Welcome to Good News/Bad News on Viviane, chef Michael Hung's beautifully designed mid-century modern restaurant nestled within the Avalon Hotel. With the exception of what sounds like a crazy dineLA week, critics and bloggers alike have lauded the restaurant's clean French fare, with a glowing review by Jonathan Gold. So what's the overall word?
Jonathan Gold sums it up as "soft" and "clean"
"You may have noticed that I have described most of the food at Viviane as soft, and you would be correct — softness seems to be pretty much essential to the aesthetic. Thus the luscious softness of the seafood boudin blanc doesn't come as much of a surprise (although its flavor, as a sausage version of a cognac-laced lobster a l'Americaine, just might)." [LAT]
A+ for design and ultra cool vibes
"Palm trees or stands of bamboo? Both! Souffle settees in the cabanas? It wouldn't be a Wearstler design without them. The music tends heavily toward both Jay Z and the kind of mellow '70s things Jay Z might like." [LAT]
"Ambiance is cool if you're looking for a poolside lunch reminiscent of Miami. Fun, mod, and tucked away." [Yelp]
That linguine though
"So the linguine with clams is neither garlicky in the Italian style nor sharp like most Japanese-fusion revisions, but kind of mellow: ribbons of soft, handmade pasta tossed with clams, translucent slices of geoduck, and a few drops of what tastes like beurre blanc." [LAT]
"Linguine was buttery and briny, the inherent salty goodness of the geoduck and clams well conveyed. Very tasty." [kevinEats]
Chef Michale Hung is the foie gras master
"A little foie gras to start the weekend. Another awesome opening for Stephane Bombet." [Kris Yenbamroong]
"Foie was silky smooth, delicately liver-y, with the squash and cider providing just enough sweetness and a countering punch of acidity. Very nice." [kevinEats]
"This dish came with candied butternut squash, 20-year-old balsamic vinaigrette, cider gelée, walnuts, and a side of brioche. The texture of foie gras torchon is buttery and dense; we enjoyed it so much that we asked for a second plate of brioche." [Yelp]
That said, there were some serious service hiccups during dineLA
"Our only setback was that service was little slow and our meal took 2 and a half hours and we're not slow eaters.. It was a good half hour between each plate." [Yelp]
"We went during Dine LA. They were not prepared for the larger than normal number of patrons. The food was excellent; service was terribly slow." [OpenTable]
"I was rather excited to eat here, but tried to understand that perhaps Viviane wasn't ready for the frenzy of DineLA or maybe that they were understaffed." [Yelp]