LA West Elite Event at Ocean Prime

I just want to say this is the best Elite event I’ve never been to. The pictures the reviews the food and people all looked to die for. It looks like this event went to a lot of first time Eliters so I’m not too disappointed to share because I’ve been lucky.
Maybe I’m saving the next big one for VEGAS! Again, great detailed reviews and pretty people pictures rocked. Cheers Cucumber martini!

Huge thanks to Brittany, to Unilocal and to Ocean Prime for the wonderful evening. The food was great, especially loved the white truffle caviar deviled eggs, really delicious! From the main course I have to say the steak was absolutely outstanding, delicate and flavorful. Loved the lobster mash potatoes, roasted brussels sprouts and black truffle mac and cheese. But the dessert was actually my favorite part, because the chocolate peanut butter pie was out of this world!!! I normally don’t even like peanut butter-​flavored anything, but this was… wow!!!
It was so great to meet other members of the Unilocal Elite squad! Wonderful evening, thank you so much! It was my first Unilocal Elite event and I am really looking forward to more! Thank you :)

Where to start?
First Elite event as a Unilocal Elite; however, I have always been impressed by the Unilocal elite events that I have been fortunate enough to attend. This event did not fail to impress.
As someone who always feels exhausted after a work day, I was so happy to discover that this event was taking place 5 minutes away from my job. Sean M. and I arrived and were immediately offered a drink. Being that both of us do not eat seafood, we were disappointed to find that all of the appetizers were some kind of seafood. The layout did look beautiful. We wandered around the patio and found a cozy little booth. I was so nervous, because I’d been hyping up Unilocal events to my boyfriend this entire time and I didn’t want him to feel let down. As we chatted while sipping are refreshingly crafted cucumber cocktails, Chelsea came over and introduced herself.
Truth be told, we became bit antsy wondering when the actual dinner portion of the even would start. Just as we decided to get a second round of drinks, dinner was announced. We were escorted to the Wilshire Room. Not to shabby, right? We found our table and noticed a small box We opened it and were happy to find emergency chargers! Perfection !
The food started coming and the wine was flowing. Most importantly all the Unilocalers were snapping away as each dish was brought over. I was seated a lively table. Elizabeth V. was obviously the Unilocal elite pro ! She was a complete sweetheart and her guest was so funny. Eric M., I don’t even know where to start ! He had be dying of laughter ! Claudio was a great addition to our table. I don’t know how many times I was thinking about swiss cheese this weekend. I could go on and on but I have to get to the food.
The bread basket was interesting. I went right for the pretzel bread, which was nice and salty. While all of the food looked great, I left all the seafood dishes for the table, since I can’t get myself to try them. I did try the roasted carrots which were tolerable (as you all know i despise carrots) My favorite by far, was the Brussels sprouts. The truffle mac and cheese was very rich, I rather enjoyed the bit that I did have. The spinach, had a smokiness to it which eventually turned into a ham or bacon flavor. I broke my 3-​year no meat streak to do a proper review of this «steak house» I took a bite of the steak. It was a little too chewy for me. Keep in mind, I hadn’t had any meat in the last three years. Dessert was by far everyone’s favorite. We indulged in a peanut butter chocolate pie (THE BEST ONE), cheesecake (I didn’t try it but Elizabeth V. and Sean M. agreed that it tasted like dairy and not cheesecake), Eric M. was so excited for Claudio to try the Baked Alaska — I had a bite and it was tasty, just too much dairy for me, since I’m also non-​dairy. I didn’t try the crème brûlée for the same reason, except I did get a piece of the scorched top. That was nice and crunchy.
Although I was not blown away by the food, the event itself was great ! It was very well organized, beautiful, and of course, filled with fun Unilocalers. I can’t wait to see everyone again soon. Thanks, Unilocal

First Elite event as a Unilocal Elite. I’d like to thank Brittany and the Ocean Prime staff for this event– really beautifully done and even more amazing than the last elite event I went to as a plus one. Going to have high standards for future events after this one.
The Ocean Prime is a very bougie restaurant located in the heart of Beverly Hills– dead on, right next to Rodeo. I kid you not, you will even get the Rodeo Drive geofilter if you try to take a snap of this place. Enter inside and to your right is the bar with an outdoor patio area, to your left is another bar/​lounge/​the formal dining area. The lady at the front was being a little cold, I’ll ignore her because the other staffers were homies.
My guest and I walked in and were immediately greeted by three different types of sushi (if I recall correctly), deviled eggs with truffles, and oysters. I wish there were labels so I knew what all the names of everything were, but I guess it’d make it aesthetically displeasing. One of the servers immediately came to us and asked for our drink order. They have two signature drinks– a grapefruit margarita and a cucumber julep. Both were delicious– the cucumber julep could potentially be deadly based off how difficult it was to detect any alcohol. I loved the grapefruit margarita because it’s a clever spin on a classic drink.
The sushi was all good– none of them stood out in my opinion but I don’t expect the Ocean Prime’s best dish to be sushi anyways. Loved the oysters, they were already topped with your favorites (some lemon juice, horseradish, etc.), it was hard to keep myself from trying to get full from all these appetizers. One of the sushi rolls was rolled in a capriccio and that stood out from the others as my personal favorite, despite my distaste for red meat typically. The patio is really beautifully decorated and allows you to people watch while enjoying a beautiful band. Waitresses and waiters were all super friendly. I asked one of them where the napkins were and he brought back napkins for everyone and laid them down for us– above and beyond my original request.
Next, we went inside to the private dining area of the restaurant. Dimly lit and made it difficult for me to take pictures, but nonetheless, the food was still delicious. Our table awkwardly had the no shows so it ended up being my guest and I along with the photographer trying to finish food made for six people, so needless to say we were stuffed by the end of the night.
I enjoyed the salad, topped with apples, cheese and nuts. It was tangy and had the right amount of vinaigrette on it. I guess my only comment is that it was sort of out of place from the other items off the menu?
LOVED the hamachi crudo. I’m a big appetizer person and this was my favorite dish of the night. Soft, tender, topped in a ginger-​soy sauce. It melted in my mouth. There were jalapeños in it that gave it just the amount of kick. Absolutely loved it, would get again if I was ever here. Which is funny because it is definitely an item I would not personally think to order at such a place. The other appetizer, the shrimp cocktail was good, nothing particularly out of the ordinary.
Another hat off to the bread, freshly baked in house. Wow, that was some good bread. I know every restaurant has bread and butter, but Ocean Prime does bread a justice. I wanted to eat more bread but knew I needed to save room for dinner. Wow again that I have had how many different items so far but haven’t started talking about the main course.
Main course was of course surf n turf: filet mingon and lobster tails with what seemed like a million sides. The butter was heated by candles, really adorable actually. Our butter was warm but the other one was actually BOILING from the candle– amazing. The filet mignon was extremely tender. I have never had a steak melt in my mouth like that before.
I had no idea where to start and end my rotation of grabbing items. The truffle mac n cheese was yummy and complemented the mingon rather well. The spinach was not my favorite, mostly because I wasn’t in the mood for greens! I liked the lobster mash potatoes, kind of tasted like grits and the lobster was definitely enhanced because of its pairing with the lobster tail. But can we talk about how the carrots tasted like sweet potatoes?!? I have never had such carrots before, it was life changing. I’m not sure if I can ever eat carrots raw again after this. My only frowny face is given to the brussel sprouts– too salty.
Dessert– not one, but FOUR different desserts? My ranking of desserts goes as following: the Peanut Butter Pie as #1, Baked Alaska, Crème Brûlée, followed by the cheesecake. I was so stuffed, I wish I could take them home. The peanut butter wins the gold medal because of its soft texture and perfect ability at mimicking a Reese peanut butter in an adult form.
Great event, thank you again Brittany! Now please excuse me as I try to work out the 2000 calories I ate.

I had the pleasure of eating at Ocean Prime the other night for a Unilocal Elite event. My what a beautiful night with fantastic people!
Ocean Prime is very easy to find, it’s on the corner of Wilshire & Canon. There’s valet parking (like at any other restaurant in Beverly Hills) which is probably the easiest method given street metered parking is tough to come by in this area.
Our event started outside on the patio. There was a really good live cover band playing, lots of fire places and heat lamps set around large, long dining tables and booths. I tried their grapefruit margarita with a salted rim and a slice of lemon. Not normally a grapefruit person but I actually really enjoyed it! Also tried the deviled egg with caviar, black truffle shavings garnished with green onion. This was amazing, reminded me of the deviled eggs my Mother makes (minus the caviar and truffles, of course).
For dinner, we moved to a private dining room inside, past the bar, regular dining room and wine cellar. As a first course, we tried the colossal shrimp cocktail and the hibachi tuna. Both were delish, couldn’t get over how colossal the shrimp were! We also had a great goat cheese almond salad with a vinaigrette (very good salad).
For our main course, we had only the best. Mmm… I’m getting hungry just thinking about it again! Filet mignon (cooked medium rare, so juicy and flavorful), lobster tails (thought they were slightly over-​cooked, didn’t love the cumin seasonings they put on it, better to just leave it plain with drawn butter), lobster mashed potatoes (so amazing, this is like my fav side dish of all time, ha!), truffle mac n’ cheese (super creamy, very thick, it was made with large macaroni noodles, cheddar cheese, and the same truffle shavings that were on the deviled eggs from earlier in the evening), glazed carrots (they were ok, nothing special about them), and then an amazing creamed spinach (if you like creamed spinach, you’ll like their’s, great consistency, tad bit of garlic in there to waken up the spinach, very good).
For dessert, I tried a tiny bite of what they brought out for the table which was baked alaska (found this too be really sweet, the cake was a bit dry, dessert itself was over-​powering), lemon blueberry cheesecake (this was fantastic, great dessert, well balanced), crème brûlée with fresh berries (this was my favorite of them all! it’s a must try!), and lastly the chocolate peanut butter pie (thought this was really rich, if you love chocolate and peanut butter, think along the lines of a reese’s with a chocolate ginache, you’ll love this!)
Overall, I’d recommend Ocean Prime to anyone looking to enjoy a nice surf and turf dinner near Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Everything from start to finish was fantastic. I’ll be back!

This was my first real Unilocal elite event and from what I heard this was one of the best ones. My boyfriend and I arrived a little early and had some drinks at the bar before joining the Unilocal event on the patio. They had a beautiful bar and very friendly bartenders. After we finished our drinks we made our way to the patio and were greeted by a lovely waitress that offered us more drinks which were delicious. We took our drinks and sat down shortly after appetizers were set out. Mainly sushi and fish dishes which all tasted very fresh.
After about an hour we were all taken to a private dining room with assigned seating. I think my boyfriend and I got super lucky because we were seated with the best group. I don’t want to brag, but I am pretty sure we were the best table
Once we were seated our salad was already in front of us, warm bread and wine was served immediately. Appetizers were sashimi and shrimp, both were tasty. For the main course we had steak and lobster with truffle Mac and cheese, lobster mash potatoes, creamed spinach, roasted carrots (we all thought they were sweet potatoes) and Brussels sprouts. Everything was so delicious. I especially loved the lobster mashed potatoes with large chunks of lobster. The steak was served medium, just the way steak should be served. The carrots were so delicious and for a while we all debated whether they were sweet potatoes are not, but after checking the menu it was confirmed to be carrots.
Now let’s talk about my favorite part of the meal, DESSERTS. The crime brûlée was so creamy and delicious, the Baked Alaska was the best I have ever had, the peanut butter cake was so light and fluffy and my absolute favorite because I love peanut butter and chocolate, the lemon cheesecake was also good.
Overall everything tasted amazing, the location was beautiful, and the staff was friendly. I would definitely go back for a date night.

As a former lush who recently gave up drinking alcohol for health reasons, this was my first completely sober event. In case you were wondering, drink-​goggles off, the Unilocal events are still an amazing experience. The night started with premixed cocktails, a cucumber gimlet and a strawberry margarita, outside on the patio in front of beautiful live music. The staff serving the cocktails was sweet enough to bring over a «virgin» cucumber gimlet made with club soda after a quick run to the bar. Although they didn’t have non-​alcoholic versions of their drinks on hand, I thought that was very kind of her to ask the bar to make something for me.
My guest had never attended a Unilocal event with me and I believe his expectations were pretty low. Once we arrived and were ushered to the patio he pulled out his phone and started snapchatting like crazy — I think he was pretty wowed by this event (as he should be) and didn’t really believe all the nice things I said about Unilocal events until he saw it for himself.
We munched on sushi rolls and delicious oysters, warning each other to quit while we’re ahead, as there was a plentiful array of steak and lobster headed our way in about an hour. I was pleased to hear Brittany announce that dinner would be served indoors, as it was getting a little chilly as the sun started to set. I noticed Brit’s huge bottle of Pellegrino and tried to ask who brought her one (as I wanted my own once I drained my virgin gimlet) BUT I simply couldn’t interrupt her from her conversation with her (assistant?) who had checked our party passes 20 min earlier. All of the other Unilocalers seemed to know each other too, and I didn’t recognize anyone. I lived in the valley last year and attended some of the LA East events. I guess I’ll need a few more LA West events under my belt before I start seeing familiar faces. A brief word on the deviled eggs: holy moly. I don’t even eat deviled eggs (I’ve never liked them) but I wanted to sample everything for purposes of this review. I took the tiniest bite at first, figuring I would discard the rest. This was the most delicious deviled egg I have ever eaten, I wish I knew what spice they were putting in the yolk. I’ve made them before with all the traditional ingredients, but these put mine to shame. I quickly scarfed it.
The seated dinner portion of the event inside the restaurant was a great way to finally meet some of the other Unilocalers. 6 to a table, with designated seats, I’m so glad Brittany put me with friendly and silly Unilocalers! Thank you to Eric M. for bringing your comedian A-​game, you had me laughing all night! Claudio from Zurich was also hilarious («Yes of course they have Starbucks in Zurich! Drinks only cost $ 9!) It was great to meet the only other lady at my table, Daisy C., and watch her attempt the steak even though she’s a vegan! Her boyfriend Sean rounded out the evening — seriously buddy, excellent palate, you should be a food critic.
The food was plentiful and magnificent. I tried everything. The steak was served medium rare and the lobster was served with little dishes of clarified butter. The lobster mashed potatoes were sinfully delicious and the creamy mac and cheese was probably a table favorite. The desserts were of course my favorite part of the night (sweet tooth? All my teeth are sweet!) In addition to the chocolate peanut butter cake, cheesecake, and baked Alaska present on the menu, why stop there! We also received a crème brulee we weren’t expecting! Surprise desserts are simply the best. All in all, a killer way to spend a Thursday. We each tipped $ 20 as suggested and felt like we got away with murder. Looking forward to meeting more Unilocalers at the next event.
Just a note: The bread that came out was from Homeboy Bakery, a local boulangerie which employs formerly incarcerated individuals to help them get back on their feet. Just a way Ocean Prime gives back to their community. And the bread was delicious! I already have the bakery bookmarked :)
BEST part of the night: the gift! A Unilocal!Portable recharger. That’s what’s up.

Yesterday was my first elite event (as was my guest’s) and I had a lot of fun! I was a little nervous going to an event where I don’t know anyone but there really was no reason for that because everyone at my table was super friendly!
The event started with music, drinks (wine and cocktails) and appetizers (deviled eggs, oysters and assorted sushi) on the patio. The prime margarita and deviled eggs were amazing (and I don’t usually like those items).
We then headed to a private dining room where the real eating began. Warm bread, salad, hamachi crudo, shrimp, filet mignon, lobster tail, brussels sprouts, black truffle mac n cheese, creamed spinach, roasted carrots, lobster mashed potatoes, chocolate peanut butter pie, cheesecake, baked alaska and crème brûlée. All this yumminess was accompanied by wine!
John K. who wrote the review below me claims he had the best table. Well, the exact words were said at my table … so that’s that! :)
I didn’t get a chance to say hi to Brittany, the community manager, but I’ll say it here: Thank you for organizing such a lovely event!

«Could you please pass the sweet potatoes… What?! Those are CARROTS!!!»
My eyes rolled back 7 times tonight. Ask anybody at my table, they’ll agree. Actually, they’ll probably say I rolled them with every bite.
Attention:
AHHH! I just discovered that there was butter to accompany the lobster. And guess who just got the last piece? This Unilocaler! I was just asked if it enhanced the already naturally enhanced flavored lovester. Well, it matched it. Just made it different. Just as amazing.
The drinks:
Started off on a couple margaritas– one strawberry and one cucumber. I preferred the strawberry but the cucumber was nice as well. In regards to the wine, we opted for a chardonnay that would’ve impressed my uncle who is a connoisseur. I wish I jotted down the name but I’ll just investigate someone else’s review muaahwahah.
The food:
Alas. The stars of the show. Deviled eggs were delicious and I fell in love with the Hamachi Crudo. Both paired well with the margaritas. When the filet mignon came out I rolled my eyes, and then the lobster tail… OH wow. I almost rolled out of my chair onto the streets of Wilshire. What an honorary moment to be an elite.
The dessert:
«Baked Alaska.» Phenomenal! That’s all I can say. My stomach has never popped out so satisfyingly grateful to first time a dessert such as this.
The company:
What a great group to introduce my little first time Unilocal eliter to. She and I met such an amazing group of people that bonded so well and had a great time. We claimed to have the best table and no offence to others I think we did :-P It’s like Brittany knew exactly where to place us. Thank you for hosting such a wonderful event!