KETCHUP IN WEST HOLLYWOOD

KETCHUP IN WEST HOLLYWOOD

I have been wanting to go to KETCHUP (owned by the Dolce Group) for quite some time and finally went this past Friday.  I went with a group of nine girls and had a really fun and enjoyable evening.  I arrived with two of my friends and we met up with a few more girls in the bar area (the bartenders were hotties).  I ordered a Belvedere Dirty martini, a lot of the girls ordered wine.  They have a pretty extensive wine list, which is unexpected since they are kind of an upscale comfort food concept restaurant.  They also have a really impressive specialty cocktail list.  

I loved the Decor ; a red and white theme.  It was very fresh, modern and original. The Atmosphere was sexy and trendy.  We sat at a large booth, the table was white and we sat on a large white leather couch (pretty comfortable).  Red round lights hung from the ceiling and the artwork was "ketchup" themed (duh!).  

Second after we were seated our friendly waiter came up to the table to take the remaining drink orders and to let us know he was obsessed with our table.  Who wouldn't be obsessed with a group of nine well dressed, attractive ladies? (right??)  We also but in two orders of the "3some"  which is an order of three different kinds of fries and 5 different ketchup dipping sauces.  The fries were okay and I only liked two of the ketchups, I tasted wasabi in one of them and it left an awful taste in my mouth.  They served us skinny fries (they were kind of cold), sweet potato fries (the cinnamon was a nice touch, but I've had WAY better) and regular fries (maybe they had a little garlic on them, they were nothing memorable).  During our appetizers the shot girl came around and offered us a complimentary sample.  Yes, I said a shot girl,  this was unique.  I'd never seen a shot girl come around in a classy restaurant before.  It is a good way to try some of their speciality cocktails though.  We all ordered the raspberry martini to make it easy on her.  Pauly shore came over and chatted our table up too.  The shot was okay, but I didn't see a raspberry martini on the menu so I am not sure how it was really relevant.  I ended up ordering the Don Julio martini (or at least I think that is what it was called).  It was tequilla, citronage and triple sec.  It was a little to tart and sweet for my taste.  I think it had sour mix in it, even though it says it doesn't on the menu.  They brough out a bread basket, the butter they served was not good, and the bread they served were those hard breadsticks (who doesn't love those) and burnt soft pretzels which I actually liked.

For dinner, I shared two appetizers and one entree with my friend.  We shared the KOBE sliders.  They were two mini cheeseburgers, with kobe beef, cheddar cheese, pickle, bacon and homemade ketchup.  The homemade ketchup tasted like thousand island dressing and I thought the pickle was a nice addition.  I don't usually put pickles on my burger. The bun was really good, soft and fresh.  The burger itsself was good, but nothing special, just a typical slider. It was a good burger though, perfectly cooked and not too greasy.    

I really enjoyed the drunken scallops.  They were perfectly cooked and I loved the bacon/ale sauce they were cooked and served in.  They were absolutely delicious!!  They were accompanied by lobster mash which was innovative and tasty!  It was a creative side that packed a ton of flavor without being over bearing.  It was a rich a creamy dish, but not too heavy.  It was a perfect balance of texture and flavor and made my taste buds extremely happy.  :-)  It was also a gorgeous presenation.

We also shared the mini crab cakes.  They were served in a spicy mayo sauce and they were disappointing.  I am from Maryland so it really wasn't something I should have even bothered with.  The cakes were ALL FILLER, NO MEAT and fried.  This is not how you make a crabcake.

We skipped dessert since we were going out to CoCo Deville (a really fun time!!!) for some more cocktails and dancing.  The bill wasn't too high.  I think it was a pretty reasonably priced meal. You should expect to pay at least $40 a person, and they actually require it if you are a group of 9 or more.  Lonnie Moore, one of the owners came over to the table and was very friendly and chatted with us for a bit.  He's a very nice guy.  I tried a bite of my friends mahi mahi and thought that it was kind of bland.  She didn't love it either.  There is definetly a wide range of choices and they are also open for lunch.  Log on to www.dolcegroup.com for more information and info on their other great restaurants.