Restaurant: The Royce Wood Fired Steakhouse [ 1, 2 ]
Location: 1401 S Oak Knoll Ave, Pasadena, CA 91106. (626) 585-6410
Date: July 25, 2023
Cuisine: Steakhouse
Rating: One of LA’s best
For years some of the guys have been talking about how good the Pasadena steakhouse, The Royce is…
So I figured I’d give it a try — particularly given that we were doing (mostly) Grange night.
It’s located inside the Langham hotel in Pasadena — which is right by the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens. I hadn’t even known this was here but it’s a lovely “old LA” hotel — really a rare vestige of the classic era of our city.
The Royce itself is a high-end classic (modern) steakhouse.
We had a great (if chilly) private room inside one of the wine cellars.
The menu.
Bread and butter.
JUMBO SHRIMP COCKTAIL. harissa cocktail sauce, grilled lemon. Not everyone’s favorite. Sauce was a bit overwelming. Nothing really wrong with it, but just ok.
HAMACHI CRUDO. granny smith apple and jalapeño relish, avocado mousse, cucumber espuma. Very nice, bright flavors.
CRAB CAKE. leche de tigre, meyer lemon aioli, petit radish salad. Quite solid, also with bright flavors.
ROASTED BONE MARROW. herb crust, pickled fresno chile, grilled black olive bread. Sweet and mildly hot, but delicious. Like a meat pie dessert.
DRY AGED STEAK TARTARE. caramelized onion purée, confit egg yolk, salt and vinegar potato chips. Solid tartare.
GRILLED WEDGE SALAD. grilled iceberg lettuce and radicchio, candied bacon, black garlic ranch dressing. The whole black garlic dressing and slight sweetness didn’t totally work. Not cold enough either.
CAESAR SALAD. white moroccan anchovies, black olive croutons, cured egg yolk, fig and anchovy dressing. Very solid caesar.
OLIVE & LEMON CRUSTED LAMB LOIN. rainbow baby carrots, english peas ragout, roasted cauliflower, carrot jus. Delicious, but not that much split 8 ways.
PORTERHOUSE PRIME. Fabulous smokey steak. Properly medium rare and one of the better steaks I’ve had.
TABASCO BEARNAISE & BORDELAISE. two-day veal stock and red wine reduction. Bordelaise was too sweet and the Bearnaise didn’t have enough punch.
ROASTED WILD MUSHROOMS. fine herbs, aged sherry vinegar. Very nice mushrooms.
ROYCE LOADED BAKED POTATO. potato mousse, crispy potato skins, bacon crumble, five cheese fondue. The cheese fondue was awesome.
FIVE CHEESE MAC AND CHEESE. brown butter breadcrumbs. Just ok.
DOUBLE BONE STUFFED PORK CHOP. Green Dragon Apple Chutney, Pancetta Stuffing, Grilled Cabbbage Macedoine, Bacon Jus. Polarizing. I liked it a lot, but it was a touch dry. Some found it too dry and chewy. Nice porky flavor.
BONE-IN RIBEYE PRIME. Very solid steak with smokey flavors, but not as good as the Porterhouse.
SAUTÉED BRUSSELS SPROUTS. bacon lardons, 63° egg, frisée. Good, if a touch sweet.
POWER GREENS. cream of spinach, baby artichoke, spinach. Very solid creamy green.
DUCK FRIES. tossed in duck fat and garlic. Fabulous fries.
Overall a really good meal. One of the best steakhouse meals I’ve had in years as the meat was quite good. Blows away the likes of Boa.
Overall, this was a great meal. Many of the guys feel that this is the best steakhouse in town. I’m no total expert, but I’ve been to plenty and it’s certainly in the top few. I think at a similar level to Alexander’s and Cut, but probably a touch more classic — i.e. Cut and Alexander’s have edged a touch more off the traditional steakhouse playbook into newer territory. The Royce is pretty straight up. But then again they are contemporary and upscale unlike terrible fossils like Taylor’s — and at The Royce the execution and attention to detail is top notch. Definitely also much better than “middling” steak places like BOA or Del Friscos. Service was great too and the Langham is a really lovely space.
But the drive is long. Sigh.
