The Spanish Kitchen

I recently went to the Spanish Kitchen on a Saturday night. This place is unbearably hot and loud. The margaritas were watered down and we complained to our server who said it was probably because they were blended. I have had many blended margaritas in my time that were delicious and it's not because a drink is blended that it should taste bad. He then asked us what would make them taste better and offered lime or more tequila. We added more lime and it just made them taste more limey and sour. The server should have just offered to replace them right away, seeing that they did not taste good. We gave up on that and the server had the nerve to ask us if we wanted another margarita after we'd finished the first watered down version. Also server said he would get us water, however he couldn't because the dishes were in the dishwasher and there were no glasses. The table next to us somehow got water and we didn't. Finally the food arrived and wasn't that great, a bit over priced for the quality. We had an overall poor experience here, paid $70 plus tip for a lousy meal. more

I went to the Spanish Kitchen on a weekend night with a friend because we were looking for a fun way to beat the heat with blended margaritas and delicious food. Boy, was that a mistake. When we arrived, the hostess staff was flustered and confused by people waiting to be seated in front of us, seriously acting as if they had never done this before (in this or any other restaurant). There was no room for us at the bar and we were seated around a half hour later, not too bad considering that there we were walk ins, but it only got worse form there. The margaritas, ?Award wining? according to their menu, would easily win the award for ?The Weakest, Blandest, Most Tasteless Yet Sour Dishwater Concoction Ever Invented.? The waiter was rude and useless when we told him that our drinks were not to our liking. He suggested that they did not taste good because they were blended. Does blending somehow violate laws of taste and render things disgusting? The wait staff was in general rushed ? the servers repeatedly tried to bring the wrong food to our table, and then to the table next to ours, and then wandered around the restaurant helplessly asking everyone who ordered what. The food, when it arrived, was rubbery, soupy, tasteless, and banal. The overpriced bill was the punchline. I told my friend that we would have done much better to take out from Baja Fresh and buy a six pack of cold beer. There are so many wonderful, delicious Mexican restaurants in LA ? aside from the location and attractive decor, I have no understanding how this place is still in business. AVOID! more

I recently went to the Spanish Kitchen on a Saturday night. This place is unbearably hot and loud. The margaritas were watered down and we complained to our server who said it was probably because they were blended. I have had many blended margaritas in my time that were delicious and it's not because a drink is blended that it should taste bad. He then asked us what would make them taste better and offered lime or more tequila. We added more lime and it just made them taste more limey and sour. The server should have just offered to replace them right away, seeing that they did not taste good. We gave up on that and the server had the nerve to ask us if we wanted another margarita after we'd finished the first watered down version. Also server said he would get us water, however he couldn't because the dishes were in the dishwasher and there were no glasses. The table next to us somehow got water and we didn't. Finally the food arrived and wasn't that great, a bit over priced for the quality. We had an overall poor experience here, paid $70 plus tip for a lousy meal. more

I am a foodie, dated chefs, parents own a catering service... this place is terrible... went with a friend for a late \r 3 p.m. lunch and ordered chips and guacamole and drinks to begin because we were starving...although the guacamole was good, $6 for a small bowl and her margarita was weak and watery with ice...I had this sangria and champagne for $10 and it was blah. Ordered three tacos because the lunch menu was limited and din't want too much food...Since I am trying to watch the carbs I asked for grilled veggies on the side...20 minutes later and I should have known from the lack of presentationof the plate. Three tacos on a plate with just shredded lettuce and no color or herbs...and the vegetables were steamed, or microwaved squash which was watery with green beans. The plate looked like something my 80 year old grandmother would get at a cafeteria in her Convalescent home. The three tacos, one with carne asada, one with chicken, and the last with pork came only with shredded lettuce and a slice of scallion. The carne asada was decent, but the chicken was like boiled, shredded chicken...no flavor, no onions, no cilantro, nothing. The pork was rubbery and doused in barbeque sauce--what the hell? Carnitas, I think not! I couldn't even eat it. Seriously, spend your money elsewhere.. I get better tacos at a truck in East L.A....I can't imagine how anyone would give this place more than 1 star. If you want some good Mexican food and killer drinks, go to Mexicali on Ventura in Studio City...they serve margatinis...chilled martini glasses with a martini take on the margarita...to die for ! more

I am a foodie, dated chefs, parents own a catering service... this place is terrible... went with a friend for a late 3 p.m. lunch and ordered chips and guacamole and drinks to begin because we were starving...although the guacamole was good, $6 for a small bowl and her margarita was weak and watery with ice...I had this sangria and champagne for $10 and it was blah. Ordered three tacos because the lunch menu was limited and din't want too much food...Since I am trying to watch the carbs I asked for grilled veggies on the side...20 minutes later and I should have known from the lack of presentationof the plate. Three tacos on a plate with just shredded lettuce and no color or herbs...and the vegetables were steamed, or microwaved squash which was watery with green beans. The plate looked like something my 80 year old grandmother would get at a cafeteria in her Convalescent home. The three tacos, one with carne asada, one with chicken, and the last with pork came only with shredded lettuce and a slice of scallion. The carne asada was decent, but the chicken was like boiled, shredded chicken...no flavor, no onions, no cilantro, nothing. The pork was rubbery and doused in barbeque sauce--what the hell? Carnitas, I think not! I couldn't even eat it. Seriously, spend your money elsewhere.. I get better tacos at a truck in East L.A....I can't imagine how anyone would give this place more than 1 star. If you want some good Mexican food and killer drinks, go to Mexicali on Ventura in Studio City...they serve margatinis...chilled martini glasses with a martini take on the margarita...to die for ! more

My friend was looking for a restaurant to celebrate her birthday at when she stumbled upon this place. After looking through their website she was super excited to tell everyone about the place she had settled on. Despite the fact that she had reservations we were made to wait an additional 30 minutes to be seated. While placing our drink orders our waitress left before I could place mine. Instead of making a big deal out of this my husband and I shared his ""gigante"" marguerita which was not all that big and filled to the brim with ice. For a meal one would usually spend $8 for, you would pay $15-$20 here. I ordered a tostada salad that ironically did not have a tostada shell. It was incredibly bland and very small in portion. My husband ordered some enchiladas and was disappointed with what he received. There was little to no sauce and the tortillas were rubbery. His entire family comes from Guadalajara and was brought up on Traditional Mexican food. ""For this being a Mexican restaurant there's nothing Mexican about it"" were his exact words. The ingredients weren't fresh, the drinks were expensive and nothing special, it seemed the dishes were made by people that knew nothing about Latin American cuisine, and the service was bad that I was debating on asking for the manager. My friend felt embarrassed and cheated. To top it all off our waitress didn't come back for 45 minutes to pick up the check. Finally as the place was closing she came back and casually asked ""Did you want your change?"". I will never go to this place again nor will I ever recommend it. If you want good Mexican food I suggest going to Gardens of Taxco where you will pay almost the same amount for five traditional courses and the margaritas are delicious. Pros: The resturant looks nice Cons: everything else more

My friend was looking for a restaurant to celebrate her birthday at when she stumbled upon this place. After looking through their website she was super excited to tell everyone about the place she had settled on. Despite the fact that she had reservations we were made to wait an additional 30 minutes to be seated. While placing our drink orders our waitress left before I could place mine. Instead of making a big deal out of this my husband and I shared his "gigante" marguerita which was not all that big and filled to the brim with ice. For a meal one would usually spend $8 for, you would pay $15-$20 here. I ordered a tostada salad that ironically did not have a tostada shell. It was incredibly bland and very small in portion. My husband ordered some enchiladas and was disappointed with what he received. There was little to no sauce and the tortillas were rubbery. His entire family comes from Guadalajara and was brought up on Traditional Mexican food. "For this being a Mexican restaurant there's nothing Mexican about it" were his exact words. The ingredients weren't fresh, the drinks were expensive and nothing special, it seemed the dishes were made by people that knew nothing about Latin American cuisine, and the service was bad that I was debating on asking for the manager. My friend felt embarrassed and cheated. To top it all off our waitress didn't come back for 45 minutes to pick up the check. Finally as the place was closing she came back and casually asked "Did you want your change?". I will never go to this place again nor will I ever recommend it. If you want good Mexican food I suggest going to Gardens of Taxco where you will pay almost the same amount for five traditional courses and the margaritas are delicious. Pros: The resturant looks nice Cons: everything else more

People have been telling me to check out The Spanish Kitchen for a while and I finally did. The food was really good! I had the lobster crepe as an appetizer and then the spicy pineapple salmon. Their drinks were strong, in a great way. Our server was very attentive and helpful for us being there for the first time. I will gladly go back again and again. more

After hearing so much about the Spanish Kitchen, my family and I were excited to try it for Mother's Day dinner. The service was terrible. The waiter initially took forever to come to us. When he did come, he was rude and snobby. Didn't give us any of the specials, and every question was given a monosyllable response, and was generally 'no.' The appetizers were dull and boring. The food arrived before we were even done with our appetizers, and the waiter was asking about dessert even before we were finished eating our entrees. Seemed like they were in a rush to get us out of there. The main entrees were decent, but nothing to rave about. Won't ever go there again. more

After hearing so much about the Spanish Kitchen, my family and I were excited to try it for Mother's Day dinner. The service was terrible. The waiter initially took forever to come to us. When he did come, he was rude and snobby. Didn't give us any of the specials, and every question was given a monosyllable response, and was generally 'no.' The appetizers were dull and boring. The food arrived before we were even done with our appetizers, and the waiter was asking about dessert even before we were finished eating our entrees. Seemed like they were in a rush to get us out of there. The main entrees were decent, but nothing to rave about. Won't ever go there again. more

People have been telling me to check out The Spanish Kitchen for a while and I finally did. The food was really good! I had the lobster crepe as an appetizer and then the spicy pineapple salmon. Their drinks were strong, in a great way. Our server was very attentive and helpful for us being there for the first time. I will gladly go back again and again. more

RUDE, SNOBBY, DISMISSIVE, INSULTING, LACKLUSTER FOOD, TERRIBLE SERVICE and CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS WRONG are just some impressions that come to mind when I think of Spanish Kitchen. I have never written a review in my life, however, felt compelled to share my story after an infuriating dinner experience at Spanish Kitchen. I should have known it was a bad sign when waiting for our table at the bar, it took nearly 10 minutes to get the bartenders attention. Then took another 20 minutes to get our drinks sent to the table. Waitress was MIA most of the time and rude (I get it we all have bad and busy days, but tell us if that's how you feel.) Finally it was so bad I b-lined to the guy who looked like he was in charge of this amateur hour to politely voice my table's displeasure. What did I get in return? A mouth full of excuses about how busy they were (there weren't even people waiting to be seated at this point). He pretended to care, but his tone said otherwise. He almost made me feel bad for the feedback. To add insult to injury he thought he'd make amends by giving us all shots. Awesome, we read you loud and clear buddy, you think we're dumb girls happy to accept terrible watered down shots as peace offerings. You thought wrong my friend. \r \r Okay, I have one positive thing to say. The margaritas and sangria were delicious. If you have to go, just grab a drink at the bar and save your money for dinner at its sister restaurant, which I do like very much, the Belmont. Pros: good margaritas and sangria Cons: THE WORST SERVICE AND ATTITUDE EVER more

RUDE, SNOBBY, DISMISSIVE, INSULTING, LACKLUSTER FOOD, TERRIBLE SERVICE and CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS WRONG are just some impressions that come to mind when I think of Spanish Kitchen. I have never written a review in my life, however, felt compelled to share my story after an infuriating dinner experience at Spanish Kitchen. I should have known it was a bad sign when waiting for our table at the bar, it took nearly 10 minutes to get the bartenders attention. Then took another 20 minutes to get our drinks sent to the table. Waitress was MIA most of the time and rude (I get it we all have bad and busy days, but tell us if that's how you feel.) Finally it was so bad I b-lined to the guy who looked like he was in charge of this amateur hour to politely voice my table's displeasure. What did I get in return? A mouth full of excuses about how busy they were (there weren't even people waiting to be seated at this point). He pretended to care, but his tone said otherwise. He almost made me feel bad for the feedback. To add insult to injury he thought he'd make amends by giving us all shots. Awesome, we read you loud and clear buddy, you think we're dumb girls happy to accept terrible watered down shots as peace offerings. You thought wrong my friend. Okay, I have one positive thing to say. The margaritas and sangria were delicious. If you have to go, just grab a drink at the bar and save your money for dinner at its sister restaurant, which I do like very much, the Belmont. Pros: good margaritas and sangria Cons: THE WORST SERVICE AND ATTITUDE EVER more

Great food, friendly staff, great value. This is a nice place to go for some good food. The food is great and not over priced for its quality. I eat there almost twice a week ever since I moved to West Hollywood. Pros: Great food, great value more

Great food, friendly staff, great value. This is a nice place to go for some good food. The food is great and not over priced for its quality. I eat there almost twice a week ever since I moved to West Hollywood. Pros: Great food, great value Cons: None more

My friend and I went to Spanish Kitchen the other night and we were seated next to a D-list celebrity. We ordered the chicken tostada ensalada and chicken fajita. The chicken in my tostada salad was incredibly dry and his chicken in his fajita was dry and not very tasty nor appetizing. The beer is way overpriced, a corona was 6 bucks! Overall it is pretty affordable, but then again all mexican restaurants are. Our waitress Trish was somewhat insincere and pushy, she kept asking us if we were going to order any more drinks when it was obvious that we were done. It kind of seemed like all she cared about was how much our bill was going to come out to. It just seemed like every 5 seconds she would be like "" you want some more water OR DRINKS or anything?"" It was like no we're fine all ten times. Pros: good for large groups Cons: Service needs to be improved, Beer is expensive, parking more

My friend and I went to Spanish Kitchen the other night and we were seated next to a D-list celebrity. We ordered the chicken tostada ensalada and chicken fajita. The chicken in my tostada salad was incredibly dry and his chicken in his fajita was dry and not very tasty nor appetizing. The beer is way overpriced, a corona was 6 bucks! Overall it is pretty affordable, but then again all mexican restaurants are. Our waitress Trish was somewhat insincere and pushy, she kept asking us if we were going to order any more drinks when it was obvious that we were done. It kind of seemed like all she cared about was how much our bill was going to come out to. It just seemed like every 5 seconds she would be like " you want some more water OR DRINKS or anything?" It was like no we're fine all ten times. Pros: good for large groups Cons: Service needs to be improved, Beer is expensive, parking more

I went here for lunch and was not impressed with their food. Maybe I have to try it one more time. We were seated promptly cause there was not that many people there. I had a pineapple refreshment that was watered down. I'm not to fond of paper napkins. We were told we could only sit outside eventhough no one was sitting inside. I guess they wanted to attract customers. I don' t know how that works. more

I went here for lunch and was not impressed with their food. Maybe I have to try it one more time. We were seated promptly cause there was not that many people there. I had a pineapple refreshment that was watered down. I'm not to fond of paper napkins. We were told we could only sit outside eventhough no one was sitting inside. I guess they wanted to attract customers. I don' t know how that works. more

Not to mention, ""Margaritas of glass chips""... Last night, our $80 should have been comped. The salsa had no flavor... chips were good. While drinking my small $12 margarita, I rake my tongue across the inner edge of the glass and... OUCH! The edge is chipped... a sharp little nook in there. The waitress gladly took it back and apologized... wasn't HER fault, but it was annoying. Then... I am dead serious: the enchiladas were so over cooked on the ends, that the tortilla was dessicated and when we bit into them, we practically broke our front teeth on the leathery, inedible tortilla. All of this was made known to the waitress, who actually was quite apologetic, but at that point, I'd say, ""if you ever want to see me again, you'd better conjure up a contrite manager real soon who will at least buy me a drink or two, if not just comp the entire dinner."" But alas, nothing of the kind occurred. I paid the bill, but... I""m sending this note, in a letter back to the restaurant today asking for a full refund. I thought the dinner was deplorable, and I can't sleep knowing I paid $80 for it. Someone wrote in their comments that the place should be renamed ""Mexican Kitchen."" I'm afraid that that's being overly kind. The place has a nice atmosphere and some genuinely kind wait help (except that the table bussers also are a bit hasty about grabbing plates... must be a plate shortage in the ""Spanish"" kitchen, eh?) But alas, I digress. Spanish Kitchen may be a ""place to be seen,"" but you won't see me there. Follow up: 2 APR, They ignored my letter, COMPLETELY. Credit card issuer is now on them to issue a refund. I can't say enough negative things about a business that ignores complaint letters. Follow up: 3 MAY, SK did indeed refund my dinner costs at the behest of Amex. Thank goodness! Pros: Nice waitress, nice atmosphere and decor Cons: Food safety (chipped glasses), overcooked enchiladas, awful salsa more