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Why did we dine here? – Animal Restaurant is a popular place in trendy Los Angeles. The award winning chef owns several restaurants. This particular one focuses on meaty dishes, at extremely reasonable prices. We had to give it a try and were not disappointed.
Insider Tip – Reservations are a must, larger parties can share more items.
Cuisine – New American
Location – Los Angeles, Beverely Grove District
Opened – 2012
Service – Animal had very good service. We had to hail the server one or two times, but all in all, our needs were fulfilled. Pacing is based on when dishes are ready, which can produce interesting combinations.
Verdict – Animal impressed us with innovative cuisine at extremely aggressive dollar signs. If you stick to the smaller plates, you can really drive the cost of the meal down.
Is this restaurant worth a 5 minute drive? Yes. 30 minute? Yes. 1 Hour? Yes.
Animal Signature Dishes – Chicken Wings, Pork Belly, Hamachi Tostada, Pig Ear.
Animal’s Menu changes all the time. Hopefully some of their signature dishes will remain longer. There are a hand full of options for vegetarians. (This place is named Animal and not Vegetable.)
Animal Food Picks:
chicken liver toast ($4) was so good we ordered another one. Big and thick with an onion tapenade on top.
yellow nectarine, radish, agretti, local goat cheese, almond vinaigrette ($8) was a perfect salad for this 85 degree day. Beautiful, fresh, with a hint of zest.
chicken wings, orange gastrique, mango amba, cilantro ($11) were extremely spicy and crisp. The curry sauce on the side was even hotter.
barbeque pork belly sandwiches, slaw ($14) were two sliders filled with fatty, rich pork belly and a nice creamy cole slaw.
hamachi tostada, herbs, fish sauce vinaigrette, peanut ($15) was a tall fusion dish, just perfect for L.A. Lots of cabbage and a cerviche-like flavor profile.
poutine, oxtail gravy, cheddar ($15) was an animal. Rich beefy, heavy, and worth while. This epitomizes the name.
pig ear, red chili, lime, maple, fried duck egg ($16) was brought to the table unmixed. We grounded the egg into all the delicious ingredients. This reminded us of a Thai duck salad.
grilled quail, plum char-siu, pear, yogurt, apple ($19) Slightly messy, but worth the stickiness. A nice sweet glaze on tender quail. The yogurt added a weird touch.
Crispy Duck Leg, Leche De Tigre, Brown Butter, Sweet Potato ($24) was another beautiful dish. Crispy duck skin, tart mandarins, and a watery broth that tasted slightly Asian. A must get dish.
bacon chocolate crunch bar, salt and pepper ice cream ($9) was an advanced dessert that grew on us. Cool bacon bits along with a smoooth crunchy texture. This was one complex dessert.
OK: (Order if you like this dish)
None
Pans: (We would not reorder these dishes)
None
Do you agree with our review? Have you found other similar restaurants that are better?
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