Los Angeles - Montage Beverly Hills (Dining)
Spring 2009
Frank's view 
A montage of staggering incompetence
As a hotel, The Montage Beverly Hills just about ticks all the boxes, all, that is, apart from the catering department.
A fairly flawless stay at the hotel was marred by catering cock-ups.
The Montage has three restaurants, Muse, Parq and the Conservatory Grill. Muse is the small, fine dining restaurant, which I didn’t visit, so I can’t comment.
However, Parq and the rooftop Conservatory were both a surprising let down.
Americans do seem to struggle with the concept of English Breakfast tea accompanied by cold skimmed milk, which is odd in Beverly Hills, where the presence of an Englishman is not exactly a rare occurrence.
The tea was delivered with lemon, honey and cold cream. Skimmed milk blends with tea to create a delicate tipple. Add cream and the result is the oily slop carnage of a kid dabbling with a chemistry set.
I ordered an all American smoked salmon bagel, which was fabulous, but a second foray into European culinary territory, again proved to be too much for The Montage kitchen.
“Is it possible to order a ham and emmental cheese croissant?”
“You’d like it hot with the cheese melted?”
Great. She’d got it.
Not a chance.
A large croissant arrived with cheese melted over the top of it. The ham was nowhere, clearly forgotten.
Has a top Beverly Hills breakfast chef really never been asked for a ham and cheese croissant?
And so to the rooftop pool and Conservatory Grill
Two women close by were turning the waiters pink, or was it purple?
First the coffee went back (apparently "disgusting"), then a club sandwich was returned ("revolting") and finally, a cocktail ("too much sugar")
This Camel can be as arsy as the next, but even I thought they were being unreasonable.
Then we ordered lunch
I asked for a bottle of New Zealand ‘Cloudy Bay’ Sauvignon Blanc, priced at a very reasonable $48. A few minutes later I watched a waiter with two glasses and a bottle of Cloudy Bay stand by a table of three men, who could not understand why he was harassing them. When I did catch his attention he clearly wondered why I was hijacking someone else’s wine.
We ordered two Caesar Salads, one with chicken, one with prawns. The lettuce in both had barely made contact with the most frugal amount of Caesar Dressing. Perhaps most of the intended dressing had been thrown over our waitress, whose top was covered in food stains.
I had more succulent prawns at Lucky Fish (the local walk-in sushi joint). The Montage Caesar Salad prawns were bland and dried out.
Shocking, and very surprising.
Montage Beverly Hills
225 North Canon Drive
Beverly Hills
+1 310 860 7800
http://www.montagebeverlyhills.com/
A fairly flawless stay at the hotel was marred by catering cock-ups.
The Montage has three restaurants, Muse, Parq and the Conservatory Grill. Muse is the small, fine dining restaurant, which I didn’t visit, so I can’t comment.
However, Parq and the rooftop Conservatory were both a surprising let down.
Americans do seem to struggle with the concept of English Breakfast tea accompanied by cold skimmed milk, which is odd in Beverly Hills, where the presence of an Englishman is not exactly a rare occurrence.
The tea was delivered with lemon, honey and cold cream. Skimmed milk blends with tea to create a delicate tipple. Add cream and the result is the oily slop carnage of a kid dabbling with a chemistry set.
I ordered an all American smoked salmon bagel, which was fabulous, but a second foray into European culinary territory, again proved to be too much for The Montage kitchen.
“Is it possible to order a ham and emmental cheese croissant?”
“You’d like it hot with the cheese melted?”
Great. She’d got it.
Not a chance.
A large croissant arrived with cheese melted over the top of it. The ham was nowhere, clearly forgotten.
Has a top Beverly Hills breakfast chef really never been asked for a ham and cheese croissant?
And so to the rooftop pool and Conservatory Grill
Two women close by were turning the waiters pink, or was it purple?
First the coffee went back (apparently "disgusting"), then a club sandwich was returned ("revolting") and finally, a cocktail ("too much sugar")
This Camel can be as arsy as the next, but even I thought they were being unreasonable.
Then we ordered lunch
I asked for a bottle of New Zealand ‘Cloudy Bay’ Sauvignon Blanc, priced at a very reasonable $48. A few minutes later I watched a waiter with two glasses and a bottle of Cloudy Bay stand by a table of three men, who could not understand why he was harassing them. When I did catch his attention he clearly wondered why I was hijacking someone else’s wine.
We ordered two Caesar Salads, one with chicken, one with prawns. The lettuce in both had barely made contact with the most frugal amount of Caesar Dressing. Perhaps most of the intended dressing had been thrown over our waitress, whose top was covered in food stains.
I had more succulent prawns at Lucky Fish (the local walk-in sushi joint). The Montage Caesar Salad prawns were bland and dried out.
Shocking, and very surprising.
Montage Beverly Hills
225 North Canon Drive
Beverly Hills
+1 310 860 7800
http://www.montagebeverlyhills.com/
Be Frank: agree or disagree? What do you think?
