Causita just ’cause

Restaurant: Causita [ CLOSED ]

Location: 3709 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026.

Date: September 8, 2022

Cuisine: Peruvian

Rating: Tasty, but issues — and out of biz

I’ve really enjoyed a long string of Ricardo Zarate restaurants, all the way back to Picca and Paiche etc. Others followed like a stint at SOS, Rosaline and Pikoh. Sadly, while the food is always really good, they do not last long. Not exactly sure why. But the Foodie Club and I were excited to try Causita, his latest in Silverlake. The past proved true of the present and it closed not too long after we went (despite very tasty food).

Located in that busy stretch of Sunset in Silverlake — hate that area because it’s just so far from my house and a real pain to park in. Maybe I’m also jealous that trendy new places open here where they are super inconvenient.

Interior is modern.

Initial champagne. We had to negotiate with them to allow any kind of corkage at all. They did yield fortunately.

The menu.

kanpachi & uni tiradito. yellow tail, coconut leche de tigre, rocoto pitaya dressing. The white sauce was basically coconut milk with lime juice and chili. Incredibly zingy almost pucker inducing, but good.

chocolatas clams. chalaca style, charapita, leche de tigre, apple criolla. The chocolate bit is just because of the color of the clam shell (milk chocolate brown). The cerviche style mix inside was also super acid forward. Pucker up baby!

Mostly we brought Spanish wine.

summer gazpacho. heirloom tomato, peach, aji limo. Almost like a salsa. Very good though with a touch of sweetness. Super refreshing.

bluefin otoro. tamari, fresh wasabi, leche de tigre, black truffle. I didn’t like this as much as I expected to. It was good, but maybe a bit too much truffle flavor. At least it was decent truffle though, not rancid.

charred snap pea. charred jalapeno oil, labneh, mint, garlic chip. Very nice with a bit of creaminess and a great snap (bite) to the peas.

lobster dumpling. charred jalapeno oil, ceviche aioli. Strong flavor from the squid ink actually. Inside was a tiny bit dry.

Always a great Spanish red.

Pan con Chicharron. Crispy Pork, sweet potato, salsa criollo. Like a pork belly slider. Bread was nice for mopping up sauce on other dishes. I enjoyed this “burger.”

lamb ragu. fromage blanc dumpling, szechuan peppercorn. Soft with a nice meaty and creamy texture. Quite nice.

octopus. octopus, goat cheese-chorizo mousse, gotija olive, ceviche aioli. The peppers had great flavors and the octopus was very crispy.

Grilled Artichoke Hearts. avocado mousse, jalapeno, popped quinoa, charapita glaze. The texture and flavor of the artichoke was great.

udon noodles. shiitake, peruvian pesto, wasabi tobiko, roasted onion jus. Pesto flavor was awesome. Noodles were thick, and maybe a touch soft, and there was a very “leafy” basil quality offset nicely by the cheese. Overall a fabulous dish.

Oh, and a Bordeaux slipped in.

crispy rice. seared steak tartare, egg, parmesan sauce. Interesting and I liked it.

The egg and soy and beef tartare was mixed in. The parmesan sauce (which was a bit punchy) was left on the side.

Mixed up.

Lomo Saltado. Steak Filet. Onion Confit. Potato Petals. Fine, but less interesting.

The dessert menu.

Churros Bomboncito. Caramel, berry sauce. These were great with caramel centers. And on the left, Tres Leches Sorbettto, which really tasted like Uni Leche Sorbetto.

The damage wasn’t so bad.

Food was actually great at Causita, some of Ricardo’s best since Paiche. It was very bright. Not every dish was perfect, and there were relatively few things that were incredibly memorable, but it was very tasty — and zesty. Corkage issues were a bit of a thing. Somehow his restaurants never last. There also seems to be a curse on this strip of Silverlake. New things open constantly, but they shuffle and close rapidly too.