11/05/09

Complaints to the Chef. And Celebrity owner

by MealSchpeal com

Dear Beso,

I dined in your new Hollywood restaurant and toward the end of dinner, I would have enjoyed nothing more than to present myself to the chef, remove my trousers and force him to Beso my *** with a pinch of salt.

It is common for a celebrity to open a restaurant that she “does not want to be one of those celebrity restaurants” only to have it then follow the script as closely as a teleprompter. Naturally, the scene was great. Lots of the requisite pretty people trying their hardest to look casual and fabulously well designed interior trying its hardest not to look ethnic. Who could ask for anything more? From a bar. From a restaurant, one could, and indeed should, ask for a little extra.

We were seated 30 minutes late even though our table was “being set” for at least 15. I assumed that the rage in Hollywood has become hiring bus staff that move like glaciers. But then, my partner in dine was bumped at least a dozen times by various employees who were moving around far too quickly to avoid obstacles and wore the dedicated expression known to waiters (and evidently glacial bus persons) that discourages stupid customer requests such as: “May I have some more water?” Where were these people when we needed a table? They could have bumped other diners clean across the dining room and then reset the table like a champion cup stacker.

Then came the food. How did thou gag me? Let me count the ways:

* If one charges US$14 for a tablespoon of guacamole, one should probably lace it with illegal narcotics or gold flakes or something. There is no such thing as a U$14 tablespoon of guac. Or was the price in Pesos? Damn. I should have looked.

* Being white and stupid, I sometimes can’t tell between products of Indian and Mexican DNA. But I can certainly tell between their food. Why serve Nan bread at a Latin-themed restaurant?

* Grilled shrimp should require neither a cleaver nor a personal crab claw to enjoy. All it should require is a little prep work in the kitchen. Anything else isn’t kosher.

* Skirt steak is skirt steak. It’s either raw or burnt. When did people start getting the impression that skirt steak was Filet Mignon? I guess when it started costing US$29.

Overall, if I can say one thing to help out your future bloated customers it is this: LAY OFF THE SALT! I seriously thought that I was going to shrivel unless I got some water pronto but, of course, no matter how prominently I placed my empty glass, no one could be bothered to refill it. I looked for salvation in the remnants of the Nan bread which seemed to have (only) 4 spoons full of salt sprinkled on but definitely could have used an intravenous drip after finishing my skirt steak. It may have skirted on many things but covered the old Sodium Chloride as thoroughly as a long denim skirt covers an Orthodox chick.

If I were smarter and more driven, I’d open up a bottled water stand on your sidewalk. Then I’d have the most profitable 9 months in business history.

• Pros: Scene
• Cons: Mostly.

10/17/09

Glad I went once, but probably not again

by balletbrooke

from the hype that I heard about this place when it opened (probably from the Eva Longoria interviews) I fully expected GREAT guacamole and MEMORABLE tortilla soup. Guac was nothing special, and tortilla soup was miniscule, served in a huge bowl, had too many tortilla strips and was very thick. Service was very spotty. Better to go there if you want to see and be seen.

• Pros: attractive decor, good people watching
• Cons: overpriced, very mediocre food

08/14/09

Rules for eating at beso

by RatherBCamping

Rules For Eating At Beso

Bar

1. Order a drink from the specialty cocktail list

2. If at all hungry, order the skirt steak tacos and the margarita flat bread

3. Get to know the bartenders. They're a cool group of people. I'm sure I've met them all, one is a girl. They are super friendly

4. Come early if it's friday or saturday. It's very hard to get a spot at the bar after 9 sometimes. The surrounding lounge is cool, but it's not the same experience. You can see everything up at the bar (your fun surroundings). And the cocktail servers while very nice, don't have the time that the bar staff has to talk to you.

5. Have fun. It is la and it is a high profile restaurant, but speaking for the people who work here, it is the easiest place to fit in and just enjoy your time.

Restaurant

1. Come hungry. There are so many things on the menu that are worthwhile, but you also have to save room for desert. The churros are my favorite.

2. Trust in your server's ability to recommend food even if you're not a first timer. In my experience, they know their stuff and seemed always willing to go the extra mile.

3. If you like wine, find the wine guy there. I went there one time and he wasn't working, but he's very knowledgeable.

4. This place gets super busy on the weekend so act accordingly the week before and reserve a table. Walk-ins seem to happen, but it's easier that way. Sometimes it is more fun to get stuck at the bar though.

5. Bring a camera or a pen and paper for an autograph. There are celebrities here every time I come.

Last time I was there, I saw Eva Longoria actually go over to random tables and talk to people. It was very pleasant to see that and she took a picture with other people who just walked right up to her. I love this place

08/14/09

Long Overdue Review

by coppercoin

Every time we go to a show, since wicked (saw it 3 times), my friend and i have to go to Beso.

The bartenders remembered us the first time we ever returned which is impressive in itself, since this is a busy are and the theatre crowd must be coming through here every day. It seems like every time we arrive, there are droves of other people waiting to be seated which more than likely are coming here for dinner and then off to the show afterwards.

Our experiences here have all been wonderful. We talked to one of the servers, even though we sat at the bar, who had a lot of funny things to talk about after explaining one of the new items on the menu that she had delivered to us. We always order the blackberry collins and the tequila spa. There are other things on the menu, but those seem to suit our tastes perfectly.

Hollywood and Los Angeles in general need more place like this one. It feels like home for many reasons besides just nice people and good service. We will continue our tradition of dinner at Beso before every show because every time we come in they treat us like we're really important to them.

Thank You Guys,

Penny

• Pros: Food, Drinks, Bartenders, Servers

08/14/09

Nice time

by Jonesyboy

didnt have any food so i cant give it 5 stars but we had a great time we ordered drinks which were really good and the music was cool and different. i had a great conversation with the bartenders and a manager. it was very busy but it was early so thats probably why. cool place though

• Pros: Drinks

08/14/09

Pretty Good

by DirtyLarry

I enjoyed coming here. The reviews are mixed but it's definitely worthwhile. Keep up the good work

• Pros: Cool spot

08/14/09

Fun

by protonmol

It was a girls night out. My friends and I picked this place because 2 of them had been here before and the rest of us hadn't so. They said it was fun and when they mentioned the upstairs it was already a done deal. We ate down the street at katsuya which was ok. I wish my friends that had been here before told me about the style of food. There is literally something here for anyone no matter what they crave. We looked over the menu and asked the cute bartenders about it who were very helpful. They make great drinks too. The drink list here has stuff ranging from girly types of drinks to stuff that has absynthe in it. Tried that once somewhere and never again. We were so happy with everything we ordered.

Up at kiss lounge the music got kind of loud but it was really fun. They didn't have the same drinks as downstairs but it was still fun anyway. We did retreat to the downstairs bar which was closing but we could escape the packed lounge.

Great time in general and more than you would expect from a place like this

• Pros: Everything
• Cons: none

08/14/09

This place is insane

by xmdesigns

Beso was one of my best experiences.

I came from the east coast to visit a friend of mine. She suggested that we come here, but like most of the people I hang out with we only go to dive bars. I didn't think I would enjoy a place like this at all. You hear things like its owned by that desperate housewives chick and its in hollywood so it must be a stuck up kind of joint. I did promise my friend that i would go wherever she wanted though so we came anyway. We went straight to the bar and thats where we ended up eating because this place was filling up quick fully booked for the night and we were lucky to get the seats at the bar that we got. We got our drinks fast and people behind the bar were busy, but still found the time to check on us. The food came out fast. We didnt order a steak or anything like that. It was one of those pizzas with shrimp and sausage or pepperoni and tacos. I hate to admit it it but i would actually go back there. I t was great people watching the food was great, the drinks were great. She even got me to order something of the drink menu which I never do. I'm just a whiskey guy but they had a drink made with gentleman jack honey and grapefruit I think it was!

My experience was completely unexpected and when I'm back in town I'm coming here

• Pros: Atmosphere, staff

08/14/09

One of the best for LA

by Sneakerhead

I've dined out in places like New York City, San Francisco and the like and definitely in Los Angeles. One thing that I always found about Los Angeles is that usually everyone is pursuing a career in showbiz when working in a restaurant. What I found at Beso however was a completely different story.

I dined there recently, 8:00 reservation, with five friends who are great company, but also a little picky and critical when it comes to restaurants, especially when the prices are high. Upon Arriving, we were very happy to find an interior design like something you would find in the aforementioned New York. There were anywhere from 2 to 4 people up front either answering the phone, seating guests, or greeting guests. All of them were very polite and very professional as if this was their actual job which they took very seriously while at the same time being jovial enough not to scare people. A recurring theme we would later find out. We also noticed that there was a manager upfront, overseeing everything while he had time, which was a relief to us since we've heard mixed reviews about reservations and people not getting seated on time.

We only waited at the bar for about 20 minutes, we were about a half hour early, and were immediately greeted by 2 smiling bartenders and they both went to grab us menus, even though one of them was making drinks for what turned out to be the tables in the restaurant. Both bartenders were very attentive and made spot-on suggestions for drinks for each one of us. The drinks were not weak by any means and not strong either. Exactly inside that perfect window of taste and value. We were also treated to a complete rundown of the menu and anything we asked about was answered. And if they weren't "exactly" sure of the answer, one bartender would go ask the chef while the other one continued with us. Apparently, one of the bartenders, Alex, created the cocktail list. He was very nice and said all the right things. Funny thing is, unlike most people in LA this guy seemed pretty genuine. We didn't get to talk with the other bartender much, as every time he would come over to join in our funny conversation with Alex, more tickets would come out of this printer. That guy is Joe I believe. As we were getting seated we kind of wished that we sat at the bar because we were having such a great time up there.

Upon being seated, our server came over who also had a great personality and a good sense of humor. His name was Jonathan. Again, anything and everything we had a question about was answered to a tee. He even went ahead and made suggestions on how to order certain foods as far as what to share and other things that are "must haves" like the skirt steak tacos, the halibut chop, etc. We ordered a couple bottles of wine with our dinner and the same manager that we saw in the front was also like the sommelier i guess. Or he has a twin or something. Talk about being in two places at once. Very polite guy, Ethan. He gave us a few suggestions for well balanced reds that they carry which were on the mark just like the bartender up front. This experience was almost too perfect and we were waiting for something to go wrong, but we ended up just waiting and waiting. Jonathan came by to joke with us a few times, but with the priority being to make sure everything came out ok. The food was perfect, nothing cold, someone ordered a flat iron medium which actually came out medium. We decided on churros for dessert which I have to say are now one of my favorite desserts.

I had such a great time here and so did my friends. We've been telling so many people about this place and will return soon. It would be a great place to go to just for drinks as well, since they serve a full menu at the bar in case anyone gets hungry. It's crazy that it's been open for a year and a half and still doing well in a city like LA.

Thank you to all the staff that made our night one of the best nights out in recent memory

• Pros: Bartenders, Manager, Server
• Cons: None so far

07/15/09

KISSES FOR BESO

by MadisonAvenue

This place makes me feel like i just stepped into a Meatpacking District Restaurant The classiest and best looking guys in H-wood. Awesome, beautiful space. Great sushi and service every time I come. The bartenders are the best. If you like Manhattan lounge/restuarants you will love this place. Great for a bite to eat and then drinks at the bar or the upstairs lounge. LA needs more places like this.

XXO BESO!

• Pros: Hot Guys, Gorgeous Space, Great Bartenders