Maryam G.
Yelp
Ah, Papille Gustative; a great example of why the rest of the country makes fun of the LA food scene. TL;DR: thoroughly grammable food, but an otherwise absurd experience.
The food at Papille Gustative is good. It's not great, but it is fine enough and beautifully presented. This is why Yelp is replete with enticing photos of their dishes. Generally, it all lacks seasoning. But the ingredients are very fresh. We shared 3 kinds of their Scandinavian rye breads topped with smoked salmon, anchovies, and uni. All absolutely palatable, none memorable. The dirty potatoes lacked flavor but were cooked extremely well, achieving a silky texture. My GF waffle was nice; it tasted and felt gluten free, but it was a serviceable vehicle for a mountain of fresh "market" fruits (which should not be mistaken for seasonal, as blueberries and raspberries are hardly winter fruits, but anyway this is LA, so what does seasonal even mean). The worst order was probably my friend's, consisting of a cold vegan quinoa bowl that she described as "too much farm, not enough table," and barely ate half.
All of this was mostly unremarkable and would barely have merited a short review, but what was really worth sharing was our hilarious service experience. At Papille Gustative, the constantly circling waiters are not allowed to take orders. They will bring you a paper menu, and then you can order at the counter inside, or you can scan a QR code and order through their website. The online ordering menu and the paper menu are not identical (and nor are either the same as the menu they have posted on their website); each has items the other does not. So, if you chose something from the paper menu, you might go to order it online only to discover it's not there. You might think that the online ordering platform would trump everything else; 'get with technology, you elder millennial!' you might say. But what if, dear Yelper, you wanted to order something LA-basic like a chai latte, only to find such thing unlisted on the online ordering platform? What if you needed this hit of caffeine before you were awake enough to navigate the disorganized online ordering menu? What if you mistakenly thought, it's only one drink, surely the waiter can take that order? Well, you'd be told by said waiter that you have to order it inside, only to walk 10 steps inside and meet that very same waiter on the other side of the counter, now ready to take your same order. As if directly out of a comedy of errors.
It's all just too complex by half. And lest you think me unreasonably critical, this around-and-around meant that my friends and I who were reuniting after 2 years apart had to spend the first half hour of our hang awkwardly trying to catch up while puzzling over not only what but how to order. In sum, if you're looking for a spot to go alone and get food that you can post to IG to make all your friends jealous of your pretty life regardless of the cost to your sanity, run to Papille Gustative. For everyone else, just walk on by.