Josie

Only if you like worms in your food

by sarawik

We ate here a couple of months ago. At first, I was quite impressed. The cocktails were intresting and we had an enjoyable appetizer. My husband ordered some sort of beef for his main course. I wanted to try it so he put some of it on my plate. Right before I took a bite, I noticed a small green worm crawing around on it. My husband got the waiter's attention and demanded that he remove all the food from our table. The manager came out a somewhat appologized stating that they use organic greens (as if this was some sort of excuse). The worst part of it all was although they took my husband's dinner off of our bill, they still charged us for mine even though I only had three bites.

Food Was Just OK, but Good Cocktails

by eurobritt

My boyfriend and I went to Josie last night after reading great things in Los Angeles magazine and on citysearch, but have to say were disappointed. We eat out frequently, always trying to experience new restaurants with an open mind and a mutual love of good food. The interior, first of all, was a little outdated and somewhat blah, however, that could easily become "easy going" or "down to earth" if the food was outstanding. I enjoyed the lack of LA "scene" and the humility of the place, thinking that the focus must be 100 percent on the food. But no. We split two appetizers: the wild mushroom sandwich and the fig & goat cheese tart. The wild mushroom sandwich was great, really creamy, earthy and comforting. The tart on the other hand was boring. There was no goat cheese flavor really and the overall taste was unimpressive. We shared the tagine of short ribs and the white fish as the entrees. The tagine was good, average good, not like "we are coming back here for this dish" good. It could have used more potent moroccan flavors and spice, but hinted at the exotic rather than achieving it. The Israeli cous cous in the short ribs was fun texturally, but also lacklustre in flavors. The fish was boring. It was slightly fishy (as in not fresh-white fish should be mild and flaky). There was no real marinade, infusion or sauce on the fish to compliment it either. The vegetables underneath were good though, a mixture of beans, tomatoes and artichoke hearts. Oh, and we ordered a side of truffle fries. Truffle + fry should equal heaven, but at Josie not so. Once again, the fries were boring both in texture and flavor. They were barely truffle-y at all, and I had to squint and imagine truffle taste while eating them. The trio of creme brulee were boring too. I don't know why anyone would make a creme brulee with a barely there carmelized sugar top; that's the best thing about creme brulee and the best part was not capitalized on. Too bad.

• Pros: Good cocktails
• Cons: boring food, boring interior

SUPERB

by GILS

I recomend everything on the menu!

My own experience:

As appetizer the roasted quail was cooked perfectly.....

The venison, cooked to a perfect medium-rare, and the short ribs with cous cous. And for dessert we ordered the chocolate bread pudding, which was AMAZING!!!!

If you haven't tried this restaurant you should.

great eclectic food in West L.A.

by jdtinla

I had a celebratory meal at Josie last week. Overall, a great meal and a great time. The service was very good.

We started (two of us, but hungry), with frogs legs, duck leg, and pork belly. All were excellent, though the pork belly skin should have been crisp, which it wasn't. They brought a sliver of wild mushroom quiche as an amuse bouche, which was also excellent.

We then shared the tagine of short ribs with cous cous and the venison. Again, both were excellent. The venison, though cooked to a perfect medium-rare, could have had a better crust on it. Again, the food was really excellent. We guilt the lily with the truffle fries, which we couldn't not resist eating, despite being nearly stuffed.

Though we ordered the chocolate bread pudding, they accidentally brought the trio of pots de creme to the table. My friend descended on them, so we ate them all before then tucking into the bread pudding. Again, great food.

I recommend the place highly. Easy parking and/or valet. Nondescript neighborhood, but lovely interior. Friendly staff. Monday nights they do not charge their usual $25 corkage, so we enjoyed a bottle of our own. Bon apetite!

• Pros: great food, good service, fair value, corkage-free Mondays, wheelchair-accessible

Wanted to love it

by jenlasyl

I had been looking forward to my first Josie experience. I came away very disappointed. The food was good. I had the duck which was wonderful. My husband had the venison so-so. The thing I was most disappointed with was the service. It baffled me. Were we being discriminated against because we were under 60? The waiter was very condescending when we asked for recommendations. We were left with no wine as our entrees arrived. Wow, I had really expected the service to be great. I really wanted to love this place and find a new neighborhood restaurant. Unfortunately, because of the service I will not be back.