Five Crowns is thrilled to unveil a new, innovative dining menu and robust beverage program as part of the restaurant’s 50th anniversary celebration. The new menus invite loyal customers to relish in traditional dish selections while offering new guests the opportunity to experience a more versatile side of the restaurant.
“As we come into our 50th year, we wanted to present a menu that offers guests a flexible dining experience,” noted Corporate Executive Chef and Vice President, Ryan O’Melveny Wilson. “This new menu pays homage to the classics while offering a much broader selection of starters, main dishes and family style options. It breaks guests out of the expected course structure of fine dining at Five Crowns and let’s you create your own dining experience.”
The new menu offers nearly three times the culinary options compared to the traditional Five Crowns menu with vast selections from the farm, field and sea. “Firsts” introduce several new seafood options including Absinthe-Cured Salmon Gavlax with dill, crème fraÃche and lemon, Smoked Trout Dip with herbs and pickled shallots and a Crab and Avocado Mash with a lime dressing. The classic Shrimp Cocktail is now offered grilled with spiced lime cocktail sauce, guajillo oil and cilantro. Eggplant Caviar is paired with paprika, olive oil and sea salt.
“Soups & Greens” abound as starters or lighter fare options. A new Tuscan Kale Caesar is tossed with roasted cherry tomatoes, fennel pollen, herbed croutons and Parmigiano. The classic Wedge is refreshed with slabbed pork belly, sliced chives, blue cheese crumbles, cherry tomato and egg atop baby iceberg.
The “Farm, Field, Sea” selections introduce the Tomahawk Pork Chop with broccoli rapini, cannellini beans and citrus, the 8oz. prime flat iron Steak Frites with maÃtre d’hôtel butter and Linguini, Kale “Bolognese” with chili flakes and Parmigiano. The ½ lb. American Kobe Burger will make its Five Crowns menu debut, prepared with white cheddar, red onion, bacon and Russian dressing on brioche accompanied with French fries.
“The new menu is approachable, but not without the unexpected,” commented Five Crowns Executive Chef Steve Kling. “New items, shared and small plate options coupled with classic dishes offers something for multiple types of diners and foodies.”
“Plates for the Table” include a 2 lb. Broiled Maine Lobster, 14 oz. Sliced Beef Tenderloin and a Whole Pan Roasted Jidori Chicken. “Small Plates” showcase Prince Edward Island Mussels, Duck Rillettes, Frito Misto of Winter Vegetables, Seared Hokkaido Scallops and a Five Crown Classic Crab Cake. Small and large plates can be accompanied by a variety of sides including Truffle Mac ‘N Cheese and Roasted Brussels Sprouts.
Catering to fans of the established Five Crowns fare, the “Crown Classic” selections feature heritage menu items dating back to the 90s presented with a modern twist. Throwbacks include Horseradish Crusted Salmon, Colorado Lamb Chops, Filet Neptune and the Grilled Rib Chop for Two. The roasted Prime Ribs of Beef that first made Lawry’s famous in 1938 will remain a signature menu selection with choice of four cuts and two classic sides. Other traditional favorites include Mary Alice’s Pride Salad, a Double Cut Ribeye and the Pan Roasted Jidori Chicken.
An expansive beverage program complements the new menu enhancements. Five Crowns wine inventory has grown three-fold in recent months with additions of multiple limited release allocated selections from Napa Valley, cult wines by Bryant Family and Screaming Eagle and “Interesting Reds” from the Southern Hemisphere. A curated section of the wine list showcases favorite wines “Inspired By” the wine enthusiast patrons Five Crowns.
“The guest curated or Inspired By’ section of the wine program is the next step to the wine locker concept,” said Rob Vermeeren, Room Manager at Five Crowns and SideDoor. “We invite our Five Crowns patrons with a passion for wine to get involved in the program. Let us know your favorite wines and we will put them on a curated part of the wine menu inspired by you.”
Along with vast wine selections, the beverage program boasts a strong list of select spirits, signature and crafted cocktails and beer spanning large formats, seasonals, barrel aged and wild ales.
“Five Crowns first opened doors in 1965 and has been offering the finest quality dining experience to loyal customers ever since,” noted Wilson, a fourth-generation Frank family member. “The new menu and beverage program are a celebration of the restaurant’s 50-year heritage and a window into the next 50 years to come. This is just the beginning of the anniversary celebration with many more exciting plans still to come.”
