634534 Tue Jul 07 02:31:46 -0700 2009 20 2 Los Angeles Area 0 4835592 Haven't been to West LA in a good while. Can someone clue me in--what restaurants have opened there in the last six months or so? Tue Jul 07 02:31:46 -0700 2009 1091517 foodieuniverse 1 4835786 One that comes immediately to mind is Suzanne Goin's Tavern in Brentwood in the old Hamburger Hamlet space. Tue Jul 07 05:44:11 -0700 2009 4835592 108169 Servorg 1 4836231 Also Westside Tavern in the Westfield Mall. Tue Jul 07 08:38:32 -0700 2009 4835592 137622 burumun 1 4837052 Riva in Santa Monica - great food, atmosphere, service and late night (after 10pm) fun. Sea Breeze in Brentwood - a worthy conversion from a sandwich shop to a seafood stop. Tue Jul 07 12:58:26 -0700 2009 4835592 12655 ZoeZ 1 4838091 Annisette, Bazaar, Animal Tue Jul 07 19:08:29 -0700 2009 4835592 273467 toonoble 1 4838437 In last 6 mos: Anisette is really good - Santa Monica Westside Tavern on Pico - westside pavillion - great cocktails and good food. Tavern is new in brentwood - got mixed reviews. Haven't been yet but nice drink menu I don't recall but been to Bar Hayama but that may be 1 year...I can't recall when it opened..maybe longer than year but it's good too.. Tue Jul 07 21:38:51 -0700 2009 4835592 1083314 travelingmansoul 2 4839600 I know my sense of the passage of time is off (ala Albert Enstein and it appearing to be speeding up as I get older) but Anisette must have opened more than 6 months ago? We did have dinner at Westside Tavern the other night. Really reminds me of Houston's in terms of look. We both had the roasted chicken cobb salad. I loved mine but my wife complained that she didn't like the "deconstructed" construction (she is an order and don't change a damn thing lover if ever there was one however). We split the sticky toffee cake after. Man, that is one "huge" dessert. And that's coming from someone who never met a dessert he couldn't lick (g). Also the after dinner coffee is strong and they have huge cups. The size of the cup does bring the "cooling off" problem to the fore. Finally my wife thinks the "dish towel" napkins are way too declasse for her taste. I didn't mind them at all since larger, more absorbent napkins are usually a necessity for me.when we dine out. ;-D> Wed Jul 08 09:33:14 -0700 2009 4838437 108169 Servorg 3 4842006 m7 problem is that i couldn't step foot in the place because it literally smelled to be like a pet store. the menu sounds great though. Wed Jul 08 21:46:37 -0700 2009 4839600 10866 kevin 4 4842095 I did recall that you had written that, Kevin. And I was looking (sniffing) to see if I could detect anything like that. On the way in I caught a smell of buttered popcorn from the theaters and the bleu cheese that the restaurant uses on the Cobb Salad is damn pungent. But inside, while walking to be seated and waiting for our food I really didn't notice anything that could be construed as an odor like you're describing. Wed Jul 08 23:18:23 -0700 2009 4842006 108169 Servorg 1 4840049 Cache Restaurant at the old Schatzi(then Hidden) site at 3131 Main St. No reviews online yet. Wed Jul 08 11:20:23 -0700 2009 4835592 15641 altstarr 1 4840345 Fig in the Fairmont Hotel and also as mentioned before Bar Hayama is nice and has a firepit patio. Wed Jul 08 12:30:01 -0700 2009 4835592 242519 sumo3175 2 4950091 Fig has great farmer's market fresh salads. Sun Aug 16 01:22:42 -0700 2009 4840345 15633 fdb 1 4842104 Huckleberry on Wilshire, haven't tried yet on south side of street EAst of LINCOLN. Wed Jul 08 23:29:32 -0700 2009 4835592 186300 adrizone 2 4947524 Huckleberry-WAY OVERPRICED LOUD RUDE Perfect for the Montana Crowd- Yeah We cool we rich BARF Fri Aug 14 16:33:45 -0700 2009 4842104 92873 kandykane 3 4948120 Having been to Huckleberry for the first this week because I was afraid of all the above things, I found my visit to be really... really pleasant. What amazed me was the amount of staff they had on hand... They had two peope taking orders, which keep a line without no end moving. They had two cashiers and three people packing up orders... and then in the kitchen a small army of cooking including two pastry chefs (no just assistants assembling, but two people actually making baked goods). And then they had several servers helping people at the tables... and they all were WORKING keeping things moving... in fact, when the to-go girl had a lull in orders, she started stamping up huckleberry bags.... I found everyone who I dealt with in this assembly line to be very polite and professional... They even apologized for me several times for the wait and explained that since they are closed Mondays, Tuesdays people just STREAM in for their fix... Having sat overlooking the kitchen at Riva recently... they had WAY more people working at Huckleberry which is about half the size! Yes, the items I got was expensive, over $20 for a sandwich with salad, a small side and lemon bar... which in the end wasn't a bad deal because the sandwich was GIGANTIC and half of it was the following day's lunch... Further, the quality was SUPERB. I liked both the sandwich, side and lemon bar better than anything I've had at Joans or Clementine.... No, Huckleberry won't be in my regular rotation of lunch places because it would seriously cut into my shoe money.. but I can see it become a great spot for when I need a no fail treat... :) --Dommy! Fri Aug 14 22:11:48 -0700 2009 4947524 10659 Dommy 4 4950483 My experience is somewhere between KK and Dommy's. I doth think KK protest too much with the "we rich we cool" slam. Huckleberry's clientele is pretty much the norm for the Westside as a whole; didn't strike me as remotely more obnoxious than any other place that people with overpriced strollers like to eat. But my experience with the service was that despite all those bustling bodies Dommy mentioned, none of them seemed interested in doing something really simple - like take my drink order even though I stood at the front of the mis-named "Express Line" for several minutes, just trying to order a coffee and tea. Note: the restaurant wasn't even that busy yet - it just seemed like their staff couldn't be bothered. Maybe it just happened to be that morning but it didn't enamor me to the bakery. That plus it's a remarkably expensive breakfast - and we only had pastries. Sun Aug 16 08:45:44 -0700 2009 4948120 110491 odub 5 4957183 I've only been once, was impressed with the bread & sandwich I ordered to go, but I think the reason they have a big staff is that they do a lot of "coffee service" to nearby offices that are willing to pay their prices. Doesn't excuse them for ignoring a waiting, paying customer, imo. Tue Aug 18 15:30:10 -0700 2009 4950483 90755 Phurstluv 1 4842964 I was at Anisette for their one year anniversary in June. And, I happened to be at Bar Hayama on their two year anniversary two nights ago (July 7). Cache - I've eaten there twice now. It's good, very good (I wrote something here last week with details). Ado is brand new on Abbot Kinney. Tiny, but amazing. Tavern is my favorite of the new restaurants (have yet to try Westside Tavern). Cynthia's on the Corner on Montana Avenue has my all time favorite salad at the moment (chopped salad w tomatoes, avocado, mozzarella, with fried chicken), been open only a few months. Thu Jul 09 08:42:25 -0700 2009 4835592 42095 yogachik 2 4950500 Bar Hayama isn't bad if you're looking to try the new(er) kid on the block but it's no Sushi Sasabune or Kiriko in terms of the overall quality of the food. It's a decent choice for people who want a more "accessible" sushi meal (i.e. they have popcorn shrimp on the menu). Sun Aug 16 08:53:45 -0700 2009 4842964 110491 odub 1 4950672 Lemonade just opened on Abbot Kinney & Venice these past few days. Le Saint Amour in Culver City(whether you consider it west LA or not is up to you) would be another suggestion. Sun Aug 16 10:41:07 -0700 2009 4835592 10359 carter 1 4956475 Try Hamakae. It's a fine sushi bar/Izakaya. Most of the menu is $ 6~7 range. A lots of interesting vegetable dishes. Very good taste fine decore. I think a lot better than bar hayama over all. Only thing missing is stuck up attitude. Very friendly. Dinner only Sunday closed HAMAKAZE Sushi Izakaya 13327 W washington blvd Ph; 310 822 9900 Tue Aug 18 12:11:10 -0700 2009 4835592 242861 bigtuna27