violet (CLOSED)

THIS PLACE IS OUT OF BUSINESS & HAS BEEN FOR A WHILE. Cons: THEY NO LONGER EXIST more

I can overlook the bad parking situation (no valet / limited metered spots), I can overlook the mediocre service (we were forgot about, took 40 min to get food and when we got it, the braised beef cold, yet the plate was hot - interesting), and I can overlook the less than clean bathroom (I can almost overlook that), however - what I cannot overlook, is the fact that I felt completely taken advantage of. I am more than willing to shell out a lot of money on a decent bottle of wine, but they had no wine list (revamping it or something) and when I received a bottle of Smoking Loon (Trader Joe?s special) for the ?house cab? I was a little stunned ? but no big deal. No big deal until the bill came, and we saw that this $7.00 bottle of wine that you could have gotten across the street (ironically Violet is located across from Trader Joe?s) turned out to be $36 ? I felt completely taken advantage of, and thought it was ludicrous that this was marked up 5 times. Sad about it too, because the reviews were all pretty good and was looking forward to a great dinner. Pros: French fries Cons: They must think their patrons are idiots more

Let me preface this review by noting how many restaurants in the city of Los Angeles that I've tried; from five-star dining to the smallest hole in the wall, I've visited almost every small neighborhood in this city. Never have I had a meal that satiated every aspect of my hunger; until I ate at Violet. It's located in a quieter part of Santa Monica, allowing for a relaxed meal and enabling you to avoid an overly crowded restaurant or an excruciatingly long wait (such is usually the case in restaurants as amazing as this one). The service is incredible, and the staff is very friendly, helpful, and attractive (an added bonus). All of this is topped off with the most incredible, satisfying meal; Violet offers light dishes such as a frisee salad with a gorgonzola truffle dressing or a cold gazpacho soup, both simple and delicious. The chef pairs together flavors and textures that may evoke reluctance at first glance, however the intricate and often daring combinations prove to be carefully and successfully executed, such as the white chocolate mashed potatoes, or the vanilla risotto. The lamb chili and short ribs are among the heartier dishes on the menu. My personal favorite is the macaroni and cheese, Simons' (the chef and owner) signature creation; having tasted dozens of takes on the traditional dish, he prepares it with precision and incredible flavor, as well as beautiful yet simple presentation. The meal is finished off with an array of desserts, but don't fill up just yet: the check comes with a surprise plate of mini chocolate chip cookies and a small shot glass of milk. Simons certainly knows what he is doing; he seems to have a following of neighborhood locals who enjoy the family-friendly spot. However, it is equally appropriate for a date night. The atmosphere is fun, casual and a little punk rock, but the food rivals that of the most well-known restaurants in the city. It's a must try! Pros: great prices, incredible food, no long waits, good service. more

This place is amazing!! Silver Lake meets the Westside. Great service, good food. A good local find for anyone, a good destination for people too. We had a blast. Scallops were amazing, our waiter was really helpful with wine pairing. WORTH EVERY PENNY more

Great neighbourhood restaurant and some. Baked Mac & Cheese is the best I've found around LA; an all-time favourite. Grilled Romaine is a unique ... more

this restaurant is a real neighborhood gem -- on Pico across from Trader Joes -- the food is really good and the prices are reasonable -- th... more

i love tapas. and i really liked the ones here - hearty and well presented, the menu encourages adventure as well as sticking to some damn good classics. loved the mac and cheese, the french fries, and the goat cheese, which i think was made right in the restaurant. the place itself is really cool - and interesting to look at. great find and reasonably priced. more

Violet is an elegant neighborhood restaurant. They serve tapas style dishes that are farmers market fresh. The service is professional and... more

I tried Violet with my partner a year ago first. It was somewhat empty, but what we sampled then was light. It is American food with a French twist, two notches up from Blue Plate on Montana, but you pay for some other things that are worth it. Tonight, I went alone and enjoyed it more. It was a bustling Saturday night and I made a reservation. I was greeted sweetly by the host who was wearing tight jeans, had lots of tattoos, a punk rock hairdo and some man-cleavage t-shirt. In other words, if I were still in high school, I would take him home. My waiter was even more adorable and also attentive, but not overbearing. He was more of the geeky country boy type. If I were still in college, I would take him home. You get the picture. The crowd was 25-45 and lively. I ordered a glass of Pinot Grigio which was buttery, but a good match for the food I ordered. The soup was white onion with a buttery broth and was a little too rich for me, but probably great for someone else. I still enjoyed it. I had seared scallops with white onion sautee, sauce and mint leaves. The mint countered the lovely sweetness of the scallops that were perfectly medium rare (closer to rare). I also ordered the mushroom ravioli. I got two medium pieces, nice strong taste, some more butter, but not too much. By this time I was quite full actually. They also serve a lovely white bread to help with some of the richness of the food. After about half hour and a chat with the nice couple sitting next to me, I sampled the lime tart. This was very fresh and creamy and not jelled like you may expect. More a lime custard tart than pie and a nice soft crust, served with a dollop of whipped cream, a slice of semi-cooked orange and some more mint. I wish they had some lighter desserts like sorbet, but all their desserts are on the same level. For $50 plus tip, I was happy. If starved to death (for food) you may not appreciated it as much. I did. I hope someone can take that waiter home and post a review :) Pros: Atmosphere, variety, staff Cons: Butter, butter, butter more

I took my sisters to Violet to celebrate my sister's 22nd Birthday. I checked them out on opentable and thought they had to be pretty decent. I ended up being served the worst service I have ever had in my entire life and I think their food has to be their only saving grace. I must say that Jared Simons is a great chef, Mac&Cheese and Lamb stew was outstanding. I have absolutely no complaints about the food. Their tasting menu price was very reasonable, for a 3 course meal, $25 is very affordable. Service on the other had was something else. I left a note along with my reservation for dinner stating that it was my sister's birthday and it would be great if they could put us in a nice part of the restaurant and maybe, serve their highly acclaimed pana cotta. I would think that if they had read it, they would at the very least, serve us with prompt service and be on top of things. 1. Not only did we have to ask them for more wine 3 times before they actually acted on it. 2. Our tables only got cleared after about 20 minutes after we had already finished our meal. 3. They made a mistake on my bill and charged me $30 more than how much I should have been charged and when I asked them to correct it, the waiter stated that "it is not my fault". Anyone would know that waiters hold the image of the restaurant. Customers will judge the restaurant based on first impressions and service. The waiter did say before that he was having problems with the computers, my question is, if you knew that the computer was malfunctioning, shouldn't you check the bill before you give it to your customer? It is obvious that the waiters' in the restaurant are not trained and don't even make an effort to give customers good service. That is really disappointing. For a restaurant with great reviews and a superb reputation, service was absolutely ghastly. No matter how good the food is, there is no way I will be returning if management fails to improve their service. Pros: Food Cons: Service more

I went to Violet this past week and the decor is nice. The wait staff is interesting (think cute guys with lots of make-up and man cleavage). The owner/chef was there too, he was pleasant. The food at Violet is very average and a little over-priced for what is served. I will gladly pay $25 for 2 heavenly bites, but I do have a problem paying $20 for 4 quarter-sized bland/tasteless scallops. We also ordered the steak (average), the crab salad (a sloppy mayonnaise mess), the mushroom ravioli which turned out to be the highlight of the meal (and great bargain at $13 for 2 decently prepared ravioli), and for dessert we ordered the banana upside down cake (I've tasted better from out of the box cake batter at grandmas). Overall, I think Violet is an ok place to visit if you're not really interested in a great meal and are only looking for a chill place to have a glass of wine, chat with a few friends/date, and stare at the boys with the man cleavage. Pros: Decor, service, milk and cookies Cons: Average bland food more

This is the first time I have ever written a review but the food I had last night at Violet moved me to write one. It is hard to find a place in LA with a laid-back atmosphere but excellent food - you can find this at Violet. I also liked that the kitchen is open past 10 p.m. for those of us that are late-night eaters. The grilled romaine salad was excellent as was the vanilla risotto and spare beef ribs. The flavors exploded in my mouth. Prices were reasonable; waitstaff friendly. Pros: Open late; Corkage Fee reasonable more

I tried this place for the first time last month. After reading reviews, I was really looking forward to a great meal. My friend and I were both really disappointed. First off, I had to stand at the front of the restaurant for 5 minutes before being acknowledged (and the restaurant was only 1/3 full). Our server was not helpful when we asked for recommendations. He was also unattentive and slow. I'm also not sure what others are talking about. Food was mediocre. I have definitely had much better elsewhere in LA. Parking can also be a pain here on weekend nights. Pros: ?? Cons: Parking, Service more

My sister took me here while I was visiting from out of town (NYC area, so I KNOW restaurants!). She warned me that the portions were small, so I was expecting something tiny. First of all, this place is really nicely done with decor and presentation. We each got white wine recommended, ordered the cheese plate (delish!) and for dinner the mac and cheese, steak over spaetzle (sp?) and pork over white chocolate mashed potatoes. Everything was amazing! The steak was good, not my fave and I apparently don't like spaetzel. The pork, however, was SOOO good and the white chocolate mashed potatoes, although sounding strange, were perfect and I loved them (I don't even like white chocolate!). The mac and cheese was pretty amazing itself, as my sister said it would be. We were stuffed after all of that...The portions are appropriate! People are used to eating huge amounts because we are such a food-driven culture! It's rediculous to assume that the quailty of a restaurant is based purely on the quantity that is served. Sure, this might not be great quantity, but it's definatelty quaility...and maybe some of you fat people should stop eating so much anyway! If you want quantity, go to McDonalds for crying out loud. We were really just perfectly fed and happy with the amount of food. I'll definately go back on my next visit to see my sister. This place would be great for a date spot. Definately recommend!!! I wish they had one in NYC. Pros: Everything is delish! Great atmosphere, nice staff, reasonable prices for a nice restaurant. Cons: Not much...trying to think of some, but really cannot...I guess prices could be a tad more reasonable. more

The food here is excellent - and I think I'm very critical of nicer restaurants. Great selection, very sophisticated touch on the flavoring and overall preparation. I like the unique ambiance and style. Friendly service. Great wine list. One of my favorites in LA. Pros: Just a great place more

I was taken on a date here last week and it was awesome as per usual. The food is so so good. We had the amazing cheese plate, tuna tar tar specialty, macaroni and cheese ( the best), steak number (fantasy for my taste buds), some kind of chicken ( to die). Everything was awesome! I had the pinot from oregon which was good but a bit pricey per glass (it's never good to order expensive wine) when you are on a date. I wish they had had more wines in med to mid range prices, such as an eight dollar glass of pinot etc. I have been to this spot a couple of times before and always loved the food, its a great place to go before going out dancing. The only con is that if you go on Sunday for the price fixed menu don't be too hungry, the portions are a bit stingy. Buy hey it is a tapas spot. Also the best part is the home baked mini chocolate cookies and shot of cold milk you get at the end! Pros: the food is like a flower floating on your tongue. Cons: portions are small and the wine selection is average and the pours are chintzy. more

The place is very nice, the service is curteous and professional. The food is generally good, but the price doesn't justify the portions, it defeats the notion of tapa (small portion/cheap price). I ended up leaving still hungry. Pros: Nice setting Cons: Loud, expensive more

I was on the West side with friends and someone mentioned Violet so we went. We ordered almost everything on the menu and were blown away by how great the food was. My fave was the Lamb Bolognese and Mac & Cheese! As a Chef I aspire to have a place like this one day! GREAT JOB! Pros: CHef is on hand to answer any questions Cons: none more

cute decor, very 'homey' feel, comfy seats. cute, but not THAT good. their sig. dish, mac & cheese, greasy, & addicting. try it on their 7 ... more

Violet is located in a relatively quiet spot on Pico. The interior is attractive enough, albeit a bit small. Nothing overwhelms or offends. Service was existent. That's the best I can say. My water was filled, food was delivered but that's it. Nothing more. The menu... here's where the problems lie. The small plates presented were timid. I saw the effort to be creative tinged by the desire to stay accessible. The result is a menu that ends up pleasing no one. I was perplexed by the inclusion of polenta in a few of the dishes. This would have been acceptable had the polenta not been runny and watery, not think, creamy and luxurious as it should be. The lamb ragout with polenta was an abysmal disaster. I don't understand how to share what basically amounts to a bowl of soup. And no serving spoon was provided. The macaroni and cheese with ham and leeks was pleasant enough. Slicing the leeks lengthwise was another mistake. Who wants long stringy pieces of fiber when eating mac and cheese? The white tuna tartare was almost completely devoid of flavor. The goat cheese spread with bread tasted fine. But there was too much spread and too little bread. The bread slices were uneven in size, some burnt, some too light. The ravioli in brown butter was acceptable but TWO ravioli? Are you serious? That's my biggest complaint with Violet. Yes, small plates are fun but not when they are tiny, not fun to share and cost as much as a decent full plate in a regular restaurant. We spent about $40 per person with one glass of wine. And I was no where close to being full. When I think of all the sushi I could've bought with that my heart weeps. Maybe the prices were so high to offset the complimentary trendy looking bottle water and free tiny milk and cookies at the end. Or maybe they just want to make a lot of money. Pros: Located on quiet part of Pico Cons: High price, confused menu more