Snails don’t have a huge amount of flavor – they’re usually an excuse to eat large quantities of garlic butter – and we were interested in seeing how they worked with the creamy béchamel
Years ago, the most authentic French restaurant in the South Bay was located in an unassuming building on Pacific Coast Highway. It was not Continental French or California French, but Gallic in menu and atmosphere, and the server’s accent was not a product of extra study in French class.
The restaurant was Le Beaujolais, and when it closed in the late 1990s it was the end of an era, the last militantly French restaurant in the beach cities. An Italian place replaced it, then a café that lasted such a short time that I can’t remember the name, and then it was a banquet room and private party facility that was notable for never seeming to actually host any parties. Now the circle has closed – as Oh La La French Bistro, the venerable location is once again a French restaurant.
This isn’t to say you could ever mistake one establishment for the other; Le Beaujolais had a prim, dim interior that resembled an old country manor. Oh La La is modern, well lit, and sparingly but tastefully decorated. There is a mix of high lounge-type tables and standard height, and I found the lower ones much more comfortable.
The menu is brief and in one instance obscure; one of the sauces offered with meats or fish is a “Sauce Poulette,” which very few people would know is a variant on cream of mushroom. This may be a clever bit of marketing, since most Americans think of cream of mushroom soup as something that comes out of a can and have never experienced how good a homemade version can be. When people ask what Sauce Poulette is, the server has an opportunity to explain its appealing aspects.
We started our meal with a vol au vent aux escargots – a cylinder of puff pastry filled with snails in a buttery béchamel sauce with herbs. Snails don’t have a huge amount of flavor on their own – they’re usually an excuse to eat large quantities of garlic butter – and we were interested in seeing how they worked with the creamy béchamel. The very mild flavor of the meat is almost a background for the rich sauce. I would have liked this dish just as much if it were made with mushrooms instead, and even more if they were wild mushrooms or morels. The sauce itself was good, and we finished the last bits with the baguette that arrived at our table shortly after the starter. The only problem with the dish was that the puff pastry was hard on the bottom, a problem that can be caused by the sauce moistening the dough. Despite this detail, we thoroughly enjoyed the parts that had baked correctly.
To accompany the starter and our salad we had glasses of a French wine, Louis Latour Poilly Vinzelles 2008, and a Californian, a Coppola 2009 Chardonnay. Both arrived a bit too cold, but as they became more aromatic the difference was striking. The Latour was more delicate, higher acid, and as it warmed gave a scent like a walk through a citrus grove, while the Coppola had a richer, bigger flavor that was more reminiscent of tropical fruit. Each was a good example of very different winemaking styles, and while we savored both, the French was the clear winner with these starters.
We continued with a warm goat cheese salad, mixed greens, mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes topped with three large croutons spread with creamy goat cheese. The dressing was a subtle vinaigrette, just enough to accent the greens, and the emphasis was on the contrast between rich cheese and simple vegetable flavors. The only item that wasn’t straight from the farm was the small crock of onion confit, a light, sharp element to pair with the cheese or just eat with our bread. Californians who have grown up intimidated by French cuisine need to be reminded that the basics are never forgotten – the taste of top quality ingredients elegantly combined can be a gourmet delight. It comes at gourmet prices, though. The appetizer was $14, the salad $15, and entrees here run from $19 to $30.
A few pastas and risottos are offered, a steak and an intriguing pork tenderloin with honey thyme sauce, and various preparations of mussels. I settled on beef bourguignon, a rustic standard. This dish of beef stewed with root vegetables in red wine is a hearty favorite, and the version here was indeed rich, with the wine flavor was slightly muted in favor of the natural beef gravy. It was served over freshly roasted red potatoes in a lavish portion. I took almost half of mine home, and it was fine the next day, too. The only unfortunate thing was that I didn’t have a glass of Primal Roots red blend the next day, as I had at Oh La La, because that wine was an excellent companion to the beef.
My wife’s salmon in dill sauce was a more refined dish and the star of the evening. The large, piece of perfectly done fish was topped with a fragrant sauce and served over rice and vegetables. The balance here was perfect. A shot of black pepper accented the sharpness of the dill sauce — all that is good about butter and cream — and everything in harmony with the fish. This may have been the best fish entrée I’ve had all year, and it has been a good year.
For dessert, I hoped to try the strawberry Feuillette, but alas, someone else had gotten the last piece. I settled for a slice of the key lime pie, which had a pleasant balance of sweetness and tartness. I asked my server what wine he would pair with the pie, and he wrinkled his brow in concentration and finally replied, “Coffee?” I decided against caffeine in the evening, but respected his honesty – I would have ordered just about anything he suggested just to see how it worked, but he didn’t sell me a glass just to make a sale.
Oh La La is a special occasion restaurant. Our meal for two ran $120 before tip, and could have gone higher if we had ordered toward the high end of the wine list. It was well worth it, a relaxing and sophisticated meal that reminded us of the pleasures of all things classic.
Oh La La Bistro is at 522 South PCH in Redondo. Open daily from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Beer and wine served. Small parking lot or street parking, patio dining offered. Corkage $15. Website at ohlalarerdondo.com. (310) 316-9743.
