La Botte and a Michelin Star:

Alex’s parents came to town for a night and invited me to dinner. The Maffei family is proud to be Italian and part of that pride means they know good Italian food. They chose La Botte in Santa Monica. This was the first restaurant I have been too that was hyped to me as having a Michelin Star. I always wondered what made a place Michelin Star worthy so I couldn’t wait to try it.

The service was terrible. I think our meal took three hours or more. This is fine when you are having 6 or more courses but we waited forever to get three courses. Bud’s ordered the filet mignon and it was served cold. You can’t serve meat cold because when you reheat it the person will no longer be getting it cooked to the temperature they requested. La Botte should have cooked him a whole new steak.

Service aside the food was really good. The highlights of the meal were the beet ravioli’s, duck proscuitto, and panna cotta. Donna ordered heirloom tomato and goat cheese risotto that was beautiful. The picture does not do this dish justice. I wish I had tried some.

I had a slow braised pork shoulder with kabocha squash on top. Again a terrible picture but the squash was out of this world. It was covered with mustard seeds and the contrast between the mustard and the sweet squash was bonkers. The pork was nice and tender but a little cold.

I am guessing La Botte had an off night. I can see why the food was worth a Michelin Star but the service just didn’t cut it. There was a large party of at least twenty who had a four hour dinner that night and looked to be having a great time. I wouldn’t run to La Botte because it has a Michelin Star. In my opinion Michelin missed the mark on this place in terms of decor(La Botte had styrofoam office ceiling painted black) and service. The dining experience appeals to an older crowd and is a great restaurant to go to with your parents. But if you are looking for a night out meal with friends or a date I would look elsewhere. All that being said if the service was on point I would love to have another four Italian dinner at La Botte.