Good dinners near the Wilshire Grand?

[zenduck]

I'm going to be Downtown for a conference in early March and I'd love to have some suggestions of good places for dinner within walking distance of the Wilshire Grand that aren't too posh and where I might stand a snowball's chance in hell of getting in on short notice. I promise to return the favor if you come to Berkeley!

[aventinus]

There are plenty of good places nearby. None of them has a demanding dress code. Morton's is probably as posh as restaurants get downtown, but I've gone there several times in jeans and a t-shirt.

Anyway, I'll give three picks suitable for a single diner wearing slacks and a collared shirt, from most to least expensive and posh:

Water Grill. One of the best restaurants in LA. Probably the consensus best restaurant downtown. You can have a nice dinner at the bar. Expensive but worth it.
Roy's. Good bar scene, very comfortable. I've always loved the food, but it doesn't get much praise (or criticism) on this board.
Casa. If super-casual (but geared toward downtown professionals) Cal-Mexican sounds good, this is your place. The food is totally inauthentic and far better than average LA Mexican (might approach blasphemy to say that here).

[rftc2121]

There are numerous options not far from Wilshire and Grand that are better than Casa and just as expensive if not more reasonably priced:
Drago Centro
Chaya
Bottega Louie
Ciudad
The Must
Water Grill
Kendall's
Colori Kitchen
Pete's
Rivera
Cork Bar

[yinyangdi]

I highly recommend Bottlerock over Cork Bar.
Bottlerock excells in food, wine & service.

[aventinus]

Maybe you're thinking of a different place. Most of those are significantly more expensive. Drago, Chaya, Ciudad, Kendall's, and Water Grill are 2-3 times as expensive.

[yinyangdi]

Colori Kitchen [phone]
429 W. 8th St. (at Olive), Los Angeles, CA 90014
Dinner – Wednesday and Thursday, 6pm-9pm; Friday and Saturday, 6pm-10pm
BYOB; buy a bottle at Golden Gopher (right next door) or at Ralphs (corner of 9th/Hope)

O Bar & Kitchen 213-623-9904 ext 105
O Hotel, 819 S Flower St, Los Angeles, CA 90017
http://www.ohotelgroup.com/kitchen.php?mod=obar_kitchen';

Chaya Downtown [phone]
525 S. Flower St., Los Angeles, CA 90071
http://www.thechaya.com/downtownLosAn...

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Colori Kitchen
429 W 8th St, Los Angeles, CA 90014

Chaya Downtown
525 S. Flower Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071

[BluSantaMonica]

I second that.....I was at O Bar & Kitchen last week for a dinner party. Great atmosphere and even better food.

[Servorg]

You can get a good bowl of chili at Engine Co. 28 - basically across the street from your hotel. I think the food (and the beer/drinks) can be quite good at Casey's Irish Bar which is maybe a couple of blocks away. Arnie Morton's is close and if you like a good steak they can definitely fill the bill (or check out their happy hour if you want to be more financially conservative).

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Arnie Morton's the Steakhouse
735 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90017

Casey's Bar & Grill
613 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90017

Engine Co No 28 Restaurant
644 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90017

[Servorg]

Here is Morton's own website information on their Happy Hour (which they call "Power Hour") including menu and hours of operation: http://www.mortons.com/losangeles/bar/