Bacari Silverlake

“Such a great experience having my post-birthday dinner with my dear friend at Bacari Silverlake! We've been eyeing this restaurant for a while and it definitely delivers from the service by our wonderful waitress Alexandra to the food and ambience. We were very hungry and as the portions here are Tapas-style, we made sure we had a good variety of food ordered. First was Rainbow Beets that took us by surprise! The menu said this was oven-roasted beets, but what we had were not expected. These were sumptuous beets that was neither too hard and crunchy or mushy, and has this freshness with every bite. The 3 different types of beets - pink, dark red, and yellow - offered their own unique taste, with the pink being the sweetest and the yellow the most tart. The whipped chèvre cheese and olive oil balanced out the minty tarragon very well and added a playful delight with the beet. This how different components can really work together harmoniously and surprised us foodies. We gave it an A! The Oyster Mushroom was another surprising delight and actually did work like a falafel kabob in taste and texture. The tahini, pargiyot spice, and toum crema (Lebanese Garlic Sauce) blended well together to make a cohesive, balanced dish that also avoided tasting like a derivative. We gave this an A-. The crudo seafood dish, however, did tasted a little one-note. I didn't have this since I don't like seafood, but my friend said the herb and cucumber relish with za'atar overpowered the barramundi fish and felt like every bite was just a singular flavor with not as much nuance. She gave it a C+. Luckily, our Glazed Pork Belly was anything but flat. This dish brought us back to an explosion of flavor and savoriness with the salty crispy crust of the pork belly exterior giving way to the delicious pork belly juxtaposed by the sweet but tangy umami mulling glaze. And then you have the sesame seed, lemon, green onion, and cilantro to really elevate the dish even more. This was by far our favorite dish and I can't recommend it enough! This was the dish that really earned our A+! From that high, we coasted a bit with the Cast Iron Steak, which was quite good, but somewhat inconsistent with how good it was. Ours was grilled Medium, but we both felt that different slices had a varying degree of taste profile. This was also the first time where I felt the sauce (bearnise) was a little polite and didn't excite me as much as the previous dishes. The grilled zucchini lacked noticeable seasoning so they were just there. This was a dish that could use a bit more kick, and I think this was borderline B+ to A, depending on which slice you ate. The same can be said with the Shwarma Tacos where it can be more spiced up and earthier in its taste profile. The garlic tahini needed more garlic and that aforementioned kick, and maybe there was just an overwhelming amount of shredded cabbage. What really worked to save this dish were the chicken pargiyot and the pickle red onion. I certainly can use more of both. We'd give this a B. Finally, for dessert we both got our own Malabi, which was a rosewater custard with shaved coconuts, hibiscus jam, and candies pistachios. Right away, we both agreed the whole candied pistachios needed to be dialed back. Because they were whole pistachios, their size, hardness, and flavor were actually taking away from all the other more subtle flavors. It was distracting, and we both just ate all the pistachios first so we can then really enjoy the rest of the dessert. Maybe crushed pistachios is the solution here. This was where I also wanted more from the flavor because it was delicious. The rosewater custard could use some actual chopped up rose petals to even bring out even more of that floral flavor. The shaved coconut brought a nice counter in sweet harder texture while the hibiscus brought on another layer of sweetness that compliments the rosewater. These three components really work well together. It was a relatively simple dessert that's well thought-out and earned our A.”

“We had a great time at your restaurant celebrating Mother's Day with my family. It was our first time at this location. It is a great setup with part of the restaurant is on a side of a hill. Very forest like and IMO a very unique experience... 10++++ Very nice.  The food and drinks were great. Lots of great tapas type options. The staff were very friendly and service was excellent.”

“Had such a great birthday brunch at Bacari Silverlake. We shared 8 small plates between 3 people, and it was the ideal amount. The shakshouka and chilaquiles were excellent brunch choices, while the Bacari fries, burgers, wings, and cauliflower were all packed with flavor. The patio atmosphere was fantastic, and our dog felt right at home. Highly recommend for brunch and special occasions.”

“Had an excellent dinner here my final night visiting LA last weekend. This is an enormous restaurant, with both a large interior and charming outdoor area up some (pretty tricky!) steps. Service was excellent, very friendly and helpful in terms of guiding some menu choices. And the ambience on the patio at night can't be beat. Enjoyed the following dishes: lamb hummus - braised ground lamb, spiced lebanese stew, crudites, sesame, tahini, fresh pita - excellent, very rich! shawarma tacos - chicken pargiyot, shredded cabbage, pickled red onion, sesame, garlic tahini - quite good as well, nice combo of textures and flavors jidori chicken wings - buttermilk batter, smoked pepper sauce, blue cheese creme fraiche, scallion - excellent as well, but surprisingly spicy so watch out! sea bass - pan seared, charred shishito, corn, shallot, tomato, tarragon aioli, pomegranate molasses, grilled lemon - superb as well, loved the sweet flavors of the corn with the sea bass and aioli, and the little bit of smoky flavor from the peppers Highly recommended.”

“Sooo I love the vibes of this place as being from Europe and their food is really good!!!! However last night we were trying to have a conversation with our friends and the server took our cauliflower, we told him that after, and everything was fine until he said "only the salad was left in it, it is not the main food, I thought you were not going to eat it" well I like my greens and it is my decision whether to eat it or not. So he brought another plate, thats why I am being nice with my review. Please follow me on instagram @foodiebynur”