Dining at Bistro 31 in Santa Monica

My friend Brenda recently treated me to lunch at Bistro 31, which is operated by the students of the International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California-Los Angeles.  The restaurant is Zagat-rated, open to the public, and offers very reasonable pricing.  Students get hands-on experience with menu creation, food prep, management, money handling and customer service.  The menu changes seasonally, with different lunch and dinner offerings.  Check their website for hours.

Our menu had an Asian theme with a few daily specials.  It was a lovely lunch from start to finish.  Our servers were professional and prompt, and I was very pleased with both the presentation and taste of our lunches.  Everything was fresh and delicious, including the basket of home-made bread on the table.  Brenda’s starter sea scallops were so pretty I just had to take a picture, even though I didn’t have a bite.  I’m not a seafood fan.  My pulled pork sandwich was wonderful.  There were three desserts on the menu, and the two that we chose were both winners.  For a change, I opted for strawberry shortcake instead of  chocolate cake and I wasn’t disappointed.

I will definitely make a return visit to check out Bistro 31’s dinner menu!