Cafe Pinot
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Phone: (213) 239-6500
- Price:
- $$$
- Cross Street:
- Between S Flower Street and S Grand Avenue
- Best of Citysearch:
- BYOB Restaurant 2008
- Hours:
- Mon-Fri 11:30am-2:30pm, 5pm-9:30pm, Sat 5pm-10pm, Sun 4:30pm-9pm
Editorial Review for Cafe Pinot – by Jennifer Perez
The Scene
Like clockwork, downtown's power broker elite spill out of the city's skyscrapers at noon and 5pm sharp to grab a leisurely lunch or dinner at this window-walled cafe. Located a stone's throw from the Central Library, it attracts a who's who of high-powered lawyers, local government officials and corporate darlings.
The Food
The cafe features a diverse menu of carefully prepared California French fare. The smoked salmon and pistachio pate with caviar, croutons and Romanoff sauce, has a mild, savory flavor and ultra-creamy consistency, while a tangy apple mustard sauce really draws out the juicy flavor of the restaurant's pork medallions. Diners fearful of being tempted by sinful sweets should avoid seeing the dessert menu at all costs (wave it off if you see it coming), as few can resist this slate of chocolate and fruit-focused treats.
Editorial content is independent of paid advertisers. Any expenses are paid for by Citysearch.
Insider Tips
Know Before You GoDon't use the numeric address to find Cafe Pinot--it's on the corner of Flower and Fifth.
Save TimeAvoid the long lunch lines at the pick-up window and go before 12pm or after 1pm.
The ExtrasOne of the best places for adults to eat grown-up meals and satisfy the kids (and the pocketbook): Kids 12 and under eat for free.
User Reviews for Cafe Pinot
05/12/2008 Posted 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.
05/11/2008 Posted by xeroxx
Horrible experience. I took my mother here for mother's day. The entire "brunch" took 2 hours! They kept serving the wrong plates to the wrong person and service was abysmally slow. The waitress I had seemed completely indifferent and the waiters were standing at the hostess desk arguing about who could take their break. As the tip was included I couldn't express my dissatisfaction through leaving a tip. I strongly do NOT recommend this restaurant--made a day that should have been special into a complete disaster. Feel disrespected in the lack of professionalism, slow service, mistakes and the food was only passable. Whoever manages this place should pay attention to how the customers are treated. Especially as the waitress did not bring to our attention the tip was included and then actually said "but feel free to leave more. Took 15 minutes after being seated just to get water. One person kept getting served 5-10 minutes after everyone else. ??? This was a 3 course meal that took two hours, complete with flies in the restaurant. Atrocious.
Pros: ??? This was a complete waste of money and time
Cons: I spent over 300 bucks on a terrible meal
