That’s just too unfortunate. The $70 three courser to me seems like an attempt to streamline the operation and make sure the kitchen can handle the flow of diners. What would you expect the minimum check average to be anyway? The place has to pay for itself somehow. The criticisms on the food seem fair enough, for a preview dinner early on. Hopefully they’ve tweaked things since then and continue to do so. My king crab dish was very good, as was my ribeye, but I went a little bit after you did.
Ah your time’s up and nothing happened! Sorry to disappoint.
I assume you realize I was not being literal.
Here’s the thing Matt, I have no criticism of the price. Just the format. I understand rents are high in DTLA, and even higher (literally and figuratively) 71 floors up.
That’s not my gripe. Our bill could’ve been double, but if the food and the format (i.e., not so restrictive on how one could order) were more appropriate, I’d probably have little to complain about, and certainly nothing to complain about with respect to price.
But if they don’t do a prix fixe or tasting menu format, how do they ensure that diners spend enough to justify the costs that went into the place? If you’re suggesting a straight a la carte menu, it really could go either way. This just adds a predictability to their menu. You’re right that maybe they should just have a la carte prices across the board for diners like you that want the flexibility. But if that cuts into their minimum check average, what’s in it for them?
I’m curious how exactly you’d order differently if the entire menu was set up a la carte.
How do any other restaurant survive w/o a prie fixe menu? It’s not the only way to make money in the restaurant business.
Having an a la carte menu will give diners the flexibility to order as they please. If that means they are just going to order one drink and an appetizer, so be it. Someone else will order 4 app and 2 mains and loads of expensive wine. It’s an averages game.
Not everyone wants to eat a 3 course dinner and being forced to do that sucks.
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what WOULD be the proper response to not liking the food? this option seems the best to me.
Sure, but not all of them have a view like that to capitalize. The building costs alone were likely immense, and you can’t just stick in more seats on the patio to make up for lower check averages. Of course it’s an averages game and they’re hedging against anyone who comes in and spends $40 pp person just to sit around and enjoy the view for a few hours. Because you know people will do that in LA.
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The Signature Room at the 95th floor of the Hancock building in Chicago has been around for 23 years and does not have a prix fixe menu. That being said, they also have the Lounge on the 96th floor for those that don’t want to spend $100pp for dinner and still enjoy the view.
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not sure how it relates, but the food @ signature room is (also?) rather horrendous.
affluenouchery™ : A group descriptive as it pertains to the class of affluenouche™ as a whole.
(National Spelling Bee word in 2020)
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That’s how it relates.
I’m still having trouble understanding this argument. There are other restaurants with premium views, and presumably the costs to go with them - WP24, The Lobster, Mastro’s Ocean Club, Nobu Malibu - and none of them have prix fixe only menus. What they do have for the most part are higher than typical prices for food and cocktails, higher wine mark-ups, etc.
Yeah, you can add the Penthouse to this list. No prix fixe menu. Prices are high, but not offensively so. I really enjoyed brunch the one time I went and thought, given the view and the quality of the food, that it was a pretty decent value.
I assume people know that they’re gonna get charged up the a$$ for the view when they go to a restaurant on a 71st floor… And so the restaurant should indeed charge accordingly (and provide food that’s at least “average”).
Go to another restaurant.
In a somewhat related note, I went to WP 24 for the first time recently (#workbudget). The price point is way too high. But the food was very well executed. Duck was better than most places I’ve had it in SGV. One spring roll with lobster was actually just succulent–stuffed with perfectly cooked lobster. If you want to do food + view, might as well go here.
seems so passive aggressive. better to get your drunk on at THEIR bar and teach
those bastards a lesson.
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haha dam Ips going ham. I don’t think I saw anything like this in my years at CH (website whos name cann’t be typed/spoken?).
Either way the people working at the restaurant are talented, so if the food is not good I don’t think it would be for lack of talent.
For such a big project and huge expectations I would think US Bank or whoever operates the building has influenced the operation of the restaurant. Hopefully the place figures it out and finds its footing it would be nice to be able to enjoy the food and view at the same time in the same place.
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Doesn’t $70 before tax and tip kind of sound reasonable in that context?
You said “anticrepuscular”.
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