Yellow Vase, Palos Verdes

Yellow Vase Café and Bakery
51 Malaga Cove Plaza
Palos Verdes Estates
310-378-0013
www.yellow-vase.com
Located in the hidden corner of the Plaza, to the right when you're facing Poseiden.
Plenty of free parking, just note whether you're in a 1 hour or a 2 hour space

Also:
1805 S. Catalina, Redondo Beach, 310-373-0013 (street parking; does not have a large room for events; is next to their flower shop)
810 Silver Spur Road, 310-541-0013 (plenty of parking; does not have a large room for events; has a very nice patio)

Visited: January 2011, Lunch, Dine-in

All locations are lovely with both indoor and outdoor seating, but the one in Malaga Cove is the cutest! They also have a private room that you can use for parties of 20 or more.

This review is for the Cafe side of the house. They have a lovely menu of breakfast favorites, crepes, omelettes, salads, soups, paninis (grilled or deli style, your choice), and other Home Specials.

Today we tried the Tomato Bisque Soup ($5), and very much enjoyed it. It's quite tomatoey with a light creaminess, and light on any other seasoning. It's served with 2 slices of baguette and 2 slices of seasoned crostini. This is a very filling bowl of soup.

The Quiches du Jour ($9) were Quiche Lorraine and a Vegetable Quiche. Sadly, they were already out of the Lorraine (by noon?) so we got the Vegetable. It was very good. It was hot, and the filling was well cooked and the crust was just flaky enough. There were lots of vegetables, and you could taste the freshness of the spinach and mushrooms. It also came with a small mixed green salad with balsamic vinaigrette, and two cute litte cornichons. A very filling meal.

And we tried the intriguing Olivieh Sandwich ($9). A chicken salad mixed with potatoes, pickles, eggs, and supposedly green peas (but we didn't find any) with lettuce and tomato on a baguette. You also have your choice of having it grilled panini-stytle, but we chose as is, or deli-style. The sandwich also came with mixed greens and their vinaigrette. The chicken salad mix was good, but needed just a little more seasoning. But the bread was outstanding. It really made the sandwich. Also, this is a very large sandwich, easily big enough to share.

The restaurant is partially self serve. You order at the counter, and take with you your beverages and pastries. Your food is delivered to your table of your own choosing. Now, taking your own drink to your table is normally fine, but it can really awkward if you've ordered a Large Hot Mocha ($3.80) (in a really large mug with saucer) or if you've ordered Hot Tea (2.25) - carrying your pot full of hot water and cup with saucer while trying to figure out where to sit is very cumbersome. A simple tray would have been nice.

We have tried a few of their bakery items in the past, and their adorable macaroons are also very flavorful - we've had Chocolate, Coffee and Passion Fruit flavors. We tried a Milk Chocolate Cupcake, and that was quite tasty too.

I'm already planning to go back with friends. A lovely place to relax and have a good meal.

Fun Fish Market and Restaurant, Redondo Beach, CA

Fun Fish Market and Restaurant
123 International Boardwalk, Redondo Beach, CA 90277
310-374-4277
Plenty of pay parking in either of the pier structures; try to get as low as possible. Located next to the Fun Arcade.
Casual, family friendly. Large dining room.

Visited: Dinner, Dine-in
Most recently: August 2009


Fun Fish is located at the pier, so of course the seafood has to be good, right? Well, it was okay. On this trip, we just tried a couple things, and while not overly specatular, it was enough to whet our appetites to come back another time. Overall, it's not cheap, but it's also seafood.

We had the Fried Seafood Combo which consisted of white fish, shrimp, and scallops, along with a generous serving of fries and cole slaw. It was fine, but you can get a better cooked combo with more side choices over at Captain Kidd's which is a 5 minute walk away.

We also had the Spicy Seafood Soup. This was a fascinating dish. The 'small' is really meant for 2 people, so the serving is huge. It's a Korean style soup that is very spicy, and is served with steamed white rice and kim chi. It had a lot of strange chunks of fish on the bone, some small whole shrimp, daikon, and tofu. While I actually very much enjoyed the dish, it was also a little odd because I couldn't tell what the fish was or what part of the fish it was. After a while, the bones became tedious.

While Fun Fish has a very open air feeling, it is enclosed in glass which helps to protect against the elements at the pier. For this reason, I would feel comfortable eating here even if the weather were inclement. The next time we go back, we're going to try to the shrimp fajitas which looked really good.