Layla

A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to visit Sonoma for the weekend and enjoyed a nice dinner at Layla on the patio. Layla is a Mediterranean restaurant located at MacArthur Place in Sonoma which is just outside of the plaza. Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic and restrictions put in place by Governor Gavin Newsom, we were not allowed to dine inside at Layla but their patio is super big and nice which made it very pleasant. The patio at Layla has plenty of space to enjoy a meal while also distancing from other people which is nice during this time. One of the downsides to dining at Layla right now is that due to supply chain issues, the restaurant was forced to update their menu with ingredients that they could get right now. What this means is that their menu lacks the Mediterranean flair and dishes that it normally has. While I was saddened to not get to experience their full Mediterranean menu at this time, I understand completely why they cannot serve certain dishes and why they cannot get the right ingredients. With that being said, here are the dishes we ordered and what we though about our experience at Layla.

Appetizers:

For the appetizer, I ordered the Greek Salad while my mom ordered the Gazpacho. I ordered the Greek Salad because I believed that it would be a somewhat authentic Mediterranean dish and I wanted to try something from that style of cuisine.

When the Greek Salad first arrived, it looked vibrant and delicious. One of the things that first stood out to me was that it contained many different colors and textures which made it look very appetizing. After taking my first bite, I was impressed with the salad but it did not quite wow me. The tomatoes were super flavorful but kind of got a bit mushy in the salad. Also, the gem lettuce was almost nonexistent which was a bit disappointing for me. But, I did really like the pickles in this salad as they added a nice texture and flavor (although they are not really authentic to a Greek Salad). The feta cheese was also great and added that nice creamy and salty element to the dish. Overall, I was happy with my Greek Salad but not amazed. In hindsight, I probably should have ordered the Watermelon Salad as watermelon is in season right now and super flavorful. But, I wanted to try something Mediterranean and it was pretty good so I cannot complain too much.

Pictured above is my mom’s appetizer, Gazpacho, and while I did not try it myself, from what my mom told me it was super good and had a nice flavor to it. One of the things that I could see that looked nice was the color of the Gazpacho as well as the texture differences in the soup. Overall, I think this dish was a winner for the appetizers and I would say that it is worth trying.

Entrees:

For our main course, my mom, brother and I each ordered our own dish and then shared as we wanted. While I was looking over the entrees and trying to decide what to order, I noticed that only a few of the dishes contained the Mediterranean flair I desired due to the supply chain issues. As a result of this, I decided to order the Lobster Roll. My mom also wanted a bit of seafood with her entree so she decided to order the Cobb Salad with Salmon on top which was a dish that contained Mediterranean style ingredients. On the contrary, my brother did not feel like seafood so he ordered Steak Frites.

I really enjoyed the Lobster Roll from Layla. The Lobster was cooked really well and there was a decent amount of meat per half of the sandwich. The butter added a nice richness to the lobster and the bread had the perfect amount of crunch to it. One of the downsides to this dish was that the lettuce was cut into pieces that were too small so they did not really add too much to the dish. Also, as my grandma pointed out to me, this Lobster Roll is not really a traditional New England Lobster Roll as it contains lettuce and herb butter as opposed to just having regular butter. Finally, I wish the sandwich was a bit bigger as I seemed to finish the halves in like two or three bites (even though I was doing small bites). But, besides these minor details, the Lobster and bread tasted great which made it a nice sandwich.

Pictured above is my brother’s entree, Steak Frites. Even though I had some of my own fries to enjoy with my Lobster Roll, I did steal some of his fries as they had the Old Bay Seasoning on them which added another depth of flavor and made them taste really good. Also, I was able to try some of his steak as he gave me a piece. I really enjoyed the herb butter on the steak and thought that it added a nice flavor. Also, the cook on the steak was a perfect medium rare which was great. But unfortunately, the piece of steak that I received was a bit chewy which made it kind of hard to eat and disappointed me a bit. But overall, this was a nice dish and had great flavor.

The third and final entree belonged to my mom and she thought it was super good. I got a chance to try the salmon on this dish and it was super flavorful and seasoned really well. Also, from what I could see, this dish had great color and variety of ingredients which made it look really appealing. This dish was one of the entrees that had that Mediterranean style and I believe that it lived up to the hype.

Desserts:

Finally, after enjoying our entrees, it was time for dessert. The dessert menu only had three items on it so we decided to order one of each. I ordered the Fresh Doughnuts with Plum Jam, my mom ordered the Chocolate Cake with Ice Cream and my brother ordered the Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcake. While none of these dishes really had Mediterranean style ingredients, we really wanted something sweet so there was nothing to complain about there.

The first dessert that we tried was my brother’s shortcake. The cake itself tasted super fresh and was nice and fluffy even though it was a gluten free cake which was great. The strawberries were also super sweet and flavorful as they are fresh and in season right now. One of the main disappointments of this dish was the ice cream. When we ordered this dish, we thought that the crème fraîche ice cream would add a nice tartness and sweetness to the dish but unfortunately it did not. Also, the fruits on top of the ice cream were very weird and nobody could figure out what they were. So all in all, this was an ok dessert but not our favorite of the night.

This was the second dessert of the night and the only thing I really ate was the ice cream. The ice cream itself was better than the ice cream with the shortcake as it was a more traditional vanilla. My mom was the one that ate the cake and she said that it had good chocolate flavor but that it was just a really big dessert and a lot to eat. Overall, I think she was happy with the cake but it did not quite amaze her.

Pictured above is the third and final dessert of the night and one of our favorites. I love doughnuts and these doughnuts were nice and light. Also, the outside of the doughnuts were crispy and then they were soft and fluffy on the inside. The plum jam was a super nice touch and added a sweet and fruity flavor to the doughnuts. One of the things that I did not like about this dish was that the doughnuts were served with honey below them which added a weird flavor to them. I ate the doughnuts both with the jam and without it and I preferred them with the jam. Without the plum jam, the honey overpowered the doughnuts and made them too sweet. But besides the honey, I really enjoyed the Doughnuts with Plum Jam and I highly recommend getting this dessert if they have it.

Final Thoughts:

All in all, I really enjoyed my dining experience at Layla. While some of the dishes were not quite perfect, most of them were really good and it made for an enjoyable evening. Also, their patio is perfect to eat on during a summer night in Sonoma and had plenty of space to distance from others. While I wish their menu had a bit more Mediterranean items on it, I cannot fault them for not being able to get the ingredients right now and thought that they did a nice job of pivoting to meet the moment. One cool thing that the waiters and waitresses did was that they wore a pin with a picture of their face on it on their shirts so that you could see what they look like without a mask on which was super creative and fun. Anyways, I highly recommend dining at Layla if you get the chance to visit Sonoma and I promise it will not disappoint.