As we wander through a nearly deserted and mazelike parking structure trying to figure out how to get to a restaurant called R.E.D., my companions are looking progressively more suspicious about what I’m getting them into. The adjacent buildings are corporate towers; can a restaurant worth visiting be concealed in one of these? I started to have my own doubts – the person who told me about the place said it had a lot of character and exceptional food for a place in an office building, but that’s not setting it against the highest competition.
I eventually noticed a row of bottles through a window in the building at the corner of PCH and Grand, and we passed through a somewhat anonymous lunch counter to the main room. This had some character, with wood floors, comfortable chairs, and a bright red chandelier. A pair of regular patrons sat at the bar listening to jazz tunes on each other’s iPods while chatting with the bartender, which contributed to the atmosphere of a neighborhood joint.
I was somewhat confused when the server handed me a lunch menu, since it was almost 7 p.m., but he explained that they serve the same menu at lunch and dinner. The offerings were fairly standard American items such as burgers, pizza, pastas, and salads, with a few more interesting specials. We considered our options over a chocolate martini (beautifully served, but too sweet for me) and a well-made gin fizz with a touch of agave. The name R.E.D. stands for Relax, Eat, Drink, and the bar menu indicates that they take all three elements seriously. There are premium alcohols and a fair number of tap handles, surprising for an establishment that is closed by 9 p.m.
We started with a house salad, a shrimp pesto quesadilla, and tortilla chips with spinach, cheddar cheese, and sundried tomato. The dip was made with small pieces of fresh leaf spinach rather than pureed spinach, which gave it interesting textures but made it slightly more difficult to eat neatly. A medium-spicy salsa was also provided, which added to the interest of the dish.
As good as the dip was, the quesadilla was even better, though also a bit of a mess to eat. It had been made with two small flour tortillas rather than one large one, and took two hands to manage, but the reward was there with the spicy shrimp in garlicky pesto. The salad was a good companion to the two cheesy starters, a light and fresh combination of butter lettuce, candied walnuts, shallots, and herbs in well-balanced vinaigrette.
We continued with blackened swordfish, a cup of tomato soup with orzo pasta, and fusilli pasta with chicken, bacon, and sundried tomato in an alfredo sauce. One of my companions had been railing against the modern tendency to put bacon in everything, but even she liked the pasta – the bacon was a little background zing of salt and smoke rather than a major element, and it fit in quite well. I liked the swordfish too, though I take issue with their definition of blackened; it had been coated with a mild Cajun-style seasoning but gently pan-fried or broiled, I couldn’t tell which, and the crisp crust was not there. Taken on its own merits, it was a good moist piece of fish with mildly peppery seasoning – the cook may have been concerned about drying it out and erred on the side of caution. It was served with lemon caper butter, cilantro pesto rice, and sautéed eggplant, squash, and peppers, making for a pretty plate and a fine meal. The tomato soup with orzo pasta was the only disappointing item, a bit bland and sweet for my tastes. There was plenty of it, as their idea of a cup of soup was a substantial bowl, and the sweetness was the fruitiness of tomato, but it needed a bit more garlic and herbs to make it interesting. Our dinner for three with five drinks (I forgot to mention that they make a very decent Manhattan) ran $95, quite reasonable for the experience.
I liked the dinner so much that I returned for lunch a few days later and tried a weekly special of herb crusted tri-tip served with butternut squash and tomato gratin and a cucumber-burrata salad. The steak was nicely cooked but topped with too much balsamic reduction; when I called this to my server’s attention he said that they would serve it on the side from now on. The excess of sweet sauce was especially noticeable because the squash gratin with tomato also had vegetable sweetness that would have been a fine counterpoint to the steak without the sauce. The salad helped as a counterpoint, a simple cool mix of vegetables with a little tangy herbs that balanced the plate. It was a good upscale lunch for a mere twelve bucks, and though I looked longingly at the bar I had it with iced tea instead.
As the clock approaches 8:30 the place clears out – this is not a haunt for night owls, but otherwise this office tower hideaway could stand with any restaurant in town. Excellence can thrive in all sorts of locations, and though this place is mostly frequented by inhabitants of the office tower, it deserves to be better known.
R.E.D. is at 222 North Sepulveda #120 in El Segundo – validated parking in structure, entrance from PCH. Open Mo-Fri 6:30 AM – 8 p.m., wheelchair access good, full bar. Menu at redatpct.com, phone 310-322-8408.Â
