L.A. restaurants that you wouldn't return to . And why?

I am using a topic from Hungry Onion . SCK who posted it for San Francisco bay area gets all credit for this topic . Restaurants that are not so peachy as everybody claims .You have no interest of returning to them and why . I am sure you have them also .

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Once was enough for Destroyer.

Gjusta.

Playground. I just posted my review in that thread yesterday.

Sushi Zo.
I was an early lover, and adopter, of Keizo’s first restaurant on National (never been to the one downtown, or in NY or, now, in fucking Bankok(!!!)). I went almost weekly for quite a while. Always found the sushi excellent and Keizo nice to speak with and learn from (but just a little - he’s not much of a talker/explainer, and only when he was not super busy, as he was quite focused on his work).

As he got busier, a lot of the personal touch disappeared (shit, even HE disappeared on most of my final visits), which was an understandable loss, and I might have rolled with it, had other things stayed the same - but they did not. The prices kept going up, the fish size kept going down and, Keizo’s presence, and, correspondingly, the food quality, dropped to the point where I felt ripped-off every time I went.

Also, the competition for my West LA sushi dollar improved substantially (hello, Shunji-san).

I am sure it is still a good, probably great, sushi meal but one that I felt so “dissed” by that i won’t return.

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Need I give an explanation?

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Hi @CiaoBob,

Definitely agree with you. I just chatted with a good friend of mine. She just went this weekend to Zo (DTLA): She’s a light eater and managed to eat through 26(!) rounds of sushi… which sounds crazy, until she mentioned they were tiny and she was barely full when she left. :unamused:

Her last thoughts: “I’d much rather go to Shunji. The rice at Zo was also a bit mealy and the fish was just OK.”

A recent review from Yelp:

We went through about 25 course in a little over an hour and ordered an extra round of medium fatty turo’s along with three beers, tea, and tip we walked out with about $600 for two, so it wasn’t cheap. Next time I think I’ll skip on the beer and extras and just purely enjoy the ride through sushi heaven =D

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Those look like a bunch of used condoms at the end of a porno shoot.

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Well… now that you mention it :expressionless:.

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What an imagination you have.

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Sorry, that Jay Rayner review must still be floating around in my brain somewhere

http://foodtalkcentral.com/t/le-cinq-jay-rayner/5427?u=porkybelly

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In 2012 or so West LA meal was a transcendent experience for me.
Recently visited both DTLA and WestLA in December 2016. West LA was much much better than DTLA. Keizo is nowhere to be seen at either. All of your comments are definitely on point!

Alma @ the Standard. Many stellar meals there and suddenly one that was bad, and a second one worse (Alma - Adventures of an Experimentalist Diner - #12 by beam).

Are those pix of next month’s DOTM nom by @PorkyBelly? :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

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Okay I read your post.

At first I thought you had lost your mind. Then after reading the Le Cinq review I realized you were quoting. But based on your above reply I do think you could have come up with those too :wink:.

That review was hysterical. I loved this one “It is decorated in various shades of taupe, biscuit and fuck you.”

Based on the review the food seems awful. I wonder what Julia Child would would make of all this molecular-gastronomy, spherification jazz.

I’m glad we’re back to having fun.

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Dang dude - how’d you place each one so neatly after each “shot”? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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That was f-ing funny!!!

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Okay. Back to work.

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You started it - the picture, I mean.:joy:

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Okay. I’ll translate. My phone is dying and I’m not near a computer :grin:.

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