Visited for dinner on 4/6/2022
All right friends, so before my trip to Laurel Court (the restaurant located within the Fairmont Inn in San Francisco), I was having a really rough week! Well, make that a rough couple weeks. Work was crazy – like legitimately a nightmare. So much so that I really just needed a break. So, I took a few days off and gave myself a stay-cation. A chance to get away locally and treat myself for a few days.
The Fairmont Hotel is one of my favorite hotels. It reminds you of old Hollywood with a mix of prestige. I’m always impressed when I walk in, as it reminds me of walking into like an old Hollywood film. There is a large beautiful carpet, a large staircase, plus the staff are all helpful and kind. If you walk down the hall (to the left of the restaurant), you’ll see a montage of historical photos showing past presidents and movie stars who have visited the hotel. But, I’m not here to talk about the Fairmont! We’re here to talk food, so let’s get to it. The Fairmont has two restaurants inside, the main restaurant is Laurel Court, which is located just through the main doors of the hotel, and the other is the Tonga Room, which is on the lower floor and is more of a Tiki Lounge with drinks and dancing. The Tonga Room is great and I’ll likely review in the future. For now, let’s jump into Laurel Court.
The ambiance in laurel court is an interesting one. It’s a mix of roman columns, with large chairs (in teal and off-white). The set glasses are bubble glass, but the plates used in the entrees are rustic-heavy duty hand-made ceramics. This may seem like a crazy mash-up, but it sets a classy, but relaxed vibe. There were individuals in suits sitting down, but also folks in jeans & button ups. So, to class things up, I kicked my order off with a glass of Blanc-De-Blanc (sparkling wine).
As mentioned, I was in a ‘treat myself’ mood and therefore decided to order a few things from the menu. To start, I ordered myself a butter leaf salad. The butter lettuce salad was delightful. I realize it looks a little bit lacking in the picture, but it was actually quite nice. It had a light cream dressing and the leaves were that perfect softness on the edges with the crispness in the center. It came with cucumbers and pickled radishes.
Next, I had the ‘crispy brussels’. The brussels sprouts were well-done. They had a nice little crisp, but I would say that they could’ve been crispier (mostly because I can never have crispy enough brussels sprouts), but while they were my least favorite of the items ordered, I would order them again. They had parmesan cheese flakes on-top and in traditional fried brussels style, had a tangy balsamic flavor.
As a main, I went with the Mushroom Flatbread. The flatbread was full of mushrooms of various varieties, which gave it a nice texture on the palate. It also had a mound of arugula on top (to you-know make us feel like it’s healthy -_^), and a nice crispy base. The waiter marketed it as a ‘pizza’, but while it’s not super small, it is really thin, so it’s more like a tasty tapas flatbread than a pizza. After finishing the salad and brussels, I gave myself high ambitions to make it through the flatbread by myself! In all honesty, I did take some back up to the room (for a midnight snack) so I could save room for dessert :p.
For dessert, I ordered a hot tea and the ‘New York style’ cheesecake. The cheesecake was basically a cheesecake piece with a firm layer of jelly on top, surrounded by two short-bread crackers. In full honesty, the jelly was a bit of a let-down. The star of the show was the cheesecake base and the two shortbread crackers. The cheesecake itself was delightful! It was nice and creamy, melting in your mouth. The biscuits were perfectly baked and (truthfully) I ate them last as actual biscuits! Like picked them up with my fingers and ate them while sipping my hot tea :p. In the end, the slab of jelly was the only thing to remain when the waiter cleared the plates.
After I was finished with my meal, I relaxed and enjoyed an audiobook through my headphones, while doing some casual people watching. Since it’s a busy hotel, it was fun to just sit there with my tea and people watch/relax just for a while. I sat for about 30-40 minutes until the crowds thinned and then I headed back up to my room. I appreciated the wait staff giving me time to be in my thoughts and relax. Sometimes you just need to relax and take a break.
After dinner, I took a stroll through the outdoor garden (located behind Laurel Court). If you get the chance, I encourage you to walk through the garden. It’s quite cute and not too big, so it’s perfect for a little stroll before or after dinner.
Overall, if you need some time away, the Fairmont is a wonderful place to just go and escape and the Laurel Cafe isn’t a bad option if you want to eat locally.
4-stars all around.
~Jeremy
