The Raymond 1886- Pasadena

I’ve heard so many good things about The Raymond 1886 in Pasadena; so when the time finally came for me to visit I was really excited!

Pasadena is a beautiful city so my expectations for the restaurant were pretty high, and let’s just say my expectations were more than met. When my friend Eat Like A Boss Lady and I arrived at the restaurant; I was in awe of how beautiful it was. It felt like I was walking into someone’s house, and with good reason because The Raymond was actually a craftsman house before it was turned into a restaurant.

Our waitress sat us on their outside patio, and we ordered some drinks to start. We asked her to make them pretty and she really delivered on that!

“The Zombie- Tikki Style”Rum, Passion fruit Lime bitters, and mint. This was a gorgeous cocktail, and it was so tall! It was on the strong side, but we weren’t complaining.

“The Eastside”Gin, mint, cucumber, simple syrup, and lime. I loved everything about this cocktail! It was beautiful, and so cool and refreshing. 

As our drinks came out we moved our way to the starters. Looking through the menu everything sounded amazing so it was a little hard to choose, but we ended picking two great starters.

“Pork, Apples, and Bourbon”Crispy belly, masa pudding, apple salsa, aged bourbon. Who doesn’t love crispy pork belly? This was delicious. Apple and pork go so well together, and the addition of bourbon with the masa pudding really gave it a nice depth of flavor. I love how the chef took an American classic and influenced with other flavors traditionally used outside of America. 

“Octopus and Bone Marrow Bruschetta”Radish, carrot, tomato, toasted bread. This right here was amazing!! Not only did it come out looking beautiful; there was so much flavor!! There was a lot of bone marrow, and I was surprised at the addition of octopus but all it did was add another layer of flavor. I highly recommended ordering this dish. 

You’d think we’d be satisfied with those dishes, but of course we moved on to the main course. Girl’s gotta eat!  We knew we wanted to steak, and we knew we wanted to share so the next dish we ordered was perfect.

“Dry Aged Bone-in Rib Eye For Two”Elephant garlic served with family style vegetables. When this plate came out we were speechless. Honestly, the steak was cooked perfectly! The elephant garlic it was served with was HUGE. I was expecting it to have a sweet flavor, but it was a little bitter. It did go with the steak really nicely though. 

After all the food we still had to indulge in dessert; so we let our waitress pick for us. 

“Lemon Meringue Tartlet”Toasted Meringue, Tarragon Blueberry Compote, Candied Pistachios, Blueberry Sorbet. This was such an interesting dessert. The lemon bar’s lemon flavor was very strong, but it was nice to have the blueberry sorbet to balance it out. I liked the crunch the pistachios gave the dessert as well. 

“Chocolate Peanut butter Crunch Bar”Dark Chocolate Cake, Peanut Butter Crunch, Caramel Chocolate Mousse, Blackberry Sauce, Orange Creamsicle Ice Cream. This was another interesting dessert. My favorite part of it was of course the crunch bar. It was indeed crunchy and the chocolate really did remind me of a crunch bar. I wasn’t a fan of the orange creamsicle ice cream that was served with it, but that probably had to do with the fact that I don’t really care for orange flavored ice cream. 

The Raymond 1886 is a beautiful restaurant. The food was amazing, and executed perfectly. It’s the perfect spot for a romantic date night and even made me think that it would be a great spot for a wedding reception. Definitely a must visit if you’re ever in Pasadena. 

Address: 1250 S Fair Oaks Ave, Pasadena, CA 91105

Phone: (626) 441-3136

Hours: Closed Mondays, Brunch:  Saturday – Sunday   9am – 2:30pm, Lunch:  Tuesday – Friday   11:30am – 2:30pm, Dinner:  Tuesday – Sunday    5:30pm -10pm