La Conde — Restaurant in Santa Monica

This was the worst experience I have ever had a restaurant. I was very excited to try this restaurant and it was a total flop. Decor was beautiful but that was about it. First (and there is a list of things) we arrive (party of 8) at our reservation time we get seated outside as requested and they sit us right next to a table smoking cigars, should definitely have a separate area if you allow smoking at your restaurant. Then when asked to turn on the heat lamps due to it being cold it took them about an 1hr but the table on the other side of us had 2. We finally order drinks and although presentation is nice the La Conde taste like juice w/dry ice, the Make a wish drink is tiny and when first came out only filled 1/2 of the tiny cup for $20, the fourth drink we order came about 30 min after everyone else. Then the food smh we all ordered at the same time but 1 person got there food and 20 min before everyone else. The fries were cold, they got two orders wrong, we ordered Ceviche and the only hot sauce they carry is Tabasco and Sriracha huh smh. We went to celebrate my sisters 20th birthday so we ask them if they do anything special for birthdays, they said usually they give a shot but because she wasn’t 21 yet gave us a list of options for dessert, when getting the bill some of the prices are different then the menu they gave you so scan and bring up on your phone. $15 for skirt steak taco when on the menu it says $6 (for one taco), then the chicken sandwich is listed as $18 but charged us $25 and the special birthday dessert they charge you $15 for 🤔. We then spoke to manger about the price mix up and he blamed it on marketing , then told them about all the other issues we had and he said it was because there are 3 different kitchens and a VIP area and that’s it’s busy(which it was not) 10pm on a Sunday night overall the service was horrible, food was mediocre and over priced will definitely not be back or recommend to others....

Starting things off positive the atmosphere and presentation of this place is top notch, but that does come at an extreme cost. Menu prices are quite high for the portion size you will receive. Our table had both Salmon and Mignons skewers that were both maybe 4-6oz of meat at best. The Diablo shrimp for a price of $40 comes with around 6 pieces of average size shrimp. The steak is where this restaurant goes horribly wrong. Selling "prime" steak for steakhouse prices as well as boasting some top end cuts of meat should mean the steak would be comparable. Unfortunately out of our four steaks every single one of them was miserable to eat. Tasted only of salt and had a dull grey appearance as if the cut was boiled and then lightly seared. The cuts of meat were also barely what I'd consider prime and we're about 1/2-3/4 of an inch thick. If the portion to price wasn't bad enough the restaurant waits until half way through your dining experience to tell you an automatic gratuity of 20% is added to every bill over $200. Given the prices on this menu I doubt a table of two with drinks entrees and sides could stay under $200. Tips should be earned and not guaranteed.

The wait staff and drinks were by far the only pleasant experience of this whole place. Our server was kind and professional and made the experience less miserable than it already was. Definitely makes sense why the place was completely empty during dinner time...

service last night was horrible. Waited over 15 mins to get drink orders and then a hour and 20 mins for food after being told appetizers were going to be quick. A salad , aguachile and fries took that long which was crazy. We asked the front desk for a manager our waiter for a manager waited over an hour and no one came. Apparently 5 people called out and they must have worked in the kitchen because the food came out dry not hot not flavorful it was really a horrible experience. I've been to La Conde DTLA and had a much better experience. The water was really nasty and filmy as if soap was mixed in. The cups on the table were dirty. Super disappointed especially because we were a nice sized party we were forced to pay 80 in gratuity for horrible service and really couldn't go anywhere else after getting the food cus we arrived at 10:40 and didn't leave till 1:30am. Ruined our whole night we had a party bus to celebrate and never got to use it spending most of our night here and not even satisfied. It was nothing offered to really help the experience we had just if u don't like something we will take it off. This happens in the restaurant industry where 5 ppl call off and the manager was overwhelmed. Really not our problem and that's why more ppl should be hired so things like this wouldn't happen the restaurant wasn't even that busy. I hope you...