Yes. 28 or 30 days comes to mind, but not 100% sure.
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Thanks for the excellent write up. I love those wine glasses.
I’ve found that generally, restaurants that offer a wine pairing service are more than happy to top off any of the wines being offered if you need/want more.
Got to try Somni on Tuesday. The menu hasn’t changed much since @DTLAeater posted about it but we didn’t get the squid course. It doesn’t even seem like they substituted something else in it’s place. I won’t post my pictures since they’ve all been posted but just wanted to share some general thoughts.
I never got to try Ssam so I don’t know what the room liked before but I loved the clean aesthetics of the dining room. There was a minor service hiccup at the beginning of the meal. As the first courses arrived, we noticed that everyone had wine glasses set in front of them except us. So I asked the somm if there is supposed to be a pairing with this course and for some reason he was under the impression that we chose not to do the pairing (or any wine for that matter) even though no one had asked us. Looking back, I think the miscommunication happened when we were being walked in to the restaurant after the initial drink in the lobby where you’re presented with the wine menu. As we were walking, the server asked “Do you have any questions about the wine pairing?” And I replied “no” because we knew what we were getting. Somehow he took that as we’re not getting any wine? Besides that, the service was really amazing the rest of the night.
Few more thoughts about the wine. We went with the “Unique” wine pairing, which is their cheapest pairing at $175. They definitely do source smaller production wines so chances are, you’re probably not going to taste anything that you’ve had before. Some really fun wines but none of them really wowed me. There were also a couple of questionable pairings which I guess is expected when you’re serving 20+ courses but only 6 different pairings. If you’re not a big drinker, the pairing is definitely not good value. But what’s really cool about their wine program is that it’s essentially all you can drink. They constantly refill your wine glass throughout dinner so if you’re a big drinker, you should definitely get the pairing. And of course, as @DTLAeater mentioned, they use Zalto wine glasses which really heightens the drinking experience all the more.
The food was all presented beautifully. I would say there were 3 standout dishes, the spot prawns, lobster broth with potato croissant, and turbo fin. A few meh dishes and the rest fell under the “good but not memorable”. I think if one goes to Somni to eat the best tasting food of their lives, they’ll be disappointed. But if one goes to experience a unique, fun, and overall tasty dining experience, Somni sure delivers on that front. For us, it wasn’t the best food we’ve had but it was one of the best dining experiences we’ve had so we left as happy customers.
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Thanks for the report, I agree with your thoughts. The experience as a whole is fun, which makes you leave quite happy. I suspect the bigger menu changes will come after their mid-summer break at the end of August. Wine pairing was better and less expensive at Dialogue.
Some dishes I have not seen in prior postings
Gin and pine ‘cocktail’
Shigoku oyster aguachile
Pizza margherita (crust made of almond meringue)
Sun and shadow. Coconut agar (black from squid ink) hiding some dungeness crab and uni.
Xuixo
Coconut custard
Fresas con nata
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Since I know so little about wine, I also know nothing Zaltos. Found an enjoyable article about them (posted to non-regional discussion about alcoholic beverages).
This is not the entire meal, right? Just the dishes not seen before?
No, it wasn’t the entire meal.
besides the non alcoholic and wine tasting pairings, is their options to order beers or cocktails? Going in April and i wanted to know if i can order beer and cocktails a la carte. It’s a weekday and i don’t want to be drunk since i have to work the next day.
You might try calling the SLS, they are helpful. I know you can at least order wine or spirits by the glass.
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yes you can.
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Anyone gonna hit this up again before the Michelin craze/inflation hits in June/July with their inevitable stars?
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Was a one and done experience for me, unless someone offers to take me on their dime.
While I adore what Chef Aitor and the team are doing at Somni, the truth is that there are SO many other hugely interesting offerings in SoCal I haven’t yet tried that I can’t see a return trip to even as splendid a meal as Somni offers taking priority over eating new potential gems.
Dammit, my English teacher would give me detention just for that last run-on train wreck of a sentence… (Although my German teacher would complain that it was too brief lol)…
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Lucky for me, it’ll be my first cherry popping of Somni along with Dialogue.
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The Somni experience is a tightly scripted, directed and choreographed performance; an acting coach trained the opening team.
How did the pizza margherita taste? The idea seems repulsive.
The crust is crunchy on the outside yet spongy since it’s a meringue and topped with dehydrated tomato & whipped cheese. It’s certainly whimsical and gives it a completely different texture than what I’m used to with regards to pizza. But at the end of the day, I would rather have a real slice!
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ditto, wasn’t my favorite course.
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