The Baked Potato — Restaurant in Los Angeles

The concept is a pretty great idea but our experience was subpar.

We walked up to what we assumed was the front door and were greeted by a man standing in front of an instrument panel telling us they were full for the night. We said "Really? when we left our hotel there were still some patio seats available online." He replied, "Oh yeah, those aren't sold out. That will be $20 per person."

It was a weird way to be greeted but my wife was very excited to try this place. So we get led through the front bar. At this point, I'm glad they sold out because they packed people in there like it was an art form in the front room. We made it to the patio and saw that there wasn't a $20 drink minimum like the website said, there is a two-drink minimum now. Functionally the same thing I guess but kind of an annoying policy when you pay money to get in and they're even making the driver get two drinks just to avoid getting kicked out.

Anyway, the patio was empty except for two other single diners, we got seated and our waitress was very good. I paid special interest to how well she wrote our orders in her notepad. She was very nice and did her job well when she was allowed to do it.

We ordered our food and it came out surprisingly fast. I had the chicken parm potato and my wife had the cheddar and mushroom potato. Both were good but not exactly mind-blowing or anything. Just some simple hardy cooking.

Anyway, after we finished our meal and two drinks our waitress came back and asked if we needed anything because they were about to set up for the next show at 10pm so she would be busy taking orders for a whole new crowd in the main bar for awhile. We said we were ready to close out and she said she'd be right back with the check. But I guess the window of opportunity closed and we didn't see her again for 45 minutes.

My wife and I think she's a pretty good waitress but the business just isn't being run for customer experience. They're just trying to make as much money as soon as possible. Once they have as much money as they think they can get out of you, they drop you until you're convenient for them again.

We paid $40 just to be there, another $60 for drinks, and another $50 for food, and were pretty much held captive for nearly an hour after we finished our meal and the band was on break because it was between shows so there was nothing to do.

If they don't have the staff to run the service for the outside patio they shouldn't even offer it. That was crazy, disappointing, and kind of made us feel taken advantage of.

When the waitress came back she offered us two bottles of water and one of our 4 mandatory drinks to be refunded but we're on vacation, our most valuable...

I wanted so badly to enjoy my time here, this seems like such a cool idea. I was, of course, a little hesitant though when the tickets to sit inside were almost $40. Nonetheless I bought tickets expecting the best. That is NOT what we found.

To get even a remotely decent seat you need to get there more than 30 minutes before the show starts, and then if you go to the later show, they won't even let you in until after the time it was supposed to start. So if you go, be prepared to stand for a long time outside. Getting in after the line started moving was pretty easy.

Once we were inside however it was a different story. We were guided to a back corner with 6 stools pushed together and pointed to go sit in the back two seats. Given that this was a little unclear and we were the last people to walk in, we picked the back two seats that were against the bar so we could mostly see the band and have an arm rest. This meant we were required to buy two drinks from the bar, annoying but ultimately not a big issue. The issues came later when the same man who sat us came back and asked if we were 21+, which he had not asked earlier when seating us. Then when we said we weren't he rudely told us to move back farther into the corner and let another couple (who were already clearly quite drunk) sit in front of us at the bar. Now we couldn't see anything. I had to strain my neck to get even a glimpse of the band.

For the amount we paid, I was very disappointed to be essentially stuffed in a corner. If you don't have enough decent seats (which ours were not), do not sell that many tickets. The place was packed so there was no flexibility. We did not bother ordering a potato as we thought they were overpriced considering the cover charge, and after getting stuck in the corner we didn't want to give this place any more of our money. Although they did have a nice looking selection of potatoes and toppings.

Long story short, despite paying the same high cover charge as everyone else, we were stuck in a corner unable to enjoy ourselves and ended up leaving early to do something more enjoyable. Very disappointed as this place has a lot of potential, and the band...

Saw a great show here but this place is too small, too crowded and too expensive. Im sure they are trying to get as many people in that they can, but removing 1 bar stool and about 4 or 5 chairs would do wonders for their customers comfort and enjoyment.

Instead of being able to really direct my full attention to the musicians working hard in front of me, I had to prop myself into half a spot at the bar where the required meal was served and there was no room to eat it, which turned out to not be the worst thing (more on that below), I couldn't sit on the bar stool or I'd have blocked the aisle, the host tripped over my foot that had nowhere to go (sorry brother. ) Both of my legs fell asleep along with my backside, tried to stand but that blocked the way. Needed to stay by my food so moving was out and it's not like there was anywhere to go.

About the food, when they named this place the baked potato they must have signed a non-compete with any other foods as every entrée is served on a baked potato. I love baked potatoes, except this one, it's just not a good base for everything. I had the "special" chicken fajitas potato which was a dry unfortunate creation and I can't imagine chicken fajitas with butter which was suggested as a moistener. It's almost like they are afraid to put anything else on the menu for fear of learning what a bad idea the all potato theme is. Lack of food and physical discomfort due to poor thinking and greed resulted in an evening that I have no desire to repeat. It's a shame, I'm a native angeleno and I've heard about the baked potato since I was a youngster, the best I can say is checked that off the list. The barman was very attentive, the waitresses seemed to be on top of things, the host left us standing by the door to be seated and my saintly girlfriend ended up going to find him. To you V, I'm sorry I didn't enjoy the evening, you are a wonder...