Paloma Venice — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Summary: the design and atmosphere is top notch! Great space to enjoy some wine outside. No liquor license yet, but it’s coming soon. Mixed drinks made with Sake. Feels hidden despite being on the corner of AK and Venice Blvd. Staff was attentive. Came for dinner with friends and all 4 of us were pretty underwhelmed by the food. Good place to have a drink and go elsewhere for dinner.

Read on for details:

Went on night 2 after they opened so perhaps they are testing menu items.

At the moment, they don't have their liquor license so they make cocktails with sake. We ordered the Paloma and margarita. They were pretty good considering, but didn't feel like they had much alcohol in them. I'd skip the cocktails and go for the wine.

Their wine list is pretty nice and the Chablis ($24) was great. Glasses are on the pricier side, which is to be expected.

The food was just ok. (3.5 stars) I expected and hoped for more, but perhaps as they grow and evolve the food will get even better. 4 of us - who love dining around LA- ordered appetizers and main plates and I think I was the only one who really enjoyed my main.

We ordered: Gazpacho - both of the guys did not like it. Gnocchi- my girlfriend liked it but didn't love it Prosciutto & burrata- the bread was good but the prosciutto fell flat, it just wasn't the quality we were expecting. Spinach & brown butter ravioli - I LOVED this! It was very doughy and the flavors were mild and delish.

Overall we are all looking forward to returning for breakfast or brunch when it opens. I definitely plan to spend afternoons here on the sunshine drinking wine as the space is amazing, but I'm hoping the food quality or flavors just get better. The other 3 friends said they will return for drinks or try breakfast, but have no plans to return for...

Paloma in Venice has a nice, beautiful ambiance but the experience didn't quite live up to the setting. While the service was good, the food was fine, not amazing.

Here's what we ordered: Pear Mojita /6/10 Wagyu Hummus 7/10 American wagyu and not japanese wagyu so taste was alright. Doesn't have the melt in your mouth goodness. Pita bread was yums. Black Mussel 7/10 Decently fresh, garlic bread was ok Prosciutto & Burrata 7/10 Ahi Tuna Tartare 7/10 Shrimp Salad 7/10 Refreshing. Plum Glazed Short Ribs 6/10 Way too sweet for my taste, but the ribs themselves were tender and well-cooked. Branzino 7/10 Fish was cooked well, but the seasoning felt a bit flat. Skirt Steak 6/10 Was ok, on the saltier side but better than the short ribs.Potatoes weren't good. Black Truffle Gnocchi 7/10 Used real truffles which gave it more depth. One of the better dishes of the night. Lasagnette Bolonese 6/10 Just okay... Tiramisu 2/10 Overly sweet, lacked the rich, velvety texture it's supposed to have.

Parking tip: Skip the valet. There's usually street parking around the corner that's much more convenient.

FYI they automatically charge 20% for large parties and also a 5% benefit surcharge which was not communicated beforehand. Don't get why restaurants are making us pay for their employee benefits it's revolting.

It's a photogenic spot, ideal if you're looking for an Instagram moment or a cocktail with friends, but if you're looking for quality...

It’s like there’s no team leader here. Bit of a mess all around. When we arrived, the host desk was confused with each other . Told us to follow a waiter who didn’t know we were following them. We finally get seated. Some of the drinks are wrong. Next thing you know the food starts coming out one plate at a time every 20 minutes, wasn’t that exciting either We were there to celebrate a birthday, which was also a complete disaster no birthday song no candles, nothing. They forgot to bring the dessert and when they finally did it was thrown down - a moose in the middle of a huge table that nobody could reach the whole thing was not great. On top of the fact that their phones don’t work no one answers them nor is there a voicemail and there’s absolutely no way to contact anyone there so God forbid you need to get a hold of them. When I complained about this, I got a very non expressive somewhat of an apology? I don’t know if there’s a manager running this place, but you definitely wouldn’t know it if there was Oh, and I forgot to add there’s also some ridiculous service charge and we had extra food put on our bill that we didn’t even get so then we had to spend the evening negotiating and arguing things off a bill that we never got nor do we want to pay for? It’s a no going back for...