Larsen's Grill — Restaurant in Simi Valley

Just missing a few extra touches.

For my birthday my husband took me to Larsen’s. He had asked for a nice table when he made the reservation so we were seated in a nice cozy booth….Thank you!

Improvement needed…For ten minutes no one acknowledged we were there. When you are charging the prices that Larsen’s is charging one expects a greeter, water poured immediately and a lovely person telling us our server will be with us soon. None of that happened.  As I was just about to flag someone down our waiter, Kaevan came to our table. He was very nice and he was attentive the whole night. He made us feel very comfortable with anything we weren’t happy with and provided me with a special birthday treat at the end of dinner (pics and more at the end of the review).

Kaevan took our drink orders and immediately asked if we would like an appetizer. We had plenty of time to decide what we wanted, we ordered the tuna tartare.

After Kaevan left I believe a busboy asked us if we would like some water, the water never came. At almost the same time, we did appreciate when another waiter popped over and asked if we had been taken care of (he must have noticed us sitting there for a time). I did not see anyone that looked like management while we were there.

The drinks arrived very quickly! Thank you Kaevan!

FYI for the Bar…My husband ordered a non-alcohol beer which was a Coors Edge. It does not live up to its name. LOL It was extremely watery and lacked any flavor at all. Try Heineken 0% or any beer from the Athletic Brewing Company, they have an awesome alcohol free IPA!).

The tuna tartare arrived ($25.00) and it did not disappoint. It was delicious, beautifully presented and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Next up, Tomato and Fresh Burrata Salad ($14.00). I did expect heirloom tomatoes based on the picture on the online menu but these looked like regular tomatoes. I was very disappointed as the salad was ice cold and frankly not that attractive. I’ve never been served a tomato salad that cold as tomatoes have zero flavor when served at that temperature. I tried to let it sit for a bit to kind of warm up it up but it was just too cold. The balsamic glaze was nice but not enough to save the salad.

For a main course we decided on the Chardonnay Soaked Cedar Plank Salmon with asparagus ($43.00) and the New York Strip ($54.00) with a side of brussels sprouts. The salmon was cooked perfectly and the beurre blanc sauce was a lovely addition (I did not notice any chardonnay flavor). The brussel sprouts were delicious! Sadly, the New York steak was disappointing. It was very tough and we noticed it was not medium rare but more medium. Kaevan was there right after we were served the entrée’s and did not hesitate to order another steak for us. We should have asked for something else but we stayed with the New York strip. It was still very tough and had no flavor at all. I have never seen my husband salt anything like that before. The end of the meal ended when Kaevan brought out my birthday dessert…Butter Cake, Ice cream and more!! Thank you Kaevan for making my birthday dinner extra special!

Overall, the experience was 90% there. Larsen's is just missing a few extra touches. We did end up boxing up half the salmon and steak. We warmed up our leftovers for lunch the next day and confirmed that the steak was definitely subpar and everything else was delicious!

Addendum…Larsen’s called us and asked about our experience…VERY IMPRESSIVE! We absolutely love that a restaurant like Larsen’s has survived in Simi and we will patronize it in the future and so should you if you've read...

Nice staff, FOOD OVER SALTED. We have not been to Larsen's in quite some time and was looking for a place to celebrate a family event for my husband and I. After our recent experience we will not go back. We ordered the crab cakes as appetizers which were good and a wedge salad, again was great ...... but when it came to the main course all the food was extremely oversalted. I ordered a steak Oscar style which when served did not come out as ordered- the oscar style was missing . We mentioned it to the server and she took the plate back to correct it . I expected lump crab meat but when they returned my plate, it came back with a fried crab cake. I would have rethought the appetizer or would not have asked for Oscar style if when ordering it the server mentioned it would come out with a crab cake (remember we ordered the crab cakes as an appetizer). I was also shocked to see the crab cake appetizer for 2 crab cakes were $29 and they charged me $25 for one on my steak along with some sauce and 3 pieces of asparagus. We also ordered the mashed potatoes as a side dish along with the creamed spinach , with the first bite of the mashed potatoes we noticed it was extremely salty. We mentioned this to our server, he asked if we wanted to exchange it for something else, we chose the mac and cheese which was good. My husband ordered a porterhouse surf and turf where they cooked the steak rare as requested. This is when we had our second experience of the dinner being WAY over salted. He took his first bite of the steak and immediately told me it was like eating a handful of salt. He tried a couple more bites from different areas of the steak, but it was more of the same. We tried the lobster tail and that had been over salted as well. However the shrimp scampi was about the only properly seasoned item on his plate. To say the least the amount of salt on our food spoiled our dinner and the event we were celebrating. We brought each issue up with our server and he was very helpful and responded that he would have the manager come over to discuss our meal issues. The manager did come over to discuss, during the discussion she did mention that the lobster should not have been seasoned except with paprika. Mentioning to the manager that most of our food had been over salted and we were unhappy with pretty much my husbands entire meal she only offered to refund the steak portion of his meal. No mention of the rest of his meal or even the side that were over salted. The waiter then promptly gave us our check without even asking if we would like desert (or even desert on the house). Spending that much money on a dinner and to have it over salted like it was well, I have to say very disappointing! We left the restaurant feeling very unsatisfied and not happy . Unfortunately based on this overall experience we plan on not returning , mainly ....... we do not want to spend that much money to eat...

Overpriced and overrated. My wife wanted to come here. I've been working nonstop (construction) on a new home and we'd been discussing going out for steak if we could find the time. I'd never been, so she was eager for me to try this place. I'm pretty easy to please and usually don't complain and will eat anything in front of me. We placed a reservation and were seated at a dirty table. We held our menus till the table was cleaned. The restaurant is crowded and loud, it reminded me of a nicely decorated cafeteria or mess hall. We started with the wine, which was very good. My wife ordered a Filet, medium rare with onions and a side of Mac and Cheese. I missed out on the Prime Rib (sold out) so I ordered a New York (I always have Rib Eye) for a change of pace. I ordered mushrooms on top and a "Loaded" Potato. The order arrived with a case of Dyslexia. The Filet was covered with Mushrooms and the New York bathed in onions. The Filet was also overcooked. We laughed and I suggested that we just swap the toppings and eat. We showed our server the mistake and she apologized and offered to take them back. I declined and we started to eat. My wife wasn't touching her steak and decided to send it back. At these prices, you expect to get what you ordered she said. I agreed with her. I ate while she sat nibbling on Mac and Cheese, but she was not happy. You may think that we're being cheap or picky, but she's right. This same girl recently dropped $7k in this restaurant to host a luncheon for 50 friends and family, she was expecting to get what she ordered, nothing more. Her Filet finally arrived cooked to perfection, with the grilled onions on top. The onions flavor the meat perfectly and the bite I had was delicious. The New York was large, but lacking flavor and a little tough. The "Loaded" potato is just a small potato baked with a sprinkle of onions and a teaspoon of bacon bits, a side of butter and sour cream. Nothing "Loaded" about this potato. The server came and asked if she could steal our salt and pepper halfway through our meal (strange). Was there a shortage of salt and pepper somewhere? I'm not impressed with this restaurant and probably will skip returning. There are plenty of other establishments to explore in the area. We've got our go to places over the hill in West LA, Glendale, Hollywood and BH covered and hoped to find somewhere close to Simi for steak. Unfortunately, Larsen's isn't it for us, though she did say the lobster was amazing (previous visit) and wanted me to try it next...