Karen Leah Simon Sofitel Los Angeles

Recommends

StephKudus

Joined 5 years ago

Decent food, Great ambience. I went there for lunch and felt that lunch at Simon was rather decent. They met my expectations however, did not exceed them. The ambiance is beautiful and is a great place to enjoy the afternoon and eat at your own pace.

I had the eggplant patties as my appetizer which I felt was good but was rather sweet. Their salmon salad was rather small for a entree and their dessert was decent. They gave us cotton candy at the end which I felt was a nice touch as it reminded me of old times, good ending to a decent meal. :)

Service was very prompt. Our drinks were filled as soon as it met the half line. One thing I must point out is that I get very ticked off when waiters bring the bill before I am finished with my dessert. I happen to find it rude and absolutely unnecessary especially when the restaurant is not busy. I would probably go back as I found the food very decent and I think SimonLA has more to offer me the next time I return. However, they should pay attention to finer details to ensure customers a great dining experience.

Doesn't Recommend

chaselangford

Joined 8 years ago

Flavorless Food. Nice staff & service but I have never had such bland food. The ribs were utterly tasteless as though they had been boiled for 10 hours. Even the onion rings rendered no flavor. My 3 other dining guests concurred. Sorry to write a bad review. I'll never go back.

Doesn't Recommend

sabrinaluxwright

Joined 7 years ago

I will never go back. I went to Simon when it first opened and had a very nice meal, good food, fun atmosphere, and good service. Like many places after the reviews were in, it went completely downhill. We had one of the worst meals I've had in Los Angeles -- $257 and only 3 drinks were purchased and no dessert. I had the Tuna Dynamite that is recommended on this sight several times - it was disgusting. The rice was old, the sauce was bitter, the tuna didn't taste good, and the crab just tasted like mayo. Another person had the tuna tartar, which with quality fish can't taste that bad- it was bland and just tasted like oil. Two of my fellow dinners had the salmon which was fishy and undercooked. One of us ordered the corn pancakes and braised ribs. The ribs had too much sauce, so you could taste nothing about the meat and the pancakes were boring - no yummy corn kernals, nothing -just pancakes and meat? Even the table breads weren't good. The biscuits tasted like baking soda or a mix from a box. The only good thing were the cocktails and for that I can spend 30 in the bar and not waste a meal out. I was really disappointed. My experience was so disappointing I couldn't even bring myself to spend $8 a Cotton Candy gimmick. I think the Iron Chef burger needs to go on the dinner menu and they need to start their menu over!

Recommends

Martha Burr

Joined 10 years ago

Rock star chef brings American cuisine to the revamped Sofitel hotel.. In Short
Building on the energy of his Vegas hot spot, Kerry Simon has created a sophisticated room dramatically balancing minimalism with soul. Red glass and steel lamps glow off neutral tones as wood screens separate tables and booths. An open-kitchen theater adds to the spectacle. Hotel families enliven early evenings and the hipster crowd takes over as the night goes on. The menu focuses on American cuisine with West Coast accents of Asian and Mediterranean flavors--and a nod to comfort food. Silky bluefin tuna tartare comes infused with fragrant lemongrass oil, while thin-shaved filet mignon carpaccio tops a crusty pizza with arugula, bleu cheese and truffle oil. Homemade ricotta dumplings are subtly seasoned with tarragon, and the 20-ounce cowboy rib-eye is aged and seasoned. Desserts offer a sly rock n' roll kitsch--the "junk food sampler" features cupcakes, pink snoballs, cotton candy, milkshake and warm cookies.

Recommends

montrealgirl

Joined 6 years ago

Great food, beautiful presentation in a eye pleasing, comfortable atmosphere. I am always looking for great food and to be honest, LA has truly disappointed me in that area.

This restauarant was very enjoyable. Comfortable, relaxing outdoor seating, the service was topnotch! Friendly and extremely competent! Which is rare in this city!!

My lamb was delicious and so were my drinks:)

I will definitely be back!

Recommends

teddy101

Joined 6 years ago

Amazing Tuna Dynamite. Best tuna dish in LA. Kerry Simon is an amazing chef and this place lives up to all the hype. THere is amazing interior design by Yabu Pushelberg architects. The great thing as well is the restaurant sits right next to Rose Bar so you can easily grab a drink after dinner. I would recomened one of the private rooms that a great for birthday parties. Its a little on the pricey end ($40 entrees) but the meat dishes we had were excellent. And you see kerry cooking in the kitchen which was super cool.

Recommends

ny2lafoodie

Joined 6 years ago

Lives up to the hype!. Simon LA was a huge surprise. I was thinking it may be all atmosphere and so so food. Luckily, I was sooo wrong. It was amazing! The tuna dynamite can only be described at "Katsuya on Crak" --amazing. I had the halibut and my boyfriend had the short ribs. Cooked perfectly and what really surprised me--is very good sized portions. Even the bread basket was amazing. Mini pretzel bread and mini corn muffin squares. For dessert we had the banana chocolate cake that came with a mini glass of vanilla milk shake and 2 straws. Not only was it fun but it tasted so amazing--perhaps they make their own ice cream because it really was amazing. And after dinner, it was perfect to be able to wander into the Stone Rose. It made for a perfect night out. One thing to note: Make sure to have th restaurant validate your parking ticket. That way you only pay $5 for the parking instead of $11 and its kind of a pain if its crowded to have to go back in again if you forget to get it vallidated.. Execellent, Excellent

Recommends

stumptownie

Joined 7 years ago

Excellent lunch from start to finish. We were a little concerned after we saw all the negative reviews here, but our lunch at Simon was a wonderful experience. The hostess was warm and friendly, and service was attentive but inobtrusive. The tuna dynamite and heirloom tomato-burrata salad were delicious appetizers. My husband had the filet mignon "cobb" salad for his main course, which was well executed. I had the angus burger. It was very good, but as my husband said, a burger half the size at 2/3 the price would be even better. It's absolutely enormous, and I think it was about $17.

It wasn't on the dessert menu, but we asked for the junk food sampler and the kitchen delivered. What a blast!

Some random thoughts....

Loved the bread basket. The little rolls taste like soft pretzels, and the oniony cornbread was delish.

Loved the bathroom! Whoever designed the ladies room put as much care into the design and materials in there as most places put into the main restaurant. The diningrooom is beautiful, and we had a great view of everything from our circular banquette.

We were a little concerned about the valet parking, so we parked across the street at the mall for $1! I highly recommend this option if you're not in heels.

Simon ain't cheap. Lunch for two without any alcohol was over $100. Still, the food was excellent, the service top notch, and the ambiance fantastic.

Doesn't Recommend

alphababy

Joined 7 years ago

Expensive, Gross Food at The Restaurant, Total Disappointmen. I didn?t stay in the hotel, but went to the restaurant for dinner. $50 buck for my meal (just the meal, without any drinks), and it was one of the most disgusting meals I have had in quite a while. The meat had fat on it, the portions were ridiculously small (they had the nerve to say ?salad? when really they served literally 9 leaves of lettuce, I?m not kidding, I counted!), and the service was crappy (despite the fact that I was the ONLY person sitting outside. They didn?t refill my drink and didn?t even check on me to see if everything was ok. I would never eat here again nor would I recommend it. On a side note? if you are going to charge pretentious prices, at least live up to expectation.

Recommends

nycgrlnewtola

Joined 7 years ago

They made our night really special.. Service - fast, attentive, friendly, funny, good recommendations.

Food - took server's recommendations, so we got the best of the best. Margarita pizza, tuna dynamite and tomato goat cheese soup were the highlights of the appetizers; ahi tuna and shortribs for the entrees; junk food dessert platter with fresh peanut butter ice cream...

We will be back!