Tabu
A neighbourhood eatery has Laguna all a-buzz.
It’s 8pm and the fried funnel plantain cake is landing on tables everywhere: four ladies to our right pick self-consciously at the calorific concoction and a twenty something couple are burying spoons in the accompanying vanilla bean ice-cream, while yet another finds its way from the open kitchen to the corner table. It is Tabu’ signature dessert: a not-so-subtle reference to the restaurant’s South Pacific influence.
Oh, did I say South Pacific? Perhaps I should also mention head chef Geoff Platt’s love of wine country cuisine – courtesy of a four-year stint at Andrew Suttons’s Napa Rose. Comfort food also has a place. Mixed together with a dash of Asian spice, the result is a cacophony of influences and flavours that can be as overwhelming as they are interesting.
Take the interior: while the sturdy flatware, Fijian-style placemats and island-ish artwork have a clear tropical feel, the booths, open kitchen and rustic ambience are wine country through-and-through. The combined effect is of a slightly eclectic neighbourhood eatery – which is precisely how restaurateur and Tabu mastermind Nancy Wilhelm wishes the restaurant to be perceived.
Located just south of Dizz’s on Pacific Coast Highway, Tabu has claimed the space Dexter’s recently left vacant after almost a decade of occupancy. Like its predecessor, it is less a destination restaurant than it is a great neighbourhood eatery. And Laguna diners appear convinced: though there is little parking and definitely no ocean view, just try to get a table for four on a Friday or Saturday night and you’ll experience firsthand just how popular this restaurant has become in its first few months of opening.
The snug 35-seat space is crammed with casually elegant locals (and nary a Hawaiian shirt to be seen) all apparently relishing what can only be classes as a classic Laguna menu. Among seven appetizers, eight entrees and four desserts, diners will feel a flash of déjà vu in nearly all. There is the ahi carpaccio, grilled Caesar salad, stuffed chicken breast and – everybody’s favourite – the moulton (sic) chocolate cake. But, as Wilhelm puts it, this familiarity is all part of her game plan. “I didn’t want this to be a special occasion place,” she explains. “People eat out a lot in Laguna and we want them to be comfortable with the menu. To me, it fells like ‘Laguna’, and we have had a lot of repeats.”
Which brings us back to the kitchen. Just as Tabu is Wilhelm’s first solo venture (she worked with ex-husband David on both Sorrento Grille and the popular but now defunct Kachina), chef Platt is enjoying a first all his own: Previously a line-cook at Napa Rose, he made the gigantic leap to head chef at Wilhelm’s request.
It is a trip to the South Pacific with Platt’s starters, where traditional citrus accents appear alongside pan-Asian spices and the odd classic wine-country flavour. The best of these are perhaps the grilled diver scallops ($12) and ahi carpaccio ($10). Two sweet scallops are paired with a light tangerine-0infused beurre blanc (Platt replaces the usual cream with fresh tangerine juice) and rest on a tiny mound of creamy mash. It is a burst of bright citrus and seafood flavour. The ahi delivers a similar intensity of tastes: thin slivers of deep red tuna are topped with julienned yellow endive – caramelized on the grill – and tossed with balsamic carrots, red onion and the smoky, earthy essence of herbed truffle oil.
But it is the mojito-granita shrimp cocktail ($10) that steals the show. Four plump shrimp brined in a mojito mix of rum, lime juice, mint and sugar are grilled and laid over a bed of crushed mojito-infused ice. It is a double whammy of food and cocktail: chilled seafood moist with the hint of rum and an edible bed of ice that will have you dreaming of umbrella-spiked drinks and Costa Rican sunsets. And by forfeiting a martini glass for a slim and elegant white platter, Platt has successfully injected modern creativity in to what is normally a tired menu inclusion.
Unfortunately, a bowl of steamed mussels in lemongrass Szechwan broth ($8) heralds a different reaction. There was color (bright saffron), flavour (rich coconut milk) and texture (tender mussels), but a light hand with seasoning left us failing to detect the subtle nuances of lemongrass and Szechwan, as promised.
So far, so-so fusion. Appetites whetted, we’re eag4r to explore entrees that combine what would appear to be – at times – improbable ingredients. But despite Platt’s turbo-charged move up the career ladder, diners may gain confidence from his association with some of Orange County’s biggest food names. There was his 12-month stewardship at Roy’s (the reigning king of fusion cuisine), not to mention chef Sutton’s input in to his former protégé’s new menu. (Hints of Napa Rose can also be detected in Tabu’s sturdy wine list with the inclusion of a couple of Brunellos and a crisp Baileyana Sauvignon Blanc.)
It is perhaps Sutton’s influence that inspired a mostly flavourful maple-cured pork chop ($23). Wow. Honeyed sweetness, tender to the knife and – luckily – large enough to share. The accompanying fennel mashed potatoes are creamy but not bland, spiked as they are with the licorice essence of fennel. A pomegranate Cabernet sauce is the final inspired touch. A dish so well-balanced is inclined to leave you questioning why Platt bothers with South Pacific fusion at all, so well executed are his more rustic dishes.
Which brings us to the 16-ounce aged bone-in ribeye ($31). Prepared as asked, (medium-rare), it shows the amazing results that come with great quality produce, simple flavours and time-precision cooking. Pity, then, that the caramelized roasted baby vegetables are cut up in to bite-sized pieces (doesn’t a plate-sized steak call for man-sized chunks?) and a superfluous pat of herb butter interfered with the rich Cabernet sauce – so perfect on its own.
Grilled scallops and shrimp with angel-hair pasta ($26) are brought to life by a spicy squash broth, but a shitake-dusted yellow fin tuna ($25) is a case of too much and too many. The fish filet piled on cilantro gnocchi swimming in a brown sauce leaves the impression of a confused, somehow unappetizing plate. Platt lets slip that regulars love the gnocchi enough to order it on its own as a side dish. Great idea. The al dente bite of pillowy pasta flecked with pungent flecks of cilantro is an interesting mix of flavours – and best enjoyed solo.
In fact one of the best hits of the night may have been a simple amuse bouche of gazpacho redolent with mint and garlic, proving the simple flavours in life are often best. And while the fun-loving Laguna crowd are clearly already enjoying the Tabu experience, we look forward to watching a young chef come in to his own – and a neighbourhood restaurant with so much promise find its authentic voice.
TABU: 2892 S. Coast Hwy., Laguna Beach, 949.494.7743. HOURS: Dinner Tues-Sun from 5pm. WHO’S THERE: Devoted regulars and stray Montage guests seeking an authentic Laguna experience WHAT TO WEAR: Laguna chic, but leave the flip-flops and Hawaiian shirts at home. ABOUT THE NEIGHBOUR: Grab an espresso next door (Tabu is drip coffee only) at the hip new boutique Max Regal. It’s open late for those not afraid to try rock-star fashions post-funnel cake. ABOUT THE RESERVATIONS: Weekend reservations for parties of more than four can be hard to secure. Think in advance. ABOUT THE KITCHEN: Great view, if a little noisy. ABOUT THE PARKING: Seven spaces in back and 10 underground. Don’t even consider snaring a spot at the nearby animal clinic – they will tow. BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE: Cozy up with your date in the booth for two. WHAT IT COSTS: Starters $4-$12; entrees $23-$31; desserts $7
RATING: **1/2