Courtyard Restaurants

Since I am big on cozy, fun, and most importantly (especially in l.a.) non-pretentious places, i have always loved coming to the courtyard. my friends made me try it a few months back, and i have come in consistently since. i don't know if you've ever REALLY had a french fry until you try these tasty delicacies at the courtyard. always, always, always go for the mozzarella marinara, with the marinara on the side. that way it keeps the cheese nice and crispy. the romaine hears salad is divine, and did i mention the garlic shrimp is brilliant? i always get it with bread, so i can sop up the sauce after the shrimp is gone....yummy!!! lately the place has been hopping, so if it's a friday or saturday, i usually get a reservation. even when i haven't the hostess (she rocks), has always been accomadating. and if i have to sit at the bar, is a few extra drinks gonna do me in? (let's hope not!) i have my three favoriate servers there, and you should definitely ask for them while you are there. Shelly is a sweetheart, and goes out of her way to make you feel comfortable at the restaurant and with what you have ordered. Xavier is such a fun guy, always laughing and is super knowledgeable about the wine there. it doesn't hurt that he's pretty hot either. last but not least, there is lenin. he is just such a nice, chill guy, and is always calm and ready with your food or with a smile. all in all, i'd say you'd have to be nuts not to come and try out the courtyard. it's quaint, the prices are uber reasonable, and on wednesdays wines are half off. yes, you heard right, half off!!! what more can a girl want in life, but awesome atmosphere, tasty food, and excellent cheap wine. my fav is maso canali, it's a pinot grigio from italy, and if you're not careful, by the time you look up from your first glass, you have 3 empy bottles next to you. oh yeah, and there's free parking. shoot, after writing this, i'm gonna go there for happy hour!!! Pros: wonderful wine, free parking, great service Cons: that it's not open 24 hrs more

How many reviews does this restaurant have? Way too many..............why does it have so many..........The owners must be writing them............Check out other restaurants...........how many have over 120+? Something fishy here............So anyway I didn't listen to my better judgement and we went..........Nice courtyard area.......BUT..the food is below average and the famous bacon wrapped things were swimming in grease and not worth the money...........don't bother! I am sure there will be two more review in caps to say the food is great!.......BRING THE PEPTO! more

After eating at overpriced overhyped LA restaurants for almost a week, eating at Courtyard was a delight! The service was fast and courteous, the food came out reasonably quickly, and it was GOOD!! Everything was delicious. The bacon wrapped dates melt in your mouth. The fries, believe it or not, were fantastic. The salmon (and I'm from Seattle here people) was absolutely the best that I've had in a long long time. Tender, just barely cooked, with a lemony-capery-olivey light taste. This restaurant deserves the Citysearch awards it's gotten. Pros: The food, outdoor dining, service, value. Cons: None really. Could be a bit more stylish, but if it keeps the hipsters at bay I'm fine with it. more

I recently had my birthday party at the courtyard after having read reviews and some word of mouth from friends. Jim helped me get a menu made up for the twenty plus person party and it all turned out amazingly. The waitstaff was very attentive and was always there to help. The food was great every plate that came out was as good as the last. Of course the sangria was superb as well. I recommend going for dinner and sitting out in the courtyard with a pitcher of sangria and at least one order of bacon wrapped dates. Pros: parking next door at collar and leash more

I have been a regular Courtyard customer from day one. I have to say to anyone who hasn't tried The Courtyard, call them and make a reservation. While I have tried almost everything on the menu, and like 95% of everything, I go back regularly because of the wonderful atmoshere and above all, the excellent service. I have met all 3 partners over the course of the last 2.5 years and they have always went out of their way to make sure everything was excellent. Although, I have my regular server Lenin(who has been there from day one), on several occasions, I have been served by other servers, and not once have I received bad service. If you want to go to a Tapas restaurant, you really need to treat yourself and go to The Courtyard. I will close by saying the Tapas, Sangria, service, and atmosphere are all fabulous. There is a reason why they were voted #1 for Best Small Plates and Best Outdoor Dining for LA. Pros: Free parking, beautiful courtyard, awesome food, and great service! Cons: I can't always get a reservation! more

From the courtyard setting to the friendly staff who deliver authentic dishes, this place is worth a wait if you didn't make a reservation. My office group drives a distance to meet around the big wooden table near the entrance. Start with the bacon-wrapped dates and the cheese plate while waiting for seafood paella, the best around. If you know foods of Spain, or want to taste-test, this is a great start. Pros: best spot in Weho to dine with friends more

l LIVE IN ORANGE COUNTY AND DRIVE TO LA SPECIFICALLY TO HAVE LUNCH OR DINNER AT THE COURTYARD. AFTER READING THOSE BAD REVIEWS I JUST HAD TO COMMENT. FROM THE FIRST VISIT TO THE COURTYARD THE SERVICE HAS BEEN EXCEPTIONAL AND THE FOOD FABULOUS!! ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FOOD AND THE SERVERS ARE MORE THAN HELPFUL WITH RECOMMENDATIONS. AND WHAT RECOMMENDATIONS!! THE FOOD IS DELICIOUS. THE DATES AND BACON ALSO ASPARAGUS ARE FAVORITES. THE STEAK ALA POBRE, GARLIC SHRIMP AND CHICKEN PAELLA ARE UNBEATABLE! THE WINE LIST IT UNIQUE, AND THE SANGRIA THE BEST.THE COURTYARD HAS A UNIQUE ATMOSPHERE AND IS APPEALING TO ALL AGES. DO NOT LET A FEW UNHAPPY PEOPLE WHO WRITE BAD REVIEWS KEEP YOU FROM ENJOYING ONE OF THE BEST DINING EXPERIENCES IN LA. Pros: EASY PARKING GREAT FOOD more

My husband and i lived in Barcelona for many years. Now that we live state side and are retired here in Newport Beach, California. The search for good Spanish food is a difficult one. Happily we found The Courtyard here on City Search. The food is always good, and the waiters are so accomodating and friendly. The chef Albert Slivera is a genius with the food. The bacon wrapped dates are always a tastey treat, and i have NEVER had a bad Pobre. The steak is perfect, bar none. We frequent Los Angeles quite a bit to see our daughter and grandchildren and we ALWAYS go to The Courtyard for the food. We love James and Jim and Albert. Thank you so much for satisying our little cravings for GOOD Tapas!!!! The food is FABULOUS!! more

I'VE BEEN TO A FEW TAPAS RESTAURANTS IN L.A. AND BY FAR THE COURTYARD IS THE BEST. AFTER GOING THERE A FEW DAYS AGO I WANTED TO WRITE A REVIEW ABOUT ALL THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT MY EXPERIENCE THERE. I READ ALL THE BAD REVIEWS AND IT WAS FAR FROM WHAT THEY SAID. WELL FIRST OF ALL THE SERVICE WAS GREAT, IT WAS QUICK AND POLITE. I HAD A FEW QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FOOD AND MY SERVER WAS VERY HELPFUL. THE FOOD WAS DELICIOUS. I HAD THE DATES AND BACON, STEAK ALA POBRE, GARLIC SHRIMP, ASPARAGUS AND PAELLA VALENCIA, ALL HIGHLY RECOMMENED. LASTLY THE ATOMPHERE, THE OUTSIDE COURTYARD IS GREAT FOR YOU AND A DATE, IT GOT ALITTLE COLD SO THEY BROUGHT A HEATLAMP RIGHT OVER... OVER ALL THIS PLACE IS GREAT, DON'T LET THE BAD REVIEWS SCARE YOU. Pros: FREE PARKING, SERVICE, FOOD, AMBIANCE Cons: NONE more

I have to say that the red "royale" sangria is the best; followed by the peach sangria(it's more for chicks, but it's still good). Awesome promotions, martini mondays, tapa tuesdays, and wine wednesdays. They have the best tapas in town. The best dishes: Steak alo pobre( to die for), Gambas al ajillo(make sure you ask for some bread to dip), The roasted veggies( great quality veggies), there are so many i can't name them all, but you can go and see for your self. The best service, they are so friendly it makes me not want to leave. Free parking and they do catering events. I love The Courtyard!!!!!!!!!!! Pros: The service and the Steak alo pobre Cons: Some people don't realize how great it is more

After reading all of the great reviews and based upon my previous experiences with CitySearch, I thought this restuarant would be a perfect place to celebrate my 36th birthday. Wow, what a horrible mistake! For starters, we tried 2 different flavors of the sangria. Both of which were nothing more than fruit cocktail bits in cheap wine. Absolutely disgusting. All of the tapas were horrible, with the exception of the marginal beef emapandas. We decided to go out on a limb and try two different types of paella...BIGGER MISTAKE. The paella was like eating rice with salt water. We left there and ate at Carl's Jr. What a horrible way to bring in a birthday :( The only good thing about this place is the free parking. Pros: Free Parking, Outdoor dining Cons: Food more

A group of friends and I chose The Courtyard based on the Citysearch reviews... and we were all HIGHLY disappointed. The atmosphere is nice... it's a cute place... and the parking is free... but the most important aspect of all (THE FOOD) was horrible. We ordered a large variety of things, and didn't like any of them. Nothing seemed to have any seasoning whatsoever. We had mushrooms, beef empanadas, crispy fried shrimp, steak a la pobre, seafood paella, chicken paella, spanish tortilla.... NOTHING was good. Oh, correction.. the one thing that was good was the french fries, which is pretty pathetic at a tapas joint. Plus, the sangria seemed to have canned fruit with wine poured over it... just not the level of food or drink that I was expecting based on the reviews... so be weary. Trust me on this. I do not recommend The Courtyard until they step up the food. Right now, I'd give it Zero stars if that was an option. more

The atmosphere/ambiance is great (Love the courtyard!), but the service was average....so what makes it forgettable? The food. I rate it average to below average. None of the food really "wow-ed" me. The bacon wrapped dates were greasy, the stuffed mushrooms were horrible (tasted like a salt lick), empanadas were great, shrimp and lamb were average, sangria was decent but I've had better, and banana pudding tasted like it was made from powder. I was surprised to see all these high ratings. Maybe I went on a bad night. Who knows...I still prefer 'Cobras & Matadors' to this. Pros: Atmosphere Cons: Food was below average more

My parents, who just got back from a trip to Spain, were hoping to find an authentic Spanish tapas restaurant, and after reading the reviews for The Courtyard, I was really excited to take them here for dinner. The atmosphere was nice - we sat on the outside patio and the host was friendly and professional. Then things took a slide downhill. Four of us ordered about 8 plates - from the olives to the pupusas, shrimp, steak, salmon, chicken, to empanadas - and while the food was not horrible, nothing was a standout. I've had more tasty pupusas at a quick service restaurant and the rest of the food was so greasy that it felt like it was soaked in a grease pit. The portions were as expected for tapas, and while you expect the orders to come out somewhat randomly, several of ours came out within 5 minutes, while others took 25. I was most disappointed with the sangria. I've had sangria at several places in LA and this was by far the least inspiring. It was a blah tasting red wine mixed with slices of apple....no lemons, limes, oranges, or peaches, or anything else - just apples. Service wise, there were four other tables in addition to ours, and 2 waiters. Ours was inconsistent. He disappeared after our food came out for about 20 minutes and then once he came back, we had to request our check three times. Pros: Nice atmosphere, Great people watching Cons: Lackluster sangria, Greasy, Expensive food, Slow service more

I just had my 30th birthday at The Courtyard. Jim, the event planner was friendly and professional from the start--a pleasure to work with! There was no problem accommodating for 15+ guests, and it was by far the smoothest large group b-day party I've ever had (they seem to have the large group thing down to a science). The ambiance was fantastic and the food here is delicious...Everyone from my parents, to my 68 year old aunt to my friends of various ages all loved it! Our server Shelly was super-friendly and on top of everything and made sure everyone in my party felt comfortable and attended to. Be sure to get the dates and bacon and the asparagus...one word, YUM!! Definitely an ideal place for large parties, as well as a romantic date. All of the in-town guests commented that they couldn't wait to come back on their own! Thank you, and I can't wait to come back myself! Pros: Ambience, parking, service, food, value more

My Goddess Sisters and I are always searching for that perfect, succulent mouthgasm. We have been all over L.A. for this, and up until the time we visited The Courtyard, we had thought we'd found it...a time or two. But Honey, how little we knew. Let's call that youth, shall we? You know how you think you've had a good lover, and then later, as you get older, you experience a truly arrived Lover, and from that point onward, the rest of them are just toys to you? Well, that is how I'd describe the first time I tasted the bacon wrapped dates at The Courtyard. My head started spinning, I could barely speak, and soon enough, a laugh attack enveloped me from sheer ecstasy. Seriously. From that moment onward, we couldn't get enough. Then, we wanted to try EVERYthing...and each bite just kept affirming that yes, we had finally arrived at our PERFECT, SUCCULENT MOUTHGASM. But beyond this, the service is excellent. Jim and James and Albert (the chef) are the best team around, and as such, they have put together a team of equally fabulous servers, busboys, and all 'round staff. Shelley stands out as one of them. A true darling. When I arrive, they greet me by name, make me feel unbelievably at home, and at my birthday celebration there, they did everything short of rolling out the red carpet for me. The night was seamless, truly. Such class. I recommend ANY celebration be held at The Courtyard. It will be an experience you'll never forget. Yes, I am in Love. I have found my favourite dining experience in all of L.A., and that is saying a lot, believe me...I'm no virgin, in case you couldn't tell. I've been around, Baby. Pros: FREE PARKING! Indoor AND outdoor seating; great music, but not too loud; consistently happy staff; owners are ALWAYS there more

Its as if you've stepped off a Paris backstreet into one of those secret romantic jems no body wants you to know about. Pros: This place has the whole package!! more

Reasonably priced, great ambiance, exceptional service and delicious food. What more could you want? Great for dates, dinner out w/ friends or birthday parties. I'd know - I had my 30th birthday bash here for me and 20+ of my closest friends and everything went off without a hitch. Very accommodating and my friends fell in love with the place too. Thanks again Jim + James! p.s. - Try their dates wrapped in bacon. To. Die. For. Pros: Ambience, food, service, location Cons: None more

Best sangria, amazing food and outstanding service! I recently had a birthday party at this restaurant with a pre-arranged menu, etc. and no detail was left out. All of my guests had a wonderful time and absolutely loved the food. Highly recommended! Pros: Sangria, tapas, ambience, service, value Cons: none! more

Wonderful place! I left a mesage for a reservation and the owner called back himself. My friends and I had a lovely table and were immediately seated and served. The menu is fantastic, a wide array of small plates and entree-sized portions as well. We tried six different things and loved every one. We also had the peach sangria and the blueberry lemonade sangria and both were great! The service was friendly and impeccable, the owner was gracious and charming, and the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly. We will absolutely be going back! more