Friday, June 20, 2008

Restaurant 15

15

1320 Echo Park Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(213) 481-0454

Category: American (New)
Neighborhood: Echo Park

4 star rating
05/16/2008

Last night, on May 15, 15 of us dined at 15... Really... I thought it would be a clever reason to dine here which was supposed to be my first time, but it became my second time here. 1st time here, 12 dined here and I had the hearts of palm salad, (excellent) the pork loin also very tasty but slightly overdone and the bread pudding dessert which was wonderful. Last night I had the tomato bisque which I thought was a bit bland but okay, tasted the mac & cheese which was great, had the Kobe burger which was good but a bit dry again and the awesome bread pudding dessert which again was the star of my meal. If you have a big appetite, then get the burger/fries as that will fill up most people.

Love the green olive/garlic tapenade with crotons. The garlic in it is slightly overpowering, but very tasty... if I was making this tapenade, I'd roast the garlic to tone down the garlic a bit and add a little more complexity of flavor. But hey, it's free... I really shouldn't complain.

We were here for the $15 Early bird tasting menu.

Both times, it was nearly one hour before they took our orders, last night I had to go find the owner Toby (a very pleasant man) and request that the wait staff take our order. My first visit the place wasn't very busy as we met at 5:15pm but last night the place was pretty busy at 5:30. Cocktails are $9, glass of wine $7-9.

To find parking before 6pm, park in a public parking lot on Echo Park Ave just South of Sunset Blvd. After 6pm you can park in ft of the restaurant if you get lucky as the spaces will fill up immediately.

The restaurant is very tony inside, it has a full bar but it is small. The whole dining area is one room and the ambient noise was very loud to me to the point I was zoning out. I couldn't hear the many conversations going on around me unless people spoke loudly in my ear. I think it would be really helpful if they could add a couple cloth partitions or do something about the noise.

Summary: I like the food and it's a good early bird deal. The food presentation is nice, parking not too bad if you know where to park, friendly owner, good for groups, but I'd max it at 16 peeps as I thing the whole dining room only holds about 45 or so. Service friendly but slow.

If I paid the regular menu price for my dinners, I'd only give it 3 stars, but for $15 it's a good value and I give it 4 stars.

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