Café La Boheme

06/16/2008 Posted by asp811

I've been going to La Boheme since before it was there. The locale was formerly an upscale Japanese restaurant. Over the years, I've seen them add to the decore, but over all its remained true to itself. I've been told I have an intimidating glare, and I guess that kept the service from the attendants up to snuff during the transition in management. I really didn't see the lack of service mentioned in some of the other reviews. I've often brought people from out of town here and everyone was left with a good impression. But then again, we're low maintenance people, we don't order off the menu, we don't change our minds after the order has been placed...etc. Give it a try, you'll probably come back.

Pros: Unique setting

Cons: If you're not paying attention, you'll drive right past it.

05/30/2008 Posted by Food4me2

I had really high expectations. Several people had recommended this restaurant to me as a place to bring my girlfriend for her birthday. We had a great table, but our server never once cracked a smile and could barely care when she sent back one of her appetizers because the main ingredient was tasteless and not ripe. My steak special was very good, but her "spicy fries" not only had no 'spice' but were cold and crunchy. Last but not least, we were never offered a dessert menu or coffee. I might have overlooked this if the restaurant had been packed, but it was a week night and practically empty. Quite disappointing overall.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

05/27/2008 Posted by HotDogLoverz

Rarely you find a restaurant that is romantic and has a great menu. Well, here you are, at Los Angeles' hidden gem: Cafe La Boheme. It is beautiful inside and out. It feels like you are in the movie Moulin Rouge and best of all the service is timely and respectful. The salads was kind of small, but delicious.

Pros: Great food, service, romantic!

Cons: Pricey, but worth it

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

05/25/2008 Posted by DarrylOuellette

Must go! The service is amazing! The food is great! The building is really cool and they did an great job on the renovation! What a place!

05/25/2008 Posted by doney86

I've been to La Boheme several times throughout the years and have always had a fantastic experience. My last time there was a year ago for my husband's birthday - the food was scrumptious and the service unbeatable. Last night we had the complete opposite experience. What happened to this place? Our party of 8 had a 9pm reservation. We were sat right away by a less than friendly hostess. Our waiter took half our drink order and walked away. When he returned I asked for a separate check for my husband and I to which he VERY begrudgingly agreed to. Our food took a good long time to arrive. I brought a healthy appetite and was very much looking forward to my lobster risotto. An enormous white bowl was plopped in front of me and inside was a dixie-cup amount of lobster risotto. An embarrassingly small portion to the tune of $22. In fact everyone's dinners looked to be small child portions. Absurd! Believe me, I am not a big eater and usually leave a restaurant full and satisfied (which is to be expected). I was starving when I left the restaurant last night. The waiter never returned ONCE to ask us how our food was. By this time we were in a nearly empty restaurant. When he brought our checks, our check was incorrect ... something to do with the fact that he couldn't split the two risotto orders over two different checks so he added drinks to ours instead. Bottom line, it was incorrect and we were overcharged. Needless to say he got a lackluster tip to reflect his poor service and attitude. La Boheme is still a beautiful and romantic restaurant. I would love to return but I'm hoping enough less than stellar reviews will encourage them to increase the portions and de-snob their wait staff.

Pros: Ambience, beautiful decor

Cons: Very small portions, snobby poor service

05/14/2008 Posted by a1r1j1

After reading several reviews praising the excellent, attentive service and delicious food, I was eager to have a good meal and a good night out with my girlfriend. But that definitely was not the case, where do I even begin – the food was okay nothing out of the ordinary and service was not at all "impeccable". The drinks were decent, but you need the alcohol to deal with the lack of service from the staff and management. My advice is there are too many great restaurants in WeHo to even give this restaurant a try.

Cons: FOOD & SERVICE

05/12/2008 Posted by roundface795

Our awful experience started when we were seated outside on a nicely decorated patio but to an UNSET table. Not a problem until our appetizer was dropped in front of us by a very RUDE bus boy before our drinks came or silverware even after we asked the bus boy for them. After looking around for our waiter as our appetizer sat getting cold, my boyfriend had to get up from the table to find a mgr to request some silverware. Then our BLAND TASTING main course came; overcooked sea bass and salmon. Being that it was my birthday dinner, we really tried not to concentrate on the medicore food & dreadful service. So we continued to eat our meal, & ordered another drink to calm our frustration. Mind you this whole time the waiter didn't speak to us, never asked how our drinks or food was nor did he ask how we managed to get silverware. After dinner we request to speak to the mgr & had to wait 15mins until we were approached by two pretentious mgrs. I forgot to mention our server didn’t go completely mute after all, he did open his mouth to ask if we were finished so he can take our bill as we were waiting to speak to the mgr. We described to the mgrs how HORRIBLE the evening was – their generic reply was “we are sorry guys; you should have came to one of us during the meal to tell us what was going on.” Huh, I guess coming up to one of them to get silverware & our table set was not a clue in itself. To add to our INSULTING night, their solution to our problem was to offer us two “SHOTs” at the bar. How RIDICULUS was that question & could it be more OFFENSIVE! As we were walking out I can see our waiter patting one of the managers on the back–I guess it is common for the mgrs to reward the staff for their UNPROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR instead of listening or showing respect to the paying customers. I posted this lengthy review to explain in detail how horrible this establishment treated us in hope of deterring others from wasting their time and money as we did.

Cons: SERVICE, FOOD, MANAGEMENT...EVERYTHING!

05/04/2008 Posted by jjzdesign

We went to Cafe La Boheme last night for a romantic dinner for four of us (two couples). The atmosphere was awesome, I love the decor and warmth on the inside seating area and the patio was adorable. We sat outside under the stars (on a gorgeous night) and loved the ambiance with the twinkling lights and fireplace. The service was top notch! I am not sure what role this guy has in the restaurant, perhaps he was the sommelier, but his name was Josh and he was SO attentive and full of information. When we were only somewhat pleased with the wine selection (due to different palletes at the table) and so he eagerly offered up other options and food pairings. The other waitstaff were attentive and friendly, as well. We felt very taken care of. I had the Seabass which was wonderful! It was light and healthy feeling but had so much flavor in the dish! My boyfriend had the rib-eye, which I tasted and thought was delicious. He substituted the yam puree instead of what the dish normally comes with and it was divine. For desert, I had the lemon creme brulee, which I LOVED. Also on the table was the butterscotch pafait and the chocolate mini cake. The chocolate cake was rich and delicious. It is quite small, but I actually felt was the perfect amount based on how rich it was. The parfait was very yummy, but honestly, I didn't think it was too far off normal butterscotch pudding that I make at home. It had won awards, which I thought was surprising because I didn't think it was exciting or different, whereas I could see the brulee winning something. The sugar was crisp to perfection and the lemon flavor added a fresh light taste. YUM. All in all, we would highly recommend this restaurant as a great romantic dinner out in Los Angeles! We will be back for sure!

Pros: Atmosphere, Food, Service

Cons: Smokers on the patio! YUCK!

03/25/2008 Posted by LCRand

My boyfriend and I are both from New York and he is a chef for one of the top restaurant groups in the country. It was his first dinner our in Los Angeles and I was very impressed with Boheme's reviews and chef's response to the reviews. We had the sea bass and salmon followed by green tea tiramisu. The fish was cooked perfectly and the blend of the ingredients in both dishes were done just right. Our entrees came out really quickly, our waiter was super friendly and attentive and although we lingered after closing time, we never felt pressured to leave. I made special requests in my reservation and all were met by Boheme's very attentive staff. Valet parking was available and cheap! (FINALLY!) The courtyard is extremely romantic and they put enough outdoor heaters outside so I was able to be warm in a dress at night. The decor on the interior was amazingly eclectic and fun! The prices are completely fair for the quality of the food and experience, not like other WeHo places that are super expensive with metiocre food and service. My boyfriend enjoyed everything and is excited to return, as am I. We both highly recommended it to all of our friends.

Pros: service, wait staff, quality of food, ambience, parking

02/21/2008 Posted by marinagirl78

My hubby and I chose to come here the night after Valentines Day after reading its reviews. This was our first visit but hopefully not our last. The food was wonderful, the service delightful, and the dessert....oh, the dessert. After stuffing ourselves with apps and dinner, we finally opted for the famous parfait and our only regret was that we shared it with each other instead of each getting our own! Do not step foot outside this restaurant without trying the butterscotch parfait.

Pros: Easy & Fast Valet Parking

Cons: Signage wasn't very good, we almost missed it!