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To celebrate both the end of midterms and the start of Restaurant Week LA, Kelly and I had dinner at The Olive Kitchen + Bar in the Grafton Hotel. We got an awesome three course meal at a fraction of the usual price. We’re talking three courses at the price an entree and a glass of wine would typically be. Great deal!

Yep, we braved the rain. Nothing keeps us from a good deal!

I really liked the space that the restaurant is in. The Grafton seems like a really trendy boutique hotel. I’d love to see more of the actual hotel. The restaurant was casual which was refreshing. The prices on the regular menu are pretty pricey but the restaurant itself didn’t seem stuffy.

Because its restaurant week the menu was three courses and there were three options for each course. We had no problem picking because everything sounded amazing.

We started with  Beef Carpaccio seasoned and thinly sliced tenderloin, summer asparagus salad, grape tomatoes, shaved parmesan, parsley piccata and mustard balsamic aioli.

This was one of the stand out dishes of the night. The meat literally melted in my mouth and the sauce on the beef was amazing and had a horseradish flavor. The salad was light and wasn’t over sauced. Very delicious! This is something I would order again.

We also ordered Roasted Beef and Buratta roasted beets, burrata cheese, horseradish sicilian pistachios red beet and sherry puree.

This dish was another favorite of the night. The beets were fantastic and paired well with the cheese.

For our entrees we ordered Linguine with Clams.

The clams were delicious but the white sauce left a little to be desired. The flavor fell a little flat. For me, I think I prefer clams in a white wine sauce but I did like that this dish was a different take on a classic. The clams themselves were delicious. I totally horded them from Kelly.

Our second entree was Kelly’s choice, Crispy Roasted Chicken.

The chicken came with mashed polenta and grilled asparagus. The slaw on top was delicious and flavorful. I wish the mashed polenta has more flavor but have I ever had bad grilled asparagus? Obviously not.

The final course was dessert. We ordered White Chocolate + Wildberry Bread Pudding.

The creme sauce was good but the cake was a bit dense. The creme broke it down a little bit. Overall, not the best dish of the night but not poor.

The real stand out of the night was the Traditional Homemade Tiramisu in a Burnt Caramel Sauce.

I always love tiramisu  this did not disappoint. The tiramisu was light like a pillow or a cloud and so delicious. The best part of the dish was how the tiramisu was on top of the burnt caramel sauce. I’ve never had tiramisu with caramel before but it was so good. This confirms what I already believe, that there is no dish that cannot be improved by the addition of caramel.

Overall, I liked the Olive Kitchen + Bar. I didn’t try the cocktails but they looks delicious (there is a pear martini I had my eye on) and the appetizers and tiramisu are the clear standouts.  This would be a great place to hit for happy hour in the future!

*also, the midterm is over. It never tasted so sweet.

Do you plan to participate in Restaurant Week? If so, where do you want to dine?