12/27/08

I'm a Regular

by JenMarieL

Wow, I was reading the reviews of Cafe Pinot and was quite surprised to read about all the negative experiences. I live and work in Downtown Los Angeles and am proud to say that I am a regular at Cafe Pinot and I've happily NEVER experienced any of the negatives as stated in the other reviews.

I frequent many high end restaurants as I have an extensive interest in the culinary world and I've always found Cafe Pinot to be great food in a chic atmosphere. Don't get me wrong - I'm no food snob - good food is good food and can be found in many places. The reason that I became a regular is because the staff and the food are equally appealing. The current chef is innovative and I'm always interested in her latest creations. The grilled calamari salad with squash might not sound like a winning combination but it is; the soups are also excellent.; the desserts are appealing - the chef takes standards and gives them a twist - for instance making cheesecake with goat cheese gives it a unique tartness that I found very tastey. The menu does change and I'm sad to see items that have become my favorites leave , but excited to find new favorites. The waite staff is very attentive and they sincerely wish for you to have a great experience.

As far as location goes, it couldn't be better being at the cultural center of downtown - at the library. Parking is conveniently located in the underground garage and rates are reasonable compared to other DT lots.

Overall, I will continue to go to Cafe Pinot, and I'm proud to be a regular.

• Pros: Good Food and Good Service
• Cons: Traffic can be a challenge around the location.

09/19/08

Avoid this place

by porkjello

The head chef is insane. The Patina Group needs to re-evaluate who they place as head chefs in their restaurants. There is high turnover in the kitchen and it has resulted in a poor overall dining experience.

• Cons: Fire the head chef

05/12/08

I signed up for City Search just to complain about this place

by antoinemonnier

Someone has beat me to it: hello there! I also went Sunday after subscribing to the Patina email list and had an unpleasant (to say the least) dining experience. There are far better dining options downtown. I notice many of the reviews seem over a year old, hence the 5-star rating here. Alas, that I'd only thought to look here before I went: A familiar story of a place that has sadly deteriorated. What was once a find and a recommendation to friends = an embarrasing recommendation when it is followed up on after the place has peaked. The service was inefficient, unprofessional in attitude, and I don't know how else to explain it--seemed confused. Much to our amusement we saw a waitress going towards a table and then stopping like she had forgotten something and turning around with a completely vacuous look on her face. A table next to us also had similar looks of discontent that seemed to grow as the interminable meal went on. Wrong orders came out. In fact, it seemed the host was more helpful in having things run smoothly (he actually came to the table and cleared off the plates; we were relieved at a sign of life). We were seated before another table but ended up being serviced later than they did. Finally the waiter just disappeared and other people were doing all the work--I imagined him chain smoking in the alley doing the crossword puzzles, at my expense. Now, the food. This was of course not the greatest day to sample the food, as we ordered off the prix fixe menu, but still. It was also another classic example that causes despair: Prettily plated with no grounding and appreciation for the real underlying essence of the food. I can't help but think of it as like getting a knock-off of what's really worth spending money on--the general crowd isn't really going to be able to discern a fake. The entrees were as confused as the wait staff, dessert cloying. We can only hope the general public may have enough sense to recognize rude service and look elsewhere.

• Pros: They are not "pros" in any sense of the word
• Cons: Perhaps there are some cons among them. But mostly they seemed to be in another time-dimension.