At some L.A. restaurants, table bread is the main attraction

When is the last time a restaurant bread basket left a lasting impression?

There was a moment when most Eurocentric restaurants in America offered complimentary bread. The basket or plate of sliced bread often acted as a first impression, an indication of the meal to follow and how far the business was willing to go to seduce you. Stale ciabatta could mean overcooked, overdressed pasta. A fresh, warm baguette promised well-executed entrees. Thick tiles of soft focaccia and good olive oil signaled that whatever followed would likely entice.

It can be thrilling when the table bread is the main attraction. At Craig’s in West Hollywood, I’ve made a meal out of an ice-cold martini and a basket of bread. There, the flatbread is slathered in honey butter and sprinkled generously with cheese. It’s a destination-worthy basket that requires no accouterments.

The Restaurant at Hotel Bel-Air, selection of house-made signature breads, $20

During a recent meal at the Restaurant at Hotel Bel-Air, the selection of house-made signature breads arrived at the table like a shining cornucopia of carbohydrates. The white-napkin-lined silver bowl was brimming with two pointed, hand-shaped ficelle, glossy black truffle brioche buns and a pair of petite, round garlic croissants. Lavash crackers speckled with toasted sesame and sunflower seeds sat tall and straight in a cup to the side.

The garlic croissants from the Restaurant at Hotel Bel-Air.

(Hotel Bel-Air)

“Starter bread baskets might seem like an insignificant piece of the dinner experience to some, but to me, it is essential, and can make or break an evening’s meal,” says Christophe Rull, executive pastry chef at the hotel. He and a team of two other bakers service the entire property, including the recently opened pastry shop, the Patisserie. “This is an item that can start your dinner off on the right note and display the expert level of care that has gone into every portion of the menu.”

Rull’s team works throughout the evening to prepare the various breads and viennoiserie for the hotel. Each of the house-made signature breads, available to order off the menu for $20, is prepared daily and served warm.

The baguettes crack and the brioche buns are plush pillows of dough with a whisper of truffle. For the croissants, Rull makes a traditional croissant dough with good French butter and incorporates a garlic confit and Italian olive oil. Each of the flaky layers is infused with the sweet and pungent garlic, like dunking each bite into a bowl of roasted garlic butter.

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“The croissants are French, like myself, and are not typically featured in dinner bread baskets,” says Rull. “I specifically chose these items to show the dexterity that table bread can have.”

Luckily, the selections are set, and the garlic croissants will be available for the foreseeable future.

“Many of our regulars choose favorites,” he says. “If we removed one component of the basket, we most definitely will hear about it.”

The hearth baked selection of breads on the menu at Spago in Beverly Hills. The varieties change seasonally and usually include a baguette, carda di musica, butter and dip.

(Tatyana Fox / Glee Digital Media)

Spago, Hearth Baked, $26

At Wolfgang Puck’s Spago and Cut restaurants in Beverly Hills, the Hearth Baked bread has always been a central part of the dining experience. Spago executive pastry chef Della Gossett’s interactive presentation of a box of treasures is meant to be reminiscent of a bento box. It’s disassembled at the table with each component individually presented.

On top are sheets of carta di musica, delicate and nearly translucent, dusted with rosemary and sumac. Butter and a ramekin of a seasonal spread sits in the first layer of the box. Recently there was a roasted carrot hummus with a stripe down the middle of za’atar-infused olive oil. And at the bottom of the box, a dark, seeded rye bread and an einkorn epi baguette made with einkorn freshly milled by Grist & Toll flour mill in Pasadena.

“The selections are pretty much drawn from inspiration during our travels,” Gossett says. “For example, Wolfgang was on a trip to Sardinia and loved the carta di musica, so we worked really hard on creating one for our bread presentation, then we sprinkle different herbs or spices according to the season. The dark rye was inspired by our trip to Austria.”

A team of three full-time bakers prepares all the breads, including the burger buns, for the restaurant and any special events.

“You wouldn’t think that in the land of gluten-free that we would have that much bread, but we almost sell out of our bread every night,” she says.

The From the Hearth selection of breads, butter and spread from Cut Beverly Hills.

(Tatyana Fox / Glee Digital Media)

Cut, From the Hearth, $21

The bread service is equally popular at Cut, where executive chef Drew Rosenberg says nearly every table orders the From the Hearth bread. And most of the bread is made during the dinner service, with guests dining at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. all treated to warm, fresh bread.

The bread selection might change a few times a year, but recently there were pretzel knots and a round of focaccia studded with onions cooked for 12 hours, until the sugars develop and turn tawny and jammy. The dough is baked in a cast-iron pan to create a light and airy structure with a nice, crusty bottom.

A handful of crackers is blanketed in shaved Parmigiano Reggiano and a blend of herbs de Provence dried at the restaurant.

On the side, Vermont cultured butter and Rosenberg’s take on muhammara, made with red peppers and pomegranate molasses. The dip is arranged in a dollop over some Sicilian olive oil and vinegar.

“What’s the best possible outcome in a world where you have to charge for bread now?” Rosenberg says. “Now with the costs of labor and goods, you really do have to charge, and I think of it as a full experience or dish where someone is probably going to spend more than $20 for it, so it better be really good.”

A selection of bread and spreads from Superba Food + Bread in Hollywood.

(Jakob N. Layman)

Superba Food + Bread, bread + all four spreads, $29

At Superba Food + Bread in Hollywood, the “bread + all four spreads” is the most expensive dish on the menu, alongside the hearth-roasted Mary’s half chicken. Both are listed at $29.

The presentation is enough for a small crowd, with a boulder of sourdough grilled and brushed with enough butter to permeate the four inches of dough. Cooked polenta adds texture, moisture and a distinct nutty flavor to the porridge and polenta levain. It’s sprinkled with sunflower flower seeds, pepitas and flaxseeds for some added crunch. The baguette is sheathed in everything bagel seasoning.

“Bread is in our name, so clearly we are committed and passionate bakers,” says chef Elisha Ben-Haim. “We will often create a new dish for the menu that demands a new bread accompaniment. Equally so, we will get inspired and build a spread and dip around it.”

While each of the breads satisfies on its own, the dips warrant their own praise. The smoked trout could have come from your favorite deli, crowned with roe and bits of pickled onion. Salsa macha and honey meld into a smoky sweet mess on top of smooth whipped cheese. Charred eggplant is sweetened with pomegranate molasses and strewn with walnuts. Then there’s the “really good butter + salt,” appropriately advertised and good enough to serve as the focus of a cheese board.

A selection of breads served at Gucci Osteria, including whipped ricotta made at the restaurant, Vermont butter, a ciabatta olive bread, a sourdough poppy seed bread and a rosemary bun.

Gucci Osteria, three breads and two spreads, free

Though the complimentary bread course is waning at most restaurants, the concept lives on at Gucci Osteria in Beverly Hills, where diners are treated to three varieties of bread, one butter and a whipped cheese spread at the start of every meal.

“The main reason we are offering the bread course is because it represents Italian tradition,” says chef Mattia Agazzi. “It’s something you always have on the table and it’s one of the best ways to highlight ingredients.”

Agazzi’s walks to the farmers market dictate the specific flavorings for the breads.

At a recent dinner, I was offered a basket of ciabatta crowded with chunks of briny, fruity Kalamata olives; a poppy seed-crusted sourdough; a lavash cracker made with eggs and butter; and a rosemary bun fashioned out of pastry dough rolled with fragrant rosemary.

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Each evening, Agazzi’s team makes ricotta cheese and lets it sit overnight. The next morning before service, the cheese is whipped into a stark white airy spread and generously seasoned with cracked black pepper. Imagine swiping your bread into the remnants of a bowl of cacio e pepe.

If this specific pairing of breads and spreads sounds appealing, you’ll want to visit as soon as possible.

“We don’t have a timing for these,” he says. “We just change it whenever we feel like it.”

The bread service at Alexander’s Steakhouse in Pasadena includes, from left, butter with honey and rendered Wagyu fat, butter infused with Wagyu morsels, European-style butter, Manchego cheese bread, squid ink bread and Hokkaido milk bread.

(Shawna Yetka )

Alexander’s Steakhouse, three breads and three spreads, free

The complimentary bread service at Alexander’s Steakhouse in Pasadena registers as the first bites of an elaborate tasting menu, with no less than three breads and three varieties of butter. The Hokkaido milk bread is soft, squishy and a tad sweet. Jet-black squid ink imparts a marine-laced hit of umami to a classic French baguette and the Manchego cheese bread features a tempting swirl of the nutty cheese.

The restaurant’s extensive selection of domestic and imported Wagyu is on full display in the accompanying butters. Beef is butchered in-house daily, with the Wagyu fat and other trimmings repurposed into a honey and rendered Wagyu fat butter and a butter infused with Wagyu morsels. To allow the bread flavors ample attention, there’s a round of plain European-style butter too.

“Our bread service is more than just a welcome bite, it’s a carefully considered course within the meal,” says general manager Jose Banuelos. “Served between the starters and the main course, it offers a moment to pause and reset before the grand Wagyu experience unfolds.”

The steakhouse goes a step further and ends each meal with a tall cloud of cotton candy.

It’s enough of a first and last impression to encourage any diner (this writer included) to commit to a second visit.