11/05/09

A bit over rated

by Veracruz25

A friend of ours choose this place for our monthly "get out of the house" dinner date.

1. I read the reviews and prepared the 6 of us that the service was sub-par...reviews were correct

2. One of the very few places were chips have to be purchased.

3. Drinks were delivered fast and tasty.

4. 3 inch diameter tacos...not so good.

5. Automatically charged 18% gratuity for a group of six. Correct me if I am wrong, but gratuity is for great service right....not mediocre service.

• Pros: Tasty drinks
• Cons: Service, portion size...what I have to pay for chips!!!

09/22/09

Good Brunch Deal

by Madss

Malo has a really really good breakfast on the weekends. And they have a full bar, if you're in the mood for a Bloody Mary. They have Mexian specials and your standard bacon and eggs for around $7. Not good if you're looking for a busy spot, but really tasty and good service.

• Pros: Good and fair priced weekend breakfast
• Cons: Almost always empty

06/01/09

amazing food, mediocre service

by stellarmonoceros

I have been coming to Malo for three years now and feel like I have a pretty good handle on it. First of all, let me say that this is hands down my FAVORITE restaurant in LA. The habanero & cream salsa, the guacamole, and the rojo enchiladas are my favorite items on the menu. Their margaritas are delicious and the cucumber water is a perfect compliment to any dish.

That being said, I'd like to point out that the service is HORRIBLE. My complaints are as follows:

1) With a large group they always take WAY too long and are inattentive. I recently waited over 50 minutes for a food order (group of 9 people) and two people from our party even walked out. We even mentioned to the server that we were pressed for time and they completely ignored us. My experiences here with a group have always been negative.

2) The bartenders are RUDE. Every time have sat at the bar or in one of the bar tables (at least 20+ times now) I have noticed that the bartenders are rude. Some of my friends chalk this up to them being too "silverlake" but I dont care. They ignore you until you flag them down and even then you cant get a smile or thank you out of them. I have tried over-tipping, engaging in conversation, etc...they dont budge. I have seen this with several of the bartenders there on a variety of shifts so they must be hiring them on purpose.

3) On at least 3 different occasions I have been sat (with a table of 2-4 persons) and ignored by our server for at least 20 minutes. With a very basic menu and ample staff this is just TOO LONG.

I continue to come to Malo because I love the food. For me, the quality of the food outweighs the fact that I expect poor service. However, I find myself driving across town (from West LA) less and less because I just cant justify spending $$ at a place that doesn't seem to want my business.

• Pros: great salsa, authentic menu, delicioius maragaritas
• Cons: horrible service