I went to Simon LA last night (a Saturday) and had high hopes. Our party was a total of six people. The food itself was above average for LA -- though nothing that would rock your world if you are a serious foodie. I would give it in the 23-24 range out of 30. I went with the Cowboy Ribeye, which was very flavorful, and some creamed spinach, which was less impressive. I also ordered a Duckhorn Pinot, which took forever and a day for the server to bring it out, so there was no time to enjoy it before the food arrived. The service, while not awful, could have been far more attentive. My friends ordered dessert, which seemed to come with a big pile of pink cotton candy for the entire table to enjoy gratis, which was fun and tasty. \r
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So, the evening on the whole was a pretty good time until we went to leave. As has been described before on this site, the valet overcharged me for parking. My party had a 7:30 reservation, and I was sweating bullets on La Cienega in traffic because I was running late for the reservation. Yet, inexplicably, when I went to leave, the valet told me that I had arrived at 7:05, as was written on my ticket. I asked to speak to the valet manager to complain. I told him that I was absolutely certain of the time that I arrived, that I was an attorney and that their establishment was defrauding their customers. The valet manager told me that my case must be an isolated incident and basically gave me nothing but platitudes. Tomorrow, I will write a letter to the city attorney's office (the department that handles consumer fraud) about the incident and copy of the manager of the Sofitel. I am also going to attach a screen print of this website documenting that my case was not an isolated incident. Obviously, I will not be going back to Simon or the Sofitel until the issue is resolved. I urge others to do the same.
Pros: Some Inventive and Flavorful Dishes
Cons: Valet, Service, Value
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