11/01/09

Rude and confused management

by Fun fun

We were in a group of 30 people and planned the event 3 weeks ahead of time. The managers were very eazy to promise things but when the party started they didn't stand behind their words. Thay tried to charge for the Sangria that was promised as a freebee. After that was resolved, the servers of the food were very disorganized and rude, when we mentioned that they forgot to serve food to some people at our party and were off to another table, they disregarded us.

The worst was when we were supposed to have dance music, a young guest came and told us all to leave because they are having a kareoke night. The manager just stood there and said nothing. When we asked for an explanation he got really rude and demanded that the people that were still there will leave. We are 50-70 years old and just wanted to have a nice evening to celebrate some birthdays. We will never go there again.

• Pros: nice flamenco show, good food
• Cons: Disorganized and rude service

10/19/09

Bugs Bugs and more Bugs

by JKelley

Once a great Los Angeles hang out now a sad has-been. When you get inside you can feel that they are desperate, the staff seems over worked, the management is pinching pennies and after the show.....Cockroaches! If you are ever brave enough to go to EL CID just look down at your food, the floor or your glass and you will see critters. I was walking to the bathroom and saw a handful of roaches moving through the hall way, as if that was not enough they turned on the lights at the end of the show and I saw them at my feet. Call the board of health and shut that place down....what a sad sad loss for our city!!!

• Pros: Beautiful Architecture
• Cons: Desperate, Money Grubbing, and Roach Filled

10/19/09

Do Not Eat Here

by alabama whirley

Cockroaches!!! This place is disgusting. Walking down the tiny hallway to the bathroom I saw cockroaches. If that is the condition of the hallway I can only imagine what the kitchen is like. Do not eat here. Also, I came to see a band and they were cut half way through their set because the manager wanted to close down. They only played three songs. There were at least 20 people still there, despite the sunday night slot. When I asked for my money back because I came to see an hour set and I had been buying drinks for the last hour he deferred blame to the promoter and said I would not get a penny out of him. Any self respecting musician, dancer and soundman should not waster their talents on a low-class place like this. Also, as a patron, I will not give my money to an establishment who treats their customers this way. I used to enjoy going there but i will never go there again. This beautiful venue is wasted on bad management and below health code standards, it should be shut down until fumigated and reopened by someone who respects this unique venue.

• Pros: Beautiful building
• Cons: Cockroaches, Bands Beware.

10/13/09

Horrible service and food

by McGaiver

I went to eat at El Cid during the dinner theatre on 10/9/09. From the very begining you can tell this place had only one intention in mind - get your $. The valet service is $6 and all the do is park your car on the street so that no one else can park there for free. What ever you do, keep sober - this is not the place where you can trust the staff to be honest. At the bar we had our first warning, we ordered 6 Grey Goose shots around 7:45pm the bill was $105. We also noticed that the servers were starting to place the salad and soup on the tables (dinner was to start at 8pm). I'm not in the restaurant business but I think when you serve soup it should be warm to hot. So at 8:15 we were seated in front of a cup of cold soup and not so fresh salad. All 10 people in our group had bought tickets on line for the dinner show and dinner ($45). That included Salad, soup, entre, and dessert. I tried to warn the rest of my party about the bar but I wasn't successful. At 9pm someone ordered 10 shots at the bar - the bill was $180. The drinks had gone up $0.50. This is the kicker - At the end, we get handed a bill for $750. Can you imagine our faces! Wow, and we didn't get dessert. After an hour of discussions with the manager, our bill was lowered to $175. Be warned, if you are looking for a nice experience - this in not the place. El Cid needs to realized that people are going to stop going there as people become aware of how dishonest they are.

• Pros: none
• Cons: dishonesty

05/01/08

best comedy show in los angeles, go on monday nights, the origin of the new alternative to alternative comedy

by GarageComedy

El Cid is the hip you can not dispute it, all you little babies complaining about the prices and the food need to calm down. They have $3 Tecate and the tapas menu is great. Monday nights are the best, big name comics and young wipper snappers mix it up all for free and so fun, oh yeah and there is street parking

• Pros: great vibe, great taste in shows, hip beautiful people, best place for the summer is the patio, monday nights are the best night
• Cons: they close at midnight on mondays

04/23/08

awful

by dubsh

this place is terrible. the food is bad and the service is worse. last night i was actually harassed by the waiter because the group sitting near me walked out on their check. he accused me of being with them and tried to present me with the bill. i explained to him (repeatedly) that i had nothing to do with the situation and was just trying to enjoy my friends music, and he was literally arguing with me about it. it was very strange. and sure enough after he finally left me alone, the group came back in from smoking cigarettes on the porch to pay their bill. in guess in his frantic search to find them he forgot to check the smoking patio which was about 11 feet away. the waiter didn't even offer an apology.

also i paid $6 for a bottle of beer which is absolutely ridiculous. maybe i would expect that price for a beer in a posh restaurant in Beverly Hills, not in a crappy mexican joint in Silverlake.

i was actually here once before years ago and ended up waiting 20 minutes to get served before finally leaving. not much has changed. should have learned my lesson the first time.

the layout is cool, that's about it. in a town like LA with endless choices you can do much, much better.

• Pros: layout, open mic night
• Cons: service, food, drink prices

03/03/08

people. it's not the four seasons.

by supermember

i like el cid. granted, i only go on monday's for the drunken comedy.....but it works for me! also- i've never eaten the food there. once i got 7&7 after 7&7 for a few hours or so. i personally don't remember, but my friends say that they were great.

03/03/08

The Worst Place on Eath

by snatchITup

There is absolutely nothing good about El Cid. The food, service, and show are below sub par. My friend ordered a glass of sangria, which turned out to be a white wine sprizer with an organge slice and marachino cherry. The "performers" were probably women who couldn't even get a gig stripping at one of the strip clubs by the airport. I give this place 2 thumbs down. Don't waste your time. I don't understand how places like this stay in business.

• Pros: there's nothing good about this place
• Cons: everything is horrible

05/26/07

Cozy, Chill and Unique

by radiancelee

Very cute place. Good shows. $8 entrance fee for shows. Tiny stage. Cozy chill music is played, you can talk over. Nice decoration. Mojito not very strong. wobbly steps downward (watch out high heels).

03/22/07

Truly one of a kind

by hhunter

This place is truly one of a kind, and not just within LA. The authenticity matched with the entertainment value matched with the food -- El Cid is the best.