L & E Oyster Bar — Restaurant in Los Angeles

I was incredibly disappointed with this restaurant. My daughter was visiting from out of state and we decided on L&E oyster because they had good reviews and my daughter hadn't been able to get oysters in the state she has moved to. We checked their website for their menu and hours. The hours listed were 5 pm-11:00 pm... on THEIR WEBSITE. We got an Uber and, after a 40 minute drive, arrived at the entrance to the restaurant at 9:32 pm. We were informed that we wouldn't be able to be served because they stopped seating people at 9:30. Huh? You stop seating people at 9:30 when you close at 11:00?! We were told, no, they close at 10:00. Okay. Well since your website says you close at 11 and stop seating people at 10:30 pm AND since it's 9:32 can't you please make an exception and seat us? The first person said they would check but didn't think so, the next person said it was fine and to seat us, the next person said no but we could go upstairs to the bar (where they don't serve oysters or other food), the next person again said it was fine until the final employee (a female who I believe was a manager of some sort) came out and said no because she already told the kitchen to stop making food. Not sure I believed that and said so at which time the female employee said she had already turned other people away so she couldn't let us stay. I can only imagine that this woman sits at the door with an alarm set on her phone so even if someone arrives at 9:30:02 she can turn them away. When my daughter mentioned the closing time on their website she was not at all surprised and in fact just said, yeah that's the old closing time. After going back and forth for about 5 minutes and getting pretty frustrated, we left. We ended up going to the Lazy Oyster in Echo Park and had an incredible dinner with excellent service! I would recommend others save their time and money and go to The Lazy Oyster from the beginning, especially if customer service is one of the most important things you look for when deciding which businesses you...

OMG! The oysters are amazing. This last week was an oyster tour. You know, like when you're in NYC and you go cruising the city for nuggets. Or wings. Or any food that's a snack and you can find many restaurants or food places with that item so that you take a day to visit many of them and compare. So we did that last week with oysters. And L&E Oyster Bar won the 1st place!! We had the luck to find a parking spot right in front of the bar. We walked across the street and were speculating on how the seating would be. We saw a few tables outside and a table at the balcony which I think is the best spot in the restaurant. There was no chance to sit there. Not this time. But we did get a seat at the left corner of the main entrance, outside and it was very good. They showed us how their ordering system was, and we followed. First we had our wine served. I had "The whole shebang" house red and my GF had the Chard. "The whole shebang" was very fun to order and it was actually a good wine. It marinated very well with the oysters. I didn't try the Chardonnay. Five minutes later we got our big tray with twelve oysters, and they barely fit in it. I'm serious when I say that they were big. The oysters are served with lemon, a spicy thing that I don't remember what it was, but it was very spicy. Take it easy with that. And I think it was soy sauce or some sort of soy mix that paired very well also. I believe we paid $60 for that stop. The dozen oysters were about $30 and the wine added up the rest. L&E oyster Bar is a great place to go for couples, friends, family, everybody. It is a very relaxed environment but it's very appropriate for a special occasion. Dressing up well would bring the place up...

I visited this restaurant last night with five friends, and unfortunately, our experience was quite disappointing. I ordered the hanger steak for $55, which turned out to be a letdown. I requested it cooked medium rare to medium medium rare, but it arrived medium well to well done. After trying a few larger pieces, I decided to politely ask if they could grill another piece for me. I didn’t want to create a scene since I was with friends, but the steak was truly subpar.

When the second steak arrived, it was cooked the same way—medium well to well done. I informed the server and requested the dish be removed from our bill. To my surprise, he returned and said they couldn’t take it off because I had eaten too much. I barely touched the second steak, allowing my friends to taste it to confirm it was overcooked.

Things took a turn when the sous chef approached me in a condescending manner. I expressed my dissatisfaction, saying, “Please don’t talk to me like that,” to which she responded, “Well, how do you want me to speak to you?” The sous chef also said “it’s too expensive for us to remove it from your bill. I was taken back by the level of service I was receiving. After that, I asked to speak with the manager, who was also quite rude and insisted that I had eaten too much of the steak for it to be removed from the bill.

As a former executive chef and someone still working in the service industry, I was truly at a loss regarding this experience. It felt as though the hanger steak had been marinated, resulting in a cured texture.

My friends, who live just up the street and have been loyal patrons for years, all agreed that after last night, none of us will...