Josie Restaurant

We ate here a couple of months ago. At first, I was quite impressed. The cocktails were intresting and we had an enjoyable appetizer. My husband ordered some sort of beef for his main course. I wanted to try it so he put some of it on my plate. Right before I took a bite, I noticed a small green worm crawing around on it. My husband got the waiter's attention and demanded that he remove all the food from our table. The manager came out a somewhat appologized stating that they use organic greens (as if this was some sort of excuse). The worst part of it all was although they took my husband's dinner off of our bill, they still charged us for mine even though I only had three bites. more

My boyfriend and I went to Josie last night after reading great things in Los Angeles magazine and on citysearch, but have to say were disappointed. We eat out frequently, always trying to experience new restaurants with an open mind and a mutual love of good food. The interior, first of all, was a little outdated and somewhat blah, however, that could easily become ""easy going"" or ""down to earth"" if the food was outstanding. I enjoyed the lack of LA ""scene"" and the humility of the place, thinking that the focus must be 100 percent on the food. But no. We split two appetizers: the wild mushroom sandwich and the fig & goat cheese tart. The wild mushroom sandwich was great, really creamy, earthy and comforting. The tart on the other hand was boring. There was no goat cheese flavor really and the overall taste was unimpressive. We shared the tagine of short ribs and the white fish as the entrees. The tagine was good, average good, not like ""we are coming back here for this dish"" good. It could have used more potent moroccan flavors and spice, but hinted at the exotic rather than achieving it. The Israeli cous cous in the short ribs was fun texturally, but also lacklustre in flavors. The fish was boring. It was slightly fishy (as in not fresh-white fish should be mild and flaky). There was no real marinade, infusion or sauce on the fish to compliment it either. The vegetables underneath were good though, a mixture of beans, tomatoes and artichoke hearts. Oh, and we ordered a side of truffle fries. Truffle + fry should equal heaven, but at Josie not so. Once again, the fries were boring both in texture and flavor. They were barely truffle-y at all, and I had to squint and imagine truffle taste while eating them. The trio of creme brulee were boring too. I don't know why anyone would make a creme brulee with a barely there carmelized sugar top; that's the best thing about creme brulee and the best part was not capitalized on. Too bad. Pros: Good cocktails Cons: boring food, boring interior more

I recomend everything on the menu!\r My own experience: \r As appetizer the roasted quail was cooked perfectly.....\r The venison, cooked to a perfect medium-rare, and the short ribs with cous cous. And for dessert we ordered the chocolate bread pudding, which was AMAZING!!!! \r If you haven't tried this restaurant you should. more

I had a celebratory meal at Josie last week. Overall, a great meal and a great time. The service was very good.\r \r We started (two of us, but hungry), with frogs legs, duck leg, and pork belly. All were excellent, though the pork belly skin should have been crisp, which it wasn't. They brought a sliver of wild mushroom quiche as an amuse bouche, which was also excellent. \r \r We then shared the tagine of short ribs with cous cous and the venison. Again, both were excellent. The venison, though cooked to a perfect medium-rare, could have had a better crust on it. Again, the food was really excellent. We guilt the lily with the truffle fries, which we couldn't not resist eating, despite being nearly stuffed. \r \r Though we ordered the chocolate bread pudding, they accidentally brought the trio of pots de creme to the table. My friend descended on them, so we ate them all before then tucking into the bread pudding. Again, great food.\r \r I recommend the place highly. Easy parking and/or valet. Nondescript neighborhood, but lovely interior. Friendly staff. Monday nights they do not charge their usual $25 corkage, so we enjoyed a bottle of our own. Bon apetite! Pros: great food, good service, fair value, corkage-free Mondays, wheelchair-accessible more

I had been looking forward to my first Josie experience. I came away very disappointed. The food was good. I had the duck which was wonderful. My husband had the venison so-so. The thing I was most disappointed with was the service. It baffled me. Were we being discriminated against because we were under 60? The waiter was very condescending when we asked for recommendations. We were left with no wine as our entrees arrived. Wow, I had really expected the service to be great. I really wanted to love this place and find a new neighborhood restaurant. Unfortunately, because of the service I will not be back. more

great wild boar! more

great wild boar! more

My investment banker friends took me to josie last weekend for dinner.We are all wine collectors and wine afficionado's and i was told that they have an impeccable wine list.My friends told me to pick the wines for the evening from the wine list.The prices are way over and second selections are terrible.Anyway i ordered few bottles and they were ok and than i ordered some more later on.The food is ok and i mean just ok,sorry to be so critical.I have been to the best restaurants in the world and some of the best here in the united states as well.The waiter was clueless and not hands on.Especially when you are spending top dollars on a meal and wines.I also noticed this fat un polite manager who seemed like the person who doesn't have people skills and that's why the staff is like him,they dont care.Most of the diners in the evening were super old,i was shocked at that.I am sure our tab was the highlight of josie for the evening.The restrooms are not as clean and second the wine temperature is not good.I am surprised at a restaurant who claims to have a wine spectator award and doesn't keep the wines climate control.I wont be back,i rather take my money to bastide or providence. Cons: Bad waiter,fat manager,wine temperature,food,restrooms,hostess more

I went to josie a week ago with friends who raved sooooooo much about this restaurant.On arrival we were told thirty minutes wait for a table with reservation.We waited at the bar and had few cocktails none to rave about.On being seated we were offered wine and within few minutes we ordered appitizers.I have to say i travel all over the world and have been to the top restaurants in the world such as el builli,the fat duck,gordon ramsay,french laundry but josie is the worst food i have ever had.the service is mediocre for what they charge and the wine list is pathetic.I have seven thousand bottle cellar twenty times far better than what they have on the list.Overpriced bland food and lousy wines to go with it.Sad this restaurant still exists.Please send your chef to london or spain and see how they cook the food and do it right.I wont be back and neither will i suggest this lousy restaurant. Pros: nione Cons: sooooo many more

Flawless, impeccable fine dining. This is our go-to restaurant for any special meal. Everything on the menu... more

Flawless, impeccable fine dining. This is our go-to restaurant for any special meal. Everything on the menu is outstanding, including the venison a... more

went to josie last night and had a magnificent dining experience all around. we were early for our 8:30 reservation and were given the option to be seated then or have a drink at the bar. we opted to have a predinner cocktail which was lovely. \r once seated service was attentive and our waitperson extremely knowledgeable. our appetizer of roasted quail was cooked perfectly and we loved the tart with goat cheese and baby beets. Delicious. our entrees could not have been better, although by the time we had finished them we were almost too full for dessert, almost! if you haven't tried this restaurant you should. it's definately one of the best meals we've had in los angeles. can't wait to go back! Pros: wonderful food, interesting wine list more

I decided to try Josie's for a recent special occasion. I made a reservation, and my whole party showed up within 10 mins of the reservation time. The host informed me that our table was running late, but neglected to fess up until later that the party at the table we were waiting on had decided delay their order for an hour waiting for one late stragler, and because of this, our table wasn't ready. We were fine with this as we were having drinks at the bar, but as the time rolled on it became obscene. For no apparent reason, this meathead manager (I assume Josie's loser husband) decided to approach us and explain the limitations of taking reservations as a restaurant. We asked why they take reservations, only to have the manager say ""Oh, its going to be like that, huh?"" Shocked, I decided to calm the situation by explaining our frustation with the evening. His response: ""Keep dishing it, guy, keep dishing."" \r So, I regret to say that I cannot comment on the food. The horrible service, prior to even sitting, forced us to leave. There were so many ways to avoid a bad exchange (call us to say the table was delayed - they take #s when you make a reservation, start us with some appies at the bar, a round of complementary drinks, asking the sitting table who ignored the situation to adjourn to the bar for an appertif, etc.) The one really crappy way was to send over a rude meathead manager/husband, has no social graces whatsoever. If you choose to ignore this and think that people only write when the encounter situations that anger them, you might be right. But still, I wouldn't go to Josies ever again, and they are on my personal blacklist. Pros: Good bar nuts Cons: Service, Managment more

I arrived at Josie at 6pm alone. The place was empty, but filled within one hour so make reservations for dinner. The crown is middle-aged and I am 29 so I felt odd. If you have good company you won't really notice. Service is not pretentious and multiple waiters service you at the proper intervals. You can read the menu for 30 minutes if you want and won't be hassled. I was served a thin slice of mushroom cheese quiche which was perfect. I started with the warm winter vegetable salad which was a heavenly combination of arugula, diced squash, chestnuts, pommegranate seeds, toasted pumpkin seed, cipollini onion and grated ricotta salata. There was love in the salad and it was not pretentious. I was pretty much happy after that, but I chose to have the buffalo burger since I never eat burgers. It arrived on a large bowl with truffle fries that I was weary of. They ended up being addictive. The burger was tasty, topped with foie gras, caramelized onions and sauteed mushrooms with a hint of truffle. The center was gruyere cheese and it was served on a brioche bun with three options of condiments. I ordered the burger medium rare but I should have been recommended rare since buffalo is lean and was a little too cooked for my taste. The bun was not as good as I expected - a bit dry for brioche. I ate half of this while sipping excellent iced tea and moved on to dessert. Gianduja praline cake was perfectly sweet, but had two points against it: the vanilla bean ice cream it is paired with competes (too rich) and the crunchy topping on the cake is not friendly to people with sensitive teeth. The espresso was perfectly brewed and not shockingly bitter. Overall I was happy, but for the price I would have expected even a little more. My dinner was $63 without tip and without any alcohol. Also subtracted points for the waiter leaving his thumbprint on the powdered cocoa on the edge of my dessert plate and the bread should have been warm if wrapped in a towel. Pros: Rich yet unpretentious food, nice ambiance, quite area Cons: Pricey, old crowd more

Had a business meeting here, we asked for a private table and got a table in the back where we could have a conversation. The restaurant is a quaint quiet place, the food is outstanding! I cannot wait to go back again. more

We went here after seeing one of the three women who run the place on the food network. Our instincts paid off; the food was fantastic. The decor was simple but pleasantly romantic. The staff were very nice and seated us promptly. We're definitely going back. Pros: food, service Cons: parking: valet in the street more

This place is great! The food was just awesome, from the soup, sweet potato fries, etc. I had veal which was done just right! The sorbet and gelato were really good, though I later found out this place was voted best pastries! Now I have to come back to try the rest of the desserts!\r The only weird thing was, we came earlier than our reservation, and they hesitated seating us even though the restaurant was completely empty! (this was at 6 pm)\r \r Thhe place was also quiet, not like the loud, club-type high class restaurants. Very down to earth but very nice. Pros: Great food, dessert, service Cons: ? expensive i guess? more

The chef is amazing. We were very happy with everything from seating, lighting, service, and best of all ....the FOOD!!! Looked like a great spot for a business dinner as well with a bar in the back section. more

My husband and I have walked past Josie's a million times and always thought it looked interesting. Last weekend we saw the chef/owner on the Food Network at some sort of South Beach cook-off at which she won! Her food looked so delectable, we decided to try it on Monday night. We were seated immediatley, without reservations at 6:30pm. Once seated we were pleasantly surprised by the outstanding service from both our server, Chris, and the rest of the servers constantly make sure we were in need of nothing. We were surprised with a wonderful piece of quiche of some sort, served delicious bread and given tons of time to look through the scrumptious menu. Oddly, we both decided to go with specials. We had the Scallop special as an appetizer-the BEST scallops I've ever tasted! Then, I had salmon on top of garlic mashed potatos and delicious veggies, served with lobster sauce. My husband ordered the lamb and ate every last morsel. We ended the fabulous meal with key lime cheesecake topped with blueberries-DELICIOUS! I would highly reccommend for small parties, romantic dinners and any other special occassion. Monday night's are no corkage nights so take advantage! If you're feeling adventurous, try the Rose wine by the glass...dry and not to sweet-also the cheapest wine by the glass on the menu I think. WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL experience. Pros: Street Parking + Valet Cons: Can't think of a single thing more

August 8, 2006\r \r Dear Chef & Owner Jill Davie:\r \r My daughter Jenelle and I wanted to send you a brief note of thanks for the delightful dinner we enjoyed at Josie last night. Your hospitality, delicious food presented in such an artful fashion, fine wine, excellent waitstaff, not to mention the several nice surprises such as quiche and candies served before and after our meal made Jenelle's first ""fine dining"" experience a truly memorable one. The highlight of the evening, of course, came when you visited our table to talk personally about your experiences on the Food Network. We felt so surprised that you took time out during a busy service to spend a few minutes chatting with us, we were almost speechless.\r \r Thanks again for all the personal attention and for affording us the opportunity to know great food and those who prepare it with such dedication and expertise. Jenelle would love to know how you got started as a chef, what your favorite dish is, and, perhaps most importantly, what restaurant you love to go to in the Los Angeles area on your special night out.\r \r We wish you all the best in your future endeavors and hope to visit Josie again soon.\r \r Best Regards,\r \r Gary & Jenelle\r Fullerton, California \r Pros: Personal Service Cons: Parking, Price more