April 3, 2006

Restaurant Review: LA Speak

The new Asia Los Feliz restaurant in Atwater Village is a little too Los Feliz for Atwater Village.

(A month ago I'd have no idea what that meant, but now I can safely say that it means Asia Los Feliz - for its high prices and impersonal interior - is better suited for a location up the hill, maybe Vermont Street adjacent to more ooh la la dining like Figaro, rather than across the river near the kitschy Big Foot Lodge.)

(But I can also safely admit I broke the Three Month Rule. Never try a new restaurant till 90 days after opening. Give it a chance to work out kinks. Like high prices and impersonal interiors.)

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

A higher end place is just what Atwater needs.

Anonymous said...

I had dinner at Asia the other night. The prices were waaay high, especially considering the neighborhood. Asia is someplace you eat at maybe once every 4 months or so. Hello, who wants that? The food was pretty good, though. Would love to see someplace that serves more everyday, comfort food with a twist. Better recipe for success. I heard the owners of Asia are re-tooling the menu to bring prices down....and the decor, too stiff, bordering on bad hotel restaurant design. Yuck. Atwater deserves better.

AVN said...

I agree - seems like AV residents prefer "everyday" restaurants over 3x-a-year joints.

Anonymous said...

What a joke. High prices,snotty service, average food... Not good.

AVN said...

Mmm, $25 hamburgers. Can't wait.

Clawed said...

Ate at Asia last Saturday.

Actually, the burger is $16, and it's Kobe/Wagyu... pretty cheap to be honest for that. And given the "please order your steaks rare to medium-rare" notice on the menu, I doubt that they'll destroy the meat (Kobe over med-rare=waste)

I walked in and ordered the $40 Filet Rossini (Filet topped with seared Fois Gras topped with black truffles)for shits and giggles... It was good...

Speaking of the "comfort food with a twist" comment, I think that it's about time for a more "high-concept" menu restaurant to come into the neighborhood. The menu is a bit pricey and needs some kinks worked out but then again, I think that it's more warranted for this place to charge these kind of prices than Edendale Grill in Silver Lake does theirs. Edendale... comfort food that is twice as expensive as it should be... I paid 25 for a plate of scallops that had sand in it and was WAY overseasoned... but nice ambiance. So $16 at Asia for a Kobe Burger, or $14 at Edendale for meatloaf?

I'm not trying to say that it's not expensive. Asia certainly is. But it's no more expensive a dining experience in my opinion than Tam O'Shanter or Edendale or Blair's. I think the concept and decor is what is making some people get turned off... To each his own. I kinda like the decor/music there. The fact that the menu is so extensive is good too... just about anyone can find something there that they'd like to eat.

My one big issue is... Could they not come up with a better name than Asia? The Japanese lettering around the name on the menu and website actually would have been better... it reads "Neo-Thai." Which I think ties in much better with the decor and such.

Now Playing said...

Hmmm...sad how people think Atwater "needs" a restaurant with high prices.