The Black Cat — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Came here for dinner on a Friday night. Our party of four was seated surprisingly quickly given that it was like 7:30 or 8 PM on a Friday night, and we had a very good time. Cocktails were very good, especially the Moscow Mule my wife ordered - like a lot of bars in LA these days, that seems to be a drink this place prides itself on. Our table ordered a starter of Chinese Broccoli with fish sauce, which was steamed to a perfect consistency, and for such a simple dish was a definite highlight. I figured that was a good portent of things to come and I was correct. Entrees we ate were shrimp and grits, roast chicken with root vegetables, steak with french fries, and I had the lemongrass seafood curry.

The curry was really very good - it had a wonderfully tart coconut flavor (though I think it might have been better with a bit more spice), and on that night it featured mussels, clams and rock cod. Basically it was a bowl of shellfish, served with bread - moules marinieres, essentially, but with this very tasty curry instead of a wine sauce or whatever.

I also sampled the other dishes at the table. I would say that other than my own dish, the shrimp grits were the clear winner. I guess I just love grits, and hot sauce, and shrimp. It was all very well prepared. I think there was some bacon involved as well. I did not taste the chicken, but I ate several of my friend's turnips and chunks of daikon radish, because I love all root veggies, and I don't think he was that into them. They were roasted really well, yielding a nice sort of caramelized skin with a soft interior. Finally, my wife's steak, a hangar steak I guess, served fairly rare, with arugula and french fries, was solid bistro fare. Not the best steak-frites I've ever had, but definitely worthwhile.

It got very busy while we were in there, and noise was definitely a factor, but not to the point where it was difficult to hear each other's normal talking voices at our table of four (that probably changed later - we walked past the place much later in the night, and it seemed to be packed with bargoers, but that's a whole other kettle of fish, obviously). Service was attentive, friendly, and very professional, and for the experience the price we paid was definitely reasonable. I recommend this place quite highly. I will be back - perhaps not every weekend or anything, but...

Used to love this place, but the new outdoor situation is a disappointment. The ordering is completely electronic — there’s no one to answer questions about the menu, yet you’re required to pay a service charge on top of a tip. The food comes on paper and the craft cocktails come in cheap plastic cups — this might be nice if they were serving cheap food and simple drinks, but it kinda ruins their high-quality fare. They served us a $20+ martini ($16 + $1 service fee + tax + tip) in a plastic cup filled with ice. 😬 Upon ordering another round, we tried to order a drink that would be more successful in a plastic cup (but would never be served over ice). The online ordering software has no space for requests, so one of us walked inside to ask how to order a craft cocktail without ice. Two guys said to check off the “chilled “ box for no ice (versus “with ice” or “neat”), so we ordered it “chilled.” Another $20 later, we were served another drink filled with ice, and when we asked about it, the server laughed and said we had ordered it “chilled.”

If that’s the service they’re offering, then create a separate, casual, price-appropriate outdoor menu that’s more in line with the space and presentation. Don’t offer some of the city’s best, most expensive craft cocktails and serve them in plastic cups over ice.

As it stands, it feels like Black Cat is suffering from personality disorder. We’re thrilled they seem to be thriving during the pandemic, but our recent experience left us...

A good friend of mine suggested we meet here for a long overdue get-together. My first time here was pleasantly surprised that they allowed dogs inside the establishment. My friend had his dog and there were other patrons with their pet dogs as well.

This is a really interesting and not to mention historical landmark. The Black Cat is known to be the site of the first documented LGBT civil rights demonstration in the nation held on February 11, 1967 which was declared by the city of Los Angeles in 2008 by the cultural heritage commission.

We were greeted by a friendly and extremely accommodating host to our table (She gave water to dogs outside due to the hot weather) good job!

Started off with a round of drinks which is highly recommended. Our server 'Mikey' was also friendly and extremely accommodating. They were playing some really cool 'Indie' music that was quite the treat as well.

Our food was amazing and delicious. As shown in the photos.

The restaurant is clean, organized, and their service was above and beyond. Me and my party were very happy to have come here. My wife & I were the only ones who paid our visit for the very first time.

So like I do when the credit is due...The Black Cat gets 5 ⭐'s up, down, & all around. Thank you entire staff at the Black Cat, we will definitely be...