Back in early 2024, a business trip to various aerospace clients in the LA area had me spending several nights in and around El Segundo, where I ended up at Jame in search of lunch, and returning later for a cocktail. I had an outstanding experience each time, as you can read in my 2024 review. So when a planned trip to the Channel Islands had our group all rendezvousing in Hermosa Beach, we decided to arrive a day early and explore the area a bit more. I also decided this would be a good opportunity to do both an Offbeat Eats “Health Check” re-visit to Jame, as well as introduce Carol to the great food and drink options this little restaurant offers up.
In addition to the various excellent pasta options, as we were looking over both the menus, and the daily specials, I had Carol order a drink: the Jeremy Fox. I still find it ironic that El Segundo’s best Tiki drink is at an Italian restaurant, listed as their “Token Tiki” drink. They go all out here: aged & blackstrap rum, puerh orgeat, baking spice, citrus, and dash of honey… served up in their own house Tiki mug. The result is a great riff on a Mai Tai, and itt’s a top-notch cocktail with an interesting twist (the puerh, which gives it a nice tea note).
Myself, while I was indeed craving a Jeremy Fox of my own (I’d get one later in the evening), I opted instead for the Steve and Dina: reposado tequila, pineapple, cucumber, and habanero. With both a nice tropical note and some nice heat from the habanero, this was another thoroughly-enjoyable cocktail, and a great start to the meal.
Next up, we ordered up a few appetizers. On my previous trip, I had a kale side that was actually extremely good. I actually like kale, but the typical kale salad to me is usually not very noteworthy, but Jame’s redition is extremely good: shredded kale (carefully massage to keep it tender), avocado (a rare dish where I enjoy the addition of avocado), parmesan, cilantro, and a sweet/spicy almond vinaigrette that really tied everything together. This time we got a full order of it, and enjoyed it every bit as much as my previous trip. This was about as perfect as a kale salad comes.
Next up, a beef tartare. Served up with tonnato, shallot, marjoram, potato chip bits, and well-done toast. An absolutely excellent tartare, reminiscent of those I enjoy at Oakes & Evelyn back in Vermont, everything here was spot-on perfect. Perfectly tender and well-minced beef, neither too large nor too small. A very tangy and delicious tonnato with delicious tangy notes and not too much tuna overwhelming the beef. Perfectly-done toast that walked right up to, but not over, the line into burnt. And some nice shallot and potato chip bits to add some texture and allium notes. Absolutely splendid.
On my previous visit, I had a splendid ragu that made me want to see how Jame did with some of their other meat sauces. Several of their menu items featured a braised beef cheek filling, and after a bit of back and forth, we decided on the scarpinocc (basically a ravioli variant made by filling short hollow noodles and crimping them), sered with the braised beef cheek filling in very brown butter and a sage saba. This dish was pretty much pasta perfection: the braised beef cheek filling being extremely flavorful and rich, the pasta cooked to the absolute spot-on al dente, and the sauce nicely complementing everything. This rates up there with Trattoria Delia as one of the very best pasta dishes I’ve ever had.
For our other main course, we got their featured pasta, the corn agnolotti, another stuffed pasta dish with small crescents filled with a savory fresh corn filling. This was a very excellent merging of the same perfectly-executed pasta style as the scarpinocc with “Mexican Street Corn” in flavor. Tender, delicate, and just enough heat to make a well-balanced sauce. Another of the most enjoyable pasta dishes I’ve ever had.
When it came time for dessert, we originally were indecisive on dessert, choosing between the Nutella Cake and the Meyer Lemon pie. We opted for the former, which was a triple layer cake with Nutella mousse, whipped marscapone, chocolate shortbread crust. This is the sort of dish that can be either subtle in it’s execution, or turn out to be a sugar, chocolate, and hazelnut bomb. Despite the description, this was actually a very nicely executed and subtle dessert, wasn’t overly sweet, and very nicely balanced. We were completely happy with this dessert…
…but then our excellent server, Christopher, brought us a second dessert. Sine we had been indecisive about which dessert to have, he ended up bringing us the Meyer Lemon Pie as well, on the house. This was particularly good, tasting like one of the best Key Lime Pies I had, but with the slightly more nuanced Meyer Lemon instead of key lime. Also a great dessert.
Overall, we truly enjoyed Jame. Our dinner was even more enjoyable than my previous visits, and everything, cocktails, appetizers, pasta, and desserts, was perfectly executed by a very friendly and hospitable staff, on a near-perfect evening in their outdoor patio. This was definitely the best dinner we’ve had so far in 2025, and, all things considered, one of the more reasonably priced ones as well (our bill, with the complementary second dessert, came in under $200). Jame remains a South Bay gem, and I need to redouble my efforts to check out their fairly new sister restaurant, ¡Jaime! Taqueria down the street. I’m certain we’d enjoy it.
