Studio 12 Bar & Lounge — Restaurant in Los Angeles

We stayed at the attached Renaissance Hotel for 2 weeks, and we can speak about the breakfast buffet ($33 for regular guests), the burger/fries and an experience with the bar.

The breakfast buffet was excellent, and would give it a 4 star review, as it could use a bit more variety, especially when you see/eat the same things for 2 weeks. But to be fair, the food was fresh, hot, and even offered some vegan fare. The buffet area/dishes etc were kept very clean/tidy. The coffee was always excellent and the morning team members was absolutely stellar! So friendly, so catering and just really really good people.

The bar staff... meh... unless they felt like you were going to tip them, they really didn't have the time of day for us. I got to witness a brief disagreement between a patron/hotel guest and one of the bar tenders (same one who'd been rude to me) and I was not surprised at the bad attitude of said bar tender. I ordered food to take up to my room one night from this same bartender, one night I'd asked if he would open my bottle of wine for me, and one other night, I asked him for change. All three times this guy was just not suited for the customer service/hotel industry. So we opted to go elsewhere, or continue to buy our booze elsewhere to enjoy upstairs.

The burger/fries I ordered from this resto was such a disappointment. For $23, it was just a sad, boring, overly greasy-bunned, bland burger with a stingy amount of sad fries that were not cripsy. I was so hungry and ate it in my room wishing I'd eaten out instead, which is what our group did henceforth.

Overall, the bar/resto areas were okay in appearance. Dark, but pretty clean. The seats/cushions could use some upgrading.

Being a hotel resto, parking is very costly (hotel rates apply) or if you're lucky, off street, but close to the airport so keep that in mind.

Very wheelchair accessible both in the bar area and the restaurant area. Hotel bathroom is right nearyby...

This was almost a 4- or 5-star review. The atmosphere is cool (love the vinyls along the wall!) and the food is delicious—way better than expected from a hotel restaurant. The service was friendly and prompt, but there was one glaring issue, for which I'm docking a lot of stars.

I appreciated that their menu features nonalcoholic beer and mocktails. I especially appreciate that the mocktails are priced lower than the cocktails. I ordered one of the mocktails. I appreciated that the server had me point directly at the item on the menu, presumably to confirm my selection.

I did not appreciate, however, that the drink I was served had alcohol in it. Now, I'm no prude—I used to bartend and have had many a great night over drinks and dinner. But I'm on two medications that don't mix well with alcohol.

At first, I was impressed with how good nonalcoholic spirits are getting at mimicking alcoholic spirits. It was nice to taste something like my old pal rum again. By the end of my late lunch, I was getting lightheaded and I realized why my beverage tasted so much like alcohol—there was booze in the drink! Luckily, I took my pills in the morning, so I don't think I need to be hospitalized or anything (I'll update this review if I do), but it is incredibly inconvenient—essentially, I feel like I've had 5 times as much to drink as I did. I am supposed to be on the road right now, but I am definitely not good to drive. Parking's going to be at least twice as expensive as I anticipated. I'm fortunate in that I'll be fine tomorrow. (Again, I'll update if that's not the case.)

I'm mostly concerned that an otherwise excellent restaurant would make such a potentially dangerous mistake. I can have a little alcohol without my situation getting too serious, but not...

My husband and I had the opportunity to have a buffet breakfast at 96 Street Bistro while staying at the Los Angeles Renaissance Hotel. The restaurant is located to the right as you enter the Renaissance Hotel lobby area. The breakfast buffet offers an array of fresh fruits, meats, cheeses, fresh breads and pastries among other standard continental options. For those of us who like to have omelets for breakfast, the chef did a great job preparing one of my favorites, an egg white veggie omelet. The food was fresh and nicely displayed. Though the restaurant is not very large, it did not seem overly crowded. The servers were all very friendly, polite, kept our drinks filled, and came by often to check on us. A huge plus in my book! While 96 Street Bistro is comprised mostly with tables and chairs, there are also a few booths located toward the back of the restaurant. The Renaissance Hotel has a very stylish contemporary décor with ambient lighting in the lobby area. This theme is reflected in the restaurant as well, and lends a colorful and fun aspect to the room. I would recommend 96 Street Bistro for a very satisfying...