Superba Food + Bread Venice — Restaurant in Los Angeles

I came into Superba for the first time, excited to finally try it. As someone who values quality, seasonal food and frequents places like Gjusta, Zinque, and other neighborhood spots, I was looking forward to a great experience after the gym.

Instead, I left feeling pushed out—for no real reason.

Here’s what happened: I walked in around noon on a Sunday. The dining room was about half full, with at least nine open two-tops. I was dining solo and didn’t have a reservation, but there was no waitlist, no line, and no crowd behind me. Despite that, I was quoted a significant wait time.

Now, I understand how reservation systems work. I’ve worked in restaurants where you pre-block certain tables for pacing, especially during peak hours. You want to hold some tables for upcoming reservations, larger parties, or specific timing windows. But good floor management is also about flexibility and knowing how to pivot in real time. If a walk-in arrives, there’s open seating, and no reservations are due for another 30–45 minutes (which seemed to be the case), it’s absolutely possible to seat the guest especially a party of one.

Instead, I was told the tables were “only for two-tops,” which doesn’t really make sense when half the restaurant is empty and no one is waiting. This approach might follow policy, but it lacked common sense and warmth.

There were so many ways to handle it better: offer to seat me at one of the open tables with a heads-up that I might be asked to move later (standard practice in many places), invite me to order a quick bite at the bar or to-go counter, or even offer the outdoor seating that was also available. Anything that acknowledged my presence and desire to dine—rather than treat me like a disruption to their system.

Hospitality isn’t about rigidly following a script. It’s about making people feel welcome, even when the system isn’t perfect. This felt like a missed opportunity to do that.

I know Superba cares about food and I want to believe they care about the guest experience, too. But when the dining room is half-empty, and a solo diner can’t be seated without a reservation,...

tl;dr - Lackluster service, stepping over dogs that begged at tables and having the credit card reader held in front of my face while I reconcile my bill made for a pretty downmarket experience given the prices and reputation.

Detailed review: I've dined here a number of times, and it's a typical trying-too-hard trendy westside restaurant with good, but not quite as "good as they think", food. It's fine given the expensive location. However... it is time for the airing of grievances.

1. Relatively dismissive service. "I can't be bothered" attitude leads to having to beg for water refills. Good luck with coffee refills or hot water for tea. Perhaps they are understaffed, but having basics ignored for 20-30 minutes leaves room for improvement. This has happened on multiple occasions.

2. (Also multiple occasions) Having the server hold the card reader up to my face to get me to pay my check. He took my card, inserted it, then held the reader up while I had to checkout with him holding it. Yes, I had to determine tip with the dude holding up a card scanner. Maybe I'm old, but this is unbecoming a place purporting to be upscale. If they can't be bothered with paper receipts they need to embrace a system where people can scan a QR code at the table to pay their bill without staff hovering over them.

3. Dogs. (dog lover here btw) Dogs everywhere - INSIDE. I was led to my table on my most recent visit and had to step OVER a giant dog to get to my seat. It was one of two huge dogs brought by the table next to mine. I got a table eye-level interaction with someone's hungry pooch (see photo). Dogs were barking, dogs were begging, dogs were being dogs. I love animals, but c'mon. I had no idea restaurants could allow dogs inside - I thought dogs were limited to outdoor patio areas.

I just had breakfast in Burbank at an awesome place and was reminded how badly the concept of service is handled on the westside. Superba takes that to a new level with the hand-in-face bill...

This was my first time coming here for client dinner. The bread is a must try. I loved it!

Guest Service: The host was one of the friendless hosts over every come across. Her vibe was very cheerful & happy which I love. The servers were also very helpful in picking out which wines we wanted to go with - seemed knowledge about the menu / wines.

Food Quality: We ordered every single veggie dish on the menu. My fave was the spinach! What's interesting is that it wasn't too soggy. Soggy is such a weird term but what I mean is, there was just enough moisture in the spinach. They topped it off with a very light shredded cheese. Also good. Okay, the bread is so great! First of all, the way it was served is Mesmerizing... Just two thick loaves one on top of the other with creamy butter on top. Need I say more? The only thing I would change about the bread is that I would precut it. It was quite difficult to cut them into pieces. Next I got the smoked trout. This dish came with very, thin & slices of wheat bread. Overall, the dish was dry. I wasn't thrilled about the taste of the trout either. It tasted more like a tuna dip. I wouldn't get it again.

Ambiance: If you've ever been Tocaya, it's comparable. Basically, the colors are vibrant and fun. So anyway, the restaurant helps charity organizations by collecting donations from customers. They have these cute jars in the front with the different charity organization written on them. You get this coin and choose an organization to donate to. The cutest idea ever!!!

I will be back... Hopefully for a better...