Cafe Concerto — Restaurant in Los Angeles

So we were attending a concert this night and wanted to have dinner somewhere near by. I checked out this location online and the reviews were ringing 4/5 around there so I figure why not try. Unfortunately within a few minutes we regretted coming by.

First drink order, I ordered a Gin and tonic, the waitress said oh I’m sorry we don’t have a bartender during the weekdays ( that’s a first, usually alcohol is a big part of profits for restaurants ) so we cannot make cocktails since no one knows how to here. I said ok It’s just a Gin and tonic though , it’s not hard to make and the waitress said ok I can try. She then said ok so Gin & tonic so is that like whiskey ? I said umm no it’s Gin…nvm I’ll just order wine.

After going through their wine list every red wine we tired to order by the glass they were out of. Only had bottles and no we didn’t want to spend for the bottles nor even drink that much , we finally found a white wine which wasn’t bad but not memorable.

Now onto dinner,

I ordered the lobster 🦞 pasta to which I was told sorry we don’t have that tonight….ok I tried the seafood pasta also told sorry not available tonight. Finally settled on the mushroom risotto and my wife ordered the Gorgonzola crusted Filet mignon. We also ordered for a starter the Bruschetta.

The bruschetta came along with our wine and the presentation was on point! I was thinking ok alcohol wise this place isn’t 100% but the app looks great and we both tasted and it was! Nicely done , good portions and tasty. Yay right? That feeling lasted until the end of the appetizer…:(

Once the empty plate was taken away we had idle conversation until my risotto arrived , we like to share our plates with each other so while waiting for her steak to arrive we dug in, which was a good thing since it took an almost extra 15 min before her plate arrived!

The risotto , 😑 blah. Tasted like buttery rice with CANNED MUSHROOMS!?! We couldn’t believe it!? Canned ? Right away we were both disappointed. The taste was flat , as if the cook hasn’t even seen a spice rack before. We had to ask for salt and pepper ( there wasn’t any on the table) and even then it barley elevated the meal.

Once her steak arrived ( 15 minutes after min btw) with her sides we both felt something was off from looking at it but couldn’t put our finger on it as we were hungry and eager to enjoy this meal. About 2 minutes into eating this Gorgonzola crusted filet mignon we both realized this is not what we ordered 🤦🏼‍♂️. Instead they gave us the Fletto Pepe Verde from the menu and the sides were all different. Fearing we would not get our meal in a Timely manner if we complained we just said screw it let’s finish this, which once I checked the menu again and it said the Fletto Pepe verde was to have homemade steak sauce, you could easily taste this was 100% A1 steak sauce 😆. We couldn’t believe it. What about this menu was/is real I am not sure. And the Fletto Pepe verde again just like the risotto had no flavor just bland. Honestly the roasted vegetables that came as a side were the best thing about this meal.

Now the end of the meal, a gentleman came up to us and asked how were we this evening , we both politely said we are good how are you? He said he was good, and wondered why we chose this restaurant this evening ? ( which I was already wondering in my head but yeah) he stated he was the owner. My wife and I looked at each other and there was this understanding that we didn’t know how to break it to this man if he asks how was the food?

But fate was on our side and he actually didn’t even ask how was the food lol. We said the honest truth that we were going to a concert near by in a little while and wanted ot enjoy a meal close by and read online this place got good reviews. He nodded his head and said thank you for coming then walked away.

We both just sighed, paid the check and politely left. I think “ In n out “ would have eclipsed this experience for us had we decided to done...

Copied and pasted from my yelp review. I am a returning customer, and I used to like this place quite a lot. This place used to make very tasty lobster pasta. I came here last Saturday for an early dinner. We ordered a truffle pizza and a lobster pasta with Tiramasu at the end.

Truffle Pizza - I never had it before, I wish the pizza had more variety but the taste and smell were not bad I thought. It was a little bit saltier than I prefer, but I did not mind. I would give it a 4/5 on this dish at best.

Lobster Pasta - The portion was small, lobster was not fresh (I was not expecting anything super fresh anyway, but it was still a bit worse than I thought), and it was not creamy. It used to be alot creamier and "cheesy" and served with better quality and portion. I will give this a 2/5 at best.

Tiramisu - This actually tasted pretty good. However, the one I got had some egg shells in it and I pointed it out to the server. The server offered to give me another piece but I was already full so I declined. This item was never waived on the receipt at the end either. The taste was a 4/5, but I will give this a 2/5 on the overall experience for this aspect.

Service - The service was slow, even though they did not have too many customers that time. But the staff were overall friendly. I will give that 3/5.

At the end of the day, this place will not be my "go to" spot anymore for any events or celebrations. Rather, this will be a spot that I will go to if I can't think of anything else or better, like a Dennys. But if I am going for Denny's food, which I don't mind at all, then I would not come all the way to K town to fight for parking and...

A seemingly small Cafe , but you will later realized how big Caffe Concerto actually is. This two story restaurant with 2 small patio was used with so much respect and love that it oozed with wonderment.

Every nook and cranny had its purpose, one of the main focus is of course, the showcase of their desserts! Amongst the assortments of desserts your eyes well immediatly fixate on the different colored macaroons. Each with its unique flavor, and at $2.40 a pop it is worth every single penny.

As you go to the upper level, you will notice piano decal on each step of the stairs that plays into its name. The decor surrounding the upstairs and even downstairs patio reminds you of a high fashion Tea Party, it is no wonder 90% diners were females!

Side note: Downstairs patio would make an amazing Bridal shower hot spot!

As we try the different food brought out, the portions were generous and full of flavor! My favorite of the evening was the Curry rice and the Truffle french fries ! The Ceviche was also a fan favorite in our group! I washed everything down with a Margarita cocktail, refreshing and as perfect as can be! Their coffee is all from intelligentsia, as i didnt get the chance to give it a try from being so incredibly stuff, you know it is good, when you see Cops stop by!

another side note: INCREDIBLE attentive Servers!

Caffe Concertos overall charm will naturally have returning patrons,...