Thoroughly modern Melba: Chef Melba’s Bistro has remained deliciously ahead of the culinary curve for a dozen years [RESTAURANT REVIEW]
Chef Melba, whose namesake Hermosa Beach restaurant opened a decade before farm-to-table became a dominant trend locally, serves her Cabrillo sea bass. Photo When Melba Rodriguez opened her restaurant in Hermosa Beach it was out of step with a community that was then thought of primarily as a nightlife destination. I distinctly remember people calling it “a Manhattan Beach restaurant in Hermosa,” and predicting the place would flop because people went downtown to drink, not eat. They thought that Chef Melba’s would have to start serving simple stuff aimed at the pre-bar crowd for the place to survive. Fast forward almost a dozen years and the situation downtown is exactly the opposite: creative restaurants have replaced bars-with-food in several locations, and the Pier Plaza is a respectable dining destination. Meanwhile, Melba Rodriguez has kept serving her Central American-inflected contemporary cuisine at a restaurant that is now in tune with a much more sophisticated local scene. There’s a little bit of Art Deco in the restaurant’s sleek, modern style, and since tables are packed a bit tight the sound level can get on the high side but is manageable. On any given night you can…
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