Dusty's

10/04/09

I used to work there, as well.

by Eastsidebulldog at Citysearch

Hands down, worst job I've ever had. I still have bruises from where the owner used to pinch me (on that uber-sensitive part) to the back of my upper arm to get me to pick up the pace. Food was delicious, the space is gorgeous, the owner is nuts. Servers are not allowed to comp ANYTHING, or give you more bread, or, apparently, go home after severly burning themselves with hot coffee. So when your hipster waiter acts like he doesn't care and gives you crappy service, remember that he/she is probably miserable, and is more than likely going to cry when he gets home and possibly contemplate suicide. Or manslaughter.

• Pros: best veggie burgers ever
• Cons: hahhahahahah

05/14/09

Really bad dinner

by bonfire18 at Citysearch

Just had a really bad dinner at Dusty's last night. The waiter was trying hard, but obviously the kitchen wasn't helping. It took a REALLY long time to get our food, and it definitely wasn't worth the wait or the money. Mussels were cold, overcooked, dry, and had so much salt they were inedible. Salad wasn't any better. The side of Macaroni and Cheese was good, as was the bread, but not good enough to return to Dusty's. I won't be eating there again.

• Pros: Good Mac & Cheese
• Cons: Bad food, Long wait.

04/19/09

Nice and Cozy

by CindyinGlendale at Citysearch

I was dubious because of the bad reviews, but I had a great first experience. I don't give 5 stars easily. We had made a reservation for Sunday brunch. There was no wait. Had a wonderful blueberry mimosa (my first) and breakfast. The waiter was fun and friendly and provided great service. Warm bread, butter, jams and spreads were on the table instantly, coffee etc.. the food fantastic. I suppose the price was steep, but so are other places. Frau Bruja wasn't in attendance. If she was I'd ask her to correct the spelling errors on her website.. Especially misspelling "Dusty's" . All in all, I highly recommend this restaurant. Go there. It's warm, cozy and the food is great.

• Pros: Great service, warm and inviting atmosphere
• Cons: Valet Parking $4.50? There really weren't any cons!

03/31/09

I used to work there.

by c0pper1 at Citysearch

Frau from Hell, as the previous reviewer aptly refers to the owner, is all about the bottom line and cares little for her employees and only enough for her customers to get them to come back again and drink more mimosas.

If you get poor service here, blame the owner, not the staff! To her, comping meals when there is a problem is the ultimate sin; she'd go ballistic if you even asked. And don't even ask for substitutions! We had to BEG and she still treated us like children of slaves. Makes it hard to provide service with a smile.

Also, I know FOR A FACT that a good portion of the good reviews here are written by her, her family, or she coerced staff into doing it. She asked me to a few times, I refused.

• Pros: good brunch when it finally comes, pretty interior.
• Cons: insane owner, fake good reviews

12/22/08

Worst. Lunch. Ever.

by miller231 at Citysearch

My wife and I had gone there a couple times before, once for lunch and once for dinner. We found it to be only so-so, but the location was close to our respective offices. At any rate, we went there today to find that they were rather busy. Not to worry, the hostess assured us... and we, foolishly, believed her. Precisely 1:20 after we ordered - yes that's right, one hour and twenty minutes - our food miraculously arrived. Foolishly again, I asked to speak to the manager. Up came the Frau from hell who offered zero apologies, zero compensation, and merely demurred, "We're very busy today." The poor waiter did all he could do, which was to take one diet coke off the menu, but... truly, a miserable experience. We will not be eating there ever again.

• Pros: Takes less time than purgatory
• Cons: Manager trained by former SS guards

11/16/08

Horrible Experience-All Around

by sbear1979 at Citysearch

We went to Dusty's tonight and had a truly awful and very expensive experience that will lead me never to return to that place. It took us an hour to receive our first course. In the interim we ran out of water and had to ask for refills. Not one of the staff took the time to come over to our table and explain to us what was going on. It took us asking two times before we got someone to acknowledge that something had gotten screwed up. Our server gave us some lame excuse about the cooks getting the tables confused. This didn't make us feel any better. I am not a complainer and after years of working in the restaurant industry tend to roll with the punches and be very relaxed while on the receiving end. We asked to speak with the owner, who was equally as vague. It took us another 45 minutes to get our main course and all along the service was unapologetic and at times just completely absent. Once we received the food it was decent, but when the owner asked if it was worth the wait, I felt like saying "you really think this $15 plate of ravioli was worth waiting two hours?" After waiting another 10 minutes for one of our party to receive their fries, I got up to use the restroom to find the owner standing at the bar chatting and the fries in the kitchen window, waiting to be served. One of the owners excuses was that it was a big table. We had six people in our party, three of which did not order any drinks or starters. If a restaurant of Dusty's capacity cannot handle a six top on a Sunday night with a 1/4 full restaurant I would like to suggest that something is seriously wrong. The last straw was at the closure of our meal, there was absolutely no acknowledgement by staff or owner of the inconvenience of spending 3 hours and almost $300 to be treated as if we were nonexistent.

09/26/08

Dusty's was amazing once...

by trulyshae at Citysearch

In fact, it was the very first place my roommate and I stumbled into when we moved to LA two years ago. Unfortunately in the past 4 months all that has changed. Whether they sold the restaurant or brought in a new chef, who knows, but everything from the menu changes to their ingredient swapping has affected the overall customer experience and NOT for the better.

Unfortunately for those who dine there, the prices have remained in the upper stratosphere, but unlike when the food quality used to match the prices, customers these days will find their meals to be sorely lacking.

• Pros: Lovely decor, nice wait staff
• Cons: Expensive food for less than stellar quality

07/09/08

Beautiful place, but so-so

by tlo1223 at Citysearch

I don't know why I don't love Dusty's. The atmosphere was cozy. The wait staff was friendly and did their job. The food was good. Parking was easy. Maybe my big hang up is that the food is very expensive, but nothing special. It's good, but if I am paying 18 bucks for a burger and fries, I guess I expect phenomenal. I'm glad I tried this place once, but it wasn't mind blowing enough for a round two.

• Pros: Nice atmosphere, good service
• Cons: it was so-so for me

04/27/08

I love Dustys!

by maybell at Citysearch

This is such a great restaurant! The staff is so friendly and unpretentious and the food is consistently great.

I have tried many items on the menu including the turkey burger, salmon, various soups and salads and each one of them have been delicious.

Everyone I know agrees.....Dustys is a gem.

• Pros: Just about everything
• Cons: can't think of anything

04/22/08

Best neighborhood restaurant

by mrs_m at Citysearch

We have been coming here semi-regularly for about the past two years and have never been disappointed. These have all been dinner visits, so I cannot comment on the breakfast. The ambiance, wine and food are perfect. We always want to try new, nice places, but always end up at Dusty's.

• Pros: Atmosphere, service, delicious food and wine
• Cons: None