Black Market Liquor Bar - Studio City Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in Los Angeles

I have been wanting to go here for a long time, but, despite working right up the street, this was the first opportunity. So, I must confess that I am a big fan of Chef Antonia's, having watched her on Top Chef and the Food Network. She is an amazing chef with a great amount of charisma and charm, plus she looks a bit like my wife. With that being said, I was afraid of being disappointed, because I have been to restaurants of celebrity chefs that were much less than expected, Black Market lived up to the hype. The service was amazing, everyone was super friendly and attentive, food came out in the order we requested it, with perfect timing, allowing us to finish our apps prior to receiving the entrees.

We started off with the Corn Fritters off the Happy Hour menu, perfection! They were light, flavorful, very well seasoned and not oily, like a lot of Fritters I have tried before. My son had 2 of the 3 ounce Sliders, cooker to the exact temp we asked for, juicy, flavorful with a perfectly toasted bun, only topping was Lettuce, come on he's only 9. My wife had the Penne and I had the Chicken Parm, both were amazing, again. Finally for dessert, we had the Churros, I love Churros and these were definitely among the best. The place is beautiful, has a true old pub feel to it, very charming.

Be warned that it is a little pricey, $130 with tip for 3 of us, but definitely well worth the cost.

The only complaints I can make is that it was very cold for my wife, not totally their fault, as it was raining and about 45 degrees outside, but maybe some heaters would have helped and parking is a bit difficult, while there are a lot of spaces in the area, meters and side streets, the area is very busy, so you are better off using the Valet. All in all, it was a phenomenal experience. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if Chef Antonia was there and we could have met her.

If you are in the area, I would definitely...

It was early Saturday Evening and the place was starting liven up. We had never been here before but we read up on the place and the menu was pretty diverse and to their point eclectic. Me and my wife had gathered up a nice appetite so we wanted to put the menu through its paces. The place itself sits on Ventura boulevard next to a breakfast place and a Ramen joint. We seated and the server was very informative about how the food was kind of like tapas style. Small to medium portions and for sharing. She was ultra attentive to our body language. After her presentation we decided on the,: Crispy spring rolls, shiitake, cabbage, thai basil, cilantro, nuoc mam sauce. Their take on vietnamese deep fried rolls. It was good and had a nice tangy fish sauce. Next Spicy korean chicken wings, cucumber kimchi, cilantro, mint, We were a little undecided about this one. It had neither a sustainable kick and the sauce was ambiguous as a Korean flavor. Next Shrimp toast, sriracha, scallion, bonito, nori, sesame seeds. It came out and it was a little intimidating in its presentation. Almost a wiry square piece. Once we decided to just attack it it was soooo good. Flavors were vibrant. Love this and recommend it highly we finished it off with Charred skirt steak, crispy onions, mustard aioli, parsley, garlic chips ( this will take a half hour to prepare so make sure you eat your "To Starts at a leisurely pace,) The meat was cooked prefect for us medium rare, I wouldn't say the best piece of meat but really tender and juicy. The accompanying crispy onions were good as well.

This place has great atmosphere, really loud and vibrant, Not a romantic place to have dinner though. Love to come back and try the other menu items....

I insisted on trying this place for my friends birthday brunch. Our group of friends was really excited because I kept raving about this restaurant being mentioned on food network. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon we sat outside really hungry. We ordered a bunch of stuff. Started with oysters ( they were HUGE, unpleasantly large and too assertive in ocean flavor for my liking). Then we got the chicken and waffle. The chicken was too salty and the waffle lacked in texture. By all means this is not only my opinion, I am writing what we have discussed at the table. The hamachi was not tasty, definitely one of our least favorite. We asked the waitress what's a must try dish here and she suggested the biscuit. The biscuit was a scone! Looked like a scone, tasted like a scone. It was bland the ricotta that came with it tasted so plain. Best thing on that plate was the 2 slices of strawberries that was left. It was a weird suggestion to me because in the middle of seafood and chicken and waffles we were served a "dessert". Last, but not least was the short rib. That was pleasant. I mean it's hard to mess up a beef stew. Bottom line we left hungry. We did not order anything else because at this point we couldn't handle anymore disappointment. The service was not top notch, it wasn't bad either. They never changed the little saucers that we were eating from. So basically you are eating from a plate that you usually would put an espresso cup on (tiny) and all the juices and sauces from previous dishes get mixed on your plate. Short rib and scone with maple syrup and oyster juice. The service would have been better if they at least changed plates between...