The Divine Dish

Dinner at Palomino, Westwood

Palomino dining room

Opened in 1998, Palomino in Westwood offers classic American fare with Mediterranean influences.   The upscale elegant large bar offers plenty of room for diners to enjoy drinks and appetizers.   The airy main dining room offers Westwood street front views from floor to ceiling windows, luxurious booths, eclectic lighting fixtures, and tables in the middle of all the restaurant action.

Palomino bar area

I visited on a Wednesday when Palomino offers their all day half off any bottle of wine over $30 (which is most of their extensive wine list).  This promotion is a great deal and an opportunity for diners to sample a vintage they might not normally be able to order.   Here’s what we sampled on our visit.

roasted garlic with cambozola

We started with appetizers – the roasted garlic with cambozola cheese came with a tomato chutney and roma crisps.  The manila clams were plump and delicious, a great way to start a meal, swimming in a broth of sopressata, garlic, tomatoes and herbs.  We soaked up all the extra broth with the nice crispy bread perched on top of the steaming bowl of clams.

Manila clams

We also sampled salads – the restaurant’s signature chop chop salad had a huge amount of ingredients – smoked turkey, salami, provolone, garbanzo beans, parmesan, romaine lettuce and tomatoes.  This would be a great main course but huge for an appetizer salad, though really good to share.   The other salad was our favorite, the simple field greens, with chevre and pumpkin seeds.

chop chop salad

field greens

We moved on to the main courses, rigatoni bolognese, oven roasted Idaho trout and the rotisserie pork loin.

rigatoni bolognese

The pasta was cooked perfectly with hot Italian sausage, pear tomatoes, and garlic in a roasted red pepper cream sauce.  This would be a great main course on a fall or winter afternoon or evening.

Idaho trout

My boyfriend Matt had the Idaho trout, oven roasted with a citrus herb stuffing, served with grilled asparagus, red bliss potatoes and artichokes.  I am not a big trout fan, but this dish was amazing and a great option if you want to dine on the lighter side.

pork chop

I had Palomino’s signature pork loin double chop, a huge piece of pork with a seared pepper crust.  It was massive, very tender and juicy.  Served with grilled asparagus and creamy parmesan rosemary potatoes, this huge dish could easily feed four people.  I ate about a quarter of the plate and took the rest home for leftovers, which were delicious the next night.  The chop was the best I have tasted in LA.

donuts

We ended the meal with some nice fried Italian zeppoles (donuts) covered in sugar served with a rich nutella sauce and whipped cream.  A perfect way to finish a lovely dinner.   I would highly recommend stopping by Palomino, especially on a Wednesday to take advantage of their half off wine deal, for a pre or post theatre or movie meal or a leisurely dinner the next time you find yourself on the westside.

Located at 10877 Wilshire Boulevard, call 310.208.1960 for reservations.