Somerville — Restaurant in Inglewood

After two months of trying, I was so excited to finally get a reservation at Somerville. I planned it around a trip to L.A. from San Diego, and I was really looking forward to supporting a new Black-owned restaurant with a beautiful aesthetic, great vibes, and what looked like a solid menu.

Leading up to the reservation, I received multiple confirmation messages, which I responded to. But on the day of, I got a message saying that if I didn’t respond before the restaurant opened, my reservation would be canceled and given to someone else. That felt excessive—especially since I had already confirmed several times and understood the $30/person no-show fee. I wasn’t told what time the restaurant opened—only my reservation time—so that uncertainty was stressful and unnecessary.

We arrived a few minutes before our 8:15 reservation, valeted the car, and checked in. The hostess said they were running a bit behind and asked us to wait in the bar area, which was completely full. We ended up waiting off to the side in one of the only spaces we could stand without being in the way.

Not long after, a waitress approached us—not to give an update—but to passive-aggressively suggest we move to the now-slightly-less-crowded bar area. She implied we were choosing to stand near the wall for comfort, saying something like, “You can put your purse down here.” It would’ve been much more respectful had she just said it would help clear the walkway for servers.

We waited... and waited. Staff approached us twice asking if we were someone else’s reservation. Nearly 50 minutes after our original time, I finally asked when we’d be seated. The hostess told us a table was being cleared and then brought us to it. Honestly, if we hadn’t traveled from out of town and if it wasn’t already after 9 p.m., I would’ve left after 30 minutes. There were no updates, no apologies, and no effort to communicate.

Once seated, our server arrived quickly with someone shadowing him—who happened to be the same waitress who had earlier made the uncomfortable comment. At that point, we were hungry, tired, and a bit irritated, but we placed our orders: two of us had the collard green lasagna, and two ordered the roasted chicken with grits and asparagus.

Our water glasses were only filled halfway when we sat down—an odd detail, but it added to the feeling of being overlooked. The food, to their credit, came out in under 10 minutes, which was appreciated. The ambiance—with live jazz and stylish décor—was lovely, but by that point, the experience had already been overshadowed. Two people in our party still had to drive back to San Diego, and I was ready to return to my hotel and call it a night.

We were offered dessert, but nothing stood out, so we asked for the check and retrieved our cars. Valet was quick and easy, which was a plus.

Overall, unless something changes with how they handle reservations and wait times, I won’t be returning. A simple heads-up that they were running behind and the option to cancel or adjust our arrival would’ve made a huge difference. I had high hopes for Somerville, but I left disappointed—and I wasn’t the only one. While we waited, we overheard several other guests also frustrated with long delays. I really wanted to love this place, but unfortunately, the experience just...

I went here about two weeks ago as a walk-in due to reservations being booked out for months, although some table were empty the Majority of the time we were there. We got there earlier to try to get a table at the bar or an open table.

There was already a line at 6pm which is the time of opening. We were offered entry but for DRINKS ONLY and advised we couldn’t order food as bar only patrons due to The restaurant not being able to accommodate food for both bar patrons and tables 🤷🏽‍♀️-at this point things started to feel really disorganized and unprepared. We accepted entry because we were eager for the experience.

So many different staff interacted with us after this point and they all told us different things regarding, food, sitting, how to order etc. it was so confusing. We were summoned to stand at the bar and wait for the bartender to order a drink (which never happened) not even being informed that the lounge seats behind the bar is also a part of the bar and we could actually sit there. We stood around for several minutes with no service before anyone had informed us of this (it was still fairly early and wasn’t very busy at this time). We thought the lounge chairs was a part of the reserved tables.

Three rounds of drinks in, and I decided to try and stand at the bar to order food because I was told by a different person that you could order food at the bar, and a different person that I can in fact order food in the lounge area…(wrong info again) when I went to the bar, there was only one seat available, but I was so hungry at this point I was willing to leave my party behind to try getting food. The bartender told me that I have to sit down to order food and that I could not take the food back to the lounge area which again I don’t understand these rules. I was standing up and she asked me to sit down and order. Why? So I walked away…It felt so confining..not sure what kind of experience they are going for. ATP I expressed disappointment and dissatisfaction to who I believe was a manager, and one of the owners were there. Luckily my table was able to order appetizers after i explained that we’re spending a lot of money on drinks and we’re getting a lot of conflicting information from staff, which is interfering with our experience.

The establishment is beautiful on the inside, the live music was amazing. It definitely succeeded at creating that black 1920s era. I don’t feel that the food menu reflects the community- and the prices and portions aren’t in alignment. I had the lobster Mac and cheese and a shrimp cocktail…others at my table had chicken sliders..way over priced.

I do plan to try and give it a second shot but I do feel like many of us ✊🏾 are so eager and excited for something like this in our own neighborhood that we may struggle with providing an objective critique. I’d also like to see more of US working there..but who am I? Just a...

Recently moved in the area and we decided to check this place out. Came here on a Sunday evening (busy due to Mother's Day). Right off when you enter - the ambience and space merits this place a 10/10 in that category.

Food-wise, we were split. Some of their menu offerings were delectable, some were not. Positives: Filet mignon (med. rare) w/ their Somerville steak sauce was a win. So was their Braised Short Rib w/ that savory peanut sauce (for Filipinos, very reminiscent of our "Kare Kare" dish). Brussel sprouts was tasteful but imo overdone w/ the sauce. Garlic rice was a little dry in our opinion but perhaps the texture was due to it being "toasted" - imo regular rice would've paired perfectly w/ the Short Rib dish. Shrimp cocktail was nothing out of the ordinary other than a larger-sized portion of shrimp than usual (still good). We had their special “add-on”-sized offering that day, Ravioli (1 large-size) w/ prosciutto I believe - it tasted okay but a very small portion for 2 adults. The rolls w/ butter were probably the most confusing to us since it was nothing special in comparison to other restaurants that offer rolls and spread, which doesn't seem to justify charging $18 for this menu item. Additionally, the flan was good - nothing over the top.

Drink-wise, the cocktails were okay. For the price, the drinks pale in comparison to places like Death & Co, BUT the handcrafted cocktails did complement the overall experience.

Service - this review salvages a star on service due to Mai from the main bar. Before we were seated we ordered a couple drinks which Mai made for us. She was very personable and courteous, we truly appreciated her brief time with us. Thanks Mai! Unfortunately due to how busy it was, the rest. manager Yasmin(e) was kind enough to let us know of the kitchen delays explaining why we had a 40-45min timeframe between our appetizers and main entrees. Kitchen brought out complimentary shrimp cocktails due to this. The wait time between courses is definitely unacceptable for a place held in this standard, in usual circumstance.

Overall, wouldn't mind coming back to retry the dishes we did like and experiencing the atmosphere of this...