The Spanish Kitchen

09/25/2008 Posted by angelagoon

Always drive past this place, never stopped by until a friend scheduled her bachelorette party here. Good food, fast, friendly service. Great happy hour. Bartenders are very welcoming. Mexican-American food that actually has flavor, rather than just being large portions of gooey, cheesy, saltiness. Not the cheapest, but not the most expensive place in the area. Perfect for birthdays or get-togethers. Potent and tasty margaritas!

Pros: food, service

Cons: $7 parking

09/01/2008 Posted by HurryLarry

This place is like really expensive Mexican food. The average entree is $17-20 and the appetizer is from $9-12. Also, unlike other Mexican food places, the portions here are really small and can barely fill one person up. I do like their ceviche, but I'm not sure if I'd go again. Plus, valet is $7!!!

07/30/2008 Posted by jerifred

Good and fun atmosphere until Bartender (diedra) shhhh'd you and ruin the fun! mean and condescending! Food servings are OK ......but what makes a Fun and great place... I think are polite and fun staff! I'd give it 1/10 for costumer service (or poor HR staff screening. this establishment should fire "liability staff" ) to improve overall costumer satisfaction.

07/17/2008 Posted by wizlaw

First of all. This is a Mexican restaurant.. NOT SPANISH. .with really average Mexican food.. Secondly, the place is completely overpriced !!!! A really bad SMALL quesadilla was about ten bucks. Entrees are about $30.. The food quality was poor.. something that Third Strike: Is TOTALLY snooty. Getting reservations was a pain when we went it appeared only 1/2 full, and they act like its a "scene" when it isn't. Fourth Strike: Service is bad.. the waitress took too long to bring out food and when they did, ,the food was cold. I sent my plate back.. they took 15 mins to re-heat it.. I think this goes along with the snooty behavior and they take great pains to ensure that the service is poor and to give out the impression i.e. take it or leave it.. I think I have had better Mexican food at El Torito or even Baja Fresh.. Save your money...

Pros: overpriced

Cons: Snooty

07/13/2008 Posted by erinlovesfood

I thought Spanish kitchen was good, but not great. The food is pretty basic, but good. Fun for groups and casual dinner. I would reccomend the fajitas and the taco salad. The chips and salsa are good too. It's not too expensive and pretty good. Give it a try.

Pros: Good Mexican at Great Value

Cons: None

07/02/2008 Posted by laemtandrew

Avoid the taco tuesday night. About 8 of us had dinner on a Monday night a few months back for some enchiladas. The service was pleasant/good and the enchilladas were pretty great. 10 of us went back last night for their Taco Tuesday night. We'll, the tacos sucked and the service was pretty bad. The tacos were the size of a half dollar with a very skimpy amount of meat and the waiter got all over our tacos mixed up. We didnt know what we were eating. I'm mexican and not too picky but the beans, rice and tortillas were pretty awful too.The bill ended up being 300.00. I'll probably go back for the enchiladas.

06/25/2008 Posted by dognique

I went to the Spanish Kitchen on a weekend night with a friend because we were looking for a fun way to beat the heat with blended margaritas and delicious food. Boy, was that a mistake. When we arrived, the hostess staff was flustered and confused by people waiting to be seated in front of us, seriously acting as if they had never done this before (in this or any other restaurant). There was no room for us at the bar and we were seated around a half hour later, not too bad considering that there we were walk ins, but it only got worse form there. The margaritas, “Award wining” according to their menu, would easily win the award for “The Weakest, Blandest, Most Tasteless Yet Sour Dishwater Concoction Ever Invented.” The waiter was rude and useless when we told him that our drinks were not to our liking. He suggested that they did not taste good because they were blended. Does blending somehow violate laws of taste and render things disgusting? The wait staff was in general rushed – the servers repeatedly tried to bring the wrong food to our table, and then to the table next to ours, and then wandered around the restaurant helplessly asking everyone who ordered what. The food, when it arrived, was rubbery, soupy, tasteless, and banal. The overpriced bill was the punchline. I told my friend that we would have done much better to take out from Baja Fresh and buy a six pack of cold beer. There are so many wonderful, delicious Mexican restaurants in LA – aside from the location and attractive décor, I have no understanding how this place is still in business. AVOID!

06/25/2008 Posted by Paris33

I recently went to the Spanish Kitchen on a Saturday night. This place is unbearably hot and loud. The margaritas were watered down and we complained to our server who said it was probably because they were blended. I have had many blended margaritas in my time that were delicious and it's not because a drink is blended that it should taste bad. He then asked us what would make them taste better and offered lime or more tequila. We added more lime and it just made them taste more limey and sour. The server should have just offered to replace them right away, seeing that they did not taste good. We gave up on that and the server had the nerve to ask us if we wanted another margarita after we'd finished the first watered down version. Also server said he would get us water, however he couldn't because the dishes were in the dishwasher and there were no glasses. The table next to us somehow got water and we didn't. Finally the food arrived and wasn't that great, a bit over priced for the quality. We had an overall poor experience here, paid $70 plus tip for a lousy meal.

06/07/2008 Posted by EatninLA

I am a foodie, dated chefs, parents own a catering service... this place is terrible... went with a friend for a late 3 p.m. lunch and ordered chips and guacamole and drinks to begin because we were starving...although the guacamole was good, $6 for a small bowl and her margarita was weak and watery with ice...I had this sangria and champagne for $10 and it was blah. Ordered three tacos because the lunch menu was limited and din't want too much food...Since I am trying to watch the carbs I asked for grilled veggies on the side...20 minutes later and I should have known from the lack of presentationof the plate. Three tacos on a plate with just shredded lettuce and no color or herbs...and the vegetables were steamed, or microwaved squash which was watery with green beans. The plate looked like something my 80 year old grandmother would get at a cafeteria in her Convalescent home. The three tacos, one with carne asada, one with chicken, and the last with pork came only with shredded lettuce and a slice of scallion. The carne asada was decent, but the chicken was like boiled, shredded chicken...no flavor, no onions, no cilantro, nothing. The pork was rubbery and doused in barbeque sauce--what the hell? Carnitas, I think not! I couldn't even eat it. Seriously, spend your money elsewhere.. I get better tacos at a truck in East L.A....I can't imagine how anyone would give this place more than 1 star. If you want some good Mexican food and killer drinks, go to Mexicali on Ventura in Studio City...they serve margatinis...chilled martini glasses with a martini take on the margarita...to die for !

05/16/2008 Posted by Jennapeed

My friend was looking for a restaurant to celebrate her birthday at when she stumbled upon this place. After looking through their website she was super excited to tell everyone about the place she had settled on. Despite the fact that she had reservations we were made to wait an additional 30 minutes to be seated. While placing our drink orders our waitress left before I could place mine. Instead of making a big deal out of this my husband and I shared his "gigante" marguerita which was not all that big and filled to the brim with ice. For a meal one would usually spend $8 for, you would pay $15-$20 here. I ordered a tostada salad that ironically did not have a tostada shell. It was incredibly bland and very small in portion. My husband ordered some enchiladas and was disappointed with what he received. There was little to no sauce and the tortillas were rubbery. His entire family comes from Guadalajara and was brought up on Traditional Mexican food. "For this being a Mexican restaurant there's nothing Mexican about it" were his exact words. The ingredients weren't fresh, the drinks were expensive and nothing special, it seemed the dishes were made by people that knew nothing about Latin American cuisine, and the service was bad that I was debating on asking for the manager. My friend felt embarrassed and cheated. To top it all off our waitress didn't come back for 45 minutes to pick up the check. Finally as the place was closing she came back and casually asked "Did you want your change?". I will never go to this place again nor will I ever recommend it. If you want good Mexican food I suggest going to Gardens of Taxco where you will pay almost the same amount for five traditional courses and the margaritas are delicious.

Pros: The resturant looks nice

Cons: everything else