Museums are not generally associated with destination dining. However, at Ray’s and Stark Bar at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) you won’t find any cafeteria trays or shrink-wrapped sandwiches. What you’ll get instead is a menu of ever-changing, seasonal Mediterranean small plates from chef Kris Morningstar (AOC, Patina, District) and the Patina Restaurant Group.
While planning dinner with a fellow food-loving friend, we discovered that we’d both been meaning to visit Ray’s and Stark Bar and decided to check it off our list on our double date.
Ray’s and Stark Bar, named for film producer and former LACMA trustee Ray Stark (THE WAY WE WERE, FUNNY GIRL, ANNIE), sits adjacent to the Resnick Pavilion and features views of several museum buildings as well as the famous Urban Lights installation. While summertime normally calls for outdoor dining, a heat wave made the glass-walled, mid-century-inspired dining room seem like a better option.
Once we were seated, a mile-high loaf of bread straight from the oven arrived at our table. The crusty bread was delicious on its own but when slathered with the creamy, sea salt and chive-topped butter? Heavenly.
To sip on, I ordered a Rose Wishes and Lavender Dreams made with gin, Chateau L’Afrique Cotes de Provence Rose, St. Germain, lavender syrup, freshly squeezed lemon juice and sage ($14.00). Despite its frou-frou name, this drink packed a punch.
My dining companions selected the Ray’s Swizzle (rum, freshly squeezed lime juice, pineapple syrup, blackberry, orange, $11.00), Ginger Rogers (freshly squeezed lime juice, ginger, mint, ginger ale, $11.00), and the Owl and the Pussycat (rum, freshly squeezed lemon juice, simple syrup, chilis, strawberries, $11.00) for their libations (L to R).
Drink at your own risk! The bottom of Justin’s glass broke clean off his Ray’s Swizzle while he was holding it, drenching both him and my purse. The staff apologized and brought him a replacement cocktail, but we were still a little miffed to find it on our tab at the end of the night. Oh well…
Once poor Justin cleaned himself up, our meal began with a cool, crisp amuse bouche of hamachi-topped cucumber.
The first of our dishes to arrive was the Summer Squash, a raw vegetable medley tossed with red onions, oregano, pine nuts and feta cheese and drizzled with an anchovy-mustard vinagrette ($10.00). The salad was a bit too simple to dazzle, but the cool bites were refreshing in the heat.
Next up was a trio of pastas. My favorite was the Cavatelli with broccoli rabe, anchovies, chili and garlic, finished with bread crumbs and a wonderfully nutty Grana Padano ($16.00). Each al dente bite was a perfect balance of salty and savory flavors, and I loved the crunch of the bread crumbs.
Our carb parade continued with the Agnolotti Dal Plin in which the pinched rectangular packets of pasta were served with truffled rice, hazelnuts, arugula, hen of the woods mushroom and porcini sauce ($19.00). I’m not one for mushrooms, but they imparted a nicely subtle earthiness to the spot-on agnolotti.
Our third and final pasta dish was the Ricotta Gnudi ($17.00). The tender ricotta-stuffed pillows were bathed in a savory brown butter sauce and brightened up with sweet Brentwood corn. A generous grating of pecorino sardo and a sage leaf finished the well-executed plate.
Our final savory dish of the evening was the Italian Stallion, a pizza topped with sausage, caciocavallo, olives, fennel pollen and broccoli di cicco ($18.00). Ray’s and Stark Bar’s crisp yet chewy pizza might be one of the most underrated pies in the city.
To round out the evening and satiate our sweet tooth, we selected two desserts. To my surprise, both were quite modernist-looking and a whimsical departure from our savory courses.
The “Chocolate” dessert featured chocolate bon-bons filled with passion fruit mousse as well as brownie and cookie crumbles, chocolate shavings and a tart passion fruit coulis ($10.00). Yum.
Our “Toffee” dessert with date pudding, apple balls, a disc of crunchy toffee and toffee ice cream ($10.00) also impressed.
Complimentary soft, creamy housemade Oreos wrapped up the night.
From the first bite of bread to the last bite of dessert, the food and drink at Ray’s and Stark Bar really delivered. I can’t believe it’s take me so long to visit! Now, once I’ve moved past having to pay for that spontaneously shattering drink, I’ll be back.
Ray’s and Stark Bar
Website here
5905 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 857-6180
Noms Not Bombs 