I used to live in Calabasas, right on the cusp of Woodland Hills, and back in the day there really weren’t many dining options for its residents. In fact, the entire Blvd. in that part of the valley was really sparse in restaurants and bars. However, in the past few years, I’ve definitely noticed an uptick in openings and I bet its exciting for the residents because leaving that part of town to drive…well anywhere really, can be a mission. During the time I lived there, even driving to Studio City was like driving to a far off land, and downtown LA? Fogettaboutit.
I am pleased to say that there is a new kid on the block…..Unwind in Tarzana. It is a restaurant and wine bar. I had the pleasure of dining there and lets just say, the wine God’s have answered our prayers. Yes, there is finally a nice, classy spot to let down your hair and unwind.
The first thing I ordered was a wine flight. Every month, they have a new wine flight, ranging approximately $20 which comes with 4 tastings. Owner Chad says he likes to put unique wines from boutique wineries on the flight menu, wines that you wouldn’t normally think to order. It allows people to expand their palette and repertoire of wine tasting.
For appetizers, I went with the Ahi Tuna Tacos…a must! It came with two and they were both full sized tacos! Not the little rinky dinks you sometimes get. I hope they keep it that way :)
Next up is the garlic shrimp which came with a sweet sauce of scalions, almost like a szechuan sauce.
The third appetizer is the bone marrow! Something that’s been popping up on menus lef and right. Im happy to say they do theirs well. It comes split in two, with a side of pickled onions, grainy mustard, and mushrooms. Probably the best appetizer. If you’ve never had bone marrow that this needs to be a must!
Heirloom tomatoes and burrata….need I say more??? This was a healthy and refreshing dish. The balsamic sauce is sweet, love the basil, I think you’ll love this dish too.
As for the entrées , we were a bit torn on what to get. They highly recommended the garlic chicken, however I wasn’t in the mood for chicken so I went with the Parmesan Crusted Sole. Very tasty. Risotto can be hit or miss for me, but I actually really like this one. It was creamy and lemony at the same time, and it surprisingly worked REALLY well together.
Our second entrée was the lamb chops, which must be ordered medium to rare. Don’t bother getting it if you’re the well-done type. Just sayin! ;)
Another MUST is the chocolate cake. It takes 20 minutes to make it so don’t forget to put in your order if you don’t want to wait around at the end of the meal. Comes with a side of whipped cream and their homemade raspberry sauce. Wowzerz!
The ambiance and décor of this place is really nice. I would recommend it for date night, or a place to catch up with friends. Hope you enjoyed this review. Let me know if you have any questions and if you do end up checking out Unwind, I’d love to hear from you, just message me in the comments section below. And if you know any valley dwellers, I’m sure they would LOVE the recommendation, so feel free to share this post with them.
XOXO,
Nellie Christine
