Oasis Cafe

This is a review in memoriam since Oasis Café has already come and gone. Oasis needed a better name. Oasis was reminiscent of middle-​eastern food but oddly, it’s menu didn’t have a lot to do with middle eastern food so I’ll bet that surprised people. I noticed they had a well-​priced brunch menu so we popped in on an early Sunday morning to check it out. We were the only patrons. I picked the Eggs Benedict and he the Fried Chicken with slaw. It turns out the Fried Chicken was a SANDWICH, even though there was no indication of that on the menu. We liked the food fine and they had great crispy potatoes with the eggs benedict. And then poof, Oasis disappeared. Oh well, I’m sure the next iteration of the space will welcome the newly redecorated space with cool grey, white and yellow modern touches.

When you think of Oasis Café think of peace, comfort, and great food: not a water hole in the desert. Helmed by owner Eric Chang, and fueled by Chef Monica Olaes, Oasis aims to bring fresh, seasonal ingredients to the palates of Pasadenans.
«It’s very friendly, very comfortable and inviting,» said Chang. «We’re trying to create more of a farm-​to-​table concept here,» he continued.
When asked to describe the cuisine at Oasis Chang said, «I would say it’s New American, along with California cuisine. A lot of our flavors are fusioned with Mexican or Asian influences though we have that California flare.»
With a menu full of salads, appetizers and entrees made with sweet corn, watermelon, black leaf kale and candy beets it’s apparent that freshness is the key ingredient. Chang has also just received his beer and wine license so he will be working on a wine and beer list to pair with the dishes.
Beginning with a glass of mellow Merlot, I started my meal with a salad of sweet corn, arugula, grape tomatoes, avocado, queso fresco and red onion which was dressed with zesty cilantro lime vinaigrette. The salad was just delicious; the corn was a sweet foil to the peppery arugula and the creamy avocado. The only criticism I have is that there was a tad too much onion, but other than that it was outstanding.
I was also served a grilled shrimp salad with purple and yellow wax beans, frisee, and a green I’ve never seen outside my garden, purslane. Purslane is a succulent and considered to be a weed here in the US but it is used all over Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Mexico. It has a bit of a sour/​salty taste. Chef Olaes found it at the farmer’s market and made use of it in her shrimp salad. The shrimp was nicely seasoned and delicately charred and the mixture of greens complimented it nicely.
Grilled pork belly layered with thin slices of watermelon radish and drizzled with a sweet/​hot molasses sauce was served next. I really don’t «get» pork belly, it has a lot of fat and I’m not into eating fat, but this pork belly was mostly meat and quite delicious with the molasses/​mustard sauce. Be sure you have some water because this dish is smokin’.
Chef’s smoky chicken wings seasoned with a combination of 17 spices were delicious bites of sweet and spicy. These wings are done with a dry rub so they aren’t sticky and gooey but they are every bit as delicious.
Delicate slices of duck breast from Mary’s Farm adorned a bed of parsnip purée, the plate was finished off with a grilled peach, mustard greens and a balsamic glaze. Duck is a difficult dish to pull off either it’s greasy, overdone and chalky, or gamey. Not this duck it was mild, cooked to medium and if there was grease I wasn’t seeing it. The sweet parsnip purée, grilled peach and balsamic glaze were the perfect accompaniment. This was an excellent dish a great use of flavors and textures.
great steak is a thing to behold at least in my estimation and the hanger steak I was served next made the grade. Perfectly charred on the outside with a delicate pink middle the steak was served with a horseradish crème fraiche which teased the taste buds with heat. Confit potatoes and broccoli rabe finished the dish. If high-​grade steak is what you crave this dish can’t be beat.
I couldn’t refuse the offer of some of Oasis’ whimsically-​presented desserts. I dug into the caramel cream pudding served in its own Mason jar and peach cobbler cooked to order in a cute casserole dish. They both were delicious and so much fun to eat. Who says you can’t play with your food?

Night and day!
The first time I visited Oasis (which was only a few weeks ago), I had a great time and was thoroughly impressed with the food. That’s why I decided to bring my husband there for date night. I had also purchased an awesome deal on Gilt and was super excited to share this awesome little eatery with him. But we were sadly disappointed.
We ordered the following:
Pork Belly — this was so lean that we thought it was pork loin, which would have been fine if it wasn’t so dry
Chicken Wings — we ordered these wet which was supposed to be a sweet sauce, but it was super salty, so then we got it dry which was much better
Fried Oyster — flavor was great, but the breading was kind of heavy
Calamari — not great, but compared to everything else this was not bad
Duck — over cooked, needed salt
Steak — nicely cooked, also needed some salt
I am so sad that there was such a huge variation in the quality of the food.

Pretty overpriced for what you get. We came here with a coupon (I think it was Travelzoo). With the coupon, it was a fair deal, but I will not come back to pay regular prices. The food was good, but nothing memorable. The service was fine, but nothing memorable.
All in all, it is an OK eating place in old town Pasadena, but it was not a meal that left a lasting impression. The best thing about the meal for me was that there was no corkage fee. However, I don’t know how long that will last, based on when they get their liquor license…

Oh wow.
This place is really good. I mean really good. I mean do you use magic to take ordinary objects and make them into heavenly concoctions? I know that it is possible to buy the ingredients I saw in these simple but elegant meals, but I also no that there is no way that I could replicate them at home.
Breakdown of the meal:
Summer corn salad — if you like sweet corn then this is your salad. Mixed with a light lime vinaigrette and served with some fresh queso and avocados. It’s light, sweet and utterly delightful.
Kale salad — lots of food! Light lemon salad dressing goes well with the kale, flakes of cheese and fresh tomatoes.
Red Zebra Caprese — burrata cheese on a piece of toast, with fresh heirloom tomatoes and basil leaves with basil pesto. If you want something light, this should be right down your alley.
Duck — parsnip purée is really yummy. Duck was sweet, succulent and only a little fatty. I like that the portion size is not huge. You can eat this and not feel hungry afterwards.
Pork chop — Insert video of me sucking fingers and making that kissing face while saying «tres magnifique.» So soft, moist, tender, and you really can cut it with a butter knife. The chimichurra sauce is so flavorful, it’s amazing.
Caramel pudding — light, creamy and tasty. Reminds me of a creamy version of a snickers bar.
Great ambiance, great food, great service and you can BYOB with no corkage fee on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
If you want a great romantic date place, look no further than the magicians at Oasis Café.

The place was completely empty when I arrived on a Friday afternoon for lunch (around 11:30. Several more customers did come in a little later, though. The place is cute — I liked the
Portions were normal for lunch (both entrees were about $ 9 each). Got the spicy chicken sandwich, which I liked more than my friend did. The chicken is thin with a very crisp and somewhat spicy breading. I found the chicken pretty tender. The salad it came with was fresh with a plain oil dressing. My friend got the lunch portion of their California Brioche Burger, which came with two mini sliders w/​bacon and fries. The fries were very similar to the ones at In ‘n Out, but these were slightly crispier. Though the patties were small, the burgers were very juicy. I liked the food and the look of the place — it felt very simple yet clean.
Service was okay but could have been better. We waited a while to get our check and no one came to refill our waters even though the place was more than half empty.

After happy hour at Slater’s we noticed a new eatery that just opened up in the Old Town area. A neighbor was back in town for a short trip and decided to come here for dinner. We arrived at around 6 and there was only a few people inside. That later changed as the restaurant filled up. After reading a few reviews it appears we missed out on the Travelzoo voucher… damnnit!!!
Started off by trying a few appetizers:
Fried squash blossoms
. Tasty but not the best I’ve had. The squash blossoms were a tad bit oily and lacked a flavor. Perhaps it needed more seasoning with the filling???
Fried chicken wings
. Tasty but damn these must’ve been from the anorexic chicken farm. There was literally no meat on these things!
Pork belly
. The pork belly was nice and tender and of course fatty! Would you expect anything else? The sauce was damn tasty and was probably the best appetizer we ordered.
Fried asparagus
. Not bad but did lack seasoning. The bread crumbs did add a nice crunch.
Hangar steak
. Perfectly cooked and well seasoned beef. The potatoes were slightly crispy and the broccoli rabe was cooked perfectly. The horseradish crème fraîche was the perfect sauce to accompany the hangar steak. Should’ve asked for more. With that being said, the table next to us ordered the same dish which looked almost double the size of ours.
Grilled pork chop
. Cooked a perfect medium and was seasoned well.
Caramel cream pudding
. Pretty tasty but a tad bit overpriced.
Overall I’d say I was impressed with Oasis Café, however I did think that the items were a tad bit overpriced. Service was ok but there was this fly in the restaurant that kept buzzing around which was hella annoying. Deducted a star because of both.

Wow. What a find in downtown Pasadena. There are good restaurants in Pasadena, but none that have really hit the mark for me in terms of quality of food, environment and level of service.
I came here with my family on a TravelZoo deal and the waitress had no problems taking our voucher. She explained our options and we were able to get a salad each, two appetizers, an entrée each and two desserts.
I got the Beet Salad and it was good. Sweet beets and some bitter greens to counter the sweetness. Some good balance here. But I will say that I did get to sample some of the Kale Salad and that was my favorite. Lemony and cheesy. It was fragrant from the Parmigiano Reggiano.
I had the pork chops and I loved it. Tender and succulent. Not dry like pork chops are wont to do.
We had a good peach crumble and citrus cheesecake.
Service goes a long way in my reviews and I loved the warm/​consistent service we got. We never felt rushed and were made comfortable for the entire meal.

Opening just a brief 2 months ago in Old Town’s ever changing dining scene, I remember walking by the front of Oasis Café and noticing the folding blackboard marquee easel that lists the specials and saying to the missus «we should check this out sometime…» The exterior is slightly understated, but after you step inside the interior has simple, clean lines; sort of westside chic; diners were dressed neat but LA casual…
The cuisine is contemporary and is all into the Alice Waters farm-​to-​table movement with an emphasis on seasonality. We would have a chance to try some of the summer veggies like the delicately tempura’ed Squash Blossoms, the dainty blooms of the zucchini plant. Many times they are stuffed with ricotta and I don’t remember if that was the case here, but their ricotta is house made…
The Grilled Sweet Corn, or «Mais de la Calle» was a roasted ear of corn with the husk tied back, slathered with a combination of butter and one of the crumbly cheeses, perhaps feta. Admittedly, this would be difficult to share in public so I shucked it with a knife where all of its presentational value was lost, we thought it was interesting at first but just a pile of kernels at the end…
The Candy Beets salad used Chioggia or stripped beets and is garnished with the same feta that I believe was also on the corn. A nice portion that was contrasted also by the crunch of hazelnuts and the bitterness of the watercress and arugula. The beets were tender but firm and were needless to say the star of this dish…
Of course the king of the cliched aphrodisiac foods has to be the oyster, here they are tempura fried and served on a bed of spicy remoulade which I thought was the fusion element in the dish, and completely superfluous. The lemon wedge on the side is all this bad boy would need, I could have eaten two orders of this, on my own…
Our favorite dish was the unctuous pork belly, stacked on edge, and slathered with a mustard/​molasses and garnished with arugula and thinly sliced watermelon radish. The molasses was like a sweet, sticky tar and reminded me a little bit like a runny hoisin sauce. Most of the pork belly served is the kurobuta from Snake River Farms, it has excellent quality and marbling, and this one was particularly toothsome and tender…
Like others here have mentioned, diners can revel in the BYOB sans corkage policy until they presumably get their alcohol license. The restaurant is conveniently located across the street from the parking structure where the first 90min are free. Although their prices are reasonable for the general area, I’ve learned that they have a few lunch specials that are pretty reasonably priced that I would love to come back and try, along with the rest of the menu. Closed on Mondays…

My friends and I came here on a Saturday night and we were seated immediately (I’m assuming everybody else was at the 626 market night). One of the staffs who greeted us was super friendly and asked us how we heard of them. We told him Unilocal brought us here and he gave us a bright smile. We were handed a menu that had very small selection in dishes but it took us a while to make up our minds.
Appetizer: We started off the night sharing the Fried Asparagus (too oily and difficulty to bite into– Don’t waste your $ on it 2/​5stars) and the Calamari which was pretty much like anything you can find elsewhere but was only unique with their semi-​spicy special creamy sriracha mayonnaise dipping sauce making it worthy of a ⁴⁄₅.
For the Main Course, I ordered the Mary’s Farm Duck Breast which I thought was quite delicious. The duck was cut into 8 equal slices placed on a white bed of yummy parsnip purée which resembled a creamy mash potato. The meat was very juicy and soft most likely from the thick layer of fat from the duck skin. It was also very red in color and almost completely raw. There’s also this really fantastic glazed sweet & tangy cherry concoction that truly brought the whole dish together. I stabbed my fork into the soft piece of duck and then swiped it ever so smoothly through the glazed cherry sauce and the creamy parsnip purée, and with every mouthful, my heart was filled with delight. :) I just wished it was more cooked so I would give it a ⁴⁄₅.
There were 5 of us girls and we each ordered 5 different dishes off the menu. I did not personally taste each of their dishes, but these were their opinions on the rating.
Hanger Steak (confit potato, broccoli rave, horseradish, crime fraiche) $ 22.95 = 4.5÷5
Bucatini (pasta) heirloom tomato, garlic, chilli, and grilled shrimp. $ 14.95 = ³⁄₅
Pisca Rice Saffron, peas, mussels, clams, shrimp, and squid for $ 18.95 =4/​5
Mary’s Farm Duck Breast $ 22.95 = ⁴⁄₅
Pork chop $ 19.95 ⁴⁄₅
According to some of the girls, It would have been a ⁵⁄₅ if they came in bigger portions. :P
Overall, this place is ⁴⁄₅ stars worthy of a TRY!

What a new hidden gem my boyfriend found. We were planning a romantic dinner date and after my boyfriend’s «no» to sushi, he found and presented me with Oasis’s Unilocal page. Looking very sophisticated, I gave him the benefit doubt and off to Pasadena we went.
After looking through all the pictures, I knew I wanted for sure the asparagus fries and pork chop. I was pleasantly surprised at how good veggies can taste when prepared FRIED. I, too, will vouch the asparagus fries is a must order here. Now, I have always stray away from ordering pork chop as I been finding it hard for a restaurant to make juicy and tender pork chops. To my surprise, Oasis very much satisfied that. The pork chop was really good, I was very hesitant to share with the boyfriend. My boyfriend chose to go with the hangar steak which came in 6 slices. He did not seem too full after his meal but it was good steak.
Service was attentive. The restaurant is on the smaller end of the spectrum and there were plenty of waiters/​waitresses to accommodate all tables. When dessert rolled around, I went straight for the churro stick which came out beautifully plated and not too much on the sweet side.
It was a good dinner at a reasonable price. We parked at the parking structure across the street (first 90 minutes free).

A coworker and I decided to go have lunch in Old Town Pasadena. We relied on Unilocal and finally settled on Oasis Café. It’s tucked away on a cross street of Colorado named Raymond, so it’s not easy to find unless you know where to look.
Based on the four star reviews, we were little surprised the restaurant was empty when we entered. The décor with minimalistic but very nice. The server came and took our drink orders and handed us the regular and lunch menus. The lunch menu had a few choices of half sandwiches and that came with a soda. We were pretty hungry so we opted for the full steak sandwich from the regular menu. When prompted, we asked for steak to be medium.
The sandwich that came out was set in a nice roll, kind of like an Italian roll. It had sliced beef with grilled red onions and an aioli sauce. The beef seemed well done but was still flavorful. The onion added a touch of sweetness to the sandwich. The side of lightly battered fries that came with it was very good too.
We spent about $ 13 per person. I’ll like come back to try their other items. The fried chicken sandwich sounded interesting.