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- Neighborhoods:
- Hollywood, Central LA
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East Restaurant & Lounge
What Our Expert Scouts Say
October 25, 2009
Go East My Friend....
I am a sucker for ambiance and East did the trick. The restaurant’s modern gothic eco inspired feel can only be experienced first hand- candles everywhere, cavernous booths, brown chunky wooden objects set against white bulbous brick. The rooms all have a prominent skylight and are sprinkled with green leafy trees that contrast energy and light against the gotham feel. More than anything, I walked in and it felt like a special occasion, a Saturday night was about to begin!
Let’s talk about the food- one word WOW. I took on a mission of trying a talked about LA restaurant every week for the past 5 months and thought this was the best food across the board. I have become skeptical of the pan-asian, family style experience after a few too many hot nyc restaurants (all located in Chelsea) began to feel cookie cutter, oily and generally overrated. East is not like the rest.
The restaurant recommends sharing and so do I as you don’t want to miss any item on the menu. My favorites were the Lobster brioche, drunken tofu (my husband even loved this dish and he usually stays away from tofu with a 10 foot pole), miso mustard walu sashimi (truly butter melting in my mouth, I could have had 10 plates of this alone). I also loved the Black Cod, Saigon Won Ton, gingered sweet potatoes, mushrooms and purple thai risotto. The drinks and desserts were delicious too. Honestly, every dish we tried was excellent.
We did manage to rack up quite a bill as we were enraptured in every dish and felt inspired to order more. My only other caution is the traffic. Hollywood blvd on a Saturday night can take a little time to navigate. Allocate enough time and definitely make the trip. It is worth it!
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Tips for East Restaurant & Lounge
May 10, 2010
Great design with amazing food.
Went to East for dinner few days ago. Love the food and the atmosphere !
Highly recommend their lamp chops.
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April 11, 2010
So Bad We Left Mid-Meal. The service was as slow as it gets. The food was delivered cold and each dish was nearly tasteless (the crabcakes were ok). Rather than completely blow a good evening we made an executive decision to stop mid-meal,got our check and went down the street for thai food. It was like leaving in the middle of a terrible movie.
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January 24, 2010
What a great experience.
Went to East for my birthday last week. They were so nice and were able to get me reservation even though they were very busy that evening.
As soon as i walked in, I was so impressed. The decor is amazing, the place look so cool and hip and full of good looking crowd (who said a restaurant should be all about the taste buds)
The food was as impressive and everyone in my group had such a great experience. I already set up my reservation for next week...
(The dinosaur eggs and the lamp chops are a must !)
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December 17, 2009
not as great as people say. despite rave reviews from friends and a top 10 award from citysearch's LA editor, i did not like this place. service was very slow and not attentive or proactive. of the 12 or so dishes we tasted, only a couple were memorable. the kobe steak took so long it was basically desert. not a repeater for me...
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December 04, 2009
Stylish choice in Hollywood!. Hollywood is still rough around the edges but it is well worth your time to go check out East. Great Japanese inspired menu. Try the dino egg. But valet your car!
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November 22, 2009
Good, but we don't need another tapas place!!.
The ambiance is terrific, the staff is very good, and the food is above average. However, our waiter said that the portions were smaller and "meant for sharing." OK, I don't get how those two concepts go together, but we played along. It's overpriced for the size of the portions. I hate the concept of paying $120 for dinner without drinks, and still feeling like I want to hit Taco
Bell 20 minutes later. Probably a much better venue for drinks. I guess in a place like this, you're paying for the environment and the crowd...the food--not so much. Good to try once.
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November 19, 2009
One of my new favorites!. I was a little skeptical of the flashy exterior and Hollywood Blvd location, but after taking one step inside, I fell in love with the atmosphere. Earthy, modern, sultry….one-of-a-kind, that’s for sure! We sat in the area between the front bar and back dinning room, which was pretty cool-you could really see everything going on in the restaurant. The tuna tostada and kobe steak were my personal favorites out of everything we sampled. Our waitress was very sweet (and pretty cute I must add). She knew the menu inside and out, and definitely helped make for a very enjoyable dinner. All in all, I have to say East was a success and I hope to be back for dinner soon!
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November 13, 2009
LACA Board Nomination Meeting at East Restaurant and Lounge.
I had the yellowtail Hamachi served with a green papaya salad; roasted garlic chili quail served over
sweet potatoes with asparagus and coconut salad; and lamb chops marinated in organic
agave honey and serrano chili, drizzled with an oyster glaze. Dessert was a bread pudding
served with ice cream.
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November 03, 2009
One of The Best in LA !.
I went to East with a very large group of friends, so we were very fortunate to basically have everything on the menu. From the moment we walked in, the decor is stunning. The front lounge would be a perfect place to have a after work cocktail & get a few bites to eat. Upon walking to the rear dining area the ambiance is unique. Truly something I have never seen in Los Angeles. This is a perfect spot to bring a date, or a big group before going out in Hollywood.
We had several waiters & waitresses & I can tell you that they were all friendly & worked very hard given that we had almost 20 people in our group. They were talkative & attentive with everything & everybody at the table. We never had empty water glasses, the dishes came out fast, hot & at a constant pace. Overall top notch service.
As for the food, it was some of the best I've ever had in Los Angeles. I consider myself a foodie, as I love to try new restaurants in LA, but everything was great. From the presentation to the taste on these dishes. They have very unique flavor here. It's not a high end trendy sushi place ala a Nobu or Katsuya, but something very distinct & rare.
We had :
Tuna Tostada - Tuna sashimi on a chip with Ponzu sauce with avocado & pickled onions. This was one of the table favorites ! You would never think it would blend as well as it does, but it was so very tasty.
Hamachi - A more traditional yellowtail sushi, though served with a spicy soy lime sauce. The sauce really helps this stand out from your traditional sushi places. It greatly enhances the dish, so that not only do you get the freshness of the fish, but a great blend of flavors.
Dinosaur Egg - Sounds funny & looked interesting when they first brought it to the table (perfect to have fun with a dinner with friends). The diced Albacore in a house Unagi sauce was full of flavor & succulent.
Kobe Beef Ensemble - The tartar Kobe beef scared me a bit, but from the people at the table who had it, said it was fantastic. Great texture & high end tartar meat.
Duck Shumai - A must have. It comes up 4 open pastry wrapped dumplings with shredded duck meat in the middle with a nice, sweet butter sauce. The taste was wonderful. Never had anything like it anywhere else. Scrumptious.
Bali Peppered Tuna - Perfectly prepared. When it came out it looked amazing. A very well done dish. If you like Tuna as a main course, highly consider this.
Sake Seared Scallops - Very fresh large scallops prepared with a sweet corn custard & coriander cream sauce. The scallops were large, tender, perfectly prepared. Texture was just right.
Black Cod - If you like fish, this is THE dish to get. This along with the skirt steak was the table favorite. We ended up getting 2nds & 3rds of this dish.
Habachi Style Kobe Steak - My personal favorite. The steak was soft, buttery smooth & the flavor was strong & bold. A great dish if you like steak/beef.
Prime Skirt Steak - The other table favorite along with the Black Cod. Juicy, tender, flavorful. Either this or the Kobe Beef steak are perfect for beef lovers.
Bread Pudding - This is THE dessert to get. I've never heard so many people RAVE about a dessert but when people had this they literally claimed it was a sexual experience (no joke- I laughed). People were literally liking the bowl clean, they liked it so much.
Overall one of the best restaurant experiences I have had in a LONG time in LA. If you want to get a DINING EXPERIENCE (& not just "go out") go to East. You won't regret the experience.
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East Restaurant & Lounge
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