blue on blue

I’m in love! After pretending to be excited about too many of the same date venues and not particularly stellar companions lately, I finally found love with Blue on Blue, Avalon, and yes my new guy too! I know, so much excitement all in one night, right!?! :)
The atmosphere is gorgeous. Picture Viceroy, but almost completely secluded, the two of you having your own 8 person cabana and the service of the entire restaurant, while overlooking the pool and sipping on very noteworthy herbal cocktails and wine.
Amazing food. The menu is one that is a bit tiny but every flavor profile divinely thought out and simply presented.
–We started with the diver scallops cooked to perfect texture over mashed potatoes and homemade chips.
— Went to the braised artichoke salad, with such a pretty citrusy undertone.
–Then did the Halibut with heirloom tomatoes, fingerling potatoes, and broth that made you want to melt into it. (definitely get this!!)
–The pork medallions were probably the only wrong step, but how could you mind after all that goodness.
So…treated like royalty. Foodie happiness. Gorgeous venue. Great cocktails. Seriously why are people fighting over tables at Little Door?

Blue on Blue is a well kept secret (although maybe not so much after being shown in an episode of The Hills). From what I hear, the place has its share of celebrities who frequent it (and I’d believe it too after spotting Taryn Manning there on a date). The hotel has recently undergone a remodel and is in the process of rebranding itself. From what I can see so far, they’re doing a fantastic job of keeping the laid-​back but cool vibe that it has always had, but just updating it.
The menu I’ve been told is about to change, but for now, they have amazing small plates, a lot of them made with items from their rooftop garden.
The cocktails are amazing and Ian the bartender really knows his stuff. Not to mention, he makes his own infused simple syrups for cocktails which give them that extra special twist that you don’t find elsewhere, and a killer Bloody Mary.
Go for the drinks, stay for the company.

Love Blue on Blue as a weeknight drinks spot. Too me it’s everything right about LA– laid back, great décor, good mix of modern and retro; and little of the crowds of a-​holes which give LA such a bad rap.
Can’t speak to weekends so I don’t know if it gets crowded or velvet ropey. Food’s fine but I look at it as a cool poolside lounge with a menu. As such, it’s one of my favorite spots in the city…

For those wanting to spend the night in the Beverly Hills experience, Blue on Blue does a pretty good job, while keeping the pretentious, Hollywood feel out.
Granted, when you first walk in, you may feel slightly intimidated. The restaurant is modern art deco, and most of the patrons have dressed to impress. Probably want to leave your Adidas sweatsuit or Sketchers at home. The restaurant/​bar is fairly upscale, so dressing like a grown-​up is a must.
The food is delicious. Be careful to not fall in love with any favorites though, as the menu is constantly evolving and there is a good chance that what you loved tonight, won’t be there tomorrow. The positive though is that the Executive Chef and staff keep the menu fresh, and I always find something delicious on it.
The drinks are poured generously and worth the high price tag.
Sitting outside by the pool is a must, especially if you are a virgin. When making your reservation, specify that you would like to sit outside. Especially during summer evenings, it can be completely relaxing. If here with friends or just drinks, make sure to reserve a bungalow, as it makes the evening more intimate and less «restraunty».

Blue on Blue in the Avalon Hotel is a really fun experience. They have outdoor seating right near the pool with all sorts of swanky lounging areas. Lucky for me the tables weren’t too close to the edge of the water. I kept picturing myself having one too many cucumber infused martini’s and stumbling oh-​so-​gracefully in to the deep blue. No it hasn’t happened before (okay, maybe once)!!
Speaking of cucumber martini’s, they are AWESOME here. I’m usually not a fan but this one was different. It was refreshing and sweet (but not too sweet!). Yummers! Bummers, though for the $ 15 a pop they were charging for those suckers.
I would highly recommend the chicken and polenta as well as the split pea soup with cornbread crumbles. They were both thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. My only complaint is that it was DAMN expensive. My friend had a $ 50 gift certificate and we still ended up paying about $ 50 a piece after that was taken off. Good food and great atmosphere comes at a price I suppose but I probably wouldn’t return only because my pocket book will frown.

My boyfriend and I ate at Blue on Blue for Valentine’s Day. Everything about the place completely exceeded my expectations– I’d love to go back again, but as it’s fairly pricey, I might have to wait until next V-​day!
First of all, I was expecting the pool-​side dining to be slightly overrated, but it really is a wonderful atmosphere and a pretty/​romantic view. Something about looking at candlelit cabanas across a dimly-​lit, serene pool area really sets the mood. Our server was very pleasant, and the hosts were gracious as well.
The two of us had the 4 course Valentine’s meal; it began with a petite lobster and lentil salad, we both picked scallops as our appetizer (which were seriously amazing– they came over English peas and tapioca, which sounds odd, but was delicious). For the main entrée, I had crispy halibut (which was also incredible) and he had venison loin. Dessert was an assortment of three tastings, including truffles, a strawberry pistachio tart, and buttermilk panna cotta. Overall, the food was excellent– we didn’t leave a crumb on our plates!
Although we turned down the wine pairings (three glasses each would’ve been a bit much), we did however get a glass each of zinfandel. Although the night cost a pretty penny ($ 200 including tip), I’d say it was pretty reasonable for a Valentine’s dinner in Beverly Hills. Blue on Blue is definitely a place to check out for a romantic, upscale night.

I’ve heard so many great things about restaurant week in other cities, so I was excited to try Blue on Blue as part of the DineLA restaurant week.
Came here for lunch on a very nice and warm day and sat out on the patio. Dining at this restaurant was almost like a blast from the past (the past being the 70s during which I was not yet born) The décor of the restaurant was very retro and relaxing. I could definitely picture the Avalon hotel being a very nice place to spend a day in Beverly Hills back in the day. The pool patio seating for the restaurant, however, was a little bit awkward. Had there been people swimming in the pool, the patio lunch would have felt like a back yard barbecue. Additionally, it was weird to see people cuddling and feeding each other fruit in the cabanas across the pool. Not my choice of scenery for lunch.
The waiter was very attentive and water service was great. The food, on the other hand, was mediocre at best. For starters, I had the ahi tuna salad. I’ve marinated and seared ahi before to make salad before, so I knew I should expect at least a little bit better at a restaurant. However, it seems like their ahi was hastily seasoned with salt and pepper moments before it went on the grill. Although it was well cooked, the core of the ahi had no flavoring :(
For my entrée, I had their salmon on a bed of salad. By this point, I was sensing the theme of their cooking (or perhaps just the fish). That theme is under seasoning. I stopped eating the salmon after a few bites because of how bland it was. My friend ordered the steak sandwich, which tasted much better compared to my salmon.
For dessert, I got their chocolate cake with vanilla gelato. Maybe the cake was meant to compensate for lack of salt in the rest of my meal… but I didn’t appreciate how overpowering the saltiness of the cake was. Definitely could not take more than a few bites.
Overall, I would have given the food 2 stars at best, but the ambience and the weather made it a rather nice lunch. Plus, I managed to sneak away from work for a good two hours, so +1 star it is!

I was so excited to come here for DineLa last night, but the food was just mediocre at best.
Started off with a martini each. I had the lavender lemon drop and she had the elixir. The martinis were really good! Best part of the meal. Well, at $ 15 each, they better be damn good.
My appetizer was the Seared Scallops — Creamed English Peas, Vanilla, Sharp Cheddar. The scallops were super duper salty! It tasted like someone just dumped a ton of salt on there in a haste. Not good. The vanilla tapioca was good though, quite interesting.
My friend had the spinach salad and it was so boring and tasteless that she barely ate 2 bites.
My entrée– Crispy Salmon — Celery Root Fondant, Chard, Purple Mustard. The veggies were the best part of this dish. Salmon was pretty tasteless and boring. I have made tastier salmon on my grill.
She had the Flat Iron Steak — Baby Fennel, Cannellini Beans, Grilled Scallion. Since I don’t eat meat, I didn’t try it. She said it was okay, but didn’t even finish half of it.
Dessert– Chocolate Cake — Toasted Coconut, Brown Sugar Crème. Not half bad! And I’m not a fan of dessert. I liked the toasted coconut and the vanilla sorbet it came with.
GF had the Cheese Flight — Brilliant Savarin, Manchego, Aged Gouda. She said this was the best part of her meal.
So, would I come back? Nope. The service was good, but the food was just subpar. Dinner was $ 34 each. At $ 62 per person, I just didn’t feel like I got my money’s worth. Blue on Blue made me blue!
*see pix*-

I could almost imagine Cary Grant lounging at a nearby cabana or Ginger Rogers dancing with Fred Astaire around the pool. Classic Hollywood vibe with friendly, down to earth, and completely non-​pretentious staff.
Some friends and I went for their $ 1 drinks. If you bring in a print out of your facebook page showing that Avalon is your facebook friend, then from now until I don’t know when, you can get a drink for $ 2 on January 2^nd. $ 3 on January 3^rd. I’m not particularly adept at math, but I think this means that you pay $ 5 bucks on the 5^th of this month.
The special drink menu is limited, but there is no skimpage on booze. You can get the Blue Avalon (very similar to a Blue Hawaiian), the margarita/​champagne blue something or other (tasty), a very yummy Bavarian Hefeweizen, and a Coors Light.
Again, the staff was beyond helpful. My friends and I were looking for sing easies in the area, and the folks here literally researched and printed out directions for us. This despite the fact that we were paying a buck a drink.
Extra shout outs to Jeff and Jake – not only nice, but cute as well.

I had my 30^th birthday party here because I love it that much. I definitely broke my bank account but it was worth it!!!
Why do I love this place? It’s serene. The interior design is amazing. The outdoor seating is enjoyable. The service impeccable. And they serve the best martinis!!!
It could also be very intimate here as it isn’t too crowded. If you were on a date, you would actually be able to hear each other.
Try the Razzmopolitan … $ 15 a pop but worth it.

If «blue» is the color of aloof coolness then «blue on blue» is sure to deliver twice when you’ve got the urge to flaunt your unattainable self. And they even provide a bamboo encased, poolside cabana ridden sanctuary to help you achieve that on any given Thursday.
And this so called «sanctuary» is actually the restaurant located within the elusive Avalon Hotel — a posh little boutique that’s cleverly hidden amongst the Beverly Hills residentials off Olympic Boulevard. «blue on blue» boasts innovative American cuisine and a menu derived from only the freshest ingredients available, but from my experience, you really don’t go there to dine. «blue on blue» is all about the hotel bar and nights on the pool terrace, in which hotel guests, CAA’s happy hour crew, and you and me will feel too cool for school when sipping signature martinis and snacking on gourmet-​ish happy hour specials. The novelty of sipping a drink poolside will definitely push you to forgo «old reliable» Sapphire and tonic, and instead opt for a fruity mojito or the Avalon’s signature martini — which is, not surprisingly, tinged with Blue Curaçao.
These guys make a fine «Beverly Hills» happy hour special. From 3−6pm, and for a mere $ 8, you can get a martini or a glass of wine. You can also choose between some gourmet burger, something called tuna pissaladière, or other selective bites — all for $ 8. You can have it all brought out to you in the comfort of a private poolside cabana — reserved for a hefty minimum tab OR (perhaps if you ask nicely) offered when no one has reserved it that night. Once, that happened to me on a Wednesday.
Overall, one of my favorite bars to dress and impress without having to walk too far in my Manolos — can you say, «complimentary» valet? It also makes a fine place to take out of town guests who want the whole «LA» experience.

I have come twice for dinner, with bigger groups (6 – 8 people) and I love this place.
I must agree with another Unilocaler that this place looks hot, or rather super chill at night. In fact, with its simple and slightly retro décor and pool, this place exudes some coolness that embodies exactly how I picture Beverly Hills and LA. I would not doubt that it looks like a dump during the day, but look at it this way, VEGAS is a major dump during the day too, but does that stop you from going? Moral of the story, go to this place at night, just don’t take my table.
Dinner was really good for a hotel restaurant. I have tried the braised short ribs, wild mushroom risotto, and the chicken and all were tasty. Portions are slightly expensive, around 30 bucks a plate, and are not huge, so its perfect to fill you up but not stuff you.
Mixologists are really good. There are two that trade shifts, but one is better than the other. They create the drinks and recipes themselves. Can’t remember their names though, but I would recommend trying their specialty Infused Vodka Martini’s ($ 14-​$ 16). You all probably know that I usually only get a straight chopin martini, however I don’t at this place. I recommend the Gazpacho martini. Slightly spicy, and sooo tasty. The cucumber one is pretty good too. The cappuccino martini works better than red bull vodka to wake you up but still keep the buzz going and it tastes awesome too.
The cabanas that line the pool are heated. We went on cold nights and the heaters kept us nice and toasty both times. You can reserve them for a few hundred dollars or just hope there is one available when you come.
This is a nice place to come to talk, de-​stress, chill, people watch, get some tasty martinis, and best of all they have good food too. If I had a «usual» place to go in LA this would be it.

I came here for their happy hour which is 4−7pm. I was excited at their happy hour food menu — $ 5/​item and everything sounded so yummy! But was disappointed to find that the tuna carpaccio item was 3 wonton skins w/​a teaspoon of tuna per. The paella dish was literally a strip of paella. We ordered 6 food items b/​t 3 girls and we were still hungry afterwards!
Their drink «specials» are $ 8 which I guess is supposed to be a bargain for a fancy place like this, but $ 8 is a standard drink price everywhere else. For $ 8, you get a choice of red or white wine, a selected cocktail (plain old margarita, prob made from cuervo, the night we went), or well drinks.
The service sucked too. Although everyone who works here is really nice and easy on the eyes, we had to wait freakin forever anytime we needed service.
At least the valet parking was free which was pretty awesome. And the interior is really cool and modern looking and is very relaxing when it’s not too crowded. But on a normal night with $ 15 drinks and slow service? No thanks…

This is one of my favorite dinner spots. It’s not so much about the food, although I happen to like most of the dishes here, but the lovely outdoor, poolside setting. I like to come here mid-​week, when it’s a little more casual and mellow.
PROS: Beautiful, atmospheric location; outdoor seating around a lovely pool area. Food is good (not excellent, but quite good– I’m a big fan of the salmon entrée and the apple & endive salad). Great place to take out of towners. Staff is skilled at handling events– I had my 30^th birthday party here and the service was fantastic.
CONS: Valet parking only, unless you find a spot on the street. Can be a little «sceney» on the weekend. Since you’re outside, the table right next to you can light up cigarettes (not something that makes me happy).

Sleek, blue and white, minimal décor. Outdoor lighted, heat lamped poolside seating consisting of intimate tables & chairs, chaises, booths.
Excellent jidori chicken with crispy skin, moist meat, accompanied by a potato purée, chanterelle mushrooms and glazed carrots. Excellent soft pumpernickel? bread. Good deep fried calamari (they serve it with battered and fried lemon slices as well, which is tasty). They were out of the sea bass so I opted for the halibut, which was OK, not as flavorful as I would’ve liked. But they served it also with a crispy skin, drizzled with a tasty sweet fruity coulis, a few lyonnaise potatoes, black trumpets and plentiful onions that I didn’t eat. Also very good was the strawberry shortcake — the cake was sweeter, less like a biscuit and more like a soft cake, but sweet whipped cream and strawberries.
Even though it was a cool night, people wanted to sit outside to look and to be looked at. Every so often, I do get a kick out of the ubiquitous prancing, audience and self-​consciousness of LA. But it’s also nice just to have a decent dinner in a relatively intimate space with one of your loveliest of friends. Here, you can get both.

I would give the atmosphere a 5 and the food a 3.5…
The menu was a bit limited. It seemed like the drinks and the drink/​snack menu had more options. Request to sit by the pool or definitely go for drinks, because the outside is awesome. I had the chicken and calamari to start, both were very good. The only downside was some mix up with the bar and they lost the credit card we used to keep a tab open earlier before we sat down (they finally found it before we left). Anyhow the place definitely has a hip-​vibe and is worth checking out.

Me likes. Unlike Teddy’s, Skybar, and other LA hotel bars, Blue on Blue is inviting to hotel guests and outsiders alike. The staff makes it a comfortable place both inside or out. Further, the better than decent food is a plus and brings this place out of the «happy hour only» category!
Blue and Blue, and the Avalon in general, is not the place to bring a sporadic LA visitor that is looking to be impressed by the glitter and glam of Tinsel Town… it lacks the glam and the star power. It is this understated coolness that makes it a regular destination for lunch and the perfect watering hole to be chic without pretension.

Back when I was a drinker, this was one of my favorite spots. It’s mellow, sexy, and should I choose … within walking distance of home. It I recall correctly, they had a decent wine list as well as a yum-​e list of noshes to soak up the naughty juice. The fruit and cheese selection is especially delish!
Under the guise of finding the ladies room, I wandered all around the hotel on my first visit and it is indeed swank. I keep promising myself that I’m going to put up friends and family from out of town here and watch their heads spin as they wrap their minds around the LA glamor.
The waitstaff is attentive and easy on the eyes … the valet is preferable because Beverly Hills area has very strict guidelines on who can park where … even on our side streets. No hanging car ID = parking ticket and they’re not cheap. I think these days they run about $ 45.
Have fun soaking up the mid-​century mod glamor … you’re almost sure to see someone famous or someone who thinks they are.

I was here yet again last night. I’d give the food a 3 but the atmosphere bumps my rating up to a 4. That alone brings me back every time.
The best place to sit is outside in the cabana’s. Since I usually go this route I have never actually eaten anything off of their dinner menu (there is a separate bar menu with items more suited to sitting at a low table and sharing). The burger is pretty good although I’d recommend asking for it medium rare if you like it medium as they tend to over cook it. The fries are amazing and their chicken cilantro pizza is pretty tasty as well.
As for drinks, they are one of the few places I frequent that carries Hendricks Gin. If you’ve never tried this, it puts Sapphire and Tanqueray 10 to shame. My personal favorite, however, is a Ciroc (vodka) martini, extremely dirty and straight up. If you like olives ask for three as they only bring 2. I am not sure who the bartender is but I have never had a bad martini here.
As the reviewer below said (Stacy H.), I too am not sure why more people don’t end up in the pool. Out of all the times I’ve been I have only seen someone jump in (fully clothed) once. Even though it wasn’t that busy, the staff was quick to ask her to get out.
As a result of being pretty quiet, it is one of the best places to grab a drink and get to know someone without the noise commonly found in other establishments. Although it is on the pricey side, its worth a trip if you’ve never been.

In LA if you have an outdoor restaurant/​bar by a pool you will attract a sufficiently LA «sceney» crowd. Why does a pool make a place cooler when its really just there for decoration?
So last night we stumbled in here. Had a drink by «the pool» looked around at all the pretty fabulous looking people eating, smoking, drinking and I couldnt help but think — what would happen if I threw on a bikini and just dived in there right now. I mean — is that allowed? It is the end of March and at least 70 degrees at 9pm. If I was in SF the whole crowd would be in the pool by now enjoying the weather. But you never really see anyone doing that in LA even when there is a pool in the middle of the bar. I don’t get it.
I ate here once on a date. I have to say the food wasn’t great. I ordered the duck and the halibut and 3 martinis and all that was memorable about the meal were those martinis.