A few weeks ago, FH and I paid a revisit to Scarpetta’s Sunday Brunch. It’s been a year since we’ve been back and we noticed a few changes.
We originally wanted to dine there for dinner, to get the full Scarpetta experience. But gluttony got the better of us. Why settle for a dinner of a single main entree when brunch offers unlimited refills on Chef Scott Conant’s signature spaghetti, a variety of cheese from The Beverly Hills Cheese Shop, an enormous variety of well executed desserts, and much more.
The buffet-style brunch is only available on Sundays. On our previous visit, the restaurant had been relatively empty. But this time the restaurant was full of customers. Most of the dishes still remain the open kitchen, which is a pretty fun experience to enter.
However, the vegetable and salad dishes have been moved to just outside of the kitchen.
The dessert section was previously in a small dark room. They have now been moved out in the open in the dining section.
The cheese station also got moved around slightly, from one end of the dining room to the other.
Here’s some of our plates of food:
Chef Conant’s signature spaghetti, shortrib mushroom agnolotti, lamb, baguette, stuffed stromboli bread.
The stromboli bread is part of the bread basket at dinner and I’ve heard rave reviews. It was sitting under a heat lamp next to the other breads and pastries but unfortunately this did not keep the bread warm. It was still tasty, but I can only imagine how good it is when served piping hot.
The spaghetti was as good as we remembered. We’ve tried recreating it a few times and while the recipes we’ve tried have been similar, something always feels missing.
The agnolotti was also quite good. We liked it better than the ravioli that was previously offered last time we dined here. The lamb was moist and tender but I didn’t have room for more than one slice. Normally I don’t like to fill up on breads, but the breads here are all really tasty and I couldn’t help grabbing some sort of roll on every trip to the kitchen.
This was FH’s first plate. Signature spaghetti, green beans, mushroom agnolotti, broccoli rabe, tuna susci.
FH really liked the tuna and got several helping. I really enjoyed the simple preparation of the roasted broccoli rabe.
More stromboli bread, chocolate croissant, sausage.
Prime rib, spaghetti and more tuna for FH. The prime rib was cooked to a perfect medium rare. Unfortunately we didn’t have room for more than one piece.
Crab claw, broccoli rabe, more spaghetti, and another bread. This one was sweet and tasted similar to chinese pineapple buns.
Desserts. Like last time, we attempted to sample almost everything.
FH’s favorite was the pudding-like dessert in the spoon. I loved the doughnuts which were filled with vanilla bean cream. I also liked the macarons.
Cheese plate:
A representative from the Beverly Hills Cheese Shop is stationed with the cheeses. After telling her the kinds of cheeses we were interested in, she made us a plate of various ones. The serving was generous. A little too much for us to handle with all the other food. But it was still fun to nibble on different cheeses, pairing them with the crackers, jellies and dried fruit.
We couldn’t leave without sharing one more serving of pasta
Brunch also comes with complimentary juice and coffee. I really love the orange juice here.
The service was excellent while we dined. Napkins folded every time we got up, plates constantly cleared, drinks refilled.
I’ve heard people complain about the high price tag and lack of more expensive items given the price of $68 per person. I can understand these complaints, and I would love to see something like lobster served, but at the same time FH and I still enjoy this place and would come back. The spaghetti costs $28 a plate at dinner and the agnolotti is about the same, so in essence their pasta dishes are their expensive ingredients being offered. The other items offered are also of high quality such as the desserts, the cheese station, the lamb and prime rib and the pastries and breads. We definitely feel like we eat our money’s worth.
The brunch menu can be viewed online here. You can view my previous post here.
Scarpetta- Beverly Hills
225 N Canon Dr
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Website
No idea they had brunch and you could get the spaghetti as part of the brunch! I think when we went we spend that same amount per person and definitely ate wayyyyy less. Definitely want to to try the brunch.
They also have the recipe for the salami stromboli online so you can easily make it yourself! I tried the other day and it worked out nicely 🙂
https://sundiegoeats.wordpress.com/2013/02/27/scarpettas-stromboli-bread/
Thanks for the recipe. I love the brunch here. It’s only for Sunday, but it’s great. I’ve been here for dinner and I love it too, but I kept thinking my favorite dinner foods, I could get unlimited quantities at brunch. haha
It looks GORGEOUS! This is a place I’d love to go for a celebration brunch… 🙂 And it looks like one may be coming up, so I am in luck!
I really like this place. I hope you do too!
Let me know if you guys come down for the Scarpetta brunch next time. This is one place I’d like to try!
Sure!
I’m easily excited when there is a dessert buffet like that. >:D Also… I enjoy typing in caps, hahaha.
The desserts are all really good. They are designed by Exec Pastry Chef Richard Ruskell whose won a bunch of awards.
🙂
GIVE ME EVERYTHING!!! OMG. THIS IS THE KIND OF BRUNCH THAT WILL MAKE ME CHANGE MY MIND ABOUR BRUNCH.
And your pictures are gorgeous.
Lol, wow you’re excited. =)
Okay, you got me wanting to fly out there and try this spaghetti now and also find a way to catch that guy in your first picture LOL Cheese, all things bready and hot chefs are kind of my thing 🙂
Lol! Well he was working in the kitchen and manning the spaghetti so it shouldn’t be too hard to get a hold of him. I was hoping Chef Conant would be there but he wasn’t. He was on my first visit but I was too chicken to talk to him.
YUM! This is definitely my kind of brunch – just to be able to try the famed spaghetti alone would be worth it!
I really love the spaghetti