YEE: Gold Tasting at Esterel Restaurant

I’m not accepted to every Elite event I RSVP to, but it doesn’t deter me because it’s quality over quantity. Case in point — the Gold Tasting at the Esterel Restaurant last month. Thanks to Katie and the awesome staff at Esterel for an unforgettable event and evening!
Esterel is in the Sofitel on Beverly. Valet parking is available or park across at the Beverly Center. For the event, it was complimentary valet. Thanks for that too!
The evening started with drinks. Unfortunately for me, I was recovering from pneumonia so it my beverages were all virgin. When I return, I’ll definitely sample the adult version.
Food was served — family style. Three courses. Started with the salads. See pics but just know that here’s the items that stood out for me:
Green Goddess
Poulet Roti
Don’t get me wrong — it wasn’t like the other offerings were bad; the flavors of these two dishes just jumped out at me.
The service was as expected — awesome! Friendly. Knowledgeable and helpful. It was a great, fun, intimate night with fellow Gold Elite members.

I am so proud to be Elite and especially so to be GOLDEN for a few years now. Can you believe this is my first gold event? Me neither. I have apparently been missing out.
Everything from the posh hotel’s service to the gorgeous atmosphere to the lovely hostess with the mostessness (yes, that’s a word) of the fabulous Ms. Katie to the delicious food… it was all simply amazing. Loved the family style seating that enabled us to all chat and for some, to finally meet in real life some of our Unilocal friends. It was also a night to remember, as a tragic event halfway across the world had affected all of us that day — particularly so when we happened to be at a restaurant in a French hotel. It was a true reminder that with all the good in the world, there is always the bad to remind us to be thankful for what we have. Thank you, Esterel, for your warmth and hospitality that night, especially in light of what was going on.
I could go on about the food (that burrata though! or that crème brûlée beignet… or that strawberry basil cocktail. YUM) but what I truly enjoyed about this event was getting to know my fellow Gold Elites on a deeper level. That’s what this community is all about, isn’t it? It makes me proud to be part of such a group and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to start a weekend. Katie, thanks for yet another amazing event. Looking forward to (hopefully) another year of wearing my badge proudly ;)

Katie, you remind us event after event that it’s neat, sweet, and a treat to be elite! And there were extra sprinkles on top for this being a gold elite event. It’s fun to be around Unilocalers that are reviewing veterans so I jumped at the chance to attend my second gold event.
I don’t know if I would have visited the Sofitel hotel had it not been for the event. Number one, the swank level is off the charts. Number two, I don’t have a need for a hotel in Beverly Hills since I’m an LA resident (Valencia is far but it’s still LA county… barely). Sofitel is located across the street from the Beverly center, a popular shopping destination. Inside the Sofitel is the lovely Esterel restaurant. As you enter, there is a spacious bar area that leads to the main dining room with an open kitchen. Our party was held in the outdoor patio. I was in awe of the patio décor with everything from the living wall to the romantically elegant drapery and light fixtures.
We started the night with their signature Basil Martini Cocktail since all great nights start at the bar. Our cocktails were a nice balance of tart, fresh, and a hint of sweet. Drinks in hand, we found our seats and if it wasn’t clear that we were to be treated as kings and queens on this night, we each had our own crown to wear (a very snazzy replacement to the usual nametags).
Let the eating commence. Dishes were brought out family style, which helped to highlight the intimacy of our dinner. The first course was tomato burrata, a salad featuring heirloom cherry tomatoes, and their version of a caesar salad featuring little gem. These three dishes won me over. The burrata had such a cohesive mix of flavors. The charred little gem brought out this amazing smoky flavor which was unique and had me wanting more. The main dishes were lamb, chicken and ahi tuna. The lamb shank meat was falling off the bone, the chicken had some juicy flavors locked in, and the tuna was seared right and served over a bed of forbidden rice. The forbidden rice looks cool, is tasty, and according to the chef has added nutritional value over other types of rice. Last up was the crème brulee beignets with berry preserves. Too good. Was there an option to turn off family style and have my own plate at this point of the meal?
Glad to have met and shared food with new Unilocal friends and reconnect with familiar Unilocal friends. Thank you Sofitel hotel for the complimentary valet, chef Boroda and his crew for the food and excellent service, and Katie for planning this perfectly executed event.

Amazing Gold Unilocal Event!!! Katie B, you pulled it off again! Awesome job. First off, the decorations were super cute. I loved the party hats and the twist pull thingys that had the surprise inside. The table looked amazing! OK, on to the food. First off, we were treated to a specialty cocktail that was a mixture of fruity and spice. The bartender was nice enough to make mine virgin and it was still yummy. Next I had a glass of the Joel Gott red. So good. I have never had this wine, but I surely would choose it again. Our first course was a salad one and my favorite was the charred little gem. The dressing absolutely made the salad. I also liked the tomato burrata. I heard the chef say they grow a lot of their vegetables and you can tell it. Everything was so fresh. Next came the main entrée and I gotta say the lamb was my fave. Lamb is hard to get right and the chef did a fantastic job! It was super tender and flavorful. The chicken was also good and I even don’t like chicken that much. Lastly the desert was a crème brûlée beignet that was sweet and yummy. The service was truly wonderful from the valet to the servers to the chef who was very friendly. I would definitely come back here on my own.

What a fabulous party thrown by Esterel Restaurant, the Sofitel, and of course, Unilocal LA. Thanks to making it a truly Golden evening and an awesome YEE. Life is Magnifique!
Pulled into The Sofitel, which demurely hides in the shadow of its more boisterous neighbor, the Beverly Center. Valet was a breeze and then, into the beautiful restaurant. We met on the patio: festive and fertile with greens and flowers. A gentle welcoming was the perfect liftoff with a house speciality: the Famous Basil Martini Cocktail. Handcrafted one at a time, these are way delicious and oh-​so-​welcome. Fun to run into some familiar fave Gold Elites, re-​establish contact with some from awhiles, and then, of course, to meet some new ones. You’d think we all know each other already — but, unless you’re Katie B. — we really don’t!
The food was served Family Style, and that means that everybody shared several dishes. That works great, especially when there’s so much wonderful food to try. The Tomato Burrata with a hint of chermoula started things off. Then, the Green Goddess — with purple mustard frill, heirloom tomato, pistachio and avocado: a real crowd pleaser. So was the fun take on a Caesar salad: ‘little gem’ (instead of Romaine), and it was charred, plus, of course, the parm, the croutons and dressing. Yum.
The Entrees were all so different and yet complemented the meal so well: The Lamb Shank with barley risotto — tender, moist and cooked perfectly. The Poulet Roti looks like ‘Oh, a chicken dish,’ but is so much more. This chicken had the best flavor and consistency — accompanied by a market vegetable hash and more. Finally, the Seared Ahi was a delight, made extra special sitting on ‘forbidden’ rice and cucumber fennel salad. This was all so good. And, happily, there was plenty, but it never felt that we were overwhelmed or over-​served. I enjoyed the white Bordeaux for the first part of dinner (Dourthe Sauvignon Blanc), and somewhere later on, maybe around the Lamb, I switched to Red (Joel Gott — Alakai Grenache).
Dessert: their special Crème Brulee Beignets, with berry preserves. Oh yes. OH yes. Amazingly, I only ate one. I was happy to offer an extra to my neighbor — she was pretty happy about it! These are excellent, no doubt. And the preserves totally make them even more awesome. Finally, there was the French Press. Oui si vous plaira.
Katie B. gathered a great group of about 20, and this definitely felt all about quality over quantity. No Plus-​Ones, as is usual for the more intimate affairs. I’m grateful to have been a part of it, and thrilled to be Gold. I think it was at the beginning of this year when I last got to go to a Gold Event. Worth the wait for sure.

I thoroughly enjoyed this Gold event hosted by Katie B.
The ambiance of this restaurant is lovely. They have hanging florals next to mirrors, and soft candle light at the tables. I loved how the candlelight danced in the mirrors covered in Ivy. I would love to have a backyard with a similar set up. This place would be perfect for a garden party with your girlfriends for brunch, or for a romantic dinner with your significant other. Also, perfect for a rehearsal dinner before a wedding.
The tomato burrata salad was light and wonderfully presented. The charred little gem was smoky and I like that it was drizzled and not engulfed in dressing. Green goddess salad was wonderful, but if you have heirloom tomatoes, you can’t really go wrong.
The seared ahi tuna was really fresh, and the forbidden was crunchy. The lamb shank was amazing, it fell off the bone and was delicious. The chicken with vegetable hash was excellent, simple but very flavorful. The crème brulee beignets with berry preserves were very good. The chef was able to bring two different desserts together in a nice blend. Basil martini cocktail, dangerous because it’s smooth, more than likely strong but no alcohol taste. The wines complimented the courses well.
The food was excellent, the service was excellent and a good time was had by all.

A luxe night in the heart of the glamourous Beverly HIlls, this event was all about celebrating that «Life is Magnifique,» the motto of the gorgeous restaurant which hosted us, Esterel. Tucked into an inconspicuous corner by the overwhelming Beverly Center, The Sofitel and the Esterel take understated luxury and elegance to a new golden level. The entrance to the restaurant’s patio is transporting, w/​gorgeous trellis’s dripping in gauzy drapes, iron-​wrought chandeliers adding an unexpected glitz. With a living succulent wall behind the outdoor bar and the restaurant’s herb and vegetable garden flanking the end, you are truly immersed in the garden feel. The table setting was stunning, with each guest having a glittery crown and a cute gift bag waiting for us. The food was of course stunning-​each course accompanied by a little statement from the head chef. My favorite courses were probably the heirloom tomatoes w/​burrata, the lamb shank, and of course the crème brulle beignets. Overall, a hundred golden thanks to Katie, the Sofitel, and Esterel for a night to remember!

Absolutely, positively amazing Unilocal gold event!
I haven’t been to a Unilocal event for almost a year now and I’m so happy it was this Unilocal GOLD event. The event was actually more of an intimate dinner of 20 attendees with lit candles, under a canopy of white cloths. It was utterly romantic. Seating arrangements were made and I found my seat with a lovely mini crown to wear with my name on it. Family style dinner was super delicious by Esterel. And I was happy we started with some greens before indulging ourselves with the delicious lamb, chicken, and ahi tuna courses. To quench our thirst, we drank some red or white wine and of course their delicious basil cocktail that was refreshing. Dessert was short and sweet with some yummy crème brûlée beignets. Intimate dinners are some of my favorites because you get to easily talk to other attendees.
To top the night off, we opened up our souvenirs that included some macarons, helpful item (mine was a tape measure and others got mini screw drivers, shoe horn, etc), little gift cards from Sofitel itself, and mini Reese chocolates wrapped in gold wrapper of course. Valet was complimentary as well.
Overall, awesome night, yummy dinner, great people, and amazing event! Thanks Katie :)

You hear it all the time: «Katie B. throws the best events!» And baby, it’s true! This is my second Gold event this year and it was well worth the wait. :)
This was one of the more intimate events; there were about twenty of us and we sat in lines of two. The gorgeously set table was a prefect pair to the whole ambience and feel of the restaurant with low lighting and soft music. We each had our own place settings and hand made crowns with our names (which I of course loved!!).
| F O O D |
This tasting was ‘family style’ –for those of you who may not know, it just means we shared dishes instead of having individual ones. I prefer to do meals this way so you can taste a little bit of everything. We were treated to 2 starters, 3 entrees, 1 dessert, and they were accompanied by red and white wine.
Of all the dishes, I enjoyed the Green Goddess salad. That isn’t the name of it but I’ve just nicknamed it that because I think it’s cute. I looked it up and apparently Green Goddess refers to the dressing. Anyway, the ingredients for the salad compromised of tomato burrata, pickled onion, chermoula, bread crumbs, green goddess, purple mustard frill, heirloom cherry tomato, pistachio, and avocado. I am a huge fan of salads and always appreciate it when there are ingredients I’ve never tasted or heard of honestly, haha.
| D R A N K S |
We were greeted by a pretty bartender with a ‘Welcome’ beverage: their signature Strawberry Basil Martini (demidoff organic vodka, muddled strawberries, fresh basil, and served «up»). I really enjoyed this drink (actually I over extended my welcome and had more than 1, lol.), it was light and refreshing. The red and white wine offerings were lost on me since I don’t drink wine but it seemed everyone around the table really enjoyed the white.
| S E R V I C E |
One could joke and say that an «upscale» place is based on its prices and pretensions but I like to believe that one of the biggest qualities that make an upscale restaurant upscale is the service they provide. Things like a waiter folding your napkin when you leave the table or pulling out your chair for you when you get seated. Here at Esterel we were treated to the some of the best customer service I’ve personally experienced.
| P A R K I N G |
I was so happy when we got the email that valet parking would be complimentary because let’s face it: Beverly Hills sucks for parking.
Overall, I had a wonderful evening and really enjoyed being able to meet new, fellow Gold Elites in such a beautiful and intimate setting. Thank you so much to Katie, Estelle Restaurant, and Chef Victor Boroda for such a lovely night and meal!

This was such an elegant event! I had such a great time :) thank you so much Katie!!!
The restaurant was beautiful. The staff took care of us like we were VIPs. We started off with their signature vodka basil drink. It was very delicious and refreshing.
First course, we had 3 different types of salads. My favorite was the smokey Caesar salad. I don’t think I ever had grilled salad before. The smokiness was just perfect!
Second course we had 3 different proteins. Ahi tuna, lamb that fell off the bone and chicken that was surprisingly juicy. They were all very flavorful. My favorite was the lamb.
Desert was crème brûlée beignets. I call it crème brûlée in a donut. I can probably eat 10 of those lol
I want to come back here with my family :) thank you so much for having us!!!

My second Gold Elite event this year. It pays to be an Elite, not an elitist.
This amazing event was held at the posh Esterel Restaurant located in the Sofitel Hotel across from the Beverly Center. The atmosphere was trey cozy and elegant for our party to be seated outside. The lights were dim, the elegant table was set with individual names and place setting for the event. You could tell this was going to be a classy event.
The event started with light refreshments of their basil martini cocktail served with a splash of alcohol or virgin. This cocktail was sweet and light and definitely set the tone for the evening. As the guest began to arrive, our hostess with the mostess the beautiful, and always amazing Katie B. directed everyone to take their seats.
Chef Boroda gave us a special tasting for his fall menu. For starters, he served us tomato burrata, pickled opinions, chermoula and breadcrumbs, a green goddess salad and charred little gem salad. I gravitated towards the charred little gem salad which had a greAt combination of Parmesan and Caesar dressing.
The entrees included a Lamb shank, seared tuna and poultry roti chicken. I told my table mates that I am a lamb kinda guy and I was not disappointed. The lamb was cooked just right that the meat was tender and juicy. I committed a faux pax by asking the server for a sharp knife to cut in the generous lamb shank. Shame on me.
Dessert was a crème brûlée beignets with berry preserves.
This was an amazing event. The food was excellent. The atmosphere was trendy and I got to meet new elites. Shout out goes to Grace C., Karen C., Lainy Y., and Daisy K.
Bravo to chef Boroda for his marvelous creations. Kudos to Yanni our gregarious maitre d. Another cheers to Katie «the Best» B for putting together this amazing event. Unilocal for an excellent Friday evening at Esterel. I could not ask for a better night.

FIRST GOLD Unilocal EVENT EVARRRRR! Thanks Katie B. and the awesome folks at Estérel for an unforgettable night!
Knowing how bad traffic is, I left work at 5:15 pm and surprisingly, even with the horrible horrible mess on the 110S, I arrived early at 6:30 pm and proceeded to valet for parking. An awesome perk of the event? Complimentary valet! Thanks again Katie B. and Estérel!
The evening started off with Estérel’s famous basil martini cocktail. Since I would have a long drive home, I opted for the virgin version. Sweet yet slightly sour at the same time, it was the perfect start to our tasting. We chilled by the bar for a bit before making our way to the long table that would be our home for the rest of the night. Black and white crowns adorned with our names gave us assigned seating. How random that the two people I was talking to during drinks were the same two people sitting on my right!
Now, onto the food. Other than the delicious bread basket, on the menu was three salad starters, three entrees, and dessert! The salads were all good, but I think my favorite was the charred little gem with parmesan, croutons and caesar dressing. Entrée wise, it was harder to choose. Normally I don’t eat lamb… at all, but I figured I would give the dish a try since it was on the menu. OMG. If you did not tell me it was lamb upfront, I would’ve thought it was something else! It did not taste like any lamb I’ve had before! It was tender, fall off the bone kind of meat and not gamey at all! So the lamb got high marks on my books. I always favor the seared ahi tuna if it’s on a menu and Estérel’s take on it did not disappoint. It paired well with the forbidden rice and greek yogurt. Lastly, the chicken was a hit as well. Normally, white meat tastes rather dry to me, but not here! This is why I couldn’t choose a favorite among the three.
Onto my favorite part of the meal: DESSERT! Crème brûlée beignets with berry preserves was the offering. They combined two of my favorite desserts. Seriously, all beignets should have a carmelized sugar coating. Soooo good!
I had an unbelievable time at this event. Always nice to meet more Unilocalers and see some familiar faces (or familiar check-​in friends). Shout-​out to Dean N., Karen C., Kevin C., James S., Daisy K, and Lainy C. — the right side (best side) of the table. Nice meeting Queenie I. in person and re-​meeting Justin Y. again.
And the cherry on top of this event? Our parting gift was a box of macarons! Yayz!
My first Gold Elite event certainly set the bar high for future ones!