Thank you.
I have considered Le Comptoir in the past. As much as I love veggies, I wish their menu was more of a mix of protein and veggies. As far as Otium, the reviews were not that positive, unless things have improved.
Me too!
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I considered Gwen, but my birthday is next Sunday and they were sold out for the weekends in August also.
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Thanks. Since you always discover new places, I was hoping for a miracle.
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this is a pretty good obscure rec.
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Yes, Le Comptoir is vedg centric. When we dined there they did have a scallop and a wagyu beef supplement. Plus, it’s definitely not an ordinary experience.
Otium was more for the atmosphere than the food. But the reviews weren’t incorrect. Food is hit or miss.
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Looks really good ipse.
Thanks Robert. I have been looking at Orsa & Winston menu for a couple of years now. Their menu looks good and the plating appeals to me. They used to only offer a tasting menu, but now they offer some interesting Alla Carta options. The only problem is, they are not open on Sundays. I might consider it though.
Neptune’s Net
Pizza Port Carlsbad with an overnight stay at the Carlsbad Beach Inn
A taco truck crawl starting at Los Originales Tacos Arabes de Puebla and ending at Cuernavaca
The Old Place
A tour and tasting at Greenbar and then bocce and a burger at ERB
…or maybe that’s just me 
But if you’ve recently done fine dining in London and Paris, I don’t know if LA’s scene will hold up. It might be worth considering some outside the box / fun adventure-type events, which in my estimation is where LA does best.
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[quote=“Srsly, post:22, topic:3716”]
But if you’ve recently done fine dining in London and Paris, I don’t know if LA’s scene will hold up. It might be worth considering some outside the box / fun adventure-type events, which in my estimation is where LA does best.
[/quote] I see what you’re getting at. Nothing appears to be good enough. So why not flip the script? Very cool.
Lol I love Pizza Port 
but if you are going to recommend that I’d say stay at the Lodge at Torrey Pines and go to PP in Solana Beach and bring quarters for video games.
Pizza Port for some of the worst pizza in SD ?
I’ve always found the pizza there to range from totally adequate to pretty good, though I’m not picky at all when it comes to pizza. And the excellent beer, fun atmosphere, and proximity to the beach may cloud my judgement.
But the actual literal suggestions are somewhat beside the point anyway - I was mostly trying to propose a fun, active, adventurous birthday celebration, which @thecookie astutely picked up on. I think LA has a lot to offer in that regard, if not quite so much in the way of true fine dining.
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Since you specify “creative food and good service” and not beautiful surroundings/atmosphere, here are a couple of suggestions:
Babita
Divino
Metro Diner
Koi Palace (Los Angeles adjacent…)
I love Metro Cafe (I assume you’re talking about the place in Culver City in the Travelodge?), but I don’t know if I’d suggest that for a b-day dinner, unless the OP specifically wanted pretty affordable and very, VERY low key. While I like the food there, I also don’t know if I’d consider it “creative.”
The closest Koi Palace location to Los Angeles is over 340 miles away.
I have some beachfront adjacent property in Kansas you might be interested in…
“creative” - I guess I interpreted this to mean something not usually found in LA. Other than in San Pedro, there are only a couple of places making Chevapchichi. I don’t think I ever saw seared ahi over pea hummus anywhere else. Most of my replies were slightly tongue in cheek as the original poster mentioned birthday meals in far away places (presumably expensive since the restaurants on her local list were high end places) and my list had special places - ie., generally uncommon food with good service at a reasonable price (maybe not Divino).
“I have some beachfront adjacent property in Kansas you might be interested in…” - Willing to consider it so long as I can drive there for a dim sum lunch…