10/09/09

Over it

by foodieguy1234

My wife and I went to Vibrato last Saturday, and I can assure you it will be the last time I go there to eat. A man came by with a thick accent, who I assumed was some kind of manager. He came by before we had been served any food, and at that point everything was fine. I could see right through his insincerity and could tell he was just going through the motions of pretending to be concerned about guest service. My wife ordered the Veal, which was said to be a signature item. If you call an over cooked, dry, tasteless veal a signature, there's a problem. The thing was also HUGE, but let me tell you, giving someone a larger portion doesn't make up for the lack of quality. I ordered a dry aged filet mignon. The steak was over priced at $54 a la carte, and it was over cooked as I ordered it medium rare, and it came out looking mostly brown with just a slight pink in the middle. The server could tell we were unhappy, but I waited so long for the steak I was famished, and couldn't stand waiting for them to re-cook it. We looked around the dining room for the manager that had stopped by, but he was no where to be found. I guess he is aware of the sub par food they're serving so decides to evacuate the dining room when it gets busy. By the time we were thoroughly disappointed with the food, we both decided that being there for 2 hours to just be disappointed and over charged will result in a review like the one you're reading now.

• Pros: Great Music and atmosphere
• Cons: Over priced food, unaccomidating management

09/09/09

Best of the Best

by annmurphy

You can't beat Vibratos if you love Jazz, good food and great ambiance. We need a sixth star here!

• Pros: Beautiful surroundings, food, music and owner!

07/19/08

Excellent dinners for special occasions

by bpw7

Vibrato sometimes suffers from lackluster service. the food is very good though very expensive. Entrees are stand alone, no sides and the bill will shock you if you are not prepared.

02/18/08

Pricey but worth it for a fancy occasion

by foodloversarah

This place is a fun night out, but definitely for an older crowd overall. My boyfriend and I were there for Valentine's day to see some live jazz which was amazing, but the people next to us were celebrating their 56th wedding anniversary when we just graduated from college last year, and that was pretty much the average age there, minus two other younger couples, but as long as you are with a good conversation partner it is worth going. The food is VERY WELL done but a bit pricey with the cheapest entree at $28 but there is no cover for the live jazz so it evens out. The service was very good, but at times with the music it was hard to talk with my boyfriend across our table since our table was abnormally long. Go prepared to spend some money and make sure you call in advance to check what time the jazz shows are starting. Also try and ask for a booth table if possible which will give you and your date a better date experience. Great romantic spot either way up in the hills of bel air.

• Pros: great live jazz venue
• Cons: pricey VERY quickly

02/15/08

This Restaurant SUCKED!

by slivideo

I wish I had listened to the review about lazy service and overpriced food! We went on Valentine's Day (admittedly, not a good day to judge a restaurant) and waited forever to get seated. I was told that they had "120 people on the waiting list" but when we arrived there were eight empty tables downstairs. We waited for over an hour to get seated upstairs away from the stage where there were another 6 empty tables (even though there were many open tables downstairs).

The food wasn't bad but the service was extremely poor. An 18% gratuity was automatically added to the $125 per person fixed price menu so the waiter had no incentive to provide good service. We waited 20 minutes between courses while the people next to us came in 1/2 hour later and were served before us.

The oysters and the steak were OK but not worth the $125 price per person for four skimpy courses. The drinks are overpriced, though good, and the band played for about 45 minutes of the two hours we were there.

The upshot is that we paid $450 for two people to sit in a corner of a half-empty restaurant and get ignored. I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone and I won't be back. IGNORE THIS REVIEW AT YOUR OWN PERIL! For this kind of money, go to FOGO de CHAO and enjoy a fabulous meal instead.

• Pros: not much
• Cons: poor service, overpriced

01/31/08

Romantic and good food

by finedine2008

If you are a Jazz lover, this is definitely the place for you.

Even you are not much of a Jazz or Classical music person, the food here is remarkable.

The crispy duck is awesome, the skin is crispy and the duck meat is very tender.

The Grilled filet mignon is also magnificant

01/07/08

lazy sevice, bad food and overpriced

by shar77

One of the worst resturants I have ever been too. We had a reservation at 9:00 and just had to wait 40 minutes to order drinks and dinner. Well 90 minutes later we received our beet salad that was highly recommended which tasted like nothing. Literally it was one beet cut in 4 pieces. For dinner we had the filet which was one of the worst pieces of steak we had ever had. It was cold and way over cooked and tasted like a expensive frozen dinner. Anyways $700 later for a party of six for unedible food and terrible service this is not a place to recommend.

12/28/07

A hidden GEM!!!

by omdspace

Hidden away in the middle of bellaire, this l'il gem of a restaurant is a MUST try. The live jazz on the stage each and every night adds so much to the ambiance that you could literally just go there and order a bottle of wine, enjoy great conversations with your friend(s) and be able to thoroughly enjoy yourself. The acoustic of the restaurant is amazing and not overwhelming as in other places that you won't be able to hear your company. And that's just about the music. The food was amazing with a wide selection of wines and delicious dishes. Haven't had a single bad one yet. The wait staff is stupendous, welcoming and will help you pick out, if needed, what you will enjoy from appetizers to entrees to the right wine for your meal without the typical pretentiousness of LA. This is in fact where I proposed to fiancee and it's a definite gem. If you haven't been here, you will want to, I promise you.

• Pros: EVERYTHING! From the music to the food to the wine to the service. Everything was top-notched
• Cons: NONE

11/08/07

Vibrato Vibrations!

by dgc1987

My girlfriend and I went here as part of my birthday weekend. She surprised me with a place that I didn't even know about even though I pass it all the time. The food was great! I had chicken and potatoes. Somehow they put a terrific spin on this down home favorite. The drinks were pretty good as well and the Jazz was decent. The service was good and the ambiance was just as impressive as the food!

• Pros: Food
• Cons: None

09/16/07

Best intimate steakhouse...

by escrowprincess

This is by far one of the best dinner experiences of my life. My husband and I had such a great time. Tim our waiter was the greatest. Patient and very helpful with the recommendations. My husband had the double cut lamb chops with the mint jelly. Wow!! what a combination. It explodes in your mouth. He truly enjoyed every piece. I had the Alaskan Halibut and it was delicious! We also enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine after our meal, which made the experience even better. We enjoyed the Jazz and stayed till closing time. And did I mention we saw quite a few celebrities? Parking was a breeze. We got lucky on finding a spot as the lot was full at around 9pm. The drive back home was amazing, as we drove back through Mulholland Drive and the views were spectacular! I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a great dinner experience.

• Pros: Great Food, Music, Drinks and get to dine with celebrities =)
• Cons: Need to make reservations ahead of time, as it gets booked quickly. You may walk-in, but expect to wait for a bit.