It went from the best to the worst restaurant in LA.
The name is Arden. It’s in Weho (West Hollywood) and what brought me here is Instagram…sadly…okay first thing first. What drew me to this restaurant was the ambiance, this French villa styled bar and dining experience caught my eye and gave me Vanderpump vibes for sure. I booked my reservation a month in advance to make sure I have an amazing experience with no hiccups. I was so wrong. The reservation was for 8.30p and after leaving the car with valet, we are greeted by the hostess at 8.22p. She says, go on up to the bar and you will be seated shortly. I’m excited because it gave enough time for photo ops while waiting to be seated. But then after taking pictures, a few minutes turned into 30 and then into 45…ummm okay…what’s the point of a reservation and time restrictions while dining (1 hr and 30min), im thinking to myself. After a hostess was approached by someone in our party she said another 3-5 min and we will be seated, meanwhile big parties and small parties are being seated with little to no time wait. Another 10 min pass and nothing, finally a manager was asked for and he stated that a table is leaving now and we will be seated soon. We were seated after waiting 55min with a reservation. They gave us a complimentary salad appetizer and complimentary fruity shot which was delicious. We order our apps and entrees trying to stay optimistic and excited for the night. The waiter suggested we share our appetizers as family style so we ordered the lobster Mac and cheese and roasted cauliflower. First of all, the portions are not for even 2 people, so small! And the cauliflower was burnt with no flavor. For the entrees I got a fillet mignon which was $55 and looked like and tasted like a Ralph’s steak that was on clearance. The chicken was not cooked all the way also. The pizza is mid and the meatballs were clearly pre frozen and heated up in a microwave, and was severed COLD. The waiter was so kind so we didn’t take any of this out on him we still tipped almost $60. So the ambiance saved this place, note to self…don’t trust Instagram for restaurant reviews, these influencers are lying to our faces and our pockets.
