RESTAURANT REVIEW: Taste at the Palisades

538 Palisades Dr. | Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 | (310) 459-9808 | ilovetaste.com | Prices: $$$

By MICHAEL AUSHENKER | Pali Life Editor

The poet John Donne famously said, “No man is an island,” to which we say that no Palisadian should miss out on experiencing the Highlands; blessed with some of the best dining destinations on the Westside, among them Taste at the Palisades, the indoor/outdoor restaurant which arrived at the foot of the Highlands in 2009.

The local location is not the original Taste—that would be the one on Melrose Avenue, opened in 2005—however, owner John Halter said both share a similar atmosphere, with the menu at Taste at the Palisades evolving closer to the original’s after decade-long trial and error at Halter’s West Hollywood restaurant.

Only two months ago, Taste at the Palisades launched its happy hour; a hard-earned victory for the eatery after a dragged-out, 15-month process.

“It’s very costly,” Halter said, chalking up to the Palisades’ complicated history with alcohol dating back to its 1920s origin as a Methodist colony. He also believes that, in pursuing a liquor permit, “all of the agencies [including Alcohol Beverages Control] are overwhelmed.”

Last week, the Palisadian-Post staff (minus our underaged interns, of course) hit Taste at the Palisades for a happy hour celebration of Post Editor-in-Chief Frances Sharpe’s birthday; a merry excuse to sample the joint’s freshly minted (in more ways than one) cocktail menu.

Staff Photographer Rich Schmitt ordered one of the best drinks in the house: the Summer Breeze ($14), a concoction made of Grey Goose Vodka, Grey Goose Pear Vodka and St. Germain Liquer with muddled cucumber, a splash of lemonade and fresh mint that lived up to its name as the perfect summer cocktail: light and refreshing.

“It has a nice finish to it,” said Schmitt, hoisting his squat glass before tending to group photos.

Another season-perfect confection: the Cucumber Thyme ($11), airy with Aviation Gin, simple syrup, thyme and muddled cucumber that leaves its welcome mark on your taste buds in the aftertaste.

Reporter Alexandria Bordas found her Taste Mule ($14) —the restaurant’s signature drink, a twist on the Moscow Mule with ginger beer, shrub bitters and fresh lime juice perking up the core Purity Vodka —“refreshing and fruity but not too sweet.”

Order a Not Too Old Fashioned ($12) and, in fact, experience the closest drink here to your grandfather’s libation, potent on the whisky, as Reporter Jacqueline Primo can attest.

“They don’t hold back on the alcohol,” Sharpe added.

The Mango-Jalapeno Margarita ($12) was sufficiently effective and not recommended to those who can not handle spicy foods.

“It has a real kick!” said Sharpe, after gamely ordering one with salt along the rim.

Probably the biggest consensus among staffers on the delicious scale went toward the Pomegranate Basil Sangria. Luminous and nearly transparent, Taste’s twist on the Spanish-Portuguese potion includes VeeV Acai Spirit and St. Germain Liquer at its base; alive with blueberries and raspberries. An individual glass sets you back $12, however, a carafe of Sangria for $25 is a pretty good deal when you’ve got two or three friends to split it with.

Accompanied with a crimini mushroom-topped flatbread pizza appetizer or a cheese and date board, Taste’s cocktails, whether nursed outdoors on the restaurant’s inviting patio or within its Euro-dynamic and contemporary interior environs, make for a well-earned happy hour treat.