Girl & the Goat

You can read my review in this thread. I thought the pork belly salad was a standout and would definitely order again.

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You can see mine above too, but I really like the goat liver mousse, the tomato and stone fruit salad was great, and I thoroughly enjoyed the goat curry. The green beans might be one of my favorite vegetable dishes I’ve had in awhile.

I’ve been a few times and plan to continue going back, but I like this kind of chef-y food and I can get why others don’t.

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I had the pork belly salad and it was nice. I mentioned it above too but unless it’s a casual lunch, I don’t see myself running back for their… pork belly salad. The other 6-7 items were all just forgettable besides the chickpea dish.

Didnt try the stone fruit salad. Goat curry is no longer on the menu.

The goat liver mousse to me did not live up to the expectations I had, though I appreciate the effort they made for the crumpets. After 3-4 dishes involving bread seemed to me more like a gimmick to fill people up than anything imo.

I loved the food there x 3 visits, but I do think it is not for everyone.
There are a lot of flavors piled on top of each other, and I can see why that may not be everyone’s preference, but what they do there (some heat, some middle eastern flavors, some acid, some fruit under - or over, or on the side of - a good protein or carb works for me). Especially chicken thighs with vanilla, branzino, shrimp/greens and the oyster with clam bread (though I agree it is really pricey for 2 oysters). Loved the naan, and crumpets.
Not really a dessert guy, but no one I was with really liked the popcorn thing but the Oyster Sauce was described as “interesting.”

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Hmmm… interesting interpretation. :thinking:

Sounds exhausting.

Woohoo! Welcome @BringYourBrunch.

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We had a nice kind of uneven meal at Girl & Goat. Great somm and out of the 8 dishes 2 were great - dips and fried oyster, 4 were good and 2 were meh (really didn’t get the vanilla chicken dish).

We would try it again but if we had one choice in that vicinity we would choose Majordomo or Bestia first. We’re also old and live in OC so we have to make the most of our trips to LA.

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Just read the previous posts.

People have different tastes. To my taste, the goat liver mousse and hot crumpets were great, to yours they weren’t. There’s not really anything to discuss there.

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I enjoyed my meal there. The plates are quite busy–she is kind of a throwback to the old Bobby Flay style of cooking at Mesa Grill in New York and Bar Americain. A lot of flavor, some people will think it’s too much and too saucy.

I think it works well in some dishes, but not as well in others. Disagree entirely that there was too much bread with the pork shank. The meat to bread ratio was better than you get at other places serving this kind of dish, and the meat I got was really delicious. Also enjoyed the beet salad and the take on chaat–you don’t normally get fried chickpea cooked to such a tender center when you get traditional Indian food.

The scallops were a miss for me. Slightly over and, in any event, just drowning in sauce. It could have been anything in there. The plaintain sticky toffee cake was also a miss; in general, their desserts try too hard for my taste.

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I think of that as Wolfgang Puck’s style in the 80s. On Letterman he’d make some delicious-looking dish, then instead of serving it he’d add two more ingredients.

I absolutely loved Bobby Flay’s NYC restaurant and Wolfgang Puck’s places. Bold, delicious flavors and quality. I recall loving every dish there. To me this place is not even in the same category but jmo.

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Count me on the thumbs-up side. Tonight was superb, maybe my favorite meal of the year (which could also be a function of where I’ve gone to date, but I digress).

We (wife and I) originally charted out a course of pork belly, shishitos, chick pea fritters, scallops, and pork shank, with the stone fruit and tomato salad on the outside looking in. A discussion with our server resulted in us swapping out the pork belly for the duck tartare and bringing the stone fruit salad into play. No misses for us in the bunch—the tartare was excellent, the veggies were fairly plentiful with the fritters the star of the show (amazing). Scallops were perfect and the pork shank was fantastic. Asked our server for guidance as we debated the brownie sundae vs. the Popcorn Situation for dessert—he brought us both PLUS a scoop of the black sesame ice cream with cookies and cream crumble. Yo.

Just a fun night out. Great servers, great soundtrack, beautiful space. I had booked this reso months ago and just like that it was here. Saturday night is usually date night for this household but I took what I could get when I was scanning the available reservations. Very happy we went.

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I’ve been a couple more times, so here’s a bit of a mash up report of two visits.

Roasted Beet - Yuzu Kosho Vinaigrette, Party Nuts, Blackberries

Glad we got this again, because it was much more memorable with a smaller order. Chef Izard definitely has a way with sauces.

Tomato and Stone Fruit - Sesame-Chili, Crispy Quinoa

This secretly might be one of my favorite dishes at Girl and the Goat. It’s not only a fantastic mash-up of flavors, but the superiority of local produce really stands out here.

Pork Belly - Green Mango, Pickled Fresnos, Shrimp Rice, Coconut Crunch

Not quite as good as the first time around, but still solid. Is it a salad? :man_shrugging: Do I care? No.

Goat Liver Mousse - Crumpets, Biscuit Crackers, Pickle Relish, Grape Mostarda

Still a banger. Crumpets are a top 3 bread in LA. I order this every time.

Must be piping hot.

Goat Curry - Masa Chips, Radish, Pickled Veggies

It absolutely sings when you dig right in and you get a bite with a chunk of goat while the masa chip is that halfway point between soggy and still crispy.

King Salmon Poke - Chili Crunch, Avocado, Strawberry

It’s not a large portion of salmon, but I did thoroughly enjoy it and the surprising pairing with strawberries on the plate. This seems like one of the better dishes to order solo at the bar, because it’s easy to eat by oneself and still be able to order some other dishes.

Roasted Chicken Thigh - Sichuan Chili Sauce, Vanilla Bean Yogurt, Market Grapes

While the dish itself isn’t particularly memorable amongst some of the other more creative offerings, I did really enjoy it. It seems like one of those staples that’s good enough to feel like a safe order that won’t disappoint, but earns a place on the table from a high floor.

Still plotting when I can make it for brunch.

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I need to stroll in for the vegetables…they sound delightful.

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Beautiful space and very professional service. Food was all very heavy leaning, busy, and saucy as other reports have indicated. Everything was very good but nothing was great. Pork liver mousse and pork belly mango salad were the best of the bunch.

I think the best highlight of GG is that they have a 35 dollar corkage fee, we got out of there with a very reasonable bill.




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That’s pretty much how we felt about GG. Went early on and haven’t been back since. If we’re going to DTLA we prefer MJD, Bestia and Bavel.

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Hello, I am hoping for advice as to whether the atmosphere is conducive to easy conversations (e.g. not too loud or tables smashed too close together). I am arranging a dinner with international visitors and a dinner will be the only time we see them. If you have any other recommendations, I would be grateful for that information as well. They are staying in DTLA but we can travel a bit too.

I sat outdoors and it was great, although they do play music outside. Inside seemed pretty loud and lively when I went to the bathroom.