The Raymond gets a menu revamp for the first time in 35 years

Name: The Raymond in Pasadena.

The chef: Tim Guiltinan, who took over the kitchen in 2008. Guiltinan, who has worked at Five Feet in Laguna Beach and under Mark Gold at Cafe Rouge, has recently given the menu its first real overhaul since the restaurant opened more than 35 years ago.

Concept: This is no longer the Raymond where you ordered a rack of lamb with your parents on their wedding anniversary. The decor may look the same but the menu has changed. A lot. It’s divided into three sections -- quick bites, starters and entrees -- featuring Italian, Spanish and Asian influences. Quick bites include house pickles and kimchi, the starters range from nduja (spicy salami spread) and Parmesan crisps to house-made tofu and tomato salad, and the entrees feature new dishes and revamped classics. The salmon, which was previously poached and served with white asparagus, sweet potato and a warm spring salad, now comes with Washington state morels, English peas, their sprouts and wild basil.

What dish represents the restaurant, and why? The Jidori chicken wings or the octopus and bone marrow bruschetta. The wings come piled on a wooden serving board with a side of pickled cucumber. They’re served with the drumette attached, fried crisp and coated in a sweet and salty reduced fish sauce, red chiles and torn mint. It’s an updated version/spinoff of the restaurant’s classic Jidori chicken entree (roasted with morels, asparagus, roasted garlic-potato puree and chicken jus), which still appears on the menu but with red quinoa, cauliflower and popped sorghum.

Who’s at the next table? Four Frenchmen on holiday eating rib eye while they have an animated discussion about soccer, and a nicely dressed couple on a date in the corner splitting an order of the octopus and bone marrow bruschetta. A steady stream of the younger-than-30 set file into 1886, the adjacent bar.

Appropriate for: Any occasion, but the dim lighting and fireplace make for a nice date spot.

Uh-oh: Although the kitchen and the menu experienced a makeover, the original decor (torn and ripping in spots) remains the same.

Service: Friendly

What are you drinking? A cocktail from 1886 or a glass of wine.

Info: 1250 South Fair Oaks Avenue, Pasadena, (626) 441-3136, theraymond.com.

The Scouting Report is a quick look at restaurants worth a visit. Scouts were selected by restaurant critic Jonathan Gold, who may or may not agree with a single word.