A church key is defined as any type of bottle and/or can opener, cracking open a spirit that leads to splendid experiences—an opening to heaven, if you will. The launch of The Church Key restaurant on Sunset in West Hollywood appears to be on par with its namesake. The airy restaurant and lounge attempts to cover many bases and does so well with its fusion of Californian, Thai, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern foods with a farm-to-table backbone.
The dishes off the menu arrive in dim sum form, with small sizes, great for sharing. Dim sum is the Chinese practice of wheeling food carts around large dining rooms that serve an ever-varying conveyor belt of courses. Every time a server drops off items, they will stamp your tab card that gets paid at the end of the meal. Though most dishes come by way of the kitchen rather than cart, The Church Key turns it up here, utilizing not only food carts, but also booze carts—replete with liquid nitrogen ice pops made to order and the rising craze of canned cocktails.
To begin, we ordered the Benton’s Country Ham, fig mostarda, scrumptious house pickles and grilled sourdough, followed by a dehydrated bay scallop dish with sweet passion fruit Gremolata, that carried a delightful crunch from the crust and scattered nuts. An interesting and tasty combination of ahi tuna tartare made with pomegranates, Greek yogurt, cucumber, and pappadam proved a great started before the Tai Snapper. Perched upon a jelled tapioca square, the fish meshed well with the accompanying broccolini and white soy vinaigrette.
The bar menu as a whole tailored well to the space and the location and the taste buds with its creative cocktails like the Shot in the Dark (Dolin Blanc, Buffalo Trace, pineapple and absinth rinse). Likewise, a finely balanced citrus Fashioned Chi concoction and Golden Lorraine were just as fun and flavorful.
Located at a prime spot on the strip, the West Hollywood restaurant and lounge makes for a great destination for any occasion. The Church Key provides ample room for large and small dinner parties, and a 360-degree bar for a more fluid social scene. Muted chatter, fireplaces, pretty faces and a stewardess pushing booze carts sets quite the desired Hollywood mood.
