A new restaurant and lounge takes over a long-closed space on Santa Monica Boulevard, offering food truck-inspired small plates and refreshing craft cocktails. Doheny Room has moved into the vacant space left behind by Italian restaurant Mercato di Vetro. The venue is now painted a serene blue color on the outside. Inside, a gray marble bar adorned with melting candles takes up the center, while seating lines the walls. We were seated next to a black and white photograph of the late Amy Winehouse, but elsewhere you can find a turquoise and fuchsia painting of a pair of eyes and a painting of the Queen blowing a bubble with her gum.
Upstairs, chairs and pillows upholstered with palm tree fabric upstairs reminds one of the old wallpaper at the Beverly Hilton Hotel (we recently got a fresh look at the pattern at a Heidi Fleiss-themed dinner we attended), and photographs of nude women hang on the walls. The menu itself relatively small but manages to have a wide variety, with plenty of vegetarian and vegan options, including crisp Brussels sprouts and vegan sushi. They have a lot of seafood, which includes a lighter avocado tuna ceviche and the decidedly not light at all lobster poutine.
Heartier fare can be found with their filet mignon or roast chicken, but we opted to try the sliders. We chose the All-American—which consists of two beef patties, cheese, pickle and special sauce—and the Asian fried chicken, made with crispy, juicy chicken, cabbage slaw, yuzo aioli and spiced soy. While the All-American was ideal for what you might crave after a night of drinking at nearby bars, we preferred the chicken for its crispy texture and interesting mix of flavors. They've also got crispy pork belly, beef and foie gras, and beef bulgogi dogs.
There's a healthy list of wines and beers, though Doheny presents strong as a cocktail bar. Many of the elixirs—$15 a piece—boast a decidedly L.A. name. There's The Raymond Chandler, made with Hennessy, Bombay Sapphire gin, lemon and vanilla-orgeat, and the refreshing Loma Vista with mescal, pineapple, ginger, soda and lime. For something a little boozier, I prefer the 22 Acres made with vodka, lemon, snap pea and suze, a French root-flavored aperitif, that adds a bitterness to an otherwise sweet and summery cocktail. Sweeter yet, the Black Gold with Effen black cherry vodka, lemon, cherries, bitters and egg whites is a creamy and pretty cocktail, served up. And if sweet drinks aren't your thing, try the bitter and spicy Delgado Dorado with tequila, grapefruit, campari, lime, habanero and soda. Doheny Room is located at 9077 Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood. Open Mon. to Sat., 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Kitchen closes at 12:30 a.m., 424-777-0266
