Dan Tana's — Restaurant in West Hollywood

Having dined at Dan Tana's on numerous occasions PRIOR to the COVID-19 pandemic, I can only caution that the Dan Tana's you may recall has lost its trademark charm.

Not only has dining at Dan Tana's become a featured tradition for ALL visits to Los Angeles, each reservation is specific to a preferred table (of NO interest to most diners) out of a sense of nostalgia. When mentioned during the reservation process, I am cautioned, and reiterate that I am aware and it is a PREFERRED table.

Please know that this policy has been discontinued and that "reservations" are effective "placeholders" for dining, with NO guarantee of seating, preferred or otherwise.

After securing a reservation by phone, several weeks in advance, (and the various online/app options are not available; a paper notebook records reservations), then arriving for an 8pm dinner reservation, the Maitre'd (and not the tuxedo attired gentleman you will fondly recall) confirmed the reservation, on at least THREE different occasions, each time racing off to evaluate the state of the dining rooms, each time offering "your table is almost ready".

While waiting, the Maitre'd expressed frustration (to no one in particular) in colorful language that might make a seasoned sailor blush. Yes, Dan Tana's was lively, hectic, and understandably stressful. It always is; prior Maitre'd kept their observations quietly to themselves and conducted the chaos with a calm and sure hand.

This same exchanges were repeated by other diners, with their own carefully arranged "reservations". A few very bold "walk-ins" fared no better, securing their own seating.

After an almost 20 minute wait (with other parties being seated according to a mysterious determination), the words, "I have your OUTDOOR table ready". Outdoor? Outdoor is an "extension", generously, a patio; harshly, the alley. After declining, "you'll have to wait; I have YOUR table, YOU want to sit inside". Bar seating was available, not offered, which is also inside. When a table began to clear (cited by "name"; again, dined numerous times), and this was communicated, "okay, when it's set it's yours", with a sneer.

When the table was cleared by not actually set, "just sit there, I can't wait any longer" was the direction offered by the Maitre'd.

The Maitre'd did visit tables, offering halted apologies, spending time to sooth others.

The food itself? I have often remarked, "no one visits Dan Tana's for the cuisine; it is the ambiance". Without that charm, without the atmosphere that is a welcoming sense of a bygone era, the Restaurant Formerly Known As Dan Tana's is a parody, with overpriced fare, mediocre cuisine, and haunted by a reputation that lingers on.

This 'Dan Tana's' is the younger sibling forever compared to the first and failing miserably.

Perhaps this changing of the guard will find a rhythm, establish itself, and be worthy of the name it enjoys. I look forward to hearing from all brave diners who venture before this poor, crippled establishment...

If only negative stars were available for Dan Tana's. I have been to Dan Tana's twice, the first time was over 7 years ago and I had an amazing experience. The second time was on a recent Sunday night with my family. Our waiter was Arturo, a charming person at first. However, once we had simple questions about the menu due to food allergies, he became exceptionally impatient. Even if the restaurant were busy-- which, at 5:45pm on a Sunday, it certainly was not-- he should have taken the time to answer our important questions in a friendly manner.

As we went through the menu with him, he barked back the ingredients to us with each dish we enquired about. He was beyond rude.

I ordered the Caesar salad with chicken, for my appetizer, It was absolutely tasteless- just a bed of romaine lettuce with sliced grilled chicken on top with a few croutons, no parmesan cheese added beforehand, only grated sparsely by the waiter when I asked for it. I had ordered the dressing on the side, so perhaps this messed up their formula for their well reviewed Caesar salad. The price on the menu was $18 without chicken, however, a few days later, when I looked at the bill again, I noticed he charged an extra $16 for the small amount of chicken served, making it $34 total. Thinking this seemed extremely expensive, I called Dan Tana's and asked how much the appetizer portion Caesar with chicken was and was told it was actually $28. So I was overcharged $6.

My mother ordered the Chicken Vesuvius, which she said was inedible and a saltlick. She asked the waiter for a doggy bag almost immediately and he asked why. After she explained that she wasn't able to eat it, but the family cat might, he did not apologize or offer any alternatives. She ended up taking the dish home and soaked the chicken overnight in water in order to remove all the salt and fed it to the cat.

It turns out the initially friendly waiter Arturo tacked on several dollars to each dish we ordered, as well as a mysterious drink for $3 which we never ordered.

I called Dan Tana's to complain and spoke with a manager, and he told me to call back the next morning to get a refund for the $ we were deceptively overcharged. I was expecting an apology- the manager responded with no apology or regret. When I explained how rude the waiter was especially dealing with a client with a food allergy, he did not care.

EPIC FAIL. This restaurant sucks. I live in New York where there are a number of great old time/historic restaurants to visit that actually serve their customers, without being obnoxiously rude, unhelpful, and thieves when writing up the bill.

Will never visit this place again, and I hope I can help people to avoid this terrible restaurant...

I highly recommend avoiding Dan Tana's at all costs. I can only speak to the service, not the food as we waited an hour without being seated so we left. Huge bummer especially given the fact that we were with a group for my fiancé's birthday dinner.

We showed up right on time for the reservation and checked in and was told it would be "5 minutes'. 5 minutes later, I checked in again only to be told 10 minutes by a very rude waiter - who BTW, tries her very hardest to ignore you (everyone was crowding inside as it was very cold out and she was telling all reservations 5+ minutes despite no one getting up). I checked in again and was told 5 minutes. Nothing. At 9 PM, I said we were going to try to get a drink elsewhere, could she call me if our table opened up? She said no need, be back in 15 minutes - table will be ready.

We come back promptly at 9:15 (45 minutes after reservation). I wait by the check-in for 5 minutes, finally got her attention and she rudely asks who I am - I remind her that she said our table would be ready. She then doesn't answer and proceeds to walk around the restaurant aloofly. She comes back and once again ignores me by speaking with another frustrated patron. I step in and ask nicely, what the status is. She proceeds again to ask who I am (and yes, I had told her a couple minutes prior). This time she just says she doesn't know. I tell her that I am frustrated as we have been given the run around multiple times with inaccurate information - and she says to me, "WELL I CAN'T READ HUMAN BEHAVIOR". I say, you don't you too, but at the bar minimum I would like to realistically know when we will be seated and she tells THAT I CAN ASK THE TABLE TO LEAVE (gasp). I tell her I don't want to do that but I am very unhappy with the service and she says, "well, you can leave if you want".

So after an hour of waiting, WE LEFT without dinner or any sort of apology or make good, DESPITE A RESERVATION.

Truly, this was the worst dining experience I may have ever had. To have a waiter who is not only rude, but unable to move tables and manage the reservation list at such an institution is truly outstanding. Such a disappointed for an evening we were quite...