The Redwood Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Los Angeles

The atmosphere of the bar was very nice. Cozy lights, big brown seating areas, and live music playing on the stage. I also loved the pirate decor. Overall the atmosphere was very friendly, and I really enjoyed talking to the other people at the venue. The security guards were also very friendly and respectful.

I don’t really like drinking because of how it makes you have to pee but I thought that because I was at a bar, I could ask the bartender if there were any mixed drinks he would recommend that were more concentrated than say, a beer, and would make me pee less. What happened when I attempted to ask this admittedly silly question, was a simple miscommunication. The band had just started playing, and he didn’t hear me. He thought that I was asking him to sample the hard alcohol, and told me that he couldn’t do that. I pointed to my ears to try and explain that we couldn’t hear each other, shook my head and tried repeating my question again. He then got visibly frustrated with me, firmly let me know that he cannot sample any alcohol other than maybe beer, and walked away. At this point, I understood that he just couldn’t hear me, so I wrote down on my phone that I never asked about any samples, I just had a question about a drink to order, and it was loud. As I was showing him my screen, I started to get overwhelmed by the situation. I had been up since 6am for work, had driven over 4 hours that day, and just had a lot of other stuff going on. I realized that he had seen the message, and I realized that I was about to cry, so (embarrassed) I ran out of the bar and started crying in front of the building next to it.

At this point, I understood that everything had been a miscommunication. I knew that the bartender clearly just couldn’t hear me, and it was all a misunderstanding. I was planning on just dusting myself off and going home, but wanted to let myself sit and cry about other stuff going on in my life at the moment. As this was happening, the bartender comes out of the bar and walks over to me. At this point, I’m completely done with the situation, I have absolutely no animosity towards this man, and just want to go home. He came out and explained the situation to me, saying that he didn’t hear me, he thought that I wanted samples, and he wanted to make me a drink to make it right. I really appreciated this move, and I thought it showed a high level of maturity. I let him know that I knew it was a misunderstanding, there was no animosity, and I just wanted to be left alone.

At this point in time I was still crying, and he told me that I didn’t need to cry, leave the bar, and “do all this” and that “this is a fun bar” and I should come back inside. He seemed very concerned with the reputation of the bar, even more so than his earlier stated goal to “make things right.” He once again insisted that I come inside, and said that he wanted to make me a drink to make it right. I was scared. I didn't want to go into the bar, and I didn't want a drink. He kept asking, I kept saying no, and he kept defending himself about not being able to give me samples. I said that I didn’t want a drink anymore, I was initially planning to get a recommendation, order one drink, tip nicely, and call it a night but now I just wanted to go home. I then asked him my original question, and he just said “of course beer makes you pee” and then repeated that he couldn’t give me any samples. At this point I still hadn’t gotten my question answered, and I already understood everything about the samples, so I once again said I wanted to be left alone. He then insisted again that I come inside the bar, and said he could make me any drink “that [I’ve] already had” because he’s “a great bartender.” At this point I walked away from the bar.

Overall, I still like this bar, and have been going here for years. I highly recommend going on live music nights to support small bands in the area. I haven’t seen this bartender before tonight, and I hope that his behavior does not reflect a degradation in the standards management envisions...

Though I live in the area and have passed Redwood hundreds of times, I have always avoided it because of their high prices. Last week I decided to take advantage of an Entertainment Book coupon and give Taps a shot, it was worth every penny! I asked countless people which dish they enjoyed the most, but kept hearing the same mantra of "don't worry, EVERYTHING is good". I decided to keep it simple with the fillet of salmon, though it turned out to be anything but. I was impressed with their gracious flexibility in changing the menu and delivering exactly what I wanted. My salmon rested on a bed of spinach and was surrounded by a border of roasted potatoes (as opposed to the mashed potatoes and asparagus that the menu suggested). I started by complementing the potatoes with the fish, but immediately discovered that the salmon was seasoned to perfection and did not need any more flavor. Luckily the potatoes and spinach came the same way so I enjoyed them all independently.

The bread was especially scrumptious and served as warm as can be. It came with a delicious dip that could be scooped up with rafts of bread. The soft middle felt like pillows in my mouth and was cloaked in crisp, fresh crust.

The service was impeccable and definitely made me feel pampered. I was so impressed with our waitress that when I noticed a hair in my food, I removed it and threw it to the ground to destroy the evidence, not wanting to make any...

You wonder why I rate this 4 stars for all categories, but only give it 3 stars overall? Let me explain. I dined here on a Thursday night in November of 2023. Everything was fine, hence the 4 star rating across the board. Now to sidestep and explain why three stars overall, and why I won't return to this establishment. I wake every night, sleeping more than 4 hours straight is something that never happens for me. That night I woke about 2 am and relaxed in my hotel room. Before going back to bed, I thought I'd check my phone for messages/e-mails. I was surprised to see a text from my bank informing me that my credit card had been used to get a hotel room in Alabama. Really? I'm in LA, what the heck? I immediately called the bank and had the card cancelled. It turns out that someone tried to use the card SIX more times at the same hotel to get a room. The only place I used my card on Thursday was here, for dinner. I recall that when I paid my bill (I sat at the bar), the bartender disappeared around a corner to run the card. I don't know for a fact that my card was compromised at this place, but this couldn't have been a coincidence. At least in my mind. So, I'll not return, no matter how good the food is, or how good...