Forbidden City
Hollywood, CA 90028
Phone: (323) 461-2300
- Price:
- $
- Cross Street:
- Hollywood Boulevard
- Hours:
- Tue-Sun 11:30am-2am
Editorial Review for Forbidden City – by Lesley Balla
In Short
The owner of El Cid and the Larchmont transformed this former banquet hall into a versatile nightspot. Dining rooms are dressed in racy crimson and the Capital Records building towers over a spacious patio. A basic Chinese-American menu starts with crispy spring rolls and breaded shrimp in portions large enough to share. Entrees are dominated by rice and noodle dishes, like kung pao chicken chock-full of bell peppers and onions; beef chow mein; and house-specialty pineapple fried rice.
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Insider Tips
What to DrinkAlong with a full bar, the restaurant emphasizes its hot tea selection, which includes Chinese green tea, Hong Kong specialty tea and "The Forbidden City's House Tea."
User Reviews for Forbidden City
04/18/2008 Posted by unex315
Ended up here by default for dinner before a show at the Pantages, only because there are very few other options near the theatre. The food is way overpriced for what you get and where you are - $11 for a small plate of chow mein with about two snap peas and a big chunk of onion in it, and prices go up from there. I left hungry and with an MSG headache. I don't have a problem with little hole-in-the-wall restaurants that serve bad chineese food, as long as they charge accordingly and don't pretend they are something more glamourous than they are. The ambiance was really creepy, with the decor consisting of a disco ball and not much else. Disco and chinese food, together at last! The room is cavernous and felt dirty and looked as though they were either just moving in, or getting ready to shut down. There is a large empty area in front of the bar which probably gets populated during night-club hours, but adds an unsettling, incomplete feel if you are there to dine. The tables are awkwardly arranged in lines so that if you are seated in the center you feel like you're floating out on an island. Service was nothing remarkable. Waiter was a bit aloof, and seemed irritated that we ordered only water to drink and not an expensive cocktail. You would do better grabbing a slice of pizza at one of the little locations down the street, which is what I wish I had done.
Pros: They put a slice of lemon in your water
Cons: Bad food, bad ambience
04/15/2008 Posted by armyant2cute
I had heard about Forbidden City and wanted to go there (not to eat, but for the nightlife) . So I look it up on the internet. The pictures are really nice and classy. I noticed that all of the pictures of the people clubbing were from 2006. but I figured it wouldn't be THAT different. So my friends and I get DRESSED to go to this nice Hollywood club. I park in the parking lot around the corner for only $15. And right before we get out of the car, we see a girl with her @$$ hanging out of the bottome of her dress. And I'm not talking the bottome on her cheeks, but like 2 to 3 inches of @$$ literally hanging out. We were hoping she was headed to another club. We get to the line, the bouncers let us get in front (which was really cool). Inside was nothing like the pictures. The colors were the same but it looked like they hadn't bought anything new since 2006. The people were hood as hell. There were girls in wife beater and flip flops. (who wears flip flops to a club?) The guys were like hounds and wanted to grab on you. And if you didn't dance wit them, they talked about or gave you dirty looks. This was my first and last experience here. Good luck if you do decide to go.
Pros: bouncers were nice
Cons: Everything else
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