The Exchange Restaurant — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Update:

I'd like to thank the team at the Exchange Restaurant and Freehand Hotel for reaching out to resolve the experience my girlfriend and I had. I truly appreciate that they took the time to hear out our situation and try to work with us to make it better.

We've since been back to The Exchange and had a pleasant experience. I didn't get a chance to get our server's name, but they were very very kind.

Original Review:

Extremely disappointed with my experience here. I made a reservation to celebrate Valentine's Day with my girlfriend. Upon arrival there appeared to be a bit of chaos in the kitchen. We waited for about 15 minutes until a host appeared. He told us the kitchen was a little backed up and if we could wait at the hotel bar until the kitchen got caught up. We thought that was weird as we had a reservation, but we did that. He said it would take about 15 minutes to be seated. About 20 minutes went by with us waiting at the bar. The host never came to get us. At that point we noticed other couples waiting at the bar to be seated at the restaurant. After talking to other couples that were there we discovered that some other folks had been waiting over an hour to be seated. They all had reservations. So a line of people began to form at the hosts station to figure out what was going on. The host continued to state that the kitchen was backed up and they were waiting for them to catch up. But we were all trying to figure out when that would be. He couldn't really give us a time frame. At that point it was very late into the evening on one of the busiest restaurant days of the year. We tried to call around to other restaurants, but everything else was either closed or no longer taking reservations. After waiting over an hour and a half we left and ended up spending our Valentine's Day getting food at a taco truck across the street. We didn't even get to eat at the restaurant. The host seemed overwhelmed and avoidant to talk to anyone. I'm not sure if they were understaffed or they overbooked or what, but the way the situation was handled was extremely unprofessional. Our special Valentine's Day evening was ruined. So disappointed in this experience. The service was absolutely terrible. Can't even review the food cause we didn't get...

A vegetable centered Asian and Middle Eastern fusion restaurant in the financial district in DTLA. The inside is really well done, dark but in a welcoming way with thick wood tables and plenty of different types of seating, complete with a wood paneled bar. My server was very polite and did a great job as well as the rest of the staff I encountered. When I sat down there were all open tables around me, but within 15 minutes every single table next to me was occupied. I wish they would have spread around the seating a bit more, especially because the table directly next to me consisted of a very loud group.

I wanted to order the Stracciatella & Peaches, but sadly they were sold out of it this evening so I went with the Salatim Platter instead. Tonight it consisted of hummus, burnt eggplant, and red cabbage. Overall it was okay, I really enjoyed the hummus but the other sides were pretty bland and weren’t as rich with flavor. Next came the Chorizo & Clams and this dish really let me down. The amount of chorizo was very small, it was too chopped up to be able to eat it with the clams, and had absolutely no spice to it. I would suggest using Merguez sausage instead so at least there’s some kick to it. They also added way too much kale, it was almost raw, so it was a strange flavor combination with everything else. I felt as if I could make better at home. Based on my first two courses I decided to skip dessert to avoid further disappointment.

Overall I feel the food could be way better and considering all the options downtown I felt they fell short. Service was great, and the design inside was well done but sadly those were the best parts. It was not a horrible experience, but I don’t plan to repeat, especially considering all the other dining options on the...

Great restaurant with unique Israeli/French/California food. My favorite thing is to order all the appetizers and share with my dinner guests. Smoked eggplant is really good! Bad thing is they only bring out one piece of pita bread for the entire table no matter how many appetizers you order. Each additional order of pita is extra. Bought two additional pieces of pita bread for $4. So....wait. maybe it isn't five stars. Let's say it is 3.5 because of the extra cost for bread with the dips/appetizers. It's good food...but the pita bread situation could be better..... A lot better. Humus is really good too....but you won't have pita bread for it if you order other appetizers and only get one piece of pita bread. Wait.. I am changing my rating again to two stars because we ordered three appetizers and only received one pita bread. Ahhh this review is bumming me out. It's good food but take care of the bread situation....come on! Appetizers all good...bread...