The Vintage Project: Brunch 02.02.2014 - Double Promotion Celebration

Skylight Gardens, Westwood

Good Morning Lovelies and Happy Sunday!

I'll be headed off to a Birthday Brunch momentarily and since I did very little posting last month, I wanted to share a fantastic Brunch that I had with a fantastic friend in February before I added another Brunch to my to-post list. Cheri and I had postponed Brunch a few times, but were finally able to make it happen at the beginning of February. What was nice was that we started rescheduling back in November (shame on us!) and once February rolled around, both of us had been promoted at work! So a toast was very much in order.

Cheri and I decided on Skylight Gardens in Westwood Village. Neither one of us had been before, but the photos of the restaurant and the menu had us really excited!

photo credit

Not only is Skylight Gardens beautiful, but the building itself is part of Westwood Village's history.

Is that an incredibly large ficus tree growing inside the dome-enclosed central courtyard? Yes, it is! How fabulous is that?!?

The structure itself, built in 1933, was originally called "La Ronda de las Estrellas" which translates to The Round Court of the Stars. At that time there was no glass dome and the building housed many different small businesses. The first restaurant in Westwood Village called Talk of the Town was located here, as was an upscale children's boutique (Dina Carroll), a fine stationary store (Hazel Crist), Wil Wright's ice cream parlour (that made ice cream with 32% butterfat!!), and the Westwood Chamber of Commerce was inhabited a space until the 1960's.

In 1985, the entire building was purchased and was turned into the Hamlet Gardens restaurant and it was at that point, that certain improvements were made, the glass dome was installed, and a then 12' ficus tree was planted - it has since grown to an impressive 30'! Hamlet Gardens has since closed and Skylight Gardens opened in 2012.

It is a stunning restaurant with a fabulous Brunch! You can find the full Brunch menu on the website, and they've got some great cocktail options! (You had me at bottomless.)

Naturally we went with bottomless mimosas but were also eyeing the bellinis, so our fantastic waiter tossed some peach purée into our mimosas and they were absolutely fabulous!

And while most muffin baskets are pretty terrible, these blueberry muffins were divine!!

Our aforementioned waiter had a pretty easy time with us, since Cheri and I both ordered the same thing. For our entrées, we both ordered the Eggs Florentine. While it was the most interesting version either one of us have ever had, neither of us regretted that decision! The chef used a ramekin that had a layer of roasted potatoes, onions, and sundried tomatoes underneath a layer of sauteed spinach and mushrooms and was then topped with two poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. You MUST try this dish!