La Bodeguita de Pico

03/10/09

Great for hanging out!!

by AdrianaLec

I went to La Bodeguita De Pico with a group of friends and we loved their Mojitos!! We ordered some snacks and had a great time! I believe this is a nice place to hang out and have a few drinks.

01/31/09

GREAT FOOD, AWEFUL SERVICE

by dresmomma

My fiancee and I were looking forward to our first Cuban food experience. We had to seat ourselves because there was no one around. When we got there it was quite empty but it still took a while to get service. We ordered our food and it was delicious. However, they serve you your drink in a tube-like glass, after 3-4 sips you're done with your soda. And it takes a while for the waitress to come by. Eventually it gets fuller and there's still only 2 waitress/waiters serving 10-15 different parties. I think we waited longer for our check than the amount of time it took us to eat our food. We spent $75 for 2 people and we honestly didn't order much. It was a very disappointing experience and I wish I'd read the reviews first to avoid wasting my money and time there.

• Pros: tasty food
• Cons: everything else

01/23/09

Best Cuban food outside of miami

by jinnimae

The Pierna de Puerco Asada is the best thing ever. It is completely authentic and as good or better than the Cuban food you can find in Miami. And you know a place is authentic when they serve papa rellenas. I have been several times and the food is always great. The wine and drink menu also have some gems. Definitely worth checking this place out.

• Pros: the FOOD

10/11/08

Unreliable, bad service, false advertising, mediocre food, rude staff

by Ahtorrey

We went to La Bodeguita de Pico for their advertised Salsa lessons on Saturday nights at 8 pm. When making the reservation, I inquired about the dance lessons and signed the four of us up. They suggested dinner at 7 to be ready for salsa lessons at 8, which was a bit early but we agreed to it for the sake of our salsa lessons.

We arrived to a quiet restaurant with little decor. Our waiter was nice enough and we ordered, confirming our dance lessons at 8. Well, 8 o'clock came and went and we figured they were a little behind because there was no band or anything out yet. The food came and was mediocre.

At 9 pm I asked the hostess, who was rude and not very smart, what happened to our salsa lessons. She shrugged and replied that the teacher "didn't show up." We asked for the manager and she went to get him. 20 minutes later, after asking again to see him, he made his way out. We asked about our salsa lessons. He shrugged and said the teacher "didn't show up...it's not my job to deal with the dancing."

We explained nicely that we had come primarily for the salsa lessons, and he continued to shirk responsibility in spite of the fact that it was one of his staffers who took the dance reservation to begin with. He didn't offer anything to lessen our disappointment. He just repeated "it's not my problem."

By that time, our waiter had long disappeared. We asked the busboy to get him. We finally made his way over 15 minutes later and mumbled something about being sorry but he was very busy. It took another 20 minutes to get our check (full price in spite of their unprofessional conduct at every level). We over payed and left, disappointed with what was supposed to be a special night of fun and dance lessons with friends.

I wish the night had gone differently. There's a dearth of good salsa places in LA. In any case, for better food, better service, nicer staff and reliable salsa, go to El Floridita on Vine, and STAY AWAY FROM LA BODEGUITA DE PICO.

• Cons: FALSE ADVERTISING ON WEBSITE

09/07/08

Too expensive

by Cubancook

The service was fast and good, very nice people, whe went a Saturday at five o'clock we was no looking for show or music but yes for good cuban food, The black bean were very good, and the Pork excelent, but the rest like the chicken was dry, the Arroz con pollo no the best, the fry plantain the green called chicharritas o plantain chip where cold like they have been made yesterday, the mojo o salsa they served with excelent, lots of garlic like the Cuban like, The place is dark kind of and I felt sad instead of happy celebrating my BD there, overprice, sorry they have to low the prices,

08/19/08

THE BEST

by CHRISTIN3

ME AN MY BOYFRIEND WENT ON OUR FIRST OFFICAL DATE AN WE LOVED IT WE HAD THE CHANCE TO BE SEATED BY THE OWNER HE WAS A SWEET HEART THE WAITER CAME OUT ASKED US WHAT WE WANTED TO DRINK AN TOOK OUR ORDERS THE FOOD ARRIVED IN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME AN WAS A LARGE PORTION .THE FOOD WAS VERY GOOD MINES COULD HAVE HAD A LITTLE MORE FLAVOR BUT OVER IT WAS GREAT MY BOYFRIEND ON THE OTHER HAND GOT THE PORK CHOPS AN THEY WHERE ABSOLUTLY DELIGHTFUL OMG JUCY MOUTHWATERING THE MEAT JUS MELTS IN YOUR MOUTH .....I DONT KNOW ABOUT THE OTHER COMMENTERS BUT WE LOVE THIS PLACE AN PLAN ON GOING BACK I RECOMMEND THIS PLACE TO EVERYONE BUT DONT TAKE IT FROM ME TRY IT YOUR SELF

• Pros: EVERYTHING WAS WONDERFUL

08/04/08

Awesome food, sangria pitcher was weak

by ricmor555

I went this past weekend with my gf to check out the restaurant for the firs time. Went on Sunday around 5pm. Place was quiet except for the salsa class in the background, which did not bother us at all. Started with the pitcher of sangria and was a bit disappointed. The taste was great, plenty of fruit, but after we finished it, neither of us felt the least bit buzzed. But then the food came. I picked the churrasco and was very impressed. The amount of meat was generous and tasted great. My gf had the picadillo a la habanera, I can't comment on her dish because I did not taste it, but she said she liked it, not to mention that she's very picky about food. Overall, we loved the atmosphere, food was great, but sangria could have been stronger. We will go back and give them another chance.

08/04/08

Never Ever Ever go to this place. Not Ever!

by eugene804

Went to this place with my wife last week and I couldn't believe how bland the food was. All that we could do was pour tobasco sauce on everything to try to save it. That was the first time I've ever seen my wife use tobasco sauce. The rice was dry and there was no alcohol in the overpriced (36$) pitcher of sangria. The table next to us said the same of their mojito pitcher. This place won't be around much longer. One day someone will catch them "forgetting" to put alcohol in their drinks. I must of stared at the bill for 10 minutes trying to figure out what happened and I never do that. This was probably a 50-60$ meal anywhere else but I was charged over twice that amount! What they don't tell you at the door is that there is a significant mark up on all of the menu prices whenever there is a live band playing. This is in the fine print on their website somewhere. The difference is pretty significant. For example on our bill: Arroz con Pollo goes from 14.95 to 19.95...Ropa vieja 13.95 to 18.95...papas rellenas 5.95 to 7.95...tres leches 6 to 8 and so on. EVERYTHING was marked up. We were seated at 9:45 and the band finished at 10. We got the bill at 10:55 and it was marked up by at least 40$ and the watered down pitcher of sangria was almost a third of the bill! As much as I wanted to not leave a tip due to the bad food and drinks I couldn't bring myself to do it - so dinner for 2 was over 105$ plus 20$ for the tip. The 5-star reviews could not be coming from real customers. Don't be fooled by the Cuban music and Cuban art on the walls. You will walk in smiling but will walk out of this place feeling cheated and hungry.

08/02/08

Overpriced Under-spiced food

by Sophie292

Extrememly overpriced! Ordered a pitcher of sangria ($36.00) that tasted like it was made of kool-aid with the only 'fruit' being marachino cherries!!! There was no taste of wine at all in the sangria.Chicken was dry, plaintains over-cooked, and tres leches dessert from Costco! I arrived at 9:45pm on a Friday, ready to listen to some great salsa. At 10pm the band finished their session!!!! I was so disappointed. Did I mention that there was a homeless lady dancing around the restuarant and sitting down at different tables talking to anyone that made eye contact with her? I'm never going back. Dinner for two (nothing fancy) came to 100$ not including tip. The tables were wobbly with uneven legs and the menu was missing prices on many different items such as the $36 pitcher of kool-aid. When my husband told the waiter that there didn't seem to be any wine in the sangria the waiter brought out one single small glass of mango mojito for he and I to share as an attempt to smooth things over. We tried to have a good time but this place was so disappointing. We've been to a lot of restuarants and have had a few bad experiences but this is the first time that I've ever felt compelled to write a review. Maybe I can save someone's Friday night. Be careful with your free time and go somewhere else. Definetely pay more atttention to negative reviews than the positive ones.

07/22/08

Very disappointed overall

by gratefool12

Went with a party of 8 on a Saturday night and was very excited to enjoy some good sangria & live music. The atmosphere was nice and the live band was very good (and loud, not good for conversation) but enjoyed them. A few people started dancing and & by this time I was expecting the sangria to kick in as I needed a little kick to get up and dance myself. Our food arrives & I ordered only a side order of tostones which were very dry & tasteless. You don't have to be an expert on Cuban food to tell these were just awful. Finally got up & danced with some friends & there was an instructor giving short individual lessons to help (I believe he was employed by the restaurant). Our party was ready to move on to our next hot spot as the bill comes & it was $380! That's not the shocking part (even though two of us ordered ONLY appetizers as a meal) the pitchers of sangria were $36.00 EACH which tasted like sugary fruit punch...didn't even catch the slightest buzz after a few glasses. Needless to say, I will not be returning. There are many other places to go for good cuban food & music -many of us in my party agreed.

• Pros: Street parking, good band
• Cons: Food, overpriced drinks