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| Roy Yamaguchi founded his first self-named restaurant in Honolulu in 1988. With the new Downtown Los Angeles branch, there are now more than 30 Roy's. Photo by Gary Leonard. |
Roy's, the Hawaiian Chef's Slick Franchise, Makes a Splash in Downtown
by Leslee Komaiko
It is 8-ish on a recent Thursday night. Figueroa Street is quiet. Even the Original Pantry Café looks relatively empty.
Inside Roy's, the four-month-old Hawaiian fusion restaurant at the corner of Figueroa and Eighth, it's another story. The place is jumping. Groups of friends are talking and laughing in the expansive bar area over tropical drinks with names like Lava Flow. Just about every table is occupied, including the two coveted, oversized, lipstick red wraparound booths in the main dining room. And say, isn't that you-know-who from "Dharma and Greg" in one of them. Jenna Elfman? Yes indeed.
According to our waitress, this newest Roy's is the most successful in the chain. For those who have never eaten at a Roy's - though I thought my girlfriend and I were the only ones - Roy is Roy Yamaguchi, Hawaii's very own celebrity chef. He opened his first eponymous restaurant in Honolulu in 1988 and now there are more than 30. Clearly Roy knows what he's doing.
There is a lot to like about Roy's. The hostesses, the entire staff for that matter, tend to be extremely gracious. Sometimes it feels a bit forced; you sense the training manual in effect. But I'd take a little obsequiousness and a few "Alohas" over the attitude you get at some places any day.
The space is attractive, with lots of warm wood and shades of red and four outsized modern, elliptical chandeliers overhead that cast diners in a most flattering light (not that Elfman needs much help in that department). In addition to the main bar area, there's a separate counter with high stools where you can watch sushi being made. It's an attractive option for single diners as well as those who want an unobstructed view of the action in the kitchen.
So what's cooking? A good place to start is with an appetizer of baby back pork ribs ($10), which might be the best thing on the menu. They're incredibly tender, smoky and sweet, and they're not swimming in sauce. Best of all, they're meaty.
Duck lumpia ($8), crisp, golden spring rolls filled with shredded duck, are good too. I'm less taken with the lobster potstickers, even though they are identified on the menu as one of "Roy Yamaguchi's original Hawaiian fusion classic dishes." They just don't taste much of lobster.
The "canoe appetizer for two" ($25) is a good way to sample a few appetizers. It features all of the aforementioned starters, in smaller portions than if ordered on their own, as well as a couple tasty seared tiger shrimp, a pile of chilled edamame in garlic-soy sauce, and four pieces of spicy tuna roll in jackets of crispy panko (Japanese bread crumbs), a twist on those popular tempura style sushi rolls.
The menu also features a small selection of nigiri sushi as well as several specialty rolls, including the very decadent sounding Lakanilau Roll: seared Kobe beef wrapped around dynamite crab, tempura asparagus and avocado ($17).
Some of the entrees are very rich, so if you plan to have the "signature melting hot chocolate soufflé" for dessert (more on that later), be sure to order strategically. For instance, the Kalua style kurobuta pork shank ($19) is finished in a creamy spiced coconut sauce. It's delicious stuff, but heavy. Grilled beef short ribs ($24), a massive amount of tender beef served atop a potato cake, is nearly as rich.
Seafood options include caramelized sea scallops paired with preserved lemon risotto ($26) and Maui onion crusted Alaskan halibut with sake soy braised tofu ($27). There's also a terrific dish of black cod ($26) in a miso glaze served with coarsely mashed Okinawa purple sweet potatoes. The fish appears on the menu as "butterfish" because the flesh is so buttery.
Portions are generous. So diners with ambitions of dessert may find themselves losing steam, and interest, toward meal's end. That said, the servers generally put forth the soufflé option mid-entree as it takes a while to prepare.
This is no traditional soufflé. Roy's version is a dense, moist, molten cake that oozes chocolatey goodness in the center. The crème brûlée ($7) might be even better though. It is wonderfully creamy, redolent of fresh vanilla and sports a sugar top at once crunchy and delicate. Who needs chocolate covered macadamia nuts when you've got this?
Roy's is at 800 S. Figueroa St. Open Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; Sun.-Thurs. 5-10 p.m.; and Fri.-Sat. 5-10:30 p.m. (213) 488-4994 or roysrestaurant.com.
page 9, 1/16/2006
© Los Angeles Downtown News. Reprinting items retrieved from the archives are for personal use only. They may not be reproduced or retransmitted without permission of the Los Angeles Downtown News. If you would like to redistribute anything from the Los Angeles Downtown News Archives, please call our permissions department at (213) 481-1448.
Inside Roy's, the four-month-old Hawaiian fusion restaurant at the corner of Figueroa and Eighth, it's another story. The place is jumping. Groups of friends are talking and laughing in the expansive bar area over tropical drinks with names like Lava Flow. Just about every table is occupied, including the two coveted, oversized, lipstick red wraparound booths in the main dining room. And say, isn't that you-know-who from "Dharma and Greg" in one of them. Jenna Elfman? Yes indeed.
According to our waitress, this newest Roy's is the most successful in the chain. For those who have never eaten at a Roy's - though I thought my girlfriend and I were the only ones - Roy is Roy Yamaguchi, Hawaii's very own celebrity chef. He opened his first eponymous restaurant in Honolulu in 1988 and now there are more than 30. Clearly Roy knows what he's doing.
There is a lot to like about Roy's. The hostesses, the entire staff for that matter, tend to be extremely gracious. Sometimes it feels a bit forced; you sense the training manual in effect. But I'd take a little obsequiousness and a few "Alohas" over the attitude you get at some places any day.
The space is attractive, with lots of warm wood and shades of red and four outsized modern, elliptical chandeliers overhead that cast diners in a most flattering light (not that Elfman needs much help in that department). In addition to the main bar area, there's a separate counter with high stools where you can watch sushi being made. It's an attractive option for single diners as well as those who want an unobstructed view of the action in the kitchen.
So what's cooking? A good place to start is with an appetizer of baby back pork ribs ($10), which might be the best thing on the menu. They're incredibly tender, smoky and sweet, and they're not swimming in sauce. Best of all, they're meaty.
Duck lumpia ($8), crisp, golden spring rolls filled with shredded duck, are good too. I'm less taken with the lobster potstickers, even though they are identified on the menu as one of "Roy Yamaguchi's original Hawaiian fusion classic dishes." They just don't taste much of lobster.
The "canoe appetizer for two" ($25) is a good way to sample a few appetizers. It features all of the aforementioned starters, in smaller portions than if ordered on their own, as well as a couple tasty seared tiger shrimp, a pile of chilled edamame in garlic-soy sauce, and four pieces of spicy tuna roll in jackets of crispy panko (Japanese bread crumbs), a twist on those popular tempura style sushi rolls.
The menu also features a small selection of nigiri sushi as well as several specialty rolls, including the very decadent sounding Lakanilau Roll: seared Kobe beef wrapped around dynamite crab, tempura asparagus and avocado ($17).
Some of the entrees are very rich, so if you plan to have the "signature melting hot chocolate soufflé" for dessert (more on that later), be sure to order strategically. For instance, the Kalua style kurobuta pork shank ($19) is finished in a creamy spiced coconut sauce. It's delicious stuff, but heavy. Grilled beef short ribs ($24), a massive amount of tender beef served atop a potato cake, is nearly as rich.
Seafood options include caramelized sea scallops paired with preserved lemon risotto ($26) and Maui onion crusted Alaskan halibut with sake soy braised tofu ($27). There's also a terrific dish of black cod ($26) in a miso glaze served with coarsely mashed Okinawa purple sweet potatoes. The fish appears on the menu as "butterfish" because the flesh is so buttery.
Portions are generous. So diners with ambitions of dessert may find themselves losing steam, and interest, toward meal's end. That said, the servers generally put forth the soufflé option mid-entree as it takes a while to prepare.
This is no traditional soufflé. Roy's version is a dense, moist, molten cake that oozes chocolatey goodness in the center. The crème brûlée ($7) might be even better though. It is wonderfully creamy, redolent of fresh vanilla and sports a sugar top at once crunchy and delicate. Who needs chocolate covered macadamia nuts when you've got this?
Roy's is at 800 S. Figueroa St. Open Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; Sun.-Thurs. 5-10 p.m.; and Fri.-Sat. 5-10:30 p.m. (213) 488-4994 or roysrestaurant.com.
page 9, 1/16/2006
© Los Angeles Downtown News. Reprinting items retrieved from the archives are for personal use only. They may not be reproduced or retransmitted without permission of the Los Angeles Downtown News. If you would like to redistribute anything from the Los Angeles Downtown News Archives, please call our permissions department at (213) 481-1448.
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