We had a reservation at La Boucherie which is located above the InterContinental Hotel, the newest high-rise in Los Angeles. It’s two floors below Spire 73, which is now the highest bar in the Western Hemisphere.
After our drink at Spire 73, we headed down towards our reservation. Let me tell you upfront. La Boucherie is nice. It looks and feels like a high-end restaurant. I thoroughly enjoyed my meal there. However, to me, it was another good restaurant experience. To my partner, well… He noticed a lot of bad things I would never have caught.
The Bar Review
We get to the restaurant early, about 45 minutes early. We tell the hostess we have reservations at 8:15 pm and we proceed to make our way to the bar for a drink before we are seated.
I order a Dirty Martini and my partner orders a SideCar. We sip our drinks and chat for a bit. Both drinks are strong yet delicious. My “search and destroy” set of eyes are now looking around. La Boucherie looks like a nice restaurant.
The two bartenders are very handsome, attentive and make great eye contact. They make light, but genuine small talk. I’m enjoying the bar.
The bar itself is very masculine, with a dark marble finish and dim lighting. The sun is setting as we sit. I look around and notice the traditional and classy French decor around us. The restaurant is really going for it. They want you to feel its ‘Frenchness’ in your experience. I value that. In my eyes, a restaurant is set apart by the experience I have. Make me feel like I’m far from home. That’s what I want to feel.
La Boucherie, The Restaurant
We finish our drinks. We pay and tell the hostess we’re ready to get seated. She comes over and takes us to our table.
Our waiter promptly comes to us with a wide smile and the perfect Saturday dinner greeting. I don’t like customer service smiles and fake greetings. Although I do appreciate the fact that he’s doing his job and trying to give us a good experience.
The waiter offers a drink and food menu. We order a bottle of champagne to start. I open my menu and it lights up. It’s fancy. The menu has built-in lights for better readability. It’s the coolest.
As the waiter returns we order a charcuterie, which is a plate with assorted types of meats. The waiter suggested a half charcuterie with some cheese to mix it up. We agree.
Our champagne arrives and we begin to sip.
I should mention I am seated with my back against the restaurant. My partner, seated across the table against the banquet, has a view of the restaurant. When our charcuterie arrives it’s all cheese. As my partner visually searches for the waiter so he can correct our meal, he spots him. At this point, they make eye contact and the waiter says “fuck. It’s the wrong plate.” He darts for cover and is not to be seen for a while.
As someone else passes by my partner informs him that it is not what we ordered and he’s not sure where the waiter went. No problem. The issue is fixed and our plate arrives.
The charcuterie is delicious. Lots of thin meats, great cheeses, some peanuts, and jams. The champagne is amazing. The bread and butter are to die for. I am having a great time.
The Waiters Downfall Continues
The waiter resurfaces and asks if we are ready for our main course. We order. At this point, we begin to notice other waiters (and ours) have a grand presentation of the 7 types of salts they use. It’s funny because we didn’t get that presentation. I wonder if that’s part of a special menu? I don’t know.
We order our main course. Then dessert. I was looking forward to dessert considering it’s another grand presentation of what they have. Our waiter arrives but he doesn’t present anything. I see all the waiters have a board of dessert types, but ours didn’t have that. No big deal. He tells us what they have and I order.
It’s a delicious ball of chocolate mousse topped with marshmallow then set aflame right on our table. It’s pretty fancy and fun to watch.
As our meal comes to an end. The waiter comes around one last time and asks if we want anything else. I order a coffee and my partner orders a Hennessy. The waiter forgets to bring them. After a while, we decide to just get the bill. At this point, the waiter realizes he forgot the Hennessey, brings it and apologizes for his mistake. However, there is no going back now. The waiter has screwed up several times. He comps the Hennessy and my partner decides the waiter should not get tipped. In any case, my partner decides it’s probably not fair to not tip and tips regardless.
We march up to the hostess and demand to speak to a manager. My partner gives a play-by-play of the waiter’s mistakes. He was not happy with the service, but he did enjoy the food.
After our dinner was over. He tells me he would come back but he would ask for a different waiter.
We Gave La Boucherie A Second Try
This time around everything was perfect and my partner loved it. Now it’s one of his favorite places. La Boucherie is a restaurant everyone should try at least once.
Let Me Break It Down For You:
La Boucherie is beautiful. I thought the food was great. I’m not sure what was going on with the waiter but I wasn’t paying attention to him. I purposefully ignore my surroundings at dinner. It keeps me focused on who I’m with. Otherwise, I’m mentally somewhere else. Upon further observation, the waiter was either having a bad day or he purposefully ignored us. I can’t be sure.
Do I recommend it? Yes. Although I should mention La Bourcherie’s prices are high. However, the quality is great. The view is perfect. The furnishings are proper.
Check out their website for more info: http://laboucheriedtla.com/
