Brunch at Napa Valley Grille in Westwood (Los Angeles, CA)

Ah, Westwood. This neighborhood sure has changed since my college days as a Bruin, but Napa Valley Grille is still there and going strong as one of the only higher end restaurants in the neighborhood. They just renovated their restaurant, as well, and it's looking sleek.

I went back a couple of months ago to try out their then-new brunch menu.

For daily breakfast, I typically have a pastry or a coffee cake like this with coffee. The coffee cake was deliciously buttery and I enjoyed the crumbles on top.

Brunch, however, calls for eggs, like this Cast iron frittata with California wild mushrooms, smoked sardo, caramelized pearl onions ($14)


Oxtail hash, sous vide egg, roasted potatoes, leeks, charred peppers ($14)

This was a really nice dish; the roasted potatoes had a lightly crisped skin, the eggs were perfectly runny, and the charred peppers tied the flavors together.

Breakfast sandwich, chicken-fennel sausage, balsamic braised kale, roasted egg, aioli, ciabatta ($13)

I loved this breakfast sandwich, which offers a different flavor than your typical egg and sausage sandwiches thanks to the braised kale.

Shrimp and stone-cut grits, over-easy egg, fennel frisee salad ($16)

Interesting that they left the heads on the shrimp, which I thought made it little harder to eat. I liked the over easy egg, though - the runny yolk added to the creaminess of the dish.

Brioche french toast, nutella, candied pecans, Noble maple syrup ($12)

I mean, how can you go wrong with this?

Despite the fact that I just had a plate of Nutella brioche french toast, I got dessert anyway. A mainstay on their dessert menu is their Butterscotch bread pudding (brioche, brown sugar sauce, bruleed marshmallows, $9)


Their brunch cocktail list includes a Sorbet sangria (housemade sorbet, agave, lemon, vodka, sparkling wine, $10)

If you (or your friends) don't feel like day-drinking that day, they have a number of fun homemade lemonades and sodas, as well, like this non-alcoholic sour blueberry cooler ($5.50)

Psst, there are plugs under the bar here, so you can charge your phone while you eat and drink, or plop down with a laptop and work accompanied by a glass of wine.

Napa Valley Grille
1100 Glendon Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90024
(310) 824-3322
http://napavalleygrille.com/