Plateia — Restaurant in Los Angeles

The wife had something to do up near UCLA so she invited me to lunch at Plateia in the Luskin Conference Center. We had tried to get in for lunch previously but there was always something going on or the restaurant was closed for one reason or another. This time, however, seeing as how it was summer vacation for UCLA, we were able to get a reservation easily.

The Luskin Center is at the northernmost point of Westwood Boulevard. To park, you have to go in right in front of the center and down the ramp. They do not validate but it is an expensive restaurant in any case so the parking charge is just another drop in the bucket.

The restaurant is quite pleasant. Floor-to-ceiling windows that open to some tables on the patio. Our day there was sunny but a little too warm to sit in the sun. Although we originally requested a table on the patio, all the tables with umbrellas were taken and we felt it would be too warm to sit and enjoy our meal. We requested a table inside and got one right next to a door that was open. It was a good choice.

The wife ordered a chicken sandwich with a side salad and I had a pizza margherita. Sorry, we were too hungry to take pictures at the beginning of the meal but we did get to that before we left.

The pizza was great. The crust was crispy but not dry and the pizza had just the right amount of tomato sauce and cheese. I was very pleased with it. The wife's sandwich was also very good, she claimed, and it looked good, too. However, if you can call this a complaint, the meal was too big. If you've got an appetite, this place is great. For us, we had lunch tomorrow, also.

The service was excellent. The servers and other staff attend UCLA in their hospitality track. I guess there is nothing better for learning than doing. These people did very well, we were extremely satisfied.

When we got the check, we were a bit perplexed. The credit card slip matched the original check but there was no place to add a tip. Then my wife started reading a bit more about the restaurant and found out that it is a "no tipping" environment. My wife and I have lived in Europe, so we were both used to the no-tipping rule but it is quite scarce in the USA. So we signed the slip, took the boxed food with us and enjoyed the stroll back to the car.

Bottom line: a little bit pricier than your standard lunch but the service was good and the no-tipping rule was a nice surprise. In today's world, I like this way of doing business better than underpaying the staff and hoping that the customers will make up the difference. Just as in Europe, pay them a living wage and most will provide good service.

Also, we would have no qualms about going back, providing we can get a...

The food is decent, but terrible customer service!

I stayed at the Luskin for 5 days and ate at Plateia three times.

Every single time, hosts and waitresses were invariably surly and curt. It's a "gratuity-free environment" so they probably didn't think that they have to make any effort since they won't get any tips. The icing on the cake was the last night of my stay: I asked my waitress if I could have a sandwich to go for the next day, since I was leaving at 5 am and everything would be closed for breakfast. These are the replies I got: my waitress said that they had no bread for sandwiches, no ham, and that she didn't think they could do it. She said that she would speak to the host, but then disappeared and when she showed up with the cheque, she didn't mention anything. I then spoke to the host. She said that they don't have any ham, took my room number, and explained that she would ask the chef "if he could do it." the restaurant manager then reached me in my room, explaining that they indeed they offer an avocado sandwich, but unfortunately they only offer it in the morning, and I could not get it at night. I am sure the chef was consulted.

For a sandwich that didn't happen, I had to talk to practically a committee and it was still a no.

So my questions are: which chef can't make a sandwich? they served me a soup with a generous slice of bread. What did they mean by not having any bread? since they must have had all the ingredients ready for the next morning, would it have been too much to make me the same avocado sandwich to go the night before for the next day?

There are many good restaurants in Los Angeles; I see no reason to patronize Plateia any more. They are ridiculously bureaucratic, surly, and can't be bothered to even make a...

Atmosphere: A breath of fresh air. The entrance and patio area is beautiful, inviting, and romantic. I would stay there all night with a bottle of wine and great conversation.

Service: The staff seemed overworked and overwhelmed. Minimal eye contact. I ordered a water twice from our waitress, the second time around it was as if she never took the request the first time or realized she had. She definitely seemed overwhlemed.

Food: The chicken was very dry, to dry to even cut without force and sliding off my plate, very embarrassing. The salmon was delicious. It did not have the color of wild caught, so I did not take pleasure in finishing it (my choice). The veggies were very burnt and undercooked/forced. Salads looked appetizing, I was informed by one in our group not to eat what he called "balsamic pudding." Dessert, the chocolate cake/brownies taste like little Debbie's sitting on the counter for days out of the packaging. There were these little lemon quiche things that were quite tasty.

Oh, I can't forget the bar. Vodka tonic was an actual vodka tonic. 👏

Overall, it is very deceiving. It's obvious that the importance/priority is presentation, I get it, considering the location. If you took a small fraction away from the presentation budget and offered it to your cooks and servers, I do believe you could offer you patrons better quality...