Pump is a recently opened restaurant located on Santa Monica Boulevard. Once the former grounds of a car park, this area has been beautifully restored by husband and wife team, Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd, into a wonderful garden area for guests to enjoy outdoor dining at it’s finest.
The highlight for me was certainly the 100-year-old olive trees, which were simply beautiful, and seem a far cry from the car park that once belonged.
Executive Chef, Penny Davidi, has devised a menu that is as healthy as it is inspiring, and having heard such great things, we were excited to sample what Pump had to offer.
We were warmly greeted upon arrival, and shown to our table by a friendly waiter. We decided to begin our evening with a couple of pre-dinner cocktails.
We started with a Pumpagranite Margarita, which was an expert blend of tequila, orange liqueur, fresh lime, and pomegranate liqueur, sweetened with syrup. It was very good, however the second cocktail for us was definitely the highlight - the Pump and Glory offered a delicious balance of vodka, St Germain, fresh lime, cucumber and mint, garnished with fresh cracked black pepper. It was absolutely delicious, and we would return simply for another taste!
Following our cocktails, we ordered a bottle of the Navarro Malbec from Argentina, 2012, and awaited our anticipated starters.
“The tuna tarare was simply delicious, and a real highlight of the meal.”
To begin, we chose to try the roasted beets and goat’s cheese Napoleon, which consisted of layers of roasted beets with goat’s cheese, topped with candied pistachios and a drizzle of basil oil. It was wonderfully presented, and the flavours offered the perfect balance, with the beets and pistachios cutting through the sharp ripeness of the goat’s cheese.
For our second starter, we thoroughly enjoyed the Ahi tuna tartare - Ahi tuna tossed with heirloom tomatoes, sesame seed oil, red chilli flakes and ginger chive dressing; layered with mango and avocado and pomegranate pico. We were blown away by our starters, and were thoroughly excited for our main courses.
Next up, we had the filet mignon tagliata, which consisted of seared and sliced filet mignon with roasted fingerling potatoes and braised red cabbage.
For our second main course, we opted for the lemon caper salmon fillet, which saw a beautiful combination of salmon served in a lemon, turmeric and caper sauce, served with rosemary roasted fingerling potatoes and sautéed asparagus.
The main courses did not disappoint, and we simply could not pass up dessert, and so, chose the toffee pudding of sponge cake infused with coffee and caramel, served with vanilla ice cream; as well as the raspberry mousse dome.
We were very impressed by our visit to Pump, which failed to disappoint with their beautifully fresh dishes and wonderful presentation. The tuna tarare was simply delicious, and a real highlight of the meal.
We would certainly return to Pump and thoroughly recommend you check it out when you’re in the area.
The Bill: £78 per head
