Lunch at Eva Restaurant

Chef Mark Gold's Eva Restaurant offers a 3 course lunch for $22. Javier from the blog Glutster and I had lunch there this week and had a tasty meal amidst the crowds of customers who were looking to cash in their Groupons.

The 3 course meal was corn soup or gem salad, short ribs or halibut and donut holes or melon. We both opted for the little gem salad and the halibut and I chose donuts while Javier was virtuous and had the melon.


The little gem salad was a refreshing way to begin the meal. The salad had the greens, halved cherry tomatoes, green onions, diced onions a lightly dressed sauce. The salad (pictured above) was attractively plated and was portioned appropriately for a three course meal.



The halibut was served alongside a bed of rice with grilled root vegetables and a light creamy sauce. The halibut was well cooked and flavorful and was also appropriately portioned. The rice absorbed the sauce as well and was a starch that did not overwhelm the fish.



I finished with the donut holes from Bob's donuts. These were gone from my plate in a matter of seconds. Although I don't have a sweet tooth I do have a weakness for good donuts and these were rather good. The dessert was just a touch of sweetness before you went on your way. I had heard that Eva may bring on a pastry chef, although that is unconfirmed at this time.

Service was friendly and efficient and they were able to get us through the meal in a reasonable amount of time, a key consideration at lunch. The Eva website reports that lunch is now served Fridays only, so plan accordingly.

Eva is located at 7458 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles. Phone: (323) 634-0700. Website: evarestaurantla.com

Lunch on the wane? fewer options in LA

In recent weeks Bastide has ended its lunch service in favor of expanding to six nights a week, adding Monday, and Eva has shrunk lunch service to Thursday and Friday down from four days per week. Is this the beginning of a trend?

Sit down upscale lunch spots have been concentrated in the downtown and Beverly Hills / Century City business districts. Perhaps it is a location issue more than anything else?

As an Angeleno who enjoys eating real lunches and not just a salad or sandwich on the go, this is a disappointing series of developments and I hope this lunch retrenchment is over.

Tuesday night fried chicken and beer at Eva

On June 22nd, Mark Gold, the chef/owner of Eva Restaurant, began an inspired weekly Tuesday tradition: all you can eat fried chicken and all you can drink microbrew beer from a keg for $25. A couple of weeks ago when I went, there were four sides offered for $5 each - creamed corn, creamed spinach, potatoes or salad.



On Tuesdays the regular menu is not available and the whole restaurant is given over to fried chicken and beer. The chicken pieces came to the table piping hot and were served family style. Thighs and legs were available. The chicken was crispy and the bird was of high quality. The chicken was moist and the skin had a nice crunch to it.

The beer was served in plastic cups, like you might find at a college party with a keg, to keep up the fun casual festive vibe. Refills were offered frequently; there is no danger of not getting sufficient liquid refreshment at Eva. When there was an issue with the keg, the server offered a choice of two other beers that presumably came from bottles/cans, which was an example of good service by proactively offering a solution. The keg was quickly fixed, so this wasn't an issue for long.

The server mentioned that on previous occasions there had been fried chicken wings as well. If that is important to you, I'd recommend to call ahead the day of to confirm. Gold himself was not there that evening, as he was on a family vacation.



The initial dinner on June 22nd was mobbed with people waiting to get in for their fix of bird and beer. When we went on July 6th, it was much quieter, with no wait (we had a reservation) at any time, likely due to long holiday weekend immediately preceding.

Overall I thought the chicken was good but not amazing. I prefer the chicken at Bastide, Flossies and Lazy Ox, in that order; but I would still recommend this chicken and the Tuesday special. There is something very American about all you can eat and serving family style. The food is good, the beer is free flowing and you don't have to worry about what to order. Basically with one side per person, it is $30 + tax & tip, which is fair for food of this quality and quantity.

Your next chance to try it is tomorrow night, so make a reservation.

Eva is located at 7458 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles. Phone: (323) 634-00700. Website: www.evarestaurantla.com