Beso - (323) 467-7991

We were staying at the new W a couple blocks down the street. Our concierge booked us the reservations and we were the 1st trio of guests to be seated. The place was not so busy to validate how rude the entire experience was. Had I been with people I am better acquainted with, I would have had to ask them what their problem was. From the second we sat at our table, we were rushed through the entirety of our meal by not one but between at least 5 waiters. I had to ask TWICE for them to leave the plate we were still working on & then finally the 3rd waiter just picked the plate up w/out even inquiring if we were yet finished with it. I literally watched one come up behind him & swiftly take my own plate from under my nose. At that point I didn't even care to stop them. They were so rude, it was so dark in there, the whole experience was WAY overpriced and done with in about 20 minutes. The other two females at my table noticed it & agreed that there must have been a reason they were pushing us out of there as quickly as possible, although the restaurant itself did not get very busy in the short time we were there, I imagine there is a reason for it. I frequent the W often, so I returned to let the concierge know not to send anymore of their guests there, she appeared to have heard of similar experiences already & stated she would be taking them off their list of recommended spots for food. What a shame for a nice restaurant on Hollywood Blvd.

A friend and I are vegetarian who enjoy eating at non-vegetarian restaurants. Upon reading some recent poor service reviews, maybe we were treated better because they were filming a model show. The only two cons were we had to ask another server for our menus, and my friend's vegetarian paella was a bit "bland." yes I sadly said it. I thought it was a crazy request, because the very essence of paella are the protein factors. Its as if the chef despised vegetarians because there was "no kiss in that dish." Swiftly, our assertive server took it back, and offered something else. We were doing a quick dinner, so we declined. My friend enjoys challenging the chefs to do a vegetarian version of entrees rather than just eating sides or salads. At another non-veg restaurant we got a 7 course dinner that knocked our socks off. (Which will be in another review). The appetizer (Todd's Artichoke Dip) and sides (Maui Onion Rings & Spinach Something) had depth. The "clean-up" time and drinks refill were done swiftly. Plus, the chocolate desert compensated the bland entree to give Beso my 4th star. Had the hot models not been filming maybe our service would have been different, but the experience there was quite enjoyed ;D

My wife and I arrive at 6:30. First thing we noticed, it was very dark. OK no big deal, just yet. Now here we go . . . WTF #1 We were quite hungry so we asked for more flatbread. A few minutes later the waiter comes back with the flatbread and says "This is complimentary from the chef" Like, excuse me?!? You're doing me a big favor since normally they only give one. C'mon. I don't need the attitude. WTF #2 I ordered the flat iron medium. I couldn't even chew it because it was so stringy and tough. But since the restauarant was so dark, I couldn't see the color of the meat to tell if it was undercooked. Brought the manager over. He just looked at me and stared for a while with a confused look on his face. Like, "OK so WTF do you want me to do about it? Normally when a waiter or manager sees you're unhappy they immediately offer to either re-cook it or ask if you'd like another dish. I had to ask! I said lets try the sirlloin instead, medium. WTF #3 The sirloin arrives. Kudos to the next waiter (we met several) who asked me to cut it first. Rare!! Even more bloddy red than the flat iron. Sent it back again. Finally the chef gets it right. Now remember what I said about the lighting being too dark? Well, if they had turned it up a bit I would have seen the original flat iron was undercooked and had them cook it a few more minutes. Dumb. WTF #4 We had a gift certificate. Right after sitting down my wife asked if we could use any leftover to cover the tip. The manager assured us it was no problem. When the bill arrived it was a different story. Now he wanted to give us a credit for the balance to be used next time. My wife got very upset and started arguing with him. Finally he backed off and said it was OK to use it to cover the tip. You don't mess with my wife. We were both pretty agitated on the way home and couldn't stop talking about the experience. Not a good way to leave a restaurant.