Palo Alto’s Shokolaat Shakes It Up
After two and a half years as a small-plates restaurant, the chic Shokolaat restaurant and patisserie in downtown Palo Alto, tweaked its concept two months ago to make the switch to entree-sized main dishes instead.
Chef/Co-Proprietor Shekoh Moossavi said the change has been a hit with diners, who had wanted more substantial fare.
I was invited to dine as a guest recently to try the new menu, which features the likes of roasted quail with shallot confit risotto ($21), and Mediterranean sea bass with parsnip puree, Brussels sprouts and applewood smoked bacon $21).
As you step inside the dimly lit restaurant from the roomy outdoor seating area, the first thing you can’t help but notice is the pastry and chocolate cases, front and center. Moossavi, who has worked at Gary Danko and Acquerello, both in San Francisco, handles the savory side of the menu, while her husband, Pastry Chef Mark Ainsworth, handles the sweets.
Ainsworth, who worked at the Lodge at Pebble Beach in Carmel, creates such delights as Bailey’s Mousse Bombe and the traditional Gateau Basque cake filled with semolina custard. Artsy chocolate bonbons run the gamut from “Don Juan” (Anejo tequila with lime juice, lime-infused sea salt and white chocolate) to “Johnny-B-Good” (Kentucky Straight Bourbon blended with milk chocolate and vanilla, then encased in dark chocolate).
Shokolaat also makes all its own bread, too, and sells loaves to take home. If you time dinner just right, too, the waitstaff will send you home with a free loaf of bread if there are still any left at the end of the night that haven’t yet sold.
We started with a velvety shrimp and crab soup ($7) that was made with an intense seafood stock with the sweet-briny taste of the sea.
