District — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Okay so I also trusted Google with this restaurant, but I was HIGHLY disappointed.

Introduction to restaurant: first, I start by saying my wife and I don’t drink. We are foodies for sure. Love all types of food from all different cultures. So we came for the food, not the bar. I found District randomly online and got all my information for parking off their website. Everything was super clear in writing, but I would have benefited from a picture or map to see EXACTLY where it was cause the signage outside is tiny. Wife and I went for Valentine’s Day (of all the days to choose). We came from LA. Took an hour to get there. We parked in the BLOC and it was a DISASTER trying to find the restaurant. Took us 30 more mins to get parked and out of the garage.

Atmosphere: Pretty! Very modern and cool. I was upset that I had made a reservation and didn’t get to choose where to sit (like the comfy booth versus dining room table), but overall the presence of the place is relaxed and nice.

Service: Incredible waitress, shout out to Megan! She was truly such a gem and made the whole experience better. We got a really wobbly 2 person dining table and they moved us to a nicer sturdy 4 person dining table immediately upon request. Also, the waitstaff cleared plates excellently and respectfully, possibly a little TOO eagerly. They served the appetizers within 10 minutes which was splendid, and the entrees came less than 5 minutes after that. Now if you’re like me and you like a little bit more time to enjoy the appetizer before the entree hits the table, then you’d understand the split-second shuffling of plates on the table as they bring in the entrees for landing is a hassle. But, it’s not a fine-dining experience so this was fine in the end. Shoutout to all the waitstaff and hostesses, very nice and respectful!!

Food: Sadly, this was not worth our hour-long trip and dampened the mood of the whole evening. Lemonade was fine, tasted like Minute maid.

Caesar Salad was bland but fresh at the same time, dressing had little to no flavor. Croutons tasted from a bag.

14oz steak was FLAVORLESS. Huge disappointment. Wish the table salt could have rescued it, but no. Asparagus were fine. Mashed potatoes? NO flavor. Barely warm when they hit the table too.

New England Clam chowder appetizer was just meh. I’m from Boston so I feel like I can say I like my NE Clam Chowder a little thicker and not as runny. Just lasted like vegetables, not really like a hearty clam soup.

My wife got the turkey club. After one bite, she gave me a bite. We agreed that SUBWAY makes a better sandwich. The meat and tomato and avocado and lettuce were so flavorless (I know I sound redundant, but please trust me). It felt like a cold sandwich that just came out of a fridge... The French fries were fine, a solid restaurant French fry. The ranch we asked for could have for sure been Hidden Valley.

Total was $130.09 for 2 lemonade, 1 clam chowder, 1 Caesar salad, 1 ribeye, 1 turkey club, and a 20% service charge.

Summary: District is a gorgeous venue with so much potential, however it missed the mark at the most important level: the food. All in all, please don’t waste your time here if you’re looking for a flavorful meal. Beautiful atmosphere to enjoy drinks and appetizers either friends, but you’re not hitting a home run with the entrees.

2/5. Sadly no photos were taken, wasn’t memorable or enjoyable enough. Go to Cheesecake Factory and you’ll do better...

Pros: Atmosphere and service were quite nice. Well-stocked bar and a couple local beers on the limited tap.

Cons: The grilled salmon was tender but seriously lacking in flavor. Almost as if they took raw salmon, tossed it on the grill, then served it with a spoonful of mango relish in hopes that would land well. It didn’t.

The spinach was flavorful, if a bit salty, but the texture was a bit rubbery for a mid-scale+ restaurant.

The happy hour is a bit deceiving, with only Miller Lite or Bud Lite on that menu. The included cocktails lack imagination, made with the same ingredients any run-of-the-mill bar uses.

20% staff tip automatically included. No incentive to drive better service and a disincentive to those of us who might otherwise tip more.

Takeaway: If you’re going to eat here, go with something fried and safe. Don’t expect a decent or interesting drink unless you pay LA retail. Better yet, find a better value with the plethora of other options in and around the LA Financial District.

Recommendations to the GM: Can the mandatory tipping. When you make me give, I don’t want to give more.

Make all your drinks interesting and unique—then put some of those on the happy hour menu (including a local beer).

Remove any menu items you’re not willing to make exceptional (the salmon and the spinach).

Focus on quality and value. Entice me to want to come back and...

I saw that this spot had great food reviews and I’ve been here in the past for a drink or two, so I decided to stop by for the entree offerings.

I had their Crispy fish tacos, angry chicken sandwich with truffle Parmesan fries, and a tres leches cake followed by a vanilla ice cream.

The fish taco was phenomenal, mainly because of the sauce and the type of tortilla it had. My only critique was, I wish it were crispier, the fish tasted like it was fried before and then just reheated. Overall it was one of the best crispy fist tacos I’ve ever had, if I retry it again with a more crispier fish, I’d put it at the top.

Now the angry chicken sandwich was also very delicious, I love that they used thigh meat because you can taste the flavor difference. The truffle fries that came with it was ok, and didn’t really bring out the truffle permesan flavor too much and it wasn’t too crispy either.

The tres leches cake was also very phenomenal, but I don’t consider this a traditional tres leches as compared to the ones I’ve had at La Monarca etc. It was more of a delicious dry cake but lacked the milky/wet/extra moist characteristics that I thought it would have. The ice cream was a nice touch to kind of fill that part.

I’d definitely come back here again and it looks like an excellent place during the night. Parking is covered but I don’t know if this spot validates, either way it’s...