Bar Clara — Restaurant in Los Angeles

This is now the second time I’ve been here. Went here for dinner 15 minutes prior to our reservation time. Place was completely empty besides one table at the pool area and one table two away from us. Getting sat and drink orders taken were quick by one server. Water was dropped off by another person like 5-10 minutes later and our drinks were dropped off by the same person, not our actual server. We ordered the hummus and veggies as well that showed up reasonably quick. We ordered this the first time we came here and the hummus was plentiful for the veggies provided as well as a separate side of the tzatziki; the second time however… wow…. Veggies still looked like an edible arrangement however the hummus you were given was like 20% what we originally got and it was sharing the same bowl as the tzatziki. It really makes you feel ripped off when you swear there was so much more when you last went here to now… maybe they ran out of hummus so they threw it together? It would’ve been more respectful to say they ran out as it was towards the end of the night but 20% of the size, really?

Two dishes out of four came out shortly after. The steak was like 1/2 size it was before but was still good. The cauliflower dish was good in quality however the flavors felt like they weren’t matched right. We had two more dishes for the other people in our party. One tuna dish showed up 30 minutes after the last two dishes. The melon salad didn’t show up until we asked for it… I guess they forgot?! I had to get up from my table and ask for the salad and for the pitcher of water…yes, I got up to ask for the pitcher to fill my tables glasses because not one person came over and asked how we were doing… The salad ended coming out 20 minutes later for an EXTREMELY SMALL dish for $22. Our server came over for the second time this evening and we notated the wait, he said that management was here tonight so people were a little stressed, okay I get that. Except the whole evening we watched as people hung out by the bar and completely ignored us. We literally don’t need any special attention besides seeing if we wanted water.

All in all, our first experience with Aaron and his manager made the experience. Getting forgotten about for a dinner you made a reservation for with the excuse ownership is there is sad and disappointing. Would be nice for someone to actually care to run a luxury restaurant with quality food and service worth the price they’re asking. I guess...

I am writing to formally express my disappointment and concern regarding the service my party and I received at Bar Clara in Downtown Los Angeles on June 30th, 2024. What was meant to be a pleasant and memorable experience at your rooftop bar was unfortunately overshadowed by the conduct of one of your servers, Victor.

Upon our arrival, Victor made a series of inappropriate and off-putting jokes, including repeated comments implying that we somehow did not have access or permission to be there. This created an uncomfortable atmosphere right from the start. Despite the well-known appeal of Bar Clara being its rooftop ambiance and view, Victor seated us under a canopy and proceeded to close off all surrounding windows. This not only isolated us from the rest of the space but entirely removed the view — a major reason for our visit.

Matters worsened when we overheard Victor speaking to a nearby table, saying, “If those girls are too loud we will have security remove them immediately.” This was both unnecessary and deeply unprofessional, especially as no such behavior had occurred. Furthermore, Victor made an inappropriate comment directed at a member of our party regarding a sunburn on her chest area. This was entirely out of line and made her feel objectified and embarrassed.

Throughout our time there, Victor was dismissive and seemed intent on rushing us through the experience. We also noticed him making jokes at our expense to other guests — behavior that is unacceptable in any professional hospitality setting.

This experience left us feeling unwelcome, disrespected, and frankly, shocked by the lack of basic courtesy and professionalism. I am bringing this to your attention in the hope that steps will be taken to ensure that no other guests are treated in this manner in the future.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. I look forward to...

I stayed at the Hotel Per La for 3 nights and came to Bar Clara twice. The first time, I was trying to lounge at the pool…no go. It is super cute, but a very small area with very limited lounge chairs and it was super crowded. One server told me they also sell pool passes to non-hotel guests - if this is true, they really should stop. I hung around at a table for awhile to see if anyone left, but from where the tables are, it’s hard to see the pool area. You would basically have to stand around the pool and wait awkwardly and possibly forever to try to get a chair. As it got later, I got lucky with a wicker loveseat and sat there and ordered the hummus. The portion of hummus was decent and it was very aesthetic, but it said it had beef shawarma so I pictured some protein - it’s more like a crumble of ground beef. The second time, I went for dinner. I sat at a table forever and no server ever came by, even when I tried to flag the one guy down. I finally went into the bar and asked if there’s a server and a worker said to order at the bar. I ordered the steak frites and a water from the bartender and she said to get your own water at the water station. They gave me a number and then someone brought the plate to where I was sitting. The fries were good, but the steak was chewy/tough and not super flavorful, despite the chimichurri on top and the side of aioli. I still tipped 20%, but didn’t really consider that restaurant service and no one ever checked to see if I needed anything or if the food was ok. The rooftop fresh air was really...