Chili's Grill & Bar — Restaurant in Los Angeles

This is what I would classify as a standard, average restaurant. Food was good, had the top sirloin. Not the best steak I’ve had (lacked a good or unique seasoning to it that most other places would have, but it was cooked well and with the A1 sauce the lack of a unique seasoning was something I was able to overlook), but it’s also not the worst (it’s not Outback Steakhouse bad). Again, average. Same goes with the appetizer, it was fine, serviceable. I ended the dinner with their chocolate chip cookie thing, and man, it really did make me feel like an obese Belgian kid devouring Willy Wonka’s chocolate like it was the only thing keeping him alive. Strange analogy aside, this was perhaps the only dish I thought was just above average. But in all, the food was nothing to write home about. It was good. Not much to complain but also not a lot to go over the moon about. Perhaps at a later visit I’ll try what they’re really famous for: their baby back ribs. So admittedly, take what I say about the food with a grain of salt as I don’t think steaks are what most folks come here for. Service here is your standard fare. They do the best in checking up on you. Polite. Relatively quick service. The restaurant’s aesthetic is also pretty standard. Décor is what you’d expect in a place like this: casual, mostly clean, every table has those card machines that you can use to pay for your food if you’re uncomfortable handing over your CC to a stranger. Literally this place is a nice spot to eat out with friends or by yourself. Again, nothing extraordinary about this Chili’s, but also nothing...

Reason for visiting: lunch with cousin and nephews

Date/time of visit: ~1:30 PM

Parking: free, in the shared lot. The parking lot is set up kinda weird since it's shared with other businesses, a bunch of one way routes for parking make it harder to find parking. It's pretty busy too but usually spots open. if you don't wanna deal with the hassle there's some street parking on Ventura and the small street next to Chili's.

Party size: 4

Environment/ambience: not too busy; we sat in the bar area where there was more seating. Only bar top is open seating; the tables in the bar area require a host but they let us sit there anyway.

Service: was great; didn't make us move and she was very friendly and attentive.

Food: had the $10.99 special, 3 for me combo. Had the chips and salsa, Old Timer, fries, coke. Pretty good; I think it's a better value than all these other fast food places trying to rip off customers with their pricing and bs value meals that don't give you enough of anything (McDonalds, Carl's Jr, Jack in the Box, etc). It's pretty annoying going to fast food restaurants and seeing all these nonsense fees (i.e. bag fee for takeout, upcharge for different combo sizes, etc). For this price, I'd rather sit down and eat somewhere than order fast food, TBH. Or help a local business somewhere.

Cost: ~$70 with tip

Would I go back...

I should first say I don't eat spicy food, and I'm not fond of fried dishes, beans or Mexican food. Most of my friends love these foods, so when I agree to go with them it's challenge to find something on menu other than salad or quesadilla to eat.

My husband likes barbecue and Mexican food, so he chose this place because he had a hankering for barbecue ribs. He was very pleased because the meat was seasoned well, not slathered with too much sauce and the meat just fell off the bone. His meal also came with corn on cob and french fries, he was satisfied by time he left.

I took a chance and tried the Caribbean Salad with shrimp. I knew it was going to have a little kick to it, but was pleasantly surprised when took a bite and didn't really taste any spice. The fruit and greens were crunchy and fresh, salad dressing subtle as I prefer.

This location has excellent music - classic rock disco and funk, which we sang along to and danced a bit in our seats.

This is a busy place at night even during week, so be prepared for a wait. We arrived right before dinner rush and had our choice of seats, but by time we left, the cocktail and the waiting area was full.

I can not speak for the quality of the remaining items served here, but can say it was pleasant experience. If you like barbecue, margaritas and Tex Mex this is...