Upon arrival the place was virtually empty save for some wait staff; wow I'm so glad I made those reservations ;). It's a larger restaurant serving mostly American-bistro fare. Most of the tables are set outside, and a long, sleek and modern bar adorns almost the entire length of the place and is equipped with a few flat screens to entertain the locals. No tables were "ready" in the enclosed dining area--more on that later--so we asked to sit in an alcove area of the patio furnished with its own heat lamp (which the ladies in our group requested).
The brunch menu has all the standard fare such as pancakes, French toast, eggs Benedict, and few non-breakfast items like flat breads, burgers, and salads.
I just about always order a Bloody Mary with my brunch, and Cache's version was excellent with a hearty spice kick and a generous amount of vodka.
I actually preferred this one over the far pricier one I had at Bouchon on the following day (side note: the drinks at Bouchon were incredibly weak). There's something to be said about a nice buzz at 11:30am =).
We start off our brunch meal with a flat bread topped with salmon, asparagus, egg, creme fraiche, and frisee.
A bit messy to eat, but it was actually a nice combination and the crust was perfectly cooked. I would have liked to have seen more toppings along the edges to tame the crust's texture, but other than that, this was a good start for us.
Our mains arrive about 20 minutes later, and all at the same time; you know I'm very particular about this.
Ricotta pancakes with lemon-blueberry compote:
You've heard the phrase don't judge a book by its cover, well now I'd like to introduce to a new phrase, don't judge a stack of pancakes by the top pancake. Although the top pancake was nicely bathed in yummy lemon-blueberry sauce, the other cakes were dry and sorely lacking in flavor. No syrup was provided to tame the dryness, so you're left with trying to sweep up every last drop of the blueberry sauce with each bite. I've made far better pancakes at home. What you see above is filler food, and expensive filler food at that.
Poached eggs with crab hash, tomato Hollandaise, and house-made English muffins:
Firstly you'll notice the muffins are burnt, or is that Cache's idea of a charred muffin? Regardless, we asked for a second muffin that wasn't burnt, and well they burnt, um, charred that one, too. The parts that weren't charred were actually very good and exhibited a taste you'll never experience from a store-bought variety. As for rest of this dish, strong notes from the tomato Hollandaise completely overpowered the delicate taste of the crab meat, which was sparse in quantity. The eggs were cooked nicely, but that's not enough of a reason to convince me to order this dish again.
Brioche French toast with vanilla marscapone cheese and banana rum sauce:
OK so who ordered dessert for breakfast? Oh right, me of course! Thick slices of Brioche saturated with the rich rum sauce and topped with that silky marscapone made for a heavenly combination; I left not a single trace of food on this plate. Not quite the best French toast I've had, but very good and a definite do-over if I ever come back for brunch.
Eggs coccote with mozzarella, basil, eggs, eggplant, and tomato sauce:
That's an odd combination, yeah? I didn't get to try any of it, but my in-laws certainly enjoyed it. This is like an eggplant marinara with sunny-side up eggs.
Service was good and attentive with plenty of coffee and water refills. The manager came out to chat with us a few times. Only a few other tables were occupied on a sunny Saturday morning and so I was surprised the dishes didn't arrive sooner than we had expected. And why weren't we allowed to sit in the enclosed room? It was completely empty and the staff gave no good reason as to why it was closed, other than to say it wasn't "ready." As for the food, while the French toast, flat bread, and eggs coccote were solid options, our other two dishes left much to be desired. Dry pancakes and burnt English muffins indicate the kitchen needs some tuning. And parking in this area is not easy; you'll need to seek out a meter--most of which have 1-hour limits--or pay up at one of the overpriced lots. With so many other brunch options in this area, it's tough to recommend this place over, say Literati or Tavern LA; you can find those reviews here and here.
Cache
3110 Main St.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
oh man that looks sooooooo good!
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