The Arbour - Californian restaurant in Pasadena - 527 S Lake Ave #120, USA

I’ve been wanting to try this place for a while. New to the neighborhood (moved here from DTLA) so I’ve been missing pasta from Bestia. Saw good reviews of Arbour and seems like a farm to table concept which is my favorite. We made Saturday night reservations and the hostess walked us to our table right away. The establishment was classic yet still lively and casual enough to not feel very stuffy. Our server Lorna (I hope I spelled her name right) was very welcoming and friendly. She recommended the crab pasta special and wow it did not disappoint! Looked so simple but literally tasted like ocean. My husband got the shrimp pasta which was also amazing! I kept eating off his plate. There were a lot big chunks of shrimp and the creamy sauce was so rich and flavorful without overpowering. Lorna also said the portions are pretty big and she did not lie! We were both stuffed and packed the leftover to go. We also got the Brussels sprouts salad which was refreshing. For drinks I got the limoncello spritz drink and it was also delicious. Overall we loved everything from the food & drink to the service we received. We will definitely be back!

Quite delightful experience for me. The food was alright (not as mind-blowing as we’d expected), but it was decent. I had a duck as an entree and felt like it was under seasoned and texture was not as tender - I usually like it more charred and crispy on the skin. The dessert was pretty solid in my opinion, drinks were also on point (top quality French wine selections). I really enjoyed the ambiance here, seems pretty upscale and classy though I’d hope the food could be more elevated for this type of location in Pasadena.

I brought my partner here for his Birthday. Neither of us had ever been. We ordered some oysters as an appetizer. They were really good but a few had shell chunks in them. The cocktails were delicious and our waitress was attentive and very friendly. I had the sea bass and he had the filet mignon. The filet was a little over cooked. The fish was good. I would say the food was average. Like American comfort food. The meal was good but didn’t blow our minds. The atmosphere was very cozy.

Amazing staff and service. Food was delish! Will add more to review later, but just wanted to recommend this place for all your special occasions or just a night out for dinner.

We were here on Mother's day, and our experience was relatively ok. The quality of the food is promising and has a lot of potential, but as some of the other diners pointed out, the service was not quite on point. For us, one of our dishes was missed and we got a duplicate on another item instead. I guess you could blame the environment because it was a bit noisy while it was not really busy yet. Water refills at minimum and we often need to ask for it. Also they remember to provide your kids a high chair but did not provide the diningware... Such "small things" like these are what they are lacking, and if these concerns you, you might want to be prepared.

My initial impression of Arbour was that it looked upscale, but lacked pretentiousness. The tables were far enough apart that dining felt more private. There was however, a noticeable smell of stale, dirty water; perhaps from the bar that just wafted through the restaurant. Thankfully the smell wasn’t strong and was later covered by the smell of food. The staff were welcoming and friendly, but lacked timing. They were there when not needed and hard to find when needed. We paid approximately $260+ for our dinner with tip. We were provided bread which was warm and soft on the inside. The outside however, was chewy. For our main dishes, we ordered their lobster risotto, duo of duck and cheeseburger. The risotto was cooked perfectly. The peas in the risotto were crisp and fresh. The textural contrast was nice. Unfortunately the star of this dish, the lobster, was over cooked. It lost it’s sweet buttery flavor. The claw meat should have been the most flavorful part of the lobster, but it was dry and flavorless. The duo of duck was roasted breast and confit leg with a side of parsnips. Both were also cooked perfectly, but were under seasoned. The parsnips were delicious though. The cheeseburger was accompanied with garlic fries. The cheeseburger was flavorful and enough to feed two people. The garlic fries had all the garlic flavor you could want, but they tasted old and stale. The best part of our meal though was the dessert. We had an apple strudel with salted caramel sauce and a side of ice cream. The strudel was warm, flaky and the apples were tart enough to complement the cold soft ice cream. The caramel just added a light touch of sweetness. It was absolutely perfect. For cocktails, I ordered the “Blackberry Smash” and “The Honeymoon.” The blackberry smash was vodka with blackberry purée. It tasted fine, but it didn’t taste much like blackberry. The honeymoon was bourbon with honey syrup which tasted much better than my first drink.

I love the ambiance of this lovely restaurant nearer the California St end of Lake Av in Pasadena. The decor is tasteful modern craftsman, with a full bar spanning half the south wall, a fireplace, step-up booths on the north wall, and well-spaced tables in the middle. The service was excellent, and I so appreciated being in a place where I could have a quiet conversation with my dining companion. I had the Sea Bass, which was perfectly cooked with crispy skin and moist, delicious meat. My companion was less satisfied with the duck, felt it needed more sauce. But we both loved the mushroom soup. The desserts are were also very satisfying, not overly sweet, and mine dominated by fresh, delicious black berries. There is very limited outdoor seating with heat lamps. If you want a place to have a calm, well-prepared meal in a lovely atmosphere that doesn't force you to compete with clanking dishes and music so loud it requires screaming to be heard, the Arbour is an excellent choice.

An upscaled restaurant with reasonable price. Food, service and atmosphere are excellent. I was there for the happy hour (Monday to Friday between 4pm to 5: 30pm) Ask for more bread, they are yummy. Will definitely return to try dinner menu.