Fountain Coffee Room

The Beverly Hills Hotel, Los Angeles, CA

Fountain Coffee Room

Silver Dollar Pancakes

The Fountain Coffee Room is an intimate diner-type room with a touch of elegance. There are hand painted forest leaves on the walls as you walk down and into the cafe. There are about 19 bar stools, two servers, and one cook.

Tables are set with stainless steel utensils, a tray of sugar & jam, a white silk placemat and of course a pink Beverly Hills Hotel bib/napkin. Food is served at a decent time due to one cook:19 guests ratio. The cook works extremely hard and knows the ingredients from the back of the head.

I ordered a cup of coffee and Silver Dollar Buttermilk Pancakes. The pancakes were more like mini sized pancakes with a freshly cut strawberry on top and butter balls on the side. The batter is fluffy and buttery. The texture isn't stiff and the pancakes weren't burnt; it was made perfectly. To make things even better, there are bottles of authentic Vermont syrup from The Beverly Hills Hotel. The syrup is Grade-A and has a rich vanilla-honey taste. It's not gooey like most syrup; it drips like water and is sweet. This has to go over your pancakes no matter what!

Overall, I like the size of their menu; it contains most of what breakfast menus should have. They use fresh ingredients and there is a wide opening inside the kitchen where the cook prepares the food and people can see what he/she is doing. This is a great place to eat while staying in the hotel. You might want to come early to beat the line due to the limited space. Great cafe to come with a friend or date because its a fun little diner with a touch of glamour.

Photo by: Allister de Vera
Fountain Coffee Room, Beverly Hills, CA.

Mr Chow

Mr Chow, Beverly Hills

Mr Chow portrait

Allister de Vera

Mr Chow; engraved fork

Crab Claws, Honey-Walnut Prawns

Fried Rice, Gambler's Duck, Lamb, Bok Choy

Weston Simpson; Birthday Celebration

Mr Chow is a restaurant where food is served "family style" in a communal setting. Food is ordered and placed in the middle of the table for the guests of the table to share. This would be the traditional way of eating in China. 

Mr Chow is a high-end type Chinese cuisine that serves most of what regular Chinese restaurants would be serving but with "fresher" ingredients and prepared by well-known chefs. The quality of the food is expected to be nothing but the best. The food has to match the service; clean, well prepared, quick and ready at your service. 

As you walk inside the restaurant, you are greeted by a host and about three servers. When you take you seat, one of the guys unfolds the napkin onto your lap and then sets the table. They recommend ordering the Mr Chow package; two first course starters, two final entrees, and complimentary fried rice & veggies. In depth we ordered the Gambler's Duck w/ pancakes, Walnut Prawns, Lamb w/ onions, Crab Claws, Bok-Choy, and Fried Rice. A total of $162! 

The Bok-Choy is so far the best I've had; its buttery and fresh. Each bite through had a clean snap sound to it. The Gambler's duck was amazing! the skin was crispy like pork skin made the right way. The meat was tender and easily separates like carnitas. The best way to have it is by ripping off some of the meat and putting it inside the pancake. Then you top it with oyster sauce and green apple strips. This is THE ONLY way you can have the duck. The crab claws tasted like shrimp balls, the honey walnut prawns weren't anything too special, and the fried rice was just like any other. 

I definitely recommend coming here on a date with a special someone but I don't see this as in option for a big group of people. The food isn't much and the expense is too high. Mr Chow is an establishment that people should at least experience at least once due to it's popularity and ratings. Overall, I had a great time with my friend and because it was his birthday, the restaurant serves a fresh slice of cake from their desserts. It ended up being a rich and creamy chocolate ganache cake with a mousse-like texture; basically it was great!

Now I can finally say I've eaten at Mr Chow right in the middle of Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills!!


Photo by: Allister de Vera
Mr Chow, Beverly Hills, CA