Hazelnut Heaven
Where to even begin? By now, if you’re reading this post, chances are you’ve been to République for dinner (like us) and loved it. Since they recently started serving brunch, we decided to give it a try and see what it was all about. To summarize: OBSESSED.
We walked in (it was already packed at 10AM) and felt like we had been transported to a large rustic French village. With the exposed brick walls, arched doorways, indoor balconies, and mismatched tile and wood floors, this space has been completely transformed from Campanile. They display their meats and cheeses in a large glass case, bake each loaf of bread fresh on site, and have an open kitchen where you can watch the chefs hard at work. Despite its huge size, République doesn’t feel overwhelming. We spotted four distinct sections: 1) The bakery buffet by the entrance (for brunch unlike dinner you place your order here then take a seat where you please), 2) The adjacent less formal café and bar area with high tables and bar seating, 3) The open kitchen area with a large communal table in the middle and chefs tables on either side, and 4) the more formal and intimate back room seating located just past the arches on the far end of the restaurant. Bonus: There are 2 private rooms upstairs; If you’re in the mood to host or are in charge of the company party this year, look into renting one of them out.
Whether you’re going for a girls’ night, hot date, or morning after from either, République is definitely where it’s at. Not to mention, the service is on point; everyone is SO friendly. We were posted up for a few hours and no one said a word to us; we didn’t even get a dirty glare (which is rare).
It’s hard to put into words just how awesome this spot really is so we’ll let the pictures speak for themselves…
What We Ordered:
Golden Juice [Alex]: Refreshing. The golden beets and ginger were key. And I felt like I needed something healthy to balance out my most unhealthy biscuits and gravy.
Almond Milk Cappucino [Alie]: Like I said, I like what I like so don’t be surprised that this is a repeat offender on my order list. Like everything else here, this capp did not disappoint. It was pretty standard in the best of ways.
Biscuits & Gravy [Alex]: Even though B&G is one of my all time brunch favorites, the pork belly sausage is what sold me. It was good and I ate it all but after seeing the other dishes around us, I would try something different next time(s). Note: They only serve this on the weekend.
Regular Breakfast [Alie]: If you’re going to offer something as simple as eggs any style, potatoes, bacon, and toast, get.it.right. My sunny side up eggs were perfectly cooked with a gooey yolk running all over as soon as I poked my fork in. The mini-baguette…I mean what else is there to say other than it was freshly baked and still warm. I only intended to eat one bite but my self control did not kick into gear. I was licking the crumbs by the end of the meal. There are two things I wasn’t completely obsessed with: the potatoes and the bacon. Potatoes were fine but I would’ve preferred a little more crispiness up in all that carb action. The bacon steak – this was the twist which I commend them for trying. Alex liked it but I prefer my bacon the bacon way. One addition to mention: nothing was greasy which was a happy and welcome surprise.
Hazelnut Paris-Brest: In essence, this was perfection. Crunchy hazelnuts on top of a chocolate coated flaky pastry with a hazelnut cream filling. We were sold at first sight and at first bite. Very light. Very delicious. No regrets.
Price: $$$
République ↔ Menu ↔ 624 South La Brea Avenue, LA, CA 90036 ↔ 310-362-6115
eat.drink.dish.repeat. 