Dining at Hollywood’s Boho, Version 2.0

Here in Hollywood, the most revered movie theater is not Grauman’s Chinese Theater but instead the Arclight Cinemas on nearby Sunset Boulevard. It’s a great, upmarket destination that draws masses of people every night, and for the past few years, movie patrons could walk around the corner to the neighboring restaurant Boho for some pre or post film eats. Recently, however, Boho packed up shop and moved a few blocks away to the Hollywood & Highland complex, a notoriously unpleasant mall that has been embraced by tourists and shunned by locals. I’m not entirely sure why Boho changed locations, but given that no restaurant has been able to succeed in the Arclight Cinemas complex, I’ll assume it had something to do with high rents and a cumbersome space.

Now Boho sits hidden away in a dark corner, and quite frankly, I didn’t even know it was open for business until my friend Tony at sinosoul.com invited me to partake in a media comped dinner. How could I say no? I had always enjoyed Boho quite a bit, and now that it was a stone’s throw from my apartment, it seemed like it was just begging for me to drop by. However, the real question was this: would Boho 2.0 be strong enough to finally make me a regular at Hollywood & Highland? Answers after the jump…

A lovely Belgian beer before dinner. One of Boho’s strongest assets has been its extensive drink menu. That alone might be enough to have me returning to the restaurant. God knows I could always use another walkable watering hole.

Appetizers in the form of mussels and tuna tartare arrive and immediately get my stomach growling with anticipation. This is most certainly the right direction.

Not all tuna tartares are created equal, and these bad boys were definitely upper echelon. Fresh, flavorful, and melt-in-your-mouth soft, this dish had me in a very happy place.

The mussels were also quite delightful. I kind of wanted to hog them all, but I didn’t because I’m a gentleman.

Two pizzas arrived next. In the foreground was a Greek pizza, which was rather tasty. In the background was The Spaniard, made with chorizo, manchego, piquillo peppers, caramelized onion, and cilantro. Both were really good, but in the end it was Advantage: Spaniard.

It’s worth the trip for The Spaniard and the tartare alone.

Macro shot!

Some heavy duty mains came out next. Here we have sweetbreads and a bleu cheese soufflé, I believe. Or was it polenta? I don’t remember (sorry!). Either way, I love me some sweetbreads, but these didn’t quite blow me away.

Pork belly on baked beans. Also, not totally on the mark. We all thought it was too sweet.

The side of collard greens was well received. I liked it. My only issue is that I’m not a big collard greens person. Still, these were very good.

Roast chicken. Unfortunately, I found it to be a shade dry. Not crazy dry, but dry enough that I didn’t go back for more. The sides, however, were delicious.

The salmon was the most successful of the main dishes. It was sweet but not cloyingly so and perfectly cooked. Everyone at the table agreed that it was the winner. Not that it was a competition. But if it were, salmon would take the gold. And the others would hang their head in shame for failing us and our ancestors so deeply. Okay, I’ll stop.

Half eaten potato gratin. You can’t go wrong with gratin, and Boho certainly didn’t.

Time for dessert. First up was this berry-laden offering. As many of you know, I can’t stomach berries; so I sat on the sidelines for this dish. The most common response was that unlike most of the other dishes, this dessert wasn’t sweet enough. Looked nice though.

Peanut butter bread pudding. Solid.

Cappuccino panna cotta. This was the table’s favorite, and I had to agree.

All in all, dinner at Boho was a lovely affair. The restaurant seemed to trip up a touch when it came to the “fancy” entrees, but for the more humble offerings (tartare, mussels, pizza, gratin, brussels sprouts), Boho nailed it. Plus, I’ve always enjoyed the place’s cozy ambience, which I’m proud to report has remained intact despite the move. Is it a must-eat destination? Not really, but for locals like me, it’s a great addition to neighborhood, and you can be sure I’ll be hitting up the bottomless mimosa special come Sunday…

Boho
6801 Hollywood Blvd. #411
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 465-8500
http://www.bohorestaurant.com