Dinner pre-concert at Music Center

[yogachik]

I know a certain part of downtown LA very well, but not the Music Center area. Thing is, my 85 year old aunt would like to park once, and have an early dinner (5:30) before we go to the concert. I tried to get her to meet me near my office, like at Bottega Louie, but she really just wants to park at the Music Center. And I would rather not eat at one of those cafes on that plaza.

A search gave me no answers... Thanks! I should mention that she's very spry, so a short walk is fine.

[Jack Flash]

I gather she is opposed to parking, say, at Chaya Downtown/Drago Centro and taking the free shuttle to the Music Center and back? That's what I would recommend.

If parking at the Music Center is truly required, then your best bet is probably a short walk to 3rd and Grand where you'll find Nick 'n' Stef's steakhouse, and a California Pizza Kitchen.

I'm assuming Patina is not an option?

Please try to avoid eating at Kendall's. It could be a good restaurant, but they obviously don't want it to be.

[New Trial]

Noe in the Omni might be an option. There is also a new restaurant in the Promenade, diagonally across from the Music Center, called First and Hope but I am not sure it has actually opened yet.

[carter]

First & Hope is rumored to be opening around the first of April.

[New Trial]

So the First so they Hope?

[Jwsel]

Other than Patina at Disney Hall or Noe at the Omni (though that is a few blocks walk), there really isn't much worth eating at the Music Center area.

I'm a subscriber to the Ahmanson and the LA Opera and also hate parking twice, so I usually go places with shuttles. Chaya Downtown and Roy's are my general preferences, though Roy's shuttle is no longer a regular feature (generally, if you call and alert them in advance, they will arrange a shuttle). Chaya shares a shuttle with Drago Centro. Water Grill is generally fabulous if you want very expensive seafood, and the last time I went, they still had a shuttle. (Morton's discontinued its shuttle a few months ago, so if you go the shuttle route, I recommend asking any place you consider if they provide free shuttle service.)

[ipsedixit]

I'm wondering if one can park at the Music Center and then take the shuttle from the Center to the restaurant for dinner? Are the shuttles running that early?

[Jwsel]

There is no shuttle from the center to the restaurants. The shuttles are provided by the individual restaurants as a courtesy for their guests (most restaurants have their own shuttle, though some restaurants closely located to one another have a joint shuttle). Most shuttles begin running at 7 pm and come about every 15 minutes, dropping people off at the Music Center and then come back to pick them up when the show ends..

[ipsedixit]

Yes, I know that, but technically there *is* a shutte from the center to the restaurants, right? Because the shuttle has to make a return trip after dropping off the restaurant patrons.

The only hitch is that the shuttle runs only after 7 p.m. which would make parking at the center and then trying to "shuttle" to the restaurant impossible.

[silverlakebodhisattva]

While I like Roy's, the DTLA location has, from time to time, had real speed-of-service problems at dinner, particularly if there's Lakers going on. If you have to catch an "irregular" shuttle run to make a curtain time, it strikes me that slow service is the sort of thing which might make Auntie less happy with the over-all dining experience.

[Jwsel]

Wow. I've never had trouble with Roy's service being slow. Our experience has generally been that the food comes extremely fast. There may be an issue that the Roy's shuttle service doesn't start until 7 pm and is basically one guy in a van/limo, which can be a little irregular, so that can add to stress when you have a 7:30 start time for an event.

I'm not disputing that you have had bad experiences with slow service, but I've never had a problem in at least 20 pre-theater or pre-opera visits.