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# Mélisse is well worth the price
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/m-lisse-is-well-worth-the-price/
- Published: 2008-03-27T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T19:01:14.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By MERV HECHT, a food and wine critic and wine buyer and consultant to a number of national and international food and wine companies.*

WE’RE REALLY LUCKY TO LIVE IN SANTA Monica. The weather, the shopping, the diversity — and the restaurants! And of all the great restaurants in town, probably the very best is Mélisse.

What is it that makes Mélisse so special? First, the layout. It’s not so big that the noise is distracting, and not so small as to feel cramped. Diners can choose to sit a little apart at comfy booths along the sides of the room, or at the widely spaced tables. If the weather permits, there’s a third option — outside on the beautiful patio. Also, the bar stands apart from the dining room, which adds to the quiet, non-busy atmosphere.

Second the servers at Mélisse are mature and serious; we didn’t get the feeling that they are just there until they get an acting call. Chef/owner Josiah Citrin, a native Angeleno enjoys the respect of his staff and it shows. My second son Spencer ordered the filet of sole at dinner there last week, and it was boned tableside by a real professional. Number one son, who is a surgeon, was impressed with the surgical precision of the waiter preparing that sole.

Third, the wine list and wine service really shines. The list contains a number of great, hard-to-find wines, a few affordable ones, including something from every major French and California region. I was surprised to see Sagratino di Montalfalco from three different producers on the list. Even in Italian restaurants I rarely see even one producer of this hot new Italian grape. And Bryan, the sommelier, is a true professional without that haughty attitude one hates in a French restaurant. One small criticism, the prices are, as in most L.A. restaurants, a bit over the top, and there is a lack of good bottles in the $40-$60 range. When I go to an expensive restaurant, sometimes I want to splurge on a special and expensive bottle, but sometimes I just want to eat well and drink something more ordinary.

That said, number one son Matt went to Mélisse for a special occasion recently, and asked Bryan the sommelier for a “good red under $60.” Matt reported that Bryan turned up an excellent bottle of Cote du Rhone for $41.

Fourth, the ambiance. Sometimes it may be hard to define, but you know it when you see it. For me Mélisse has great ambiance. It starts with the champagne cart that rolls your way when you are first seated. While I don’t personally usually start dinner with a glass of champagne, many do — as I noticed when last there. Toward the end of dinner the cart is transformed into an excellent selection of after-dinner drinks. Now I come to life. Usually I have an Armagnac, but the last time I was there we all had the Dupont Calvados. A glass of Calvados, the apple based liquor from the Normandy region of France, once a day is said to keep the doctor away.

In addition to the champagne-liquor cart and the table-side service, there’s the cheese cart. As it rolls by the table, my mind tells me I’m in France, not Santa Monica. That’s what I call ambiance.

But what about the food’s three key elements: The selection, the presentation, and the preparation? In all three categories Mélisse shines.

The menu, although directed more toward the tasting menus than an a la carte selection, includes shellfish dishes, plus a selection of several fish, beef, lamb, fowl, and vegetarian dishes such as pasta, some dishes with white truffles and some with black truffles.

We’ve tried all of it at one time or another. The beef three ways (a dish made famous, I think, by Michael Mina in San Francisco) is like a fun tasting, and quite satisfying. The seared fois gras is as good as that dish gets. The Dover sole, mentioned above, was pretty much as in the best restaurants in France. At one dinner a friend had the special wild grouse, while the others had pasta with white truffles. Both dishes were exceptional. But the check for four, with a reasonable bottle of wine, came to over $800\. Well worth it.

Perhaps the lobster “Bolognese” is not quite as inspired as other dishes. The pasta wrapped around the pieces of lobster detracts from the delicate flavor of the lobster itself. And the plate covered with foam is not visually attractive or interesting. The flavored foam craze, initiated by Ferran Adriá of El Bulli restaurant in Rosas, Spain, was fun for a while, but it’s now so passé.

At between $100 and $200 per person (on the average) Mélisse is not somewhere I go a few times a week. But for a special occasion, or when we start to miss the restaurants we love in France so much we can’t stand it, a dinner at Mélisse is a special treat that reminds us how lucky we are to live in Santa Monica.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 27, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/032708.pdf?ref=smdp.com)