It is such a pleasure to have this kind of restaurant in Palm Springs, where any type of food can be ordered. Extravagant and versatile are just a few words that describe my fantastic experience at EIGHT4NINE restaurant.
Conveniently located in the heart of the fashionable Uptown Design District, EIGHT4NINE is steps away from countless specialty shops and boutiques that offer midcentury modern, retro, and vintage furnishings, home décor, clothing, books, and gifts.
Prior to its extravagant grand opening in September 2015, EIGHT4NINE Restaurant and Lounge was a large historic building that formerly served as Palm Springs’ first U.S. Post Office. Today, the cavernous 1954 building has been elegantly transported into a minimalist modern space with striking crisp white interior punctuated with strategically placed hot pink accents.
Here’s what I tried:
Featured Cocktails:
The Prickly Pear, Milagro silver, fresh lime, and agave nectar, desert pear syrup, served on the rocks with fresh lime. A pleasant change of pace from the other tequila type of cocktail I usually order.
House Dirty Martinis, perfect just the way I like it!
Garden and Land Beginnings:
Olive oil bread made in house, with an herbed butter, pair salad, with fresh shaved, wine-poached, and oven-roasted pear, treviso, St. agur blue cheese, toasted hazelnut, spiced pear vinaigrette. Gluten free. Light and refreshing, this salad makes your palate come alive.
Crab and Corn Chowder with Dungeness crab, sweet corn, apple wood bacon. A gorgeous presentation with a drizzle of olive oil on the top, so elegant.
Sea Beginnings:
Grilled Scallops, Sweet corn and English pea succotash, mascarpone, fresh basil and mint. An attractive array of ideal elements made for one delightful dish.
Charred Octopus, Spanish chorizo, fried farm egg, arbequina olive oil, balsamic. This dish was highly recommended and a lot of restaurants are offering this excellent experience. EIGHT4NINE’s was equally amazing.
Barbecued Oysters, Six grilled oysters, applejack barbeque sauce. Gluten free. The smokiness of these darlings made for one exceptional plate.
Sea Mains:
Lobster Mac and Cheese, Maine lobster, maccheroni al torchio, Gruyere, Beecher’s white cheddar and parmigiana reggiano, Pernod, chile and fennel pangratata, greens. Nice big chunks of lobster with a crawfish on the top as a condiment, really terrific.
Sourdough-crusted Chilean Sea bass, Dungeness crab-stuffed piquillo pepper, saffron aioli, greens. This dish will make you forget about any Sea bass that came before, it is juicy, tender and astonishing.
Lobster Tails, just the best lobster served with carrot sand butter, wow!!
Farm Mains:
Smoked Portobello Mushrooms Pappardelle, Fresh egg pasta, roasted forest mushrooms, piquillo pepper cream, parmigiana reggiano. These mushroom are extremely smoky, so much so that they take over all of the taste in this dish, so be warned.
Land Mains:
Beef Tenderloin, All natural filet of beef, truffled potato planks, St. agur blue cheese and red wine reduction. Gluten free. This is a very large big dish, with all of the bell and whistles its stunning to look at.
Honey-glazed Duck Breast, with Hoisin peach, Sichuan pepper, ginger, sesame rice cake, baby bok choy. The Hosin peach made all of the difference in the world, I just loved the elegant way its presented.
House-Made Dessert:
EIGHT4NINE Layer Cake, Pastry Chef’s choice of the day, an enormous piece of lovely cake. Make sure you share with your other diners.
Branini Toffee S’mores Fondue, House-made Marshmellow, House-made marshmallows with locally made Brandini Toffee chunks, Callebout chocolate, graham crackers, mix berries, This is a very sticky dessert choice and more of a candy than a dessert, but what a spectacle.
Wines:
Sauvignon Blanc, 200 Gainey, Santa Ynez, a nice pleasant citrus style Sauvignon Blanc. I liked this wine with the crab and corn chowder.
Chardonnay, Sonoma Cutrer, Russian river ranches. This is a big buttery Chardonnay; any of the shellfish dishes would be great with this.
Newton Chardonnay 2015 Sonoma. You have to drink this with the Sea bass or the Lobster Tails, it adds to the overall butter texture in the fish.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Michael David, “Freakshow” Lodi, this is a big hearty wine that you can drink with Beef Tenderloin.
Smith & Hook, Central Coast, Interesting Reds, Zinfandel – Artezin, Mendocino, this pairs well with the duck breast and its Asian nuances.
Zinfandel, Bianchi, Central Coast, I loved this wine with the smokiness in the mushroom papardelle
Kaiken Blend, 2015, Terroir Series. This blend works great with the barbequed oysters.
About the Staff:
EIGHT4NINE Restaurant & Lounge is owned and operated by Willie Rhine and John Paschal.
Willie Rhine is a 23-year-old resident of Palm Springs, who started his career in the restaurant business at the acclaimed Le Vallauris Restaurant in Palm Springs, and later managed two of the busiest and most successful restaurants in the Palm Springs Valley.
John Paschal has been in the desert for fifteen years. John is proud and grateful that his only career has been in photography and he is still going strong after almost 40 years in the business which includes photo shoots with Brad Pitt, Eva Longoria, KTLA News Team Billboards. This also includes cast photos of T.V. shows such as “The Bold and the Beautiful” and “The Young and the Restless.” Paschal opened Snapshot Palm Springs Studios, which has transformed into a top event space in the desert that hosts parties for major corporations and private clients.
EIGHT4NINE offers Happy Hour cocktails and menu items all day every day. The elegant and spacious lounge features a backlit onyx bar, which makes a dramatic statement. The lounge with its chic and swanky atmosphere is the perfect Happy Hour prescription for fun. The lounge comprises furnishings that offer maximum comfort to entice guests to linger on comfortable bar stools and white patent leather Louis XIV ghost chairs, as well as low and high cocktail tables to suit your mood.
Their singular goal is to provide the best dining experience possible, whether you’re looking for an intimate dinner for two or just want to celebrate life’s special moments with hundreds of friends.
Open Table says (based on over 5,000,000 actual reviews): “When looking for a place to dine out, why not snag a spot at the hottest place in town? The #OpenTable100 Hottest Restaurant in America list highlights hip, new restaurants, hot spots, celebrity chefs and avant-garde restaurants.
We determined the list of honorees after analyzing over five million reviews of more than 20,000 restaurants across the country — all submitted by verified diners.”
EIGHT4NINE’s tempting menu is the perfect counterpoint to the understated white décor. The eclectic and colorful menu selections feature a fusion of comfort food, ethnic influences, and bold originality that are reflected in the menu’s superb culinary creations. To see and be seen, EIGHT4NINE is the perfect place to tap into the community’s pulse point. It has become known as a vital part of the community for hosting numerous high profile charity events and fundraising receptions.
The eclectic menu features a celebration of West Coast Modern American Cuisine, which focuses on both presentation and flavors.
Chef Chuck Courtney brings his impressive culinary experience from Alaska, Washington, Oregon, as well as Northern and Southern California to EIGHT4NINE. During his successful career he has received media coverage in numerous high-profile publications: Bon Appétit Magazine, Wine Spectator magazine, the New York Times, Diablo Magazine and The Contra Costa Times. His cuisine incorporates the diversity of West Coast culinary influences, while utilizing the freshest specialty produce, seafood and meats available. All dishes are prepared from scratch, reflecting each dish’s specific ethnic origins with Chef’s individual creative flair. Albert Gonzalez heads the team that has created the exquisite dessert selection.
In the true Palm Springs fashion of some things being over the top, and yes EIGHT4NINE is over the top, but the hoopla will just make you want to come back for more!!
EIGHT4NINE
849 N Palm Canyon Dr,
Palm Springs, California 92262
(760) 325-8490
http://eight4nine.com/
* Some Content was taken off of their website
