Do you ever have those days where at the end of the day you feel like you just woke up from a fairytale? Well I pretty much had one of those days. I am now sitting in bed with the candles lit, a cold bottle of strawberry water and my laptop as I reflect on an incredible day filled with an amazing friend, entertaining people watching, to die for food, superb wine and a world I have just never witnessed or been a part of.


But since this is a food and wine blog let me talk about well the food and wine. Today I had the incredible pleasure of having lunch at Villa Blanca in Beverly Hills. And sure I have heard a lot about it especially since I am a Housewives of....everywhere...fan, however I wasn't sure if the restaurant was well known due to Lisa Vanderpump or if it was worthy of its reputation because of the food. Well let me just say Lisa is beautiful and tiny, but the food and wine at Villa Blanca is so worth the visit!!!

The menu is Mediterranean but the Chef, Francis Dimitrius, worked at Koi prior so he also brings in some Asian influence to the food. And I know that sounds like an odd combination but the flavor profile is flawless and it works.

The restaurant itself is beautiful, it has incredible white leather, stunning silver accents and an attention to detail in it's decor that is impeccable. The patio dining is fun for people watching, however, we had just as much entertainment inside and the restaurant is truly a laundry list of the whose who. If you are interested in celebrity sightings this is the place to be.


We started the meal with Villa Blanca's own Rose. I have recently just discovered Rose. I think my early days of drinking sweet "pink wine," had me a bit afraid of Rose and I had shied away from it for years. However, I have recently discovered several that are more on the dry side with just a hint of sweetness. And they are incredible paired with seafood. Villa Blanca's Rose is incredible! They source their grapes from Paso Robles and it is out of this world when chilled! It has the perfect combination of dry and sweet, a hint of citrus and a very smooth finish. They also have a sauvingnon blanc, cab and pinot under their label and if they are half as good as the Rose I would imagine they are impeccable.


I have to admit we didn't do anything too crazy with the food, but everything we tried was fresh, flavorful, prepared well and very enjoyable. The highlight of the meal was the miso soup. And I know you are probably thinking,"wow super exciting miso soup," however this soup was like no other miso soup I have had before. It has a coconut broth that adds an amazing contrast to the salty flavor of miso. It had thinly sliced asparagus, fresh mushrooms and tofu. Overall the soup just had so many flavors,it was out of this world!


We tried one of the specials, which was an exotic mushroom and truffle pizza. And although I know again it doesn't sound like a food adventure it was wonderful. The crust was crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The cheese was not greasy, the mushrooms and truffle oil gave the pizza a great earthy flavor.

And for dessert we shared the English Sticky Toffee Pudding. I had never had a toffee pudding before and I think I have been spoiled. It is brown sugar sweet, moist and full of luscious caramel flavors. It was paired with a vanilla toffee ice cream that was also incredible. This recipe is supposedly Lisa's great grandmothers recipe, I believe, and it was the perfect end to an impeccable day.


I also just have to compliment the service. Our server was Tina and she was beautiful, fun and funny. She made great recommendations and she just truly seemed to enjoy her food and her job. We loved her!

I will definitely be back and thank you to my friend who took me on such a special day. Cheers!!