Hardly anything in Los Angeles is "walking distance." You have to drive EVERYWHERE. But I am lucky to live within walking distance of Restaurant Row, a strip of La Cienega that is home to several high-end, well-known restaurants. They are considered some of the best of the best restaurants in the city- from sushi and Korean BBQ, to Brazilian, Mediterranean, and even one entirely devoted to garlic. I drive past the whole row every day on my way home from work, and they all look so fancy and SMELL so delicious.
I just knew that if I moved away from this apartment and I didn't take advantage of eating at all these places, I would regret it. So below are my (abbreviated) thoughts on each of the Restaurant Row spots I've been able to hit so far.
Woo Lae Oak
The Bazaar by Jose Andres
Tapas
PROS: Phenomenal and diverse menu, tapas style is great for sharing, beautiful interior, “mobile dining experience” where you move to a smaller room with couches for dinner, traditional Spanish flan, matchbooks (for the collection)
CONS: Very crowded valet (luckily we walked), extremely expensive
HIGHLIGHT: Philly cheese steak starter, “magic” mojito poured over cotton candy instead of using simple syrup
OVERALL : This place has definitely earned its reputation. Normally too expensive for me, their Restaurant Week menu was vast and we left incredibly full.
5 stars out of 5
Traditional Spanish Flan was amazing. I was too busy stuffing my face to take pictures of anything else.
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Fogo De Chao
Brazilian churrascaria steakhouse
PROS: All-you-can-eat, Top-grade cuts of meat, speedy service with people coming by every few seconds offering even more meat, high-end salad bar
CONS: One price - $58 - to eat as much or as little as you want. Works for someone like my boyfriend who can eat 4 times as much as me. But for me it was expensive.
HIGHLIGHT: The different salads at the salad bar, beef ribs and bottom sirloin
OVERALL : It was good food, but really expensive. I would prefer a place that would charge a flat fee but with a limit on how much meat you get, that way I would be paying for only what I ate.
4 stars out of 5
A table full of food - clockwise from bottom: plantains, mashed potatoes, and a plate full of meat.
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Korean BBQ
PROS: High quality meats, fresh veggies
CONS: Extremely slow service, never even filled up my water!
HIGHLIGHT: Short ribs, glass noodle appetizer
OVERALL: More expensive and less authentic than Korean BBQ in Koreatown, which is just a few miles away.
3 stars out of 5
Notice my empty water glass!
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Gonpachi
Sushi/Japanese
PROS: Beautiful courtyard garden eating area complete with koi pond, 50%-off happy hour menu, awesome soft after-dinner mints, you can watch a chef making soba noodles
CONS: Happy hour menu was limited (alcohol wasn’t included!), normal prices are over-inflated
HIGHLIGHT: Asian chicken wings, salmon and spicy tuna soy wrap rolls
OVERALL: This is a fun place to go to Happy Hour, especially since the outdoor seating is so lovely.
3.5 stars out of 5
Clockwise from bottom: Asian chicken wings, albacore on crispy rice, garlic edamame, sweet potato fries
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Gyu-kaku
Japanese BBQ
PROS: Amazing all-day Monday happy hour, generous portions of meat
CONS: Large tables with grills in the middle make intimate conversation difficult
HIGHLIGHT: Yakishabu beef was seasoned (and then cooked by yours truly) to perfection, corn and zucchini were excellent when grilled
OVERALL: The menu is actually affordable even without the happy hour prices. The meats are seasoned excellently and the whole restaurant smells amazing from everyone cooking their different foods.
4 stars out of 5
Grilled corn soaking up all the yakishabu juices.
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Tanzore
Indian
PROS: Savory and spicy food, without being too spicy, nice interior layout and décor, decent prices
CONS: Some of the dishes were less authentic, to appeal to a more generic audience
HIGHLIGHT: Lamb briani was savory and delicious
OVERALL: The food was really good, with just the right amount of spice for me. It’s not fair to compare this to my friend’s mom’s homemade Indian cooking, but it definitely came pretty close.
4 stars out of 5
Love the bright colors! Clockwise from bottom: lamb briani, nan, baingan Bharta, Punjabi chicken curry
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The Stinking Rose
A Garlic Restaurant
PROS: Fun campy interior decor
CONS: Average food, average service
HIGHLIGHT: Only worth going to see the interior and the funny vampire-like waiters.
OVERALL: The scent of garlic will haunt you for days. Ew.
2 stars out of 5
Garlic prime rib
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Matsuhisa
Sushi
PROS: Fresh fish, world-famous chef’s menu
CONS: Overly expensive, tiny servings, very crowded, completely bland exterior
HIGHLIGHT: The kobe beef taco was insane, but it was literally 2 bites.
OVERALL: For $60 a person, you’d expect to leave stuffed, but we both left slightly hungry. Quality is unparalleled, but the crowd of fedora-wearing wannabe crowd was off-putting.
3 stars out of 5
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