Ludo Bites at Royal/T

So there’s the big time chef named Ludo…
and homeboy can cook.
Meeting up at the Royal/​T for the guerilla style dining experience, I had high expectations that were, unquestionably, exceeded.
The best of the bunch? The Ceviche and the Scallops.
But the whole meal was wonderful… even though I shared it with a friend and was, therefore, not allowed to lick the plates clean.
Overhyped? Nope. I guess I’m not a big enough foodie to be effected by hype, I listen to the hype of my tummy and tummy was loving it.
An added bonus was that we are able to meet Ludo and his wife, Krissy, who were so gracious and sweet that it made me happy to have spent my time and money on the food even more.

Facts:
Krissy & Ludo are good looking, polite and professional, very friendly.
The maid staff particularly our maid is extremely extremely SLOW. A maid should be on top of things, not wander by and wait for you to wave her down.
Food, two of everything.
Fish Ceviche had good flavors (citrus, onion, fish, jalapeño, napa cabbage, cilantro) BUT, there was VERY LITTLE fish. Maybe 4 small pieces. The rest was vegetables.
Foie Gras Beignet 8.5÷10
Hangar Steak: lukewarm temperature, not very tender. looked 10x better than tasted. ⁵⁄₁₀
Fish dish was failure if there’s a make or break moment for me it’s fish. Wild Striped bass was overcooked, there was a scale still in the dish so whoever was processing the fish was not very good. With fish you need FRESH fish, not a bunch of random toppings (cream, asparagus, etc).
i know my damn fish. :)
Wine service was extremely slow and we sat there for 15 minutes for our maid to come by. Maybe with a party of 6 the maid felt like she was going to make an automatic 18% tip and thus attended minimally to our table…
a shame since Ludo was really cool but the food that came out was a disappointment.

Ludobites is definitely overhyped. It was the first time in FOREVER that i left the restaurant a little bit angry (simply because i’m really not that picky about food). This review is only for the food because the service was perfectly nice and friendly.
The food, frankly, tasted bad.
We had the celery root truffle soup that was described as heavenly… it was way too cream laden that there was hardly a glimpse of celery root or truffle in the ½ cup portion size that cost us 15 dollars. ok, i get it… there are truffles in there. but i think the amt of truffle probably cost them 1 dollar, they don’t get to upcharge me THAT much.
Scallop with pineapple just didn’t taste right. scallops were fine on their own but we ended up leaving a lot of the pineapples. Squid dish was tasty but i can get a similar tasting dish at a korean restaurant FREE as panchan. There was nothing innovative about 3 tiny korean style grilled squid with kimchi purée… except the price. Our last couple of dishes were the pork belly and the cheese tart. These two were my favorite dishes but far from amazing in taste or technique.
With a sold out run, i was expecting way more and was sorely disappointed. For a meal that cost close to two hundred dollars and left us still hungry. I wouldn’t recommend ludobites to anyone.

I’ve been consumed with reading «Never Eat Alone» lately. It’s an amazing book that breaks down how to form, maintain and develop new connections – which can be applied to business and personal life. Granted, some tips provided are elementary, but Ferrazzi gives many more that are great and really hits it out of the ball park with his personal story and case studies.
Excited to apply Ferrazzi’s wisdom to my life, I decided to test out his rule of reading up on inspiring professionals before meeting them. The first opportunity happened to be Ludo Bites. Unable to visit its earlier incarnation at Breadbread, I had to live vicariously through other blog reviews so I had a good idea about the concept as well as Chef Ludo, but just to be safe, I made good use of google. Armed with my newly found information, my friends and I went made our way to Royal/​T.
As we walked past the scandalously named art exhibit, «In Bed Together» to the dining area, we were greeted warmly by Krissy, Chef Ludo’s wife and right-​hand (wo)man.
Without thinking, I quickly blurted out «how is service tonight?» You see, I had read in a blog that their sous chef had walked out a few days earlier. Krissy was taken aback and with good reason. After explaining that I had some insider information, she gave us the update (Everything’s a-​ok now) and ushered us to our table and gave us the menu.
The menu was concise, with a handful of firsts and mains, as well as two desserts. I scanned the menu for LFC, aka duck fat fried chicken, unfortunately though, it wasn’t on that night. However, pork belly and the foie gras beignets were, so I was a happy camper.
After ordering, my friends and I walked around the space to check out the exhibit, which turned out to be less risqué than its name suggested, but worthy to see the sweet cassette sculpture.
A light box was also ingeniously set up in one of the art rooms for bloggers to photograph their plates. Clever, but I only got to use it once because we were too hungry to refrain from eating to walk it across the room once a plate was set in front of us.
Imagine my surprise when I came back to my seat to find this beauty – LFC! My friends and I all looked at each other, not daring to make a move until Krissy explained that this was an off-​the menu item and the kitchen had bestow the last one to our party. It was as if the stars aligned at that moment. We split up the dish as best we could into 8 portions and reveled in the salty, crispy goodness. The boneless dark meat was deftly fried with a magnificent crust but was too well-​seasoned to be eaten by itself. However, when paired with mashed potatoes and grill baby corn (how cute is that?), it was just right – a filling amuse bouche and exciting start.
Next a barrage of plates arrived: Celery root soup, Sauteed Monterey wild squid, and the confit of pork belly. We were all a bit dismayed as we had hoped to savor each dish slowly, yet the thought of letting the other dishes cool was unthinkable. I ended up initially jumping from one dish to another, which on one hand solved the temperature problem, but did not fare too well in the flavor department, so I chose to focus on my perceived favorite dish and make my way across the others.
The first was the crispy confit pork belly with a burnt eggplant purée, plantain, and coconut Thai chili emulsion. The fatty pork was wonderfully prepared with its fat literally melting upon mastication. The coconut foam (couldn’t quite taste the chili) provided a sweet balance. The other elements unfortunately didn’t pull their weight with the plantain being dry and flavorless and the purée tasting like the insides of a communal ashtray at the local dive bar.
By the time I moved on to the celery root soup, it was already at room temperature, but even so, it was my favorite of the night. With a viscosity like gravy, the creamy soup was richly favored with black truffles and had a delicate vanilla taste. It felt like being wrapped in a warm, fluffy blanket.
As for the Monterey squid, our table was pleasantly surprised how good it was. While we were intrigued about its components – chorizo oil, kimchi purée, black olive – we didn’t want to take a big risk so we only ordered one plate, to which we regretted. It was an galvanizing match between the delicate squid, the saltiness of the crumbled olive, tart kimchee and robust oil. May I say black olive is the new salt and chorizo oil the new brown butter?

Dinner was excellent and I would love to have another chance to try some of the dishes we didn’t have room to try last weekend. Maybe next time? Celery root/​truffle soup was super, scallops were very good, pork belly was good (but sort of bland in a very fatty way), beef tenderloin was really yummy, teriyaki cod was good, and the tourte was very good. Almost 5 stars, but some of the food seemed like maybe it had been made a little too much in advance — otherwise excellent. Maybe Ludo would shine more with a bigger kitchen next time? Oh, and we loved the space at Royal/​T.

Tonight is the last night of LudoBites. I was lucky enough to have reservations on Sunday night. I had gone the second night of the 13-​day run and 3 nights before it ended. Did I plan it this way? Yes and no. I definitely wanted to see how the menu evolved but also just because I really like Chef Ludo’s food.
To be honest, my first meal at LudoBites, 3.0 was not as mind-​blowing as my meal with him over the summer (at the pop-​up at BreadBar) but it was really good. And I am happy to report Sunday’s meal was just as great, well, maybe a little better because Chef Ludo brought back the duck breast with carrot cake coulis which was my favorite thing over the summer.
We ordered all 14 dishes along with two bottles of wine. With tax and tip, it was about $ 98 a person. Yes, it was worth it to me. Let’s just call it my holiday gift to myself.
Tuna, sushi rice ice cream, soy sauce gelee, smoked ginger oil ($ 16)
— really flavorful, fresh tuna with perfect amount of saltiness from the soy and rockin’ ginger flavor. The ice cream was neat.
Nantucket scallop, pineapple, brown butter, black bread powder ($ 14)
— many have told me they didn’t like the brown butter in this dish but I really don’t think it overpowers the scallops. Great dish, glad to see it made it to the end of the run
Carmelized endive, orange, grapefruit, gingerbread croutons ($ 10)
— really great «braised» endive. I hadn’t had endive cooked before but I enjoyed the citrus elements very much along with the crunch of the gingerbread croutons
Celery Soup, black truffles, parmesan ($ 15)
— I was sad to see the bread soup didn’t make to the end of the run but this soup was just as rich and creamy
Crispy confit pork belly, burnt eggplant purée, plantain, coconut Thai chili emulsion ($ 16)
— pork belly. Mmm. The pork was expertly cooked and I liked the plantain fritter along with the lovely emulsion
Monterey wild squid, chorizo oil, kimchi purée, black olives ($ 14)
— to be honest, this was my least fave dish the first time around but I’m happy to say Sunday’s version was much better. I could taste all the great sauces and it really made the slowly sauteed squid work
Egg «Meurette,» red cabbage, lardo toast ($ 14)
— this came with three toast points but they got us another toast point when asked since there were three of us. I thought this was rich and decadent. The egg yolk and the fat made one great combo.
Foie gras beignet, saffron-​dried apricots ($ 17)
— I got to eat this hot! Yes! Awesome plus the candy-​like sauce was a great complement to the crispy beignet.
Striped bass teriyaki, mashed potatoes, pickled garlic, lemon miso ($ 24)
— my fave dish from a few weeks ago was the fish. This is very different so it was cool to see how it evolved. No baby brussels sprouts but I liked the pickled garlic. And those mashed potatoes were perfection.
Fried chicken, cantal polenta, baby corn, mole ($ 19)
— I’ve been hearing about this fried chicken since the summer and was ecstatic to finally try it. Totally worth the wait and the mole made a nice accompaniment.
Duck breast, carrot cake coulis orange blossom, crispy lard ($ 28)
— Like the best Peking duck you ever had but revved up.
Fourme d’Ambert tourte, red pear, honey-​balsamic ($ 12)
— another dish that remained untouched since the beginning of the run and I can see why. Cheese baked in puffed pastry? Fantastic.
Guacamole, exotic fruits, ginger ice cream ($ 12)
— I’m pretty sure the exotic fruit was cherimoya which lent a tart flavor but there was also chunks of mango. Very tropical. The guacamole was like the best Vietnamese avocado shake I’ve ever had but obviously 3 times the cost. But it’s worth it to see what an imaginative chef can do.
Jalapeño chocolate mousse, orange, extra virgin olive oil ($ 10)
— I liked this mousse this time more because of the orange and the extra virgin olive oil (or as some might say, EVOO). Tasty way to end things.
I’m looking forward to seeing the next LudoBites 4.0! Ludo’s wife, Krissy, who is always the consummate hostess said there might be a light box on wheels next run!

Huge Hype + «Celebrity» Chef + Mediocre Execution = Food Hype Fail
At the end of the meal, I felt letdown and a little defeated. I had heard the hype of Ludo Bites during his times at Bread Bar, and I thought, «Finally, I get to try his food!» But course after course failed to wow or impress myself or anyone in my group. Nothing was really bad, but nothing was an explosion of flavor. The six of us ordered two of everything, sans the nuts, and a couple bottles of wine, it was just the right quantity of food, though I could have eaten more.
First up were the scallops in brown butter. Hmm, all I tasted was butter and the occasional sweetness of a mini pineapple cube. The scallops were all but lost on this one, shame.
Then came a fish salad, oh I mean… ceviche… but where’s the fish? Buried under a pile of red onions and other misc veggies, were three and half pieces of an unknown fish. The fish was good, but we ordered a ceviche, not a salad.
Next was one of the only dishes that met my expectations, the veloute. The base was one of the great French sauces, perfectly smooth and rich, too that add a perfectly creamy egg yolk, and then hide some cheese at the bottom of the dish. It was so good! It did scream for some toast points or any kind of bread to cut the richness, but it didn’t matter much to me.
I was most looking forward to the foie gras beignet, but what I got was a soggy, cold round of fried dough, with cold seared foie inside. The amount of foie was generous, but the temperature was inexcusable. I almost enjoyed the Kraft Mac n Cheese colored celery roots better.
The squid on the other hand was very nice. Perfectly cooked and not tough at all, the squid was enhanced greatly by the crisp chorizo bits. The menu called for a kimchi purée, but not one of us could taste any hint of it. The dish was topped with a mysterious black and bitter wafer thin «thing.» Turned out that thing was blackened eggplant skin.
The wild bass was the ultimate fail of the night. Overcooked and devoid of any flavor or seasoning, it just wasn’t good at all. At this time I had noticed that Ludo himself had been wandering around the dining room for some time. He seemed to very much enjoy making the rounds. From that point on, I don’t think he was in the kitchen for more than 5 minutes total. I was a bit let down that the food I was eating wasn’t even cooked by him.
It’s hard to go wrong with pork, especially when large pieces of crispy pork belly are involved. The three chunks were simple and very nice, but only one of our two orders received any mustard seeds on the pork. I had eaten half my piece before I noticed the missing condiment. Once I stole some from the other half the table, it heightened my pork to a new level. Shame it was left off our plate.
Next was the «WTF» dish of the night. No one knew what to make of this oddly Japanese fusion dish. Veal, udon, dashi, sesame miso, it just didn’t all fit right. It reminded me of what I would make at home, just take all the leftovers in the fridge and throw them in a pot together. This dish alone angered many of my fellow diners. It was a very meh course.
The steak was okay. Just okay, no wow factor, nothing Top Chef worthy for sure. The only great thing about this was the crunchy escargot bits, those were great, the steak, not so much.
The only dessert we ordered was the cheese tart and it was meh. I wasn’t a fan of the cheese used or the pastry itself.
Overall, an okay meal with more low points than high. Sure it’s better than fast food or most mom and pop shops, but the meal didn’t come close to par with other restaurants in this league. Maybe if Ludo was actually cooking I would have liked it more. I expected so much more from Ludo and his little Bites.

Everything was delicious and tasty, but not really amaaaaazing, especially for the price tag.
My friend and I ordered the following to share:
1. tuna sashimi, sushi ice cream, soy sauce gelee — This dish was creative and very good. All the flavors, when eaten together, just played off each other and worked really well.
2. foie gras beignet — Who doesn’t love foie gras? I didn’t really like the breading of the beignet. There was too much of it and not enough foie!
3. sauteed squid, kimchi chorizo oil — The squid was delicious and flavors were definitely asian and it reminded me of my mom and home — which is a good thing.
4. confit pork belly, burnt eggplant purée, coconut thai chili emulsion — The pork belly was so fatty and delicious, but the burnt eggplant was just too «burnt tasting» for me. Even when I ate all the components together, the «burnt» taste was too overwhelming.
5. seared duck breast, carrots — I love duck and I love carrots… So this dish, for me, was delicious!
6. fourme d’ambert torte, red pear — I love cheese, so this was a winner. The red pear was a very, very nice touch.
All in all, the space is great, but I think I expected a bit more from the food… especially since his last installment at breadbar was soo amazing. The dishes came out pretty fast once we put our order in and service was spot on. I loved the fact that Chef Ludo was going around and talking/​joking around with the patrons (He saw me taking pictures of the food and told me «no pictures» with a serious face. which quickly turned into a smile and a wink!).
3.5 rounded up.

pls~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ —. — «
pls don’t even get me started on this one~ cause I it was just simply… heavenly delicious~
I went there on the 9^th, the reason which is holding me back on writing a review is because I am speechless about my whole experience…
If I were allowed to give ONE HUNDRED stars… I WOULD!!!
Some facts I think you might wanna know:
Parking in the rear: $ 5 (you will see a little man is waving a flag at ya)
Menu: Surprising dishes each day.
…
I don’t wanna write anymore. once again, I am speechless…
PLS…Just go experience yourself!!!

I loved the fourme d’ambert torte with red pear. I was full when our six plates were over. It was easy to cut into the Monterey squid. Parking was free tonight. There was no man in their back lot.
Peanuts and scallops are no longer on the menu. Tuna sashimi with sushi rice ice cream was creative with textures. The menu wasn’t prix fixe today. Veal udon can be shared between small bowls. We were given a couple pairs of chopsticks too.

Having missed out on Ludo Bites at Bread Bar I can’t make any comparisons of my own (my dining partner commented that the Bread Bar menu was better) but after all was said and done (and eaten and drunk) my tongue and belly were happy campers. After getting over my initial excitement for actually getting IN on Opening Night no less (thanks to a last minute invite to fill-​in for a friend’s wife who couldn’t make it) I looked at the menu and saw that I would be popping not one but TWO culinary cherries in one meal. Yes, that’s right, somehow I had never tried veal or foie gras but this was my chance!
It was just 2 of us but we still went ahead and went straight down the line, ordering 1 of each dish. I am usually never one to leave a dish uncleared but by the time we hit the desserts I had to admit defeat and only take a couple bites.
*Carmelized Peanuts, Curry
We didn’t finish the dish but I longed to be able to buy a bag of these babies for snacking
*Scallop, Brown Butter, Pineapple & Black Powder
I LOVE scallops but I was not a huge fan of this dish. Something just tasted a bit off. Maybe it was more butter than I prefer?
*Monterey Squid, Chorizo Oil, Kimchi Purée, Red Onion
The chorizo oil really made this dish stand out. If you got a bite of the squid sans chorizo you were definitely short-​changed.
*Bread Soup, Poached Egg, Gruyère Marshmallow
More please! I wanted to guzzle this by the bucket load (until I realized how many calories that would mean!)
*Veal, Udon, Kombu Dashi, Mushrooms & Sesame Seed Miso
1^st cherry popped. I was warned that veal might be a bit «gamey» but this was a delight. Tender and flavorful. I will be eating more baby cow in the future (sorry baby cow!!)
*Foie Gras Beignet, Yellow Cellery Roots Remoulade
Uhmmmmm…I think foie gras is a taste that will take me some getting used to. I felt a bit like a kid being forced to swallow lima beans. I knew that I was supposed to loooove it but I guess my palate just wasn’t yet ready to take this on. I’ll give it another go soon.
*Confit Pork Belly, Pickles mustard Tartine, Frisee
Fatty and porky. If I had heard those words I never would have tried this but guess what? It ended up being my fave dish of the night. Really. I could’ve eaten an entire order just for myself. The pickles were a REQUIREMENT in each bite.
*Wild Striped Bass, Garden Vegetables, Yuzu Aoili
The bass was a bit bland but the medley of garden vegetables was the star.
*Marinated Hangar Steak, Crunchy Escargot, Baby Corn, Bok Choy, Black Olive Mole
Perfectly cooked steak. Beautiful baby corn. The black olive mole was interesting and a nice twist on the traditional preparation but I am not a fan of mole in general so I only ate a tiny portion of this. The escargot atop the steak worked very well.
*Fourme d’Ambert Tourte, Red Pear, Honey-​Balsamic
I am well aware of my limitations in the kitchen so a recipe would be useless for me but I would really be happy if I could buy a while pie of this tourte (or if anyone out there wants to make it for me at home??). Nice and mild cheese balanced by the sweet red pear. Win!
*Chocolate Cake, Coconut Sorbet Soup, Pink Pepper Meringue
The first dish that we weren’t able to finish (but not because we didn’t like it, we were just too full). The «cake» was more like a mousse in texture. The coconut sorbet soup was drinkable on its own but I wished it was in an icy solid state instead of liquid.
*Pistachio Rice Milk & Pound Cake
My favorite part of this dish was the lemon pound cake. I did enjoy the pistachio rice milk (with wasabi?) as I love all things creamy (TWSS) but I could’ve done without that spiciness and just had the pistachio on its own.
I really appreciated that the perfect bite for each dish was one that consisted of a little of every single ingredient on the plate although some ingredients were a little disappointing to eat individually.
The service couldn’t have been better. We rarely had to wait or ask to have more water or new plates and utensils and our main server was a doll (from Hungary!). Krissy was ON IT all night. At one point I was admiring her beauty from afar while she talked to a table of diners and within 30 seconds she was table side saying she’d seen me looking and wondered if I had any questions! Embarrassing (for me)!
I didn’t see mention of this in previous reviews but there was a giant light box setup for people to use to take photos of the dishes. We thought it was amusing to watch people with their heads shoved in the box and rear-​ends on display for all of the restaurant to view.
I’ve heard that this has now gone to prix fixe only and the menu has changed up a little and I am JEALOUS that I don’t get to try the new menu items!
If you have upcoming reservations keep an eye out for Austin S. — he’ll be sous chef-​ing for a few nights!

Long story short: You just HAVE to go… well, when he opens his brick and mortar.
*note* This pop-​up is only around until the 22^nd and he is FULLY booked.
Long story long:
Some people will say ”third time is the charm” when it comes to various things. Sometimes they are right, other times they will be wrong.
In the case of Chef Ludo Lefebvre, his third Ludobites pop-​up, at Royal/​T Café in Culver City, was indeed quite charming. I went with a group of Unilocalers/​bloggers, and were able to snag a reservation for his 2^nd night.
Ludo’s wife, Krissy, was the perfect hostess/​general manager, practically running the entire front of the house by herself. There was much anticipation among our group and Chef Ludo did not fail to deliver. The menu featured all different dishes than from last time, and overall seemed to have some Asian influences.
Between the 8 of us, we ordered 2 of everything to share, with the only exception being the foie gras beignet, in which we ordered 4.
1. Caramelized peanuts, with a hint of ginger. A rather simplistic start, but good nonetheless.
2. Scallops with brown butter, brunoise of pineapple, and black powder. The scallops were fantastic and very fresh and the entire dish was well-​balanced.
3. Bread soup, with a poached egg and gruyère marshmallow. The marshmallow was lost in the dish, but the egg was perfect and the soup had tons of flavor. Ludo later told us that he added bacon and onions. Yes, I just said bacon.
4. Confit of pork belly, with pickles mustard, vadouvan apples and frisee. The pork belly was awesome, but when is pork belly NOT awesome?
5. Monterey Squid with a Chorizo oil, kimchee purée, and what I later found out to be eggplant ”paper”. The squid was cooked perfectly and the eggplant paper was interesting, but a good interesting.
6. Foie gras beignet. Yes, foie gras in a beignet. Do you think we would let Ludo go without putting a foie gras dish on the menu? I think not. The foie was succulent and tender and slightly salty, playing a perfect match to the subtly sweet beignet exteior. The Yellow Celery Root Remoulade looked reminiscent of mac n cheese, but was just wonderful.
7. Veal Udon with a kombu dashi, mushrooms, and sesame seed miso. This dish was really good, the udon was perfect and the flavor reminded me a lot of Chinese beef noodle soup, but better.
8. Wild striped bass with garden baby vegetables and a Yuzu Aioli. The fish was cooked just right and the yuzu aioli was a PERFECT accompaniment to the fish. The baby brussel sprouts brought balance to the dish.
9. Hangar steak with crunchy escargot, baby corn, bok choy and a black olive mole. The steak was perfectly cooked, the escargot was nice, though not entirely needed, and the baby corn was good. However, the black olive mole was just superb, a perfect pairing with the steak. Great seasoning and flavor all around. Not bad considering Ludo learned how to make mole sauce just 2 weeks ago.
10. The ”cheese” course, Fourme d’Ambert Tourte, with red pear and honey balsamic. The tort was AWESOME. We asked for the recipe but he more or less just told us how to make it, which seemed rather simple. I normally do not like bleu cheese, and I actually thought he had used a goats milk cheese, but he said the cheese he used was much milder than your average bleu cheese. I could’ve had about 4 more of those slices.
11. Chocolate ”cake” with coconut sorbet soup and rum banana. The ”cake”, I learned from Krissy, was actually a chocolate fudge, but the coconut sorbet and rum banana were just really good.
12. Pistachio rice milk with lemon pound cake and coffee chantilly. I personally love pistachio, but I will be honest and say the texture was interesting. I personally had no problem with it, but I could see how the texture could put off some people. But the pound cake was good and the coffee chantilly was nice and light.
Considering Ludo is not a pastry chef, the dessert courses were good. I enjoyed them a lot.
Our server, Kat, was great, though questionably genuinely bubbly. Even Krissy was wondering if thats how she always is. But she was very attentive and just very polite and sweet. In case you’re wondering, she is the one that looks like Sarah Silverman.
All in all, a wonderful meal provided by an awesome chef. Once you get past his heavy French accent, he is just genuinely a down to earth guy who only wants to cook. I cannot WAIT until they open up their brick and mortar restaurant, rumored to be sometime next year.

My expectations of Ludobites probably skewed my judgment. When I hear Ludobites I think of creative, clever, well executed, and charming.
Ludo may be all of those things himself (super nice guy) but his food fell short of my high expectations. Some chefs focus on seasonal, simple food with complex flavors. Some gear toward Bazaar like creativity. This was neither. In fact, if anything I felt the menu that lacked theme and consistency on both regards. This is SO not the food I expected from the glowing reviews, the highly acclaimed breadbar showing and Ludo Lefebvre in general.
Quit lying to me Unilocal.
After we confused ourselves silly with the menu, we decided to just get two of everything (minus the peanuts and desserts). It was perfect for 6 people. The dishes were quite proportional for three to share.
Food breakdown:
Scallops with brown butter, pineapple and black powder — I love raw scallops and this was no exception. Fresh though nothing special. The pineapple was honestly the best part.
Fish Ceviche — Fish to onion ratio was way way off. Between three people we all had a little bit of fish with a huge amount of veggie left over. But it was way too acidic.
Monterrey squid with chorizo oil, kimchi purée, and grilled sweet jalepenos — Squid was cooked perfectly. Love the chorizo oil. The kimchi purée didn’t stand out.
Bread soup with poached egg and gruyère marshmallow — this was like high end biscuits and gravy minus the biscuits. Tasty. I’m glad we shared this because eating a whole bowl of soup with gravy like consistency is like a heart attack. The poached egg was a nice touch.
Veal with udon, kombu dashi, mushrooms and sesame seed miso — Combining «Asian» ingredients does not equal an asian inspired dish. I wasn’t quite sure if this was meant to be traditionally asian but it didn’t work as fusion asian either. WTFAsian. It tasted like a sickenly sweet udon bowl like something you find in the to-​go aisle at Mitsuwa.
Foie gras beignet with yellow celery root remoulade — Anything with foie gras is delicious. It’s like truffles or caviar. It’s almost hard to fuck up. LOVED the huge huge portion of foie gras but what really stood out was the yellow celery root. It cut the richness of the foie well.
Confit pork belly with pickles mustard tartine, frisee — Our end of the table didn’t come with mustard. But it was fairly good. But I’m picky. Pork belly is something I’m rarely impressed with. It’s a chinese dish that the chinese have perfected in terms of flavor, crispiness and ratio of fat to meat. I still don’t get the pork belly obsession in high end restaurants.
Wild striped bass with garden vegetables and yuzu aioli — I liked the veggies more than the fish. It was a bit overcooked and horribly under-​seasoned.
Marinated hangar steak with crunchy escargot, baby corn, bok choy, and black olive mole — Did not like the mole. The crunchy escargot didn’t stand out. The steak was cooked perfectly and the baby corn was lovely.
Fourme d’Ambert tourte with red pear and honey-​balsamic — Very rich if you’re into that sorta thing. The red pear was a nice touch.
I thought the little accompaniments to each dish was better than the actual main. Would I attend another Ludo event? Of course. He’s a good chef and genuinely enthusiastic about his own food even if I’m not. Perhaps if he personally executed each of his creations the results would be different.
Was it good value for my money? Yes. Although the food was pretty average, we had around 9 courses and two bottles of wine between 6 people for 75 bucks (including tax and tip). Not bad at all.
Until next time, this was just A-​OK.
pictures —

Funny story — our friend made the ressies, so as she tried to find parking we hopped out of the car and went up to the hostess. We totally sounded like we were trying to crash the party —
me: «umm, hi, we have a reservation… it’s under Anita… I think.»
hostess: «…ok, for how many?»
me: «5, i think? there’s actually only going to be 4 of us»
hostess: «I don’t have you on the list…(flips through pages)»
me (whispering to group of friends): …sh*t…
hostess: «oh! here you are, for next monday. Luckily there aren’t too many people here yet so we can get you seated… we might just need to move you along later»
Whew…turns out whoever did their reservations goofed a few people’s dates. Good thing we had the e-​mail confirmation as proof.
I also will admit that I’m a bit biased because I’m really not into the whole cosplay gimmick. That and Asian fancy food really doesn’t do it for me, since I’m used to the flavors/​can make it myself/​can get it somewhere else for cheaper.
I really wasn’t impressed this time. We ordered one of everything on the night’s menu, and the only real standouts were the pork belly and the tourte (omg could not stop eating). The desserts tasted good, but had a very baby food-​like consistency. Not that any of it was bad, Ludo just set the bar really high last time (we STILL talk about that oxtail polenta and the tender beef from BreadBar) and didn’t quite live up to our expectations.

Finally, a chance to taste the creations of Chef Ludo Lebreve. After watching him competed at Top Chef Master and trying unsuccesfully to get reservaton at Ludo Bites Bread Bar last summer, I was super excited to have dinner there last night.
Based on all the pictures posted on Unilocal at Bread Bar, I expected creativity (CHECK), striking color and presentation (CHECK), and most of all, Fatty Goodness (CHECK and CHECK).
I tried almost everything in the menu… higlights:
1. Peanut with curry sauce — a small bowl of peanuts ($ 5) — crunchy, salty, subtle sweetness, and a taste of curry at the end. It is wonderful to snack on to open up your palette, but this crunchy peanuts help to cut through the richness of some of the meat dishes — so don;t finish it all too early.
2. Bread soup. didn’t really know what to expect… but pleasantly surprise. Very comforting. With the poach egg and a tiny cubes of cheese, it is almost like eating a hot bowl of grilled cheese (more of the toast then the cheese… but you get the picture. It is satisfying).
3. Scallop — my least favorite dish. The bright green sauce and pineapple were great, but the scallop was raw. Would have been much better if the scallop was seared with the brown butter.
4. Squid with chorizo oil and onion kimchi. Gorgeous presentation. The black/​pinkish colour of the squid contrasted with the yellow kimchi purée and red pickled onion. The squid was fresh but i would have loved it grilled. It was bland if eaten without the acompanying items.
5. Foie Gras Beignet with celery root remoulades — Genious! I didn’t think this would work… i love my foie gras seared perfectly. But wrapping it in doughnut buter and deep frying it works too. A great balsamic sauce around it and the celery remoulades helped with cutting through the richness. The peanuts help too.
4. PORK Belly — OMG — super tender and lucsious. Many reviewers mentioned how great the pickled mustard is, but I love the vadouvan apples that come with it. It has great textured and just the right amount of tangines. Like eating pork chop with apple sauce
5. Hangar Steak — the steak is great… even better dipped in the mole sauce. But the real star is the crunchy escargot and the grilled baby corn. The escargot is crunchy, salty, and garlicky… like earthy potato chips to go with the steak. The grill mark on the baby corn is perfect… and it is so tender and tastes like butter.
6. Dessert — go with the french named dessert — basically the blue cheese tart with honey balsamic sauce and pear. A nice way to end the meal… the cheese is nice and soft… while the tart is very flacky and buttery.
A great bottle of wine is most definitely recommended to complete a delightful dinner experience.

J & I had joined some friends at Ludo Bites @ Bread Bar and were pretty wowed. So when LudoBites opened up reservations for their latest incarnation, he jumped on it and secured us a table for the opening week. Needless to say, we’ve been very excited to return.
We had a 9pm reservation, but arrived about 20 minutes early. Because there had been some no shows (I know, really?) we were seated immediately by Ludo’s wife, who’s playing host. The furniture looks like that chic stuff you can get at Ikea, like lacquered formica. The current exhibit looked pretty interesting too — though we were seated adjacent to a picture of a lady’s bajingo.
Our server was very attentive — our water glasses were constantly refilled and plates replaced (though we must have gone through five or six sets of silverware!) Just a note — we ordered dishes for ourselves because of dietary restrictions and the food didn’t come out in tandem. I know that most people order a bunch of dishes to split amongst the group, but just be aware of this if you want your own dish.
This is what we got (I’ve included photos of each) —
Caramelized Peanuts ($ 5) — Tasty… I couldn’t taste the «hint» of curry, though.
White Veloute with Egg & Gruyère Marshmallow ($ 11) — First night that this was on the menu, likely replacing the bread soup. This is a cream of nothing soup. Like straight-​up roux. And apparently no meat or meat stock (yes, I asked). The egg was delicious and the gruyère added some punch and great texture. The bowl was a standard soup size — no small portion on this one.
Foie Gras Beignet, Yellow Celery, Roots Remoulade ($ 16) — J got this. He said it was a bit on the heavy side, but tasty. He really liked the remoulade, which had a mustardy kick to it and polished it off before he could complete the beignet.
Wild Striped Bass, Garden Vegetables, Yuzu Aioli ($ 18) — Delish! The bass was perfectly cooked — grilled and totally moist. The vegetables included mini versions of brussels sprouts and onion. The yuzu aioli was really great too and added some acidity to the dish.
Confit Pork Belly ($ 12) — Obviously J was the one who ate this dish. He said it was like bacon wrapped pork chop and loved it. The top of the pork was sprinkled with pickles mustard and it came with frisee and vadouvan apples. He thought the pickles mustard was fantastic.
Fourme d’Ambert Torte ($ 10) — This was my first time having bleu cheese in anything. The dish was still mild though the cheese packed a bit of a punch at the end. The crust was great — not too heavy — and had a bit of a sweet aftertaste to offset the cheese. The balsamic and pear complimented the torte really nicely as well.
Chocolate Mousse, Coconut Sorbet Soup, Banana, Rum, Lime ($ 12) — As J said «the french really know how to make mousse.» The mousse was creamy and luscious and spiked with some pepper making the back of our mouths fire up a bit. The coconut sorbet was pretty solid and floated in a bath of pureed banana. I loved all the flavors together and the textures plus different temperatures seemed to add complexity to the dish. Very delicious.
Overall, a solid four stars. I think that during his stint at the Breadbar, Ludo took more chances in combining ingredients that would otherwise not go together (i.e. cantaloupe and chorizo) or playing around with textures and molecular gastronomy (greek salad with feta foam). While some of our food there had not been a complete success, others hit it out of the ballpark and were completely inventive and adventurous. In this version of Ludo Bites, we felt like Ludo played things a bit save. Everything we had was delicious and cooked really well, but the innovation just wasn’t at the same level as last time. I loved the bass, but nothing surprised me about it. Likewise, J had tried the panna cotta/​caviar last time which was way more inventive than the dessert we had here. Like I mentioned, the food was definitely great and we enjoyed ourselves, but would have preferred one or two fizzled dishes and some «wow» dishes in lieu of a bunch of consistently tasty but not-​as-​inspired plates.
Additionally — the portions this time around seem larger than last time. These are still small plates but with two dishes to myself and two we went splitsville on, I was stuffed to the gills. I’d say that the veloute + bass was definitely a solid meal. Ludo focuses on seasonal ingredients which means heartier dishes for his winter incarnation compared to the light and veggie-​heavy dishes that you may have seen this summer. The plus side for this is «more bang for your buck.»

If you haven’t heard, LudoBites is back, but by the time you’re reading this, it’s waaay too late to make reservations for this 3^rd ever installment of Top Chef Master Contender Ludo Lefebvre’s roving pop-​up restaurant. And if you ARE going, consider yourself extremely lucky to have been able to sneak in, because this thing sold out faster than Pearl Jam used to sell out on Ticketmaster — before they boycotted it of course. And if you ARE NOT going but wanted to, forgive me again for unfairly posting this. I know I did this to y’all beforehand with the previous installment of LudoBites.
But really, this is why I consider myself the luck of the Irish to have been able to surreptitiously sneak in myself and 4 others on the reservation block on OPENING NIGHT this past Wednesday for arguably the hottest ticket in town. And coupled with the fact that LudoBites is being presented in conjunction with Curator Jane Glassman’s avante garde and not-​at-​all-​racy exhibit «In Bed Together», well, you could very well say that my luck certainly didn’t run out there.
If you do have designs to go this December (note — it’s only going for 11 more days), you must do exactly as I have and order THE ENTIRE MENU because after all, you might as well, right? Polishing off the whole kit and kaboodle Ludo’s currently got going on will be no problem in a group of 3 – 4 (these are all «small plates») and don’t you dare start whining and tell me «no way jose, that’s just too much!» However, if you’ve got anything less than 3 people in your party, and you might need to vet the menu selections so here are the highlights:
Caramelized peanuts with curry
Scallops with brown butter, pineapple and black powder
Monterrey squid with chorizo oil, kimchi purée, and grilled sweet jalepenos
Bread soup with poached egg and gruyère marshmallow
Veal with udon, kombu dashi, mushrooms and sesame seed miso
Foie gras beignet with yellow celery root remoulade
Confit pork belly with pickles mustard tartine, frisee
Wild striped bass with garden vegetables and yuzu aioli
Marinated hangar steak with crunchy escargot, baby corn, bok choy, and black olive mole
Fourme d’Ambert tourte with red pear and honey-​balsamic
Chocolate cake with coconut sorbet soup and pink pepper meringue
Pistachio rice milk and pound cake
Overall, you might’ve already guessed that this is no vetting. This is the ENTIRE MENU created on Opening Night. It’s not to say that it’s going to be exactly the same if you just so happen to go tonight — after all, this is Ludo we’re talking about and the name of the game is that you’re eating food where «the only limit is Ludo’s imagination.» But if you do happen to see even a few of these niceties above, you absolutely positively MUST order multiple orders of the Confit pork belly… first prize as our table’s favorite.

[repost]
I came here for the Hello Kitty Three Apples Exhibit and was pleasantly surprised to find an explosion of Hello Kitty couture.
In addition to the exhibit, we also ate at the café. The maid servers were super cute, but service was slow. I’d have to say that they probably hire people based on their level of hipster and not their serving skills. We got their specials of course, from the special Hello Kitty menu:
Hello Kitty’s Kawaii High Tea + I Pancakes
We did not plan to get full here. We just snacked and went our way. The red velvet cupcake was incredibly soft and smooshy. It had no structure to it at all. The sushi rolls just had pickled veggies. Sure, the food is not spectacular and is pricey, but you are there to experience the maid service. Well, we did see some sandwiches that did look pretty big.
I would recommend browsing the back where they have the individual artist renderings, then maneuver to the front and put your name down for a table at the café because there is usually a long line and it takes a while. Then, fawn over all the merchandise in the front.
mucho gracias to mi amigos Anne N. + Kevin P.
check out this article:

So over rated! Went tonight to Ludo Bites @ Royal T & was so disappointed. What a lot of hype for mediocre food. Tried almost everything on the menu and nothing stood out. Everything was really bland, under seasoned and sloppy presentation. We had the scallops, the foie gras, the bass, the bread soup, the squid & two desserts and again really boring & under seasoned.
I had made a reservation a month ago after reading reviews of other Ludo bites & was disheartened by my meal.
The staff was attentive sometimes overly. They were clearing plates before we were finished. Our waitress, a brunette, was very sweet.
I would not recommend Ludo Bites @ Royal T. I wish I had gone to either Bazaar or AOC for a great, seasoned meal of small plates.

LudoBites 3.0 was no sequel. It was a reboot.
Come knowing that and you’d leave happy. But come expecting a sequel to LudoBites 2.0 at Breadbar and you might as well have gone to watch JJ Abrams’ Star Trek reboot expecting to see William Shatner.
All the familiar dishes from LudoBites 2.0 were gone, replaced by a completely new line up. Oxtail polenta? Gone. Foie gras croque monsieur? Gone. Ludo Fried Chicken? Well, that one made a comeback in a different form.
Kinda like Leonard Nimoy as Spock.
In fact, don’t even come expecting to see Kirk in the captain’s chair. LudoBites 3.0 left the confines of Europe to explore Asia and Mexico. Kimchi, udon, dashi, miso and mole took center stage, befitting the pop-​up restaurant’s move to Royal/​T, a Japanese cosplay café. It’s as if Sulu had taken over the bridge and reprogrammed all the food replicators.
But that, really, is the mission statement of LudoBites. It allows Chef Ludo Lefebvre to create and explore cuisines without the normal constraints of running a restaurant. To seek out new tastes and new cultures. To boldly go where no man has gone… okay, perhaps I’m taking this metaphor too far.
On to the food. In the words of Chef Ludo’s famous countryman, Jean-​Luc Picard, «Make it so!»
Ludo opened with his caramelized curry peanuts. More a snack than a course, these would have been perfect with an Asian beer.
Next up was the scallops with brown butter, pineapple and squid ink powder. The scallops were fresh and plump, with the pineapple adding a sweet and tart acidity. I did pick up a bitter element though. I’m guessing this was a function of the squid ink powder.
This was followed by the bread soup with poached egg and a gruyère marshmallow. The bread soup had a strong, smoky bacon taste. Delicious but I had been expecting more of a toasted bread flavor. Luckily, I prefer the taste of bacon to bread.
Next was a confit of pork belly with pickled mustard seeds, vadouvan apples and frisee. The pork belly was good. Tender with a firmer skin.
Fifth course was the Monterey squid with chorizo oil, kimchee purée and eggplant «paper». Talk about Korean-​Mexican fusion. But the dish worked. The squid was tender with just enough give and, eaten together with the chorizo oil and kimchee purée, brought a complexity to the dish.
The dish that followed was my favorite of the night. Veal udon, kombu dashi, mushrooms and sesame seed miso. The veal was tender, the broth flavorful and with depth, and the addition of mushrooms, shallots and the sesame seed miso complemented but never interfered with the main flavor palette of veal and dashi. This dish probably best exemplified LB 3.0 — a French experimental pop-​up in a Japanese neo-​pop café.
Next was the foie gras beignet with yellow celery root remoulade. This dish tasted exactly as I had imagined. The salty, offally, fatty, almost melted foie gras paired with the sweet fried goodness of the beignet.
Next up was the wild striped bass, garden vegetables and yuzu aioli. The bass was well cooked and the vegetables certainly colorful but my mind was still on the veal udon and foie gras beignet.
The marinated hanger steak with crunchy escargot, baby corn, bok choy and black olive mole followed. The hanger steak was nicely pink in the middle and well marinated but it was the mole that Chef Ludo had only learned to make a few weeks ago that stood out for me. The slight sweetness of the complex mole was a perfect accompaniment to the hanger steak.
The cheese course was replaced by the Fourme d’Ambert tourte with red pear and a honey-​balsamic sauce. The Fourme d’Ambert had a milder blue cheese taste. Baked in this tourte with a thick bechamel sauce, the result was wonderfully nuanced and yet apparently simple. Definitely greater than the sum of its parts.
The first dessert was a pistachio rice milk, lemon pound cake and coffee chantilly. Honestly, this dessert lost me. Texturally, the pistachio rice milk and the coffee chantilly were similarly soft and mousse-​like. It’s like a dessert that could have been good had been pureed into the texture of baby food. This was the only dish that we left partially eaten.
I’ll put it down to bad code in the food replicators.
We finished with the chocolate mousse with coconut sorbet soup and rum bananas. Yes, it looks like a bowl of melted ice cream but the chocolate mousse had a distinct kick of jalapeño in its tail, which was soothed by the coconut sorbet soup.
So there it was. The end of another LudoBites adventure. It’s hard not to make comparisons with LB 2.0. Sure, there were dishes I missed. But there were also dishes here I’d definitely add to a «best of» LudoBites menu.
But ultimately, LudoBites 3.0 held out the promise of further exploration and experimentation when Ludo returns with version 4.0 and eventually his bricks and mortar dream.
And I’ll be there as eager as I was for this incarnation.
Until then Chef Ludo, live long and prosper.