it that or choose to serve it as a dessert wine. It’s possible we were just given the wrong glass.
Bread Pudding with Whiskey Glaze: My god, they mean whiskey glaze when they say it. There was so much whiskey in the glaze of the bread pudding that it was all you could taste. Definitely not pleasing. The bread pudding itself was fine but was a bit too cool for my taste by the time we got it. After all the other failings of the dinner, I guess there was no reason for this to be great, but I was really hoping it would be.
The restaurant looks fabulous and the service was attentive, but in my book, nothing can save bad food. I could believe we just ordered the wrong things on the wrong night, and in all fairness, other people seemed to be enjoying what they ordered. However, our food was unimaginative to say the least. I left hungry and disappointed.
I’ve been waffling between calling the experience 1 or 2 stars for a little while, since it isn’t really either. I wanted so much to like the restaurant, but the food was just abysmal. In the end, that’s what counts.

Can’t say enough good things about this place. Had an amazing dinner here last night that made for a great experience.
— Live band (that complimented instead of overwhelming the atmosphere) on Wednesdays.
— Fantastic service and arguably the friendly staff I’ve ever encountered. Felt like a longtime friend/​VIP coming in for dinner.
— Delicious food (we had Cuban style swordfish, scallops and oysters) and drinks (wine, mojito and specialty beers).
— Nice, warm inviting décor.
Worth every penny and I’ll definitely be going again.

I think the StillRoom needs to get the word out. I don’t think they had a grand opening or have done any sort of advertising but if you are reading this you should put them on your list of places to check out.
It was a Friday night and I was in the mood to try a new place and have a drink. I wasn’t sure what to expect from a place located in a strip mall. All I knew before I walked in was that it was a new seafood restaurant with a full bar.
Walked in and was greeted right away by the hostess, since we were just having a drink we sat on the bar side. The place was great. It reminded me of the Langham (the Ritz) before it was redone. Dark wood, leather chairs, dim lighting, fireplace going in the corner.
They have an extensive specialty drink list and a pretty good beer list with some choices you probably won’t find nearby. I had a glass of wine and soaked in the ambiance and décor. The staff and owners were very friendly and made me feel very welcomed. It was almost too much attention from the staff.
They have a lounge area and restaurant area. They have some light music playing in the background loud enough for you to hear the music but not loud enough to interrupt your conversation.
If you are looking for a place to have to get some food, drinks, and hang out with your friends this is the place. If you are tired of going to old town or are looking for a place outside of old town to grab a drink or some food this is the place.

This is a cute little restaurant tucked away in a small strip mall off of Glenarm in Pasadena. We went during their recent preview night, and while it took awhile to get the food, and the waitress didn’t have grasp of their (highly esoteric and awesome) beer selection, the food was simply divine. We had the seafood flan, which is incredible, and the mushroom napoleon pastry dish, which is savory and delicious. I had the steak (perfectly prepared,) while my girlfriend had the scallops.
They have a charming bar with a fireplace, a cozy lounge area, and a nice open room with two wine display areas in the back. Plans are to put in an oyster bar in that main room, and their outdoor seating area looks like it will be fun once the warm weather returns. We’ll be back!

This should really be like a 4.5 star review, but Unilocal doesn’t give that option. Friends of ours told us about this place and though we usually only eat in Old Town when we’re in Pasadena, we’re really thrilled we went here for dinner. The restaurant itself is really beautiful — deep colors, good lighting, a really cool lounge area with leather sofas and a fireplace near the bar. (Kinda hard to go wrong with a fireplace near the bar).
For an app, I had the red pepper and fresh mozzarella. I’m a huge fan of caprese, but having the pepper instead of the tomato was a really nice touch. For dinner I had the scallops and they were perfectly cooked. The restaurant says they focus on seafood and they nailed this one. My girlfriend and I split 2 desserts. The bread pudding with a few cherries in it was outstanding. The apple crisp was good, not fantastic, but not enough to downgrade the meal.
My only complaint was that it took a few minutes too long to get our drinks. But the waiter couldn’t have been nicer, continuously checking on us and explaining it was opening week and then comped the round of drinks when it came out. Hey, if I’m not paying for it – take as long as you want. ;-)
Oh and for the women, according to my girlfriend, the bartender was «WAY WAY hot.» (I’ll give him credit for making a hell of a drink. His looks are a lot less important to me. haha)
We’re not on Pasadena often, but The Stillroom just definitely became a «must go» place fo us.