Let me start off by saying that I would normally not even consider a hotel restaurant when “dining al fresco” was the theme.  They are two variables that do not seem to go together, am I right?  Hotel.  Outdoor dining.  However, I found the exception with the Grand Café, a cozy, casual eatery snuggled on the third floor of the Omni Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.  Dine in their outdoor patio – I insist.  You will be treated with the courtyard view of the sculpture plaza of the MOCA (the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles) where the awe-inspiring sculpture by Nancy Rubins commands your attention.  That is, until your cheerful waitress comes to welcome you and take your drink order.

Food with a View
From my seat on the Grand Café patio, the plaza also serves as the ideal spot for people watching – business types scurrying from point A to point B, tourists from around the world soaking in the Southern California sun, and reconnecting friends sharing a packed lunch by the reflecting pools.  My own view also included the pyramid-shaped waterfall, a calming sound and sight that went perfectly with the breezy, sunny, Thursday afternoon.  I say Thursday because it is the ideal day to go to Grand Café and take in a late lunch or early dinner – then quench your curiosity to learn more about the imposing sculpture that encompasses 1,000 pounds of stainless steel wire and talent.  Head down the convenient side ramp at the far end of the patio that exits right to the sculpture plaza and head over to the MOCA, where it is free admittance every Thursday from 5 – 8pm.  Bonus if you can grab a seat at the Grand Café on the second Thursday of the month, when the Downtown Los Angeles ArtWalk goes on and numerous galleries are open free to the public during this free, self-guided tour evening.

Eclectic Eats
The food at Grand Café is mixed, but promising.  First, there is the menu, an indecisive variety that has chicken tikka masala on the same page as yellowtail tuna tartare and a classic club sandwich.  From the menu, I chose a tiger prawn appetizer with horseradish cocktail sauce and mixed greens.  It was fresh and tasty, but I was rather confused by the chopsticks that accompanied it.  My other order, grilled asparagus wrapped in applewood smoked salmon seemed just as promising but the asparagus was cold and the salmon a little too fishy for my liking.  My company decided to go for the alternative to the menu: the buffet. 

Oh, that buffet.  After sampling my friend’s plate (again and again) I became more and more curious as to why Grand Café bothers with a menu at all when they are so clearly champions of the buffet spread.  Their buffet rotates in theme – Italian, Mexican, and Southern to name a few, and you would have to call in to check what the cuisine du jour is – and delivers the standard soup, salad, dessert fare along with that particular day’s cuisine.  That wonderful, sunny, tasty Thursday it happened to be Mexican.  Grilled sole with perfect seasoning, moist and just enough zip for the palate; whole chicken roasted in what tasted like a salsa-based marinade, tender enough to fall of its bones; and an outdoor grill station where a grill master was serving up BBQ chicken and carne asada, so juicy and delicious you found yourself going back for seconds (and thirds).  The buffet desserts were nothing to sneeze at either.  Though seemingly standard, the cheesecake was light and fluffy, like a sweet cloud, and the positively scrumptious fruit tart had a crust that delivered just as much flavor as the custard and fruit atop it, a nice change from the run-of-the-mill dry-as-sandpaper crust.

With a wait staff that can’t be topped in friendly attentiveness, the Grand Café is as good of a pick as any indie urban eatery.  Now, how about some seconds?

Grand Café is located in the Omni Hotel at 251 S. Olive Street, Los Angeles.  For more information, call 213-617-3300 or visit omnihotels.com.

Hungry for more adventures with Rachael?  Browse all of Glass of Win’s tasty blogs at Community.VisitThePlace.com.

More to Nom in the Neighborhood
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Pete’s Café & Bar
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Want to know more?  Click here to check out Varius Batty's blog about his delicious dining experience at Pete's.  Let him be your local tour guide.

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