The Semi-Tropic — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Well, here is the reason for the 1 star. This restaurant's identity crises. Their policies are designed for a dive bar or a college bar type of a place but they are trying to be an upscale , hip, good food type of a place and creating problems for customers like me. Let me explain my experience and you be the judge. So , before we decided to go to this place on a wonderful Sunday morning to get brunch, we checked places on yelp and this place seemed nice. So I said let's go and have a nice breakfast. We got in, found a table and sat down. Looked over the menu and picked items to eat and the server was about to take our order and she said; to be able to place any food requests in this facility, they have to start a tab. I said ,I am not here for alcohol, just for a simple coffee ,water and a breakfast item. She said this is their company policy and I cant place an order without a credit card is stored in the system making sure I have the funds to pay for my meal. I said , I dont give out my credit card out to any bar ,I always pay cash and she strongly reminded me again their strict opening a tab policy. I said how about I pay cash and again I was told that i had to start a tab. (I even offered to pay cash in advance and still declined ) I was so curios I asked what was the reasoning behind this policy and she said they didnt want people to eat and run away without paying for their food. :) Now Well, this is where the 1 star comes into play. If this was a dirty college bar or dive bar and your clients habit of just taking off after ordering beer ,yes please strictly enforce the tab policy but if you are trying to be a high class brunch place in a good neighborhood and your clients do have the means to pay for their meal and not run away, I do take this retarded policy personal. It is like you go to a nice place to eat and they ask you to pay or show proof of funds available to pay for food, how retarded is that? Now, I am in my late 30s , I have been to thousands of restaurants in my lifetime from the small tiny food trucks to 3 Michelin star restaurants around the world and so far this is the only time a restaurant did ask me to give them my card to place an order and denied me to order food without holding my credit card hostage. I mean how terrilble is that. You guys shouldn't be in the food business nor high scale restaurant experience because you dont even know who your customers are. You think that we would would run away after eating your food?. I mean this is why you have this policy? I am insulted. I don't care how your food is or how nice your place is designed, if you dont know how to treat your customers and ruin their day by the most retarded policies, you just simply cant be in a service industry. You guys are a shame to all the restaurants in this business who try their best to accommodate people and run a great businesses. "We need to start a tab to accept your order" how childish is that :) I still cannot believe...

This is our new go-to neighborhood spot, for sure! First of all the staff is always super friendly--we always sit at the bar, and bartenders are always friendly, fast, and on top of things. Secondly, the food is really good! Here's what we've tried so far:

Baja Wings: Super tasty! They fry them up perfectly so that you don't end up with that weird, rubbery layer of skin/fat that everyone hates when eating wings. And the sauce is really well-balanced, with sweet, salty, and spicy notes all working in harmony. Would definitely order these again.

Chicken Enchiladas Suizas: These were just OK. We felt they were a little bit one-note, and could have benefited from maybe a hotter salsa on the side for dipping, or drizzled over top. Probably wouldn't order this again.

Patatas Bravas: S O G O O D! Perfectly cooked, perfectly salted, and served with a super tasty dipping sauce. Bring me 8 plates of these, please and thank you--would definitely order again.

Veggie Flatbread (?): I don't remember the exact name of this dish, and it appears to temporarily be off the menu so I can't confirm its proper name nor the ingredients, but it was pretty damn tasty! The only complaint I recall having is that the edges of the dough were crispy and done, but the middle was a little under-cooked and floppy rather than crispy. But the flavors were on point for sure. If it reappears on the menu, I'd definitely give it another shot and pray they evenly cooked the crust.

Overall, this place rules, and I recommend you try it as well. Heck, you might even see me posted up at the bar, ordering my body weight in...

This is totally a hidden gem. Im glad I came across and finally got to enjoy. The vibe here was fantastic. Its a dark mellow fun atmosphere. Perfect for drinks and chatting. The staff was so friendly . One of the reason why this is such a great place to be able to still socialize while there music and other people is cus the surround system is vintage and was personalized to be played up high over everything which makes the place more comfortable. The food was marvelous wasn't expecting a Mediterranean twist but definitely loving it gave the food a special kick to the flavors . The combination of the spices and texture made the food amazing. I tried the steak and fries 10/10 and the shrimp roll be cause I love shrimp. And I loved them both . Personally I like dillso I was ok with the shrimp roll but for my ppl that dont like to try new thing I would recommend to stay away. The drinks were delicious. I had mexican can shots and Jennifer gray . Both I highly recommend. Also a mango cart cocktail but which was delicious also but it has a habanero taste to it thats not my favorite. But still enjoyed it. Something else I learned was the mixers are made natural from all the spices or fruits . Naturally extracted with also give the drinks that extra flavor. More natural and not processes. This is definitely a place to come and enjoy with friends. There was actually a birthday being celebrated and they show movies on a roll down projector this is event worthy for people looking to host...