A Mediterranean and Italian-inspired restaurant with eight locations in the Los Angeles area including right here in Culver City, one look at the Bacari menu is enough to frazzle your brain. In a good way, of course. With so many delightful looking meals on offer, how in the world is one supposed to make up one’s mind?
“Bacari Culver City is a Venetian-inspired small plates restaurant featuring Mediterranean-influenced dishes by Chef Lior Hillel,” they say online. “We are the eighth restaurant of Kronfli Brothers, a family-owned, growing group of restaurants in the Los Angeles area. Alongside our delicious tapas, we offer a rotating curation of small-production wines and eclectic beers, unique craft cocktails and mocktails, and we are also known for our one-of-a-kind 90-minute open bar special. Our team provides warm hospitality in our comfortable, indoor dining room marked with rustic mediterranean decor. Bacari Culver City is the go-to spot for our neighbors, and we look forward to hosting you soon!”
It’s the little touches that immediately make the place so special. The house-baked baguette is delicious by itself–the quality rises right out of the crusty, bouncy bread. But the garlic olive oil that it’s served with is next level genius. Each dip of the bread soaks up not only the fresh, rich olive flavor but also the aromatic tones of the roasted garlic. It’s simply stunning, and we haven’t even gotten to the main meal yet.
We really did struggle to make a selection. Even after narrowing it down to seafood due to a Saturday afternoon hankering for that very thing, there was a lot to choose from. The scallop medallions with a carrot parsnip puree sounded magnificent, as did the chef’s pan-seared sakon with a walnut crust.
In the end, knowing that we couldn’t lose, we went with the sea bass (“pan seared, charred shishito pepper & corn, tarragon aioli, pomegranate molasses, grilled lemon”).
If there was any doubt before, Chef Hilell knows exactly what he’s doing. Every element, every ingredient of this dish (and we’d assume every other dish on the menu) is carefully chosen, all part of a meticulous design. It’s as much science as art, a brilliant formula.
Those charred shishito peppers are a force of nature. Just the right amount of spice to practically get the sea bass swimming again, so much life it injects into the fish. The corn and aioli add further flourishes, while the fish itself couldn’t be more perfect. Like the peppers, the skin is charred to create a lovely crunch, while the flesh is oily and flaky.
Frankly, we’ll be dreaming about this dish for a few weeks.
Bacari is located at 3833 Main St., Culver City 90232. Contact 323-986-6763 and visit eatwithbacari.com.