Megan M.
Yelp
Food: 3 stars
Service: 3 stars
Value: 3 stars
Ambience: 4.5 stars
This was one of the strangest brunch experiences of my life. I had seen photos of the setting here and thought it looked adorable, and I love a good outdoor dining experience.
We drove over and found out the at the valet parking is free if you're eating at the restaurant - which was a great bonus. Parking in this area can be a nightmare! The lobby was also adorable - this restaurant is in the Viceroy.
I had made a reservation on OpenTable, and had trouble figuring out where to check in when I walked in. I asked at the bar, and ended up checking in with someone who appeared to be the manager. He checked me in via his phone, which was a little odd, but fine.
He led us to a table, and which was dirty and he offered to clean it, but it wasn't a big deal. I did notice that many of the chair cushions had stains, which wasn't too surprising given that everything was pure white in an outdoor setting.
We were planning to participate in DineLA, but we had to ask for the DineLA menus as we were initially only given the standard "sunrise" menu. Menu looked great and a fantastic deal, and we quickly decided what to order. We then waited 15 min for a server to approach us - no water or communication from other staff during this time.
When she came to our table, she told us a bit aggressively it was "time to order, the kitchen is closing soon". We were a bit baffled because we had been ready to order for some time, and had not been approached before that by any staff.
We put in our order, and also ordered some drinks (finally). Our appetizers (hamachi crudo and beets & burrata) came out quickly. They were plated well, and tasted fairly average. Not great, not bad.
The trouble started when our entrees came out. I ordered the chicken & waffle and my husband ordered the chilaquiles. They both looked great... until I cut in to the chicken. My chicken was completely raw on the inside. Luckily I had not taken a bite yet, and it was immediately obvious that it was uncooked. We immediately informed staff (not our original server) and they took it away immediately. After a minute I decided to request the Dutch baby instead (no chance of food poisoning there!) - and they were happy to substitute it.
My Dutch baby came out great and was very tasty, and HUGE. The chilaquiles initially tasted great, and my husband was happy... until he found a large bone (about 1.5" in length). Perfect size to choke someone. It was a bit unbelievable that both of our entrees had such serious problems from the kitchen.
We both got the deconstructed cheesecake for dessert, which was fine. Nothing incredible, but definitely edible and there were no serious problems with it that could cause us harm. At that point in the meal, that was a welcome relief.
Given the crazy issues with our entrees, our server let us know that the restaurant would be comping our entire meal, which we greatly appreciated.
Overall, we would consider coming back after a bit of time to allow the kitchen to find its footing. The setting is beautiful and there is a lot of potential here, but I would recommend being very cautious with what you order if you come here. They also seem to be struggling with staffing, but that's pretty much a problem everywhere these days.
It was very hard to decide how to rate this meal, as both the service and food were a bit all over the place. I'd like to be optimistic and hope things improve here, hence the 3 stars! I will say that the pricing for DineLA is excellent, not so sure I can say the same for the standard menu prices.