25 Degrees — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Our experience at 25 degrees was absolutely horrendous. A dear friend of mine and I walked in this restaurant expecting to be treated with respect and care. To our dismay, we felt discriminated against by two disrespectful and confrontational men, who rudely denied us access to an open booth. First, as we walked in and waited to seated, we were completely ignored. The place wasn't even busy. As we proceeded inside the restaurant and looked at the menu, one of the two men in question tried to sit us in an undesirable section of the restaurant. When we asked to be seated at the open booth, we were told that it was reserved for larger parties even though the other booths were occupied by parties of two only. To add insult to injury, these two irrational individuals "invited us" to put our names on a waiting list. Multiple tables and a booth were unoccupied, which begs the following questions, why were we initially denied access to the booth we desired to sit in, and why did we need to be on a waiting list at a restaurant that was not even that busy? My friend was willing to turn the other cheek by simply ignoring this very unpleasant situation. As her gracious host and as a pride resident of Hollywood, I simply was not willing to let it go. I was not willing to allow these two men to get away with this blatant discriminatory behavior. Needless to say, I was highly offended and deeply choked by how comfortable these two men were in denying us our legitimate set of rights as customers. After being pressured and faced with the fact that we were not willing to simply walk away, one of the two men in question tried to justify their wrongdoings by stating that the other parties of two sitting in multiple booths throughout the restaurant were simply there by mistake. He then rudely instructed us to, and I quote, "go sit at the open booth!" We rightfully decided to leave this restaurant and go dine at a place where we would be welcome as black people. On our way out, we ran into a wonderful security guard who works for the Roosevelt hotel. He immediately felt that something was terribly wrong. This loving and caring man took the time to not only listen to us voicing our disbelief, but he most importantly took it up on himself to properly investigate this terrible set of events. It took him just a few seconds to realize the great injustice we were inflicted with. He went above and beyond to resolve this issue as swiftly and peacefully as possible. His name is Joe, and he deserves the highest praise for his professionalism, compassion, and benevolence. Joe took us to the manager of the Shirley Bistro restaurant inside the Roosevelt hotel. They both apologized profusely for this unfortunate set of circumstances. The manager of Shirley was very hospitable to say the very least. I believe his name is Pierre. We were so thankful and appreciative for both Joe and Pierre's willingness to make things right, that we decided to have diner at their elegant restaurant. This place exceeded our expectations. We received fantastic service from our waiter Nathan, and from everyone that we came in contact with. The food was delicious. After experiencing such a disheartening situation at 25 Degrees, being treated with respect and integrity made us feel welcomed and valued as customers. I have long contemplated whether or not I should write this review as I am not a vindictive person. That being said, I cannot in good conscious allow anyone, let alone two rude and offensive men, discriminate against me; and most importantly, discriminate against a kind, loving, and caring African-American Lady. My intention for writing this review is to make sure future customers and minorities do not experience these blatant discriminatory practices. I surely hope that 25 Degrees will look into this matter with upmost level of urgency, and will ultimately remedy these unlawful and...

Quick summary:

I've been to this location twice, and honestly, I can't see myself coming back again. Nothing is particularly bad about the food here, it's just that, whatever you're looking for, there are better locations for food in the Hollywood area. If you're looking for tasty, cheap, late night food, find a roving food truck. If you're looking for a high quality hamburger, well, you'll have to find somewhere else.

More detailed review:

I've been here twice, once after a Go! Team show, and the other after the IAMDONALD tour rolled through L.A. Both times it was late night, but during one of the visits I had enough time to order alcohol.

The hamburger is decent. It's basically like if you took an Umami Burger and scaled it up 25%. It's larger, still served on brioche, and not horrible, it's just not awesome. Some other significant differences between Umami Burger and this place is that in addition to their specialty burgers, you can choose toppings and order the burger your way, and they actually give you ketchup for free.

Burgers at 25 Degrees seem to be consistently cooked one level above what you ask for. (So, here, Medium Well becomes Well Done, Medium becomes Medium Well, etc.) Between myself and my friends, we ordered 5 burgers here over 2 visits, and all of them came back one level more cooked than we expected.

The fries are a solid effort (both the sweet potato and the sad, unsweet potato kind.) but the onion rings left a lot to be desired. The batter is too thin for the size of onion cuts they're using them with. Once they're fried, the steam from the onions just blows the batter right off the onion ring, and you're left with a plate of 50% covered onion rings.

I was probably the most disappointed with the Guinness milkshake. Apparently, someone over there thought this was supposed to be a fancypants "hint of ice cream flavor" type drink. You're throwing ice cream into a beer, and into a dark beer at that. None of the flavors involved are intended to be subtle. I tasted mine and declared, "I can make a better Guinness milkshake than this." and then I went home and did.

It's cool to have a late night option that tries to serve up quality food. 25 Degrees biggest selling point is that it's open 24 hours a day. Unfortunately for them, that's also the biggest selling point for Juicy Burger just up the street, so they're not exactly cornering any kind of market or locale.

Service is a mixed bag. On the first night I came here, it was slow and unresponsive. I distinctly remember having to ask the guy serving as security to refill my water (I apologized for confusing him with the help, and he apologized for the waiter not paying any attention.) because the waiter was off doing anything but watching our table. About 15 minutes later, there was a lot of excited chatter, and my friend and I realized that the customer who was seated next to us had pulled a dine and ditch...and nobody had noticed until now.

The second time I ate here, service was much more prompt, basically as on point as any other restaurant would be.

Bottom line, this is about a 3.5. It's better than Umami Burger, but their burger falls far behind Father's Office. If you're looking for a good burger late night in the Hollywood area, you could do worse, but you could also...

A glam boutique burger eatery, 25 Degrees provides a luxurious dining experience. Stepping into the Hollywood burger bar, customers are met by friendly bartender staff behind classy and covid-safe glass partitions. Behind the glass, the bar is positioned in front of a mirrored wall displaying racks of high-end liquor. 25 Degrees offers a full bar, including cocktails, spiked milkshakes, beers, alcoholic seltzers, and wine by the glass or bottle.

Beyond the bar, black chandeliers hang above cushy, deep booths. Immediately upon sitting down, customers are prepared to enjoy their delicious dish in comfort and glamour as they sink into the plush leather. 25 Degrees is painted in a deep burgundy shade that compliments the darker décor details and creates a posh atmosphere. 25 Degrees is a cozy haven away from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood Boulevard.

We ordered the La Colombe oat milk latte, a sweet pick-me-up treat to join my mid-day meal. The server was very accommodating in offering that orders could be placed via QR code scanning, or through talking with the staff. To accompany my drink, I customized my own burger. We chose the Beyond Burger patty on a lettuce bun and added on avocado and caramelized onions. We also added a side of french fries, which were not included with my burger.

The burger arrived on a retro lunch tray. The lettuce, onion and tomato were disassembled on the side. Once we added on those toppings, my burger was deliciously stuffed between its lettuce buns. The beyond burger had a subtle smokey flavor. My additions of caramelized onions and avocado were both savory inclusions that leveled up my meal and were worth the price. All the included vegetables and toppings tasted fresh, and my Beyond Burger was grilled to perfection. My side of fries arrived crispy and hot and were topped with thyme, adding an extra dimension of flavor. Altogether, this meal tasted like a classic American meal, with a luxurious, contemporary twist. 25 Degrees knows how to do burgers well, and delivers them with amazing customer service in a glam...