Kendall's Brasserie & Bar

04/21/12

No problems here; In and Out for my show

by Young N Reckless

This was my first time dining here and I would probably recommend to a friend and return myself. My friend and I arrived for dinner 10 minutes prior to 7 o' clock. We had an 8 o'clock show at the Ahmanson Theatre. The restaurant was pretty busy, but there was no wait. My friend and I were able to have non-alcoholic beverages, soup, appetiizers, and our entree in the hour before our show. The server, Rachel M., was attentive as well as the guy refilling my ice tea. The server made sure we didn't miss our show without making us feel rushed. Some would say the food is a little pricey, but I thought it was average. If you're going to the Ahmanson Theater or Disney Hall, this restaurant is conveniently located within walking distance. The reason I gave this review a 3 out of 5 star is because there was trash next to my table upon being sat which my server recognized and quickly picked up; my friend's iced tea did not come with a straw but mine did, and lastly there was a person walking through the restaurant which looked to be of management personnel, but never once stopped at our table to see if everything was okay (probably because we looked young.) Overall, I enjoyed the atmosphere, food, quality, and service. I would probably go back again if I was in the area.

03/13/10

COCKROACHES and other Delicacies

by Monsieur Rongeur Reports

I dined this week at Kendall’s due to its convenient location to the theatre even though past experience has taught me that the food is overpriced & below average. Little did I know that while I ate the tiniest saltiest portion of hot salmon served cold & my friend was trying to make excuses for the undercooked flank steak smothered in burnt shallots & garnished with soggy fries, that the table next to me was about to experience every diner’s nightmare.

A lovely lady, enjoying her wine & salad, suddenly erupted & jumped up in a scream that instantly revealed a three inch long cockroach stranded upside down alongside her pale green salad. Talk about a garnish. She explained that the cockroach fell from the ceiling or crawled onto her from the ledge behind her neck, travelled along her blonde hair which she mildly touched thinking a draft was disturbing her locks, finally to reveal itself as six legs crawling along the underside of her chin at which point she quickly jerked her hand against her neck and out flew our pale brown winged friend bouncing first into the salad & then out onto the table.

After dousing herself with Purell she received her mushroom risotto which she didn’t touch, an unfortunate unpredictable earlier order since the mushrooms mimicked a close kinship in size and color to the cockroach served earlier. Insert gag reflex here. She did accept a complimentary second glass of red wine and I have a feeling she could have imbibed a third. We all could have. A bottle on the house would have been more appropriate. The woman on the other side of them was visibly shacking as she was escorted with her date to another section of the restaurant. Doubtful she enjoyed her bland French onion soup no matter where she sat. She must have been thinking, “What’s beneath all that crusty Gruyere?” Well, whatever it is, it'll blend right in.

My table, for having been offered the best view of the upside down wiggling roach, legs extending upwards desperate for a salad leaf to right itself into flying position, was not even offered an apology, not even a glancing excusez moi monsieurs. Still, the husband had to pay for his meal! Oh, Mon Dieu! I couldn’t help but think of comparisons to Victor Victoria when the waiter turns to the male guest & says, “There is still the matter of your bill Monsieur. There was no cock-a-roach in your salad.” When you pay this amount for food, it’s not just the food you pay for – in this case it’s definitely not - it’s the ambience and suffice it to say Kendall’s has become a hot dog stand. My apologies to the famous American sausage.

As we all left together having made fast new friends we passed the manager & the hosts at the front of the restaurant who managed only a tight small smile. When the Lady of the Cockroach passed by she politely giggled, “It was an interesting evening ,” & nothing much else could be said, especially not by management who stared back at us, frozen in time, perhaps from our warp speed escape. It’s obvious neither the evening’s management nor the Patina Restaurant Group knows how to exhibit grace under pressure, quality control, or sanitation requirements. As we left through the wide restaurant doors it was just tight lips pressed up against us and in this town of gossip I couldn’t have prepared a better dish. Bon Appétit.

• Pros: At least the doors are wide enough for a quick escape
• Cons: If it doesn't come with Anntenae, it's just not Patina

12/13/09

Hit or Miss

by Countplato

Having been here several times, there was a time I would have given it five stars, but over the years (really since the economy started to tank), so has the service and food. You occasionally get a great server, but overall, the quality of the food is hit or miss. I really don't like the way the slap bread on the table with just wax paper. Can't they afford bread baskets?

• Pros: Ambiance is excellence
• Cons: Service and food aren't consistent

10/18/09

Just Okay.

by PrimeBeefLover

I'll admit this right off the bat...my wife demanded that I publish this review.

It was our anniversary and we were attending a dynamite play at the Ahmanson and we always eat French on our anniversary. Boy were we stoked!

We had arrived ten minutes early for our reservation and were seated quickly. Nice place, and were given a large romantic table so we sat side by side with a view of the whole dining room. The only issue with the ambiance was the statues of the singing children- located in the corner- kind of caught my wife's attention with the Linda Blairish look on one of the statue's faces. But I digress.

I had no problem with the service whatsoever. Efficient and attentive, although, our server's personality was somewhat distant and robotic. No problem.

The Calamari appetizer arrived while I washed up in the obviously undersized bathroom. It was very tender and I thought it was rather good but my wife thought it was tasteless and neither the Chipotle Marinara nor the Dijon sauces reconciled that for her.

For entrees, I had the Chateu Steak (w/Bearnaise) with Frites and Watercress. For a $27.00 steak dish, I'm not too disappointed. Had worse, had better. The fries were drizzled with oil/garlic and came with ketchup. No complaints there.

My wife was obviously disappointed with her chicken dish because she constantly compared it to the rotisserie chicken we enjoy from our local Ralphs. If it wasn't such a special occasion, I probably would have come right out and told her that she need not pull her critique punches because the chicken we get from Ralphs is more juicy, tender, and flavorful than what she was making the best of. The samples she gave me were dry and "just okay".

Would we come here again? No. It wasn't a total disappointment for me, but, I wrote this for a reason.

• Pros: Location, Ambiance
• Cons: Food Quality

02/22/08

Avoid it if you want to go to a show

by mryan9530

I am not surprised by the bad reviews for Kendall's. I had an amalgam of the experiences of the other (bad) reviewers - food is ok but nothing special and overpriced, kitchen is agonizingly slow, staff is not particularly helpful, and any problem is always caused by someone else.

This is a restaurant which is IN the Music Center. They should be aware that their location makes them a prime spot for people to eat before the opera or a play -- why else would they be packed at 6 pm? I am not in the habit of waiting 35 minutesafter the salad for a main course to be delivered - we sat down at 6:10, ordered right away, got salad pretty quickly, and then waited until 6:55 for the main course.

Note to staff - "making a 7:30 curtain" does not mean running out of the restaurant, into the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion just upstars, racing up the stairs and getting into my seat by 7:29. Also, a line of 5 people at the ladies room? Perhaps this is a clue that the restroom is too small for the number of tables.

I will not be going back to Kendall's, either before a show or any other time. I would rather just bring a sandwich - at least I know I will be able to have a pleasant meal before the show.

• Pros: Location is good for the Music Center
• Cons: Slow service makes its location pointless