No, I won't be back.
You sank my battleship... literally.
Overall experience: 2 stars.
Food: barely hanging onto 3 stars.
Key Points:
1. Wednesday night dinner, 6:00 p.m. to 7:30. This place should have at least 10 tables hustling & bustling.
Instead, we were the only two people inside the entire restaurant.
2. Food: they've had the same Chef for 20 years. Where are the regulars, the repeat customers?
3. They just did a remodel, but maybe they should have remodeled the chef too?
The building looks depressing, and so was our experience.
I think all they did was just slap some new paint on the walls.
Battleship gray on the exterior. Seriously?
Of all colors to pick, you couldn't have picked something that was bright and alive like a red, orange, something that made you feel warm and cozy?
4. Inside Atmosphere: sterile, white fake marble all around, with blue lights. Add some smoke and a couple cocktail waitresses, and you have a scene from a Hong Kong gambling casino in 1995.
5. Food:
Griglia Scampi Siciliano: Presentation was horrible. 5 pieces, laid flat on a plate. If the shrimp was grilled, you couldn't tell because it was drowned in a loose cream sauce. I did like the Spritz of lemon. But can you cut back 90% of the sauce that was on the plate, and let me see the grill marks?
Lasagna: a watery grave.. for the battleship? Layered pasta with ricotta, parmigiana and romano cheese. In the menu it described it as meat sauce, and then topped with marinara. What I got was a can of plain tomato sauce with a ton of dried oregano mixed in. There was no tanginess at all, no zip, no garlic, no onion, no punch. And leave the oregano out!
Chicken & Shrimp Carbonara: This was the only dish that had taste. BUT, this is no Carbonara, AND too much sauce... again.
Overcooked penne pasta in a parmigiana cream sauce, pancetta, bacon and roasted red peppers. Lots of protein in here, they Don't skimp on the chicken or shrimp. Woooo! Finally 1 dish I semi approve of.
Pizza Capricciosa: Not fresh at all, terrible. 14"? Nah, it's more like a 12" of pre cooked "pizza," with mozzarella, ham, mushroom, artichoke & olives. It tasted floury. No semolina/cornmeal on the bottom. This is where they could have used some fresh oregano to make the sauce have some flavor.
It felt and tasted like overcooked vegetables on top of a prepackaged dough that they just reheated.
5. Parking: dreamy, huge lot, plenty of open spaces... because No One Wants To Be Here?
6. Phone? Good luck getting ahold of anyone. The number goes straight to the hotel answering system. It's a maze of navigation to try to reach the restaurant, probably 10-20 minutes of hold time. Why don't they have a direct line?
7. Why are you closed for lunch? This place is surrounded by a sprawling business district, with tens of thousands of people wanting good food for lunch. Time to change things up!?
8. Notes to Management: Start Over!
a. It's so gloomy inside, all the curtains are closed, there's no tables on the small patio outside.
The restaurant is on the Topanga side of the hotel. One of the busiest streets in all of Los Angeles. People driving by don't even know that it exists. The sign for the restaurant Blends in with the Battleship Gray color of the whole hotel. CHANGE THE SIGN.
Get some sparkly lights out there, and a BIG Bright sign in a catchy color.
b. Your interior needs an entire makeover. I feel like I'm walking into a Tomb at the cemetery. Plants? Greenery? MUSIC? It would have been nice if there was some Italian music playing in the background, or some classy contemporary... anything.
c. Your food is drowning in itself. Ease up on the sauce, please. A light coating is all you need.
AND Teach your chefs about presentation. You could have skewered the shrimp, and then just done one Thin Line of sauce in a zigzag across the top, with maybe a spoonful of sauce on the side of the plate.
Will I be back? Not anytime soon. Sorry. Maybe in 6 months I'll make a return and see if there has been some dramatic changes. But I refuse to pay another $100 plus for slop. read more