Cafe Del Rey (Marina del Rey, CA)

Seems like I've been making my way to Marina del Rey more and more now. Cafe del Rey is a favorite of MDR locals and I have recently heard great things about it from friends, so I welcomed the invitation to a blogger tasting there.

Ahi tuna crudo

From the dining room you get a view of the boats in the marina.

Their cocktail list is fairly small but interesting enough. One of them features "hum botanical" which is rum infused with hibiscus, ginger, green cardamom and kaffir lime. This was the first time I've seen it in a cocktail menu and the herbal taste was quite strong (may not be for everyone).
I started the night with a spiced apple bourbon (woodford reserve, spiced apple cider, simple syrup, ginger ale) -$12

Executive Chef Daniel Roberts grew up in New York City and started his career in Queens. Upon moving to California he worked as executive sous chef at Mondrian Hotel and Asia de Cuba, where he was promoted to executive chef after one year. He then moved on to work at Portofino Hotel and Yacht Club before finally landing at Cafe del Rey.

We started with a trio of raw appetizers, including the ahi tuna crudo pictured above, beef carpaccio, and scottish salmon.
Beef carpaccio, unexpectedly complemented with golden beets, arugula salad, lemon caper vinaigrette.

Housecured Scottish salmon with crisp artichoke, crème fraiche, tiny greens. This dish comes with a shot of basil vodka limoncello, which I thought paired quite well with it.

Chef Roberts also exhibited some Mediterranean slant in his menu, like his fun Kafta cigar (lamb kafta wrapped in dough and deep fried, sitting on an "ashtray" of tzatziki sauce) and falafel.

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