The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen — Restaurant in West Hollywood

WHAT DID I GET: The fettuccine pasta with shrimp, an Arnold Palmer and a bowl of the tomato bisque.

HOW MUCH WAS IT: It was around $43, but that's including tip (and I left a generous tip because my server was very sweet and kind and professional). Also, they comped me my tomato bisque and drink because of issues.

HOW WAS IT: The food itself was not that great. The food here is pretty expensive (the pasta was about $22 and adding shrimp cost like $8-9 extra), so I was expecting the quality of the meal to be excellent.

However, the fettuccine was totally bland and I had to ask for salt to season the pasta myself. And they only put five (5) shrimp on the pasta. For $8-9 extra, I'd expect more than just five shrimp for the whole plate of pasta.

When I mentioned this to the manager, he told me it was because the price of shrimp was so high. But if I get the same dish at Cheesecake Factory, you can bet they put in more than just a mere five shrimp.

As for the tomato bisque, they didn't serve it with ANY bread or crackers or croutons or anything. Basically, I was just eating a bowl of tomato sauce. If you serve tomato bisque (or any kind of soup), it's customary and expected to serve it with some kind of complimentary bread or crackers or something.

And on that subject, this place has no table bread. For the prices you're paying to eat here, you'd expect some complimentary bread, but nope. None.

When I did ask for bread, a server DID bring me...a SINGLE slice of bread lol. A single slice. I was going to ask for another slice, but at that point, I was just like 'whatever' and let it go.

All that being said about the food, the SERVICE here is very good. My server (I think her name was Amy? She had short hair tied up and had glasses) was incredibly sweet and kind and very professional, and the manager was very attentive and understanding when I gave him my feedback about the food. Also, they were kind enough to comp me for some of my food when I told them my issues, so because of the excellent service, I'm giving this place one more star than I was originally going to.

As for the atmosphere/decor, it's great and very fun, but the chairs were a little bit uncomfortable for me.

And for desserts, I didn't get a milkshake here THIS time, but I've gotten a milkshake here in the past and I have to say, the milkshakes are delicious. They're very decadent and very pricey, but then again, it's Universal City Walk, so, you know.

I've also gotten the sweets here in the past, and I have to say the macarons here are REALLY good. I also tried the chocolate malt balls, and I tried a bunch of flavors, but the only ones I really liked were the coffee flavored ones. The other ones were just sort of meh for me.

WOULD I COME BACK/RECOMMEND THIS PLACE TO OTHERS: I'd come back here for the milkshakes and the macarons, nothing else. And I'd tell others also to only come here for milkshakes and macarons. I would NOT recommend to others to eat an actual meal here.

This place works as a milkshake bar and a chocolate/candy store. But as a restaurant, it just falls very short of what is expected by diners, and it definitely falls very short of its main competitor, Cheesecake Factory.

There are so, SO many restaurants both on City Walk and inside the theme park, and most of them are a better choice than Toothsome (as a restaurant) for the same price.

If this place wants to survive and thrive, they need to put a lot more thought and development into making the restaurant part of this business actually worth coming back for. Until then, I'll come back for the milkshakes and macarons, but unfortunately, I won't be staying for...

I've seen a lot of conflicting reviews about service here, but I'm glad I didn't decide to look this place up on Yelp or Google ratings before deciding to stop by. When we had the Universal pass last year, we kept walking by the signs for this place while it was under construction and it immediately piqued my curiosity. While the actual restaurant and store wasn't exactly how I imagined (the signs made it seem very Willy Wonka-y ... Or maybe that's just my imagination because of the name), it's still very neat! I'm a fan of steampunk designs/decor so I very much enjoyed the vibe here.

I personally had no problems with the service while dining and the day after (I'll explain later). I would rate it one of the better service experiences I've had. The waiter was quick and friendly, he offered suggestions for apps (which I usually love) but my boyfriend and I already had something in mind, and he took that in stride! He was also very patient while I tried to make up my mind about what drink I wanted.

Food was delicious. Generally I question if it's really that good or if I was just that hungry, but neither my boyfriend nor I were too hungry when we dropped by. It was more of a "we could eat, and this looks interesting" spur of the moment decision. What really drew us in was the brussel sprout app... And then everything else on the menu looked really interesting (in a good way) and worth the curiosity stop.

We ended up ordering the brussel sprouts and the pub it up burger (like I said, we weren't starving) with truffle fries. He got one of the flights (sorry, I forget the name - it was the one on the left side of the menu) and I got the sugar cookie soda (I think that's what it was called?). His flight had peanut butter, chocolate, and cookie dough flavored liquor... I wasn't paying attention when the waiter explained (they also recommended the order in which to partake, which was appreciated!) because I was working... So I don't remember the names or the exact kind of alcohol, sorry :( They all tasted whiskey like to me, but I'm an alcohol nub. The chocolate one was by far tastiest, the other two were a little sweet but could serve very well as dessert liquor.

My sugar cookie soda... Dangerous, it did not taste like alcohol at all but had enough in it to give me a good buzz and Asian glow (I'm also a lightweight though).

Brussel sprouts were bomb, pub it up was tasty, and the truffle fries hit the spot like no other truffle fries I've had. It may be the wiggly cut, maybe that extra surface area soaked up extra truffle flavor.

All in all, I would hands down go again just to try some of the other items on the menu. Kudos to Chef Bryan for his creations, they're out of this world just enough to draw us in without being too wacky :)

So the next day story .... I noticed that the credit card I used to pay for dinner with was missing, and called the restaurant with the hope that someone turned it in to management. A few hours later they called back... And they had my card! When I went to pick it up the manager, Gau, came down personally to verify my identity and give me my card. He had a great sense of humor and made me feel at ease instead of extra silly/absentminded for forgetting my card the previous day.

All in all - despite what I've seen online, I personally had a fantastic experience with service, food, and atmosphere. Highly recommended for a casual, fun dining experience at a reasonable price before or after you stop by Universal!

Edit: the second day I also found the designated driver sign! I think this is pretty awesome.. just have to ask what non-alcoholic options are included, then I'm...

So this was my 3rd time here. The 1st time was good, the 2nd time was ehh and today, my 3rd time was awful!

The 1st sign that they took a turn for the worst was their menu! They initially had a wonderful menu BOOK with lots of options, and even better, it had pictures of MANY of the dishes. The new menu is now a 1 page sheet. They onky have a handful of items now, with NO photos of their dishes.

I ordered the teriyaki and pineapple mushroom burger. I begged the waiter to make sure the cook would cook it medium. He said, "Oh, don't worry, our cooks are great with cooking meat at the right temp." My friend ordered the buffalo chicken salad.

30 mins later, our food comes out...30 mins to cook a friggin' burger??? They were not slammed. But the energy this place had when they 1st opened has complete vanished, like someone put a pin to their hotballoon, so-to-speak.

At 1st glance, see photos, the burger looked pathetic, like someone sat on it. The Patty size seemed like something you'd find at Burger King. I looked under the bun to try and find the pineapple. This is my go-to burger anytime I see it on a menu. Sweet and salty combo is usually amazing. This should have been called a mushroom burger, so salty, and has 4 small pieces of pineapple mixed with the mushrooms. every single restaurant that serves this burger ALWAYS includes a SLICE of pineapple, not 4 tiny pieces. Oh, and the medium cook I requested, yea, that was too hard for the cook, since I got a well-done burger with no juicyness left in it whatsoever. I included a photo of that as well.

The dishes looked like something you would get from maybe a hospital cafeteria. The fries seemed like basic frozen fries that I could get at Walmart, nothing unique, special, or fresh about this place at all.

At 1st glance, the salad my friend ordered seemed like something you'd get at McDonald's, and they put it on a glass plate to try and elevate it, which only made it look even more cheap.

This place had so much potential, because the atmosphere was cool and fun, but something happened since it 1st opened, and it's blatantly obvious by not only the huge downgrade in the food quality, but the vibe of the place.

I predict this place won't make it if they don't quickly bring in a real chef with high standards to revamp the menu, staff, and more importly, the food quality.

Also, another note, their 1 and only vegan dessert is lame. They have an ice cream shop and don't even have a sorbet or a plantbased ice cream to put into their dessert menu? I mean, Menchie's right across the way has a PINEAPPLE sorbet, and every grocery store carries plant-based vanilla ice cream. Combine those both with your vegan cake and some vegan whip cream on top and bam you have a REAL vegan dessert! Jeez, creativity and imagination is lacking with the dishes. It seems they spent all their creativity on the design of the place only.

After tonight, I won't be returning. The Mexican restaurant, Antojitos Cocina Mexicana, on the other hand, which has been there at Univerdal City Walk since 2019, is delicious. Always happy with their dishes, very fresh ingredients, great service and their prices are...