Bacari W. 3rd — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Quaint, smallish, establishment serving tapas-style food. Raised our expectations and whetted our appetites, as there was a steady stream of other diners arriving, with reservations, after us...

Service: serviceable, competent, friendy-ish, and knowledgeable server.

Food: ordered the House-baked baguette with garlic oil... bread was warm, soft and with the ideal amount of chewiness expected if a French baguette, and the garlic oil, what could go wrong with olive oil with a roasted clove and kosher salt... delicious! Definite re-order. Wife ordered the Fried chicken sliders: fried chicken cornbread crusted, served on a hawaiian roll, pickled cucumber, cabbage, olive aioli - a bit of a miss here, as the chicken lacked flavour, and the aioli and cabbage slaw was not a combination that I found enjoyable; Bacari Fries: fries served with chef’s “bcn” (= Barcelona) sauce, topped with a fried egg - fries were crispy, nicely fried, but the bsn sauce was a different flavour than what I expected (or perhaps, what wife and I were in the mood for)...did not really satisfy our craving for french fries...and the egg, uncertain how it added to the dish - neither a hit, but not entirely a miss either; Mac & Cheese: 5 cheese fondue, topped with toasted panko, infused with white truffle oil, and garnished with scallion - this was a definite hit!! The 5-cheeses were a perfect selection, with the panko adding a wonderful texture with each bite; truffle oil infused...what more is needed to be said, but the addition elevated this dish worthy of the rave and enthusiastic reviews of the repeat diners; last, but not least, Pan-Seared Sea bass, served with charred shishito pepper & corn, tarragon aioli, pomegranate molasses, and a grilled lemon - the sea bass was a tad over-coomed, but still wonderfully flavoured, and very much enjoyable, especially when each mouthful was accompanied by the shisito pepper and corn mixed with the pomegranate molasses...such a unexpected, but, feast for the taste buds, combination that worked...the flavour was quite memorable...another hit!!

Ambience: outdoor, open-air courtyard is the star of this slightly difficult to locate from street, as storefront is quite small and relatively non-descript, little establishment! Access to the courtyard was via a corridor that opened via a rustic set of double-doors. It was lovely, and unexpected, with additional "inside" (= covered) seating as well. The inside seating was a tad under-lit, but, perhaps it was intentional, to create a certain atmosphere. The decor was reminiscent of a casual, pseudo-Mediteranean diner, wooden tables and chairs, without the bright paint colours...appropos for the restaurant.

All in all, serviceable little hidden gem, that we would recommend to friends searching for an establishment that experiments with combinations (albeit, IMHO, some hits but also some misses) and that won't break the bank. Would we return...I...

Food, service (for 23 guests!), ambiance—all stellar indeed!

So, I decided to throw a big b-day dinner—to celebrate my beloved friends as much as my chunk of years. If I was going to go all out, it was super-important to me to pick a place that was warm, inviting and had great food and attentive staffers. And, as a second-gen Angeleno, I also wanted a distinctly LA vibe in an evocative setting.

Finding a spot was weirdly challenging. I emailed a new Hollywood restaurant launched by a major chef noting the simple details their site requested. No response. I emailed another Hollywood spot I've been to and enjoyed. No response. I called one of the places, and a nice voice told me they'd make sure someone got my message. No response.

All along, my heart was set on another, highly revered star-chef spot famed in part for its pizza. I decided to let THAT go after a couple-few souless corporate-y emails and a phone chat with someone who couldn't be less interested in helping a client at that moment (recognizing the team was slow in getting back to me, they just threw out a cold "we've been busy with lots of events" instead of saying, "So sorry - very excited to put something together for you!" ).

Anywayyyy, I saw pics of Barcari W. 3rd., discovered it's in the same old LA building that housed the long-venerable Greek restaurant Sofi, emailed an inquiry and . . . wow, the team was practically instantly on-it, very upbeat—even funny—and super helpful and clear on menu items and what info I needed to provide (like dietary restrictions). They were reasonably flexible on needs, quick to answer questions, and seemed to be genuine in their desire to help me toast my birthday and friendships.

Cut to the night-of, and all of my friends were having a GREAT time. The staff, from server Zac to the managers—yes, plural—to the valet, glided with grace under pressure throughout. Everyone raved about the dishes—the shared plates I chose were the burrata, Oaxacan pasta, sea bass, glazed pork belly, Tuscan salad, Brussels sprouts, charred broccoli and the special treat that is underserved by calling them just “fries.” Moreover, several marveled at the perfectly-timed delivery of each delicious item. Fun!

I can't remember the last time I went to a restaurant and said, "OH MY GOD YOU HAVE TO TASTES THIS!" so many times. In fact, the last time I said that was at the O.C. outpost of that aforementioned haute-pizza spot. Oh, and no charge for cake cutting at Bacari W. 3rd.

And the place itself is gorgeous—I felt like I was in some rustic-chic spot in Spain, Italy or Greece. Fun people-watching too.

Thanks so much to the lovely, thoughtful and very warm staff for making the night I wanted to be special just that...

Shareable, small plates restaurant with twinkling lights on the patio and smooth sangria. Came here for a work dinner in a group of 14 and there was some confusion about whether or not we had a pre-fixe menu, but ultimately we had the servers pick about of their popular 8 dishes and determine how many servings to bring out. We also did the 90 minute open bar option for $25/person, which our waitress suggested since it’ll pay for itself if you get at least two drinks. You have the option to pick from sangria, the house white and red wines, as well as sparkling wine. There isn’t any hard alcohol but they do also have beer. The sangria was really smooth but not too sweet; it definitely slides down easily. Some thoughts on the food -

Burrata caprese - solid albeit safe choice for an appetizer - burrata was creamy and the tomato’s were fresh, but wish there was more bread

Bacari fries - the cut is similar to McDonalds and comes with an egg over easy on top

Gorgonzola pasta - one of the table favorites - the pasta was really soft and the Gorgonzola taste wasn’t too overbearing

Brussel sprouts - there wasn’t a lot of the pomegranates so it wasn’t as avant-garde as it’s made out to be but nice way to get some greens

Stuffed mushroom - my personal favorite - I like how the meatiness of the mushroom offsets the tomato sauce and cheese within so it’s kinda like a bagel bite but with mushroom as the crust

Margherita pizza - a bit bland and the crust was a bit cardboard-y

Smoked mushroom pizza - a bit better than the margherita in terms of flavor but same comment about the crust

Seated petite filet - it only comes with four pieces so definitely order more than you think for a group, but it was the other table favorite

The best cake you’ve ever had - not the best cake I’ve ever had, but definitely really good. It paired really well with the vanilla ice cream and I liked the undertones of dates

Doughnuts - not my favorite - the doughnuts weren’t chewy enough and the accompanying sauce had no flavor

The plates are small so definitely order a lot more than you think for a larger group. It’s metered street parking (the neighborhoods around it are mostly permit parking). Service was nice although it was busy that night so they were rushed. Overall, it’s a cute restaurant and good for an...