Top Client Luncheon - Downtown - 2/2

[BasilKitty]

Hello My Fellow CH'ers!

Taking my top customers to a post-holiday luncheon on Monday 2/1. There will be 10-12 of us and hoping to stay in the downtown area. Any suggestions? My clients are hip to the scene and don't necessarily need the fallback steak/martini lunch.

Thank you!

[jgilbert]

Consider Cafe Pinot. If you have some nice weather and can sit outside, the experience can't be beat.

[FoodTrippin]

Y'all realize the lunch probably took place in Feb 2009?

[ipsedixit]

Maybe OP meant 2/1/2013?

Who knows ... stranger things have happened on these boards.

[FoodTrippin]

Possibly. She sure plans ahead. Started the thread in 2009 for a luncheon 2/1/2013. Much better planner than I am, fer sure.

[ipsedixit]

Probably some damn important clients too ...

[maccrogenoff]

BasilKitty,

I have eaten at Bestia twice. Both times the food has been superb. The menu is definitely unusual.

Here is a link to the website:

http://bestiala.com/index.php

[john gonzales]

Yeah, wierd that this thread started years back and is reincarnated. But I went to Bestia and it is very good. A little more rustic than Centro, perhaps along the lines of Sotto.

[Servorg]

The problem as far as the OP of this thread (Basil Kitty) is that she (he?) disappeared back in 2010, so we never did find out where they went for their lunch back in 2009 (if they went anywhere).

[AlkieGourmand]

In my opinion, by far the best lunch options are Water Grill and Drago Centro.

[Thor123]

Rivera would be a creative choice. Also like Chaya Downtown. Both a bit different but very good for business lunch.

[Servorg]

Have you been to Rivera before? If not this might be a good option, especially considering the fact that your clients are not locked in to the usual "corporate" food scene of steak and martini so you don't have to play it safe http://riverarestaurant.com/

[perk]

Oooops, I always forget that Patina is closed on Monday.

[nosh]

Maybe not the big deal lunch for your top clients, but when you have some that enjoy eating with a lot of bold tastes -- make a reservation for a big round table at Yang Chow in Chinatown (they have parking in back and validate across the street) and order: the spicy hot wonton soup from the specialty menu; dumplings fried and steamed and some cold sesame noodles with chicken and peanut sauce; two orders of mu shu (with the pancakes split two or three ways); two orders of slippery shrimp; an order of the eggplant and one of string beans in garlic sauce; the yang chow lamb and a chicken dish and a beef or pork dish or another chicken. Everyone has now had some soup and an appetizer and a pancake and some great crispy shrimp and some vegies and meat and rice -- everyone is stuffed for about $20 or so per person including tip. The important thing is to have things served in waves rather than everything dumped on the table at once.

[sobriquet]

Patina.

[moejuste]

Mmmm, nosh - just came across this post today and I'm suddenly swooning and starving in equal parts. I realize that after nearly 4 years the chances are slim, but any possibility this menu still exists and you'd still recommend it?

[nosh]

Yang Chow still going strong, and I doubt their menu has changed in decades. Give them a try.

[Thor123]

Yang Chow is not a business vengue nor very good unless you are looking for old school greesey food.

[AlkieGourmand]

I agree. This restaurant is rather gross in my opinion.

[perk]

I'm a fan of the Patina at Disney Hall for lunch. They have a lovely two course "business person's" mea., which is very reasonable. And I believe you can add a glass of a recommended wine for $5. It's always a very nice choice. And service is top notch.

[rickym13]

i would go either patina or water grill

[LL1]

What about La Serenata in Boyle Heights, just moments east of downtown? Great food, excellent service, and it is a real LA power lunch place.

[David Kahn]

Nick & Stef's has some nice private rooms that would accommodate a party that size, and while the food won't change your life or anything, it's pretty dependable. Also agree with woojink -- the City Club has very good food and heartbreaking views, if you can find a member to get you in.

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Nick & Stef's Steakhouse
330 S. Hope St., Los Angeles, CA 90071

City Club On Bunker Hill
333 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA

[aching]

I highly recommend Drago Centro - it sound like exactly what you're after.

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Drago Centro
525 S. Flower St., Suite 120, Los Angeles, CA 90071

[SauceSupreme]

I'd go for Drago Centro as well.

[BasilKitty]

I have been to the Water Gril multiple times and I do love it, but looking for something new to experience. Zucca looks amazing! Thank you.

[J.L.]

Takumi, perhaps?

[soniabegonia]

I've been to Zucca 5-6 times for lunch and was never impressed. Maybe their dinner is better. For lunch, I'd pick Roy's, just across the street, over Zucca. And I'd pick Nick & Stef's over Roy's.

[woojink]

Try to find a member and/or see if you can reserve one of the private dining rooms at The City Club on Bunker Hill. Best views in LA (54th floor of the Wells Fargo building). Really good food and excellent service levels.

If you can't do this, then I would definitely do the Water Grill. Both are appropriate for "top level" clients.

[silverlakebodhisattva]

Depending on what you want to spend, and how their tastes run, you might consider Water Grill, Patina at the Disney, Zucca, or possibly (you'd have to check first) reserving the entire sushi bar at Takumi (NOT TakAmi). . . .