Cafe Pinot
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Phone: (213) 239-6500
05/12/2008 Posted by antoinemonnier
Someone has beat me to it: hello there! I also went Sunday after subscribing to the Patina email list and had an unpleasant (to say the least) dining experience. There are far better dining options downtown. I notice many of the reviews seem over a year old, hence the 5-star rating here. Alas, that I'd only thought to look here before I went: A familiar story of a place that has sadly deteriorated. What was once a find and a recommendation to friends = an embarrasing recommendation when it is followed up on after the place has peaked. The service was inefficient, unprofessional in attitude, and I don't know how else to explain it--seemed confused. Much to our amusement we saw a waitress going towards a table and then stopping like she had forgotten something and turning around with a completely vacuous look on her face. A table next to us also had similar looks of discontent that seemed to grow as the interminable meal went on. Wrong orders came out. In fact, it seemed the host was more helpful in having things run smoothly (he actually came to the table and cleared off the plates; we were relieved at a sign of life). We were seated before another table but ended up being serviced later than they did. Finally the waiter just disappeared and other people were doing all the work--I imagined him chain smoking in the alley doing the crossword puzzles, at my expense. Now, the food. This was of course not the greatest day to sample the food, as we ordered off the prix fixe menu, but still. It was also another classic example that causes despair: Prettily plated with no grounding and appreciation for the real underlying essence of the food. I can't help but think of it as like getting a knock-off of what's really worth spending money on--the general crowd isn't really going to be able to discern a fake. The entrees were as confused as the wait staff, dessert cloying. We can only hope the general public may have enough sense to recognize rude service and look elsewhere.
Pros: They are not "pros" in any sense of the word
Cons: Perhaps there are some cons among them. But mostly they seemed to be in another time-dimension.
Write a review and share your thoughts with others
