CORONA DEL MAR — Hidden gems often hide in plain sight.
608 Dahlia Restaurant – named for its address – is one of those gems that won’t stay hidden for long.
The restaurant is located on 2.2 acres of lush grounds at Sherman Library & Gardens in Corona del Mar and already has a legion of loyal fans that pack the restaurant Wednesday through Sunday for lunch.
The popularity of the restaurant can partly be attributed to its location, but 608 Dahlia is far more than simply a typical museum or library café.
It is a garden-to-table cuisine courtesy of owner and chef Jessica Roy, who reopened 608 Dahlia three years ago after taking it over when former owner, famed local chef Pascal Olhats, retired.
Challenging Reading
Born and raised in Orange County, Roy became enamored with cooking by helping her mother in the kitchen—but wasn’t focused on normal family dinners.
“She would buy ambitious cookbooks. The French Laundry Cookbook was a book I read when I was 15,” recalled Roy. “I did his (Chef Thomas Keller) lobster mac and cheese in high school. We had all the cookbooks. We cooked all different types of cuisine.”
Her passion for cooking grew, so after college she was hired by Fairmont Hotels and worked her way up from banquettes to running the employee dining room. Needing a new challenge, she entered a television cooking competition called On the Menu, on the TNT network.
She won the contest, and $25,000, by creating a signature Korean barbecue pizza for California Pizza Kitchen, the national chain now based in Costa Mesa.
“That was a game changer for me,” stated Roy. “After that, I applied to every three-star Michelin restaurant in the country. It came down to three choices: The French Laundry, Le Bernardin in New York and Alinea in Chicago. Alinea was different from what I was doing, and it seemed out of my reach, so I decided to go there for a two-day tryout.”
3-Stars to Guy’s
Those two days at Alinea turned into a two-year stint working in an all-male kitchen.
“It was probably the most intense time of my career,” said Roy. Alinea is one of 13 restaurants in the U.S. to have earned a Michelin 3-Star rating.
“I consider my time at Alinea to be impactful. It was intense, but I have such a passion and drive for what I do. It was all about working with extreme precision and speed, problem solving and creating recipes that did not exist. It was mind-bending, but it served me well opening a restaurant later in my career.”
But before she opened 608 Dahlia, Roy entered another cooking competition: Guy’s Grocery Games, hosted by Guy Fieri on The Food Network. She was representing the West and squared off against three other chefs from around the country.
She won the competition, and $20,000.
Mediterranean Influences
Roy’s cuisine at 608 Dahlia is also award-winning and certainly deserves Michelin recognition. Her seasonal, Mediterranean-influenced menu features garnishes and herbs that are hand-picked by Roy straight from the Gardens or from her home-grown backyard oasis in Huntington Beach.
When sourcing other ingredients, Chef Roy supports local purveyors and prioritizes small, eco-conscious businesses, and she is proud to point out that her restaurant has a Level One Certified Green rating.
Roy’s menu has grown with the restaurant, which has tripled in size since she started it.
“I focus on dishes that people really love. I opened the restaurant with certain dishes, but I listen to what people like. I get customer feedback. I start with what I am inspired to cook, and then what customers like, and getting the quality level I am looking for in ingredients which a lot of which people do not see every day. People tell me my menu is unique, but I see it as how I like to cook.”
Biscuit Cult
One of the most popular items on her menu is the small batch buttermilk chive and gruyére biscuits that are made to order with aged French gruyére accompanied by orange blossom honey and whipped butter.
“Those were not on the original menu, but after I opened, people told me they wanted a bread option,” said Roy. “I wanted to give people something unique and special that they cannot get anywhere else. One day I had a lot of chives and gruyére cheese, so I made them, and it came out amazing. You have to make them a certain way or they don’t come out right. The biscuits have a cult following, some people come here just for those. People talk about them in their reviews.”
Chef Roy’s menu is broken into four sections: Seedlings, Leafy Greens, Central Garden and Succulent Garden (desserts). She also has fun cocktails and mocktails, plus wine.
Whatever is ordered, each dish comes out picture perfect and Instagram-ready.
“I find food so beautiful and photogenic,” said Roy. “I love to celebrate the beauty of nature. I try to keep the shapes of the vegetables the way they are picked from my garden. I want to show off what I find inspiring and have fun with colors and textures.”
Overall, said Roy, “It’s about standards and creating a memorable experience for people. We have strong standards. That’s the way we do things, and what we strive for every day.”
Catering Star
In addition to lunch five days a week, Chef Roy and her team are the exclusive caterer for all private events booked with the Sherman Library & Gardens and can provide memorable dining experiences for any private event, including weddings, corporate mixers, private dinners, fundraisers and other special occasions.
Last October, Chef Roy created a multi-course birthday dinner for me and nine friends, which we’re still talking about. Chef Roy crafted a perfect menu, and I paired each course with wines from my cellar.
“We do a lot of parties and corporate events,” said Roy. “This is a fun place to have an after-hours event with appetizers or a nice dinner. This is an amazing venue that feels different than anything else. We did the Argyros family Christmas party last year. They wanted something festive. I can execute events and make them special. I love to do that.”
THE OCBJ REVIEW: By CHRISTOPHER TRELA
While enjoying lunch at 608 Dahlia Restaurant with Rockie, a fellow foodie, Chef Jessica Roy brought out her signature biscuits. They are indeed worthy of a trip to the restaurant and are now so popular, Roy also offers the biscuits par-baked to go.
Next came two beautiful salads fresh from the garden with mixed greens, fruits and cheeses, plus hand-picked herbs and tiny flowers.
I am a fan of octopus, so whenever I see it on a menu or recited as a special, I usually order it. Chef Roy’s version has Spanish saffron aioli, custom-grown micro pea shoots, crispy fingerling potatoes and seasonal vegetables, plus herbs and flowers from the garden. Beautiful presentation, perfectly prepared.
We also enjoyed an outstanding pan-seared salmon dish served with whipped basil potato, petite vegetables, citrus carrot emulsion and, of course, fresh herbs.
Then came another beautiful dish: grilled flat iron steak with petite gem lettuce, heirloom tomato, house-made buttermilk ranch dressing, Point Reyes blue cheese, caramelized onions and garden chimichurri sauce.
“These are typical of the dishes that populate my menu,” said Roy. “I have a huge garden and pantry at home where I do a lot of research and development, and then bring the dishes here.”
The 608 Dahlia menu is shifting into summer and several new seasonal dishes are on the menu.
608 Dahlia at Sherman Library & Gardens, 2647 Pacific Coast Hwy., Corona Del Mar, (949) 220-7229, 608Dahlia.com.
