Anisette Brasserie

I went to Anisette last night for my birthday with my boyfrirend & parents. As mentioned in other reviews the service was hit & miss. After being seated the waiter came over to ask about water but then quickly disappeared before asking us if we wanted cocktails or wine!! Once he returned upstairs we had to flag him down to have him take our drink order. I also ordered a salad which came in about 2 minutes, even before our drinks! Then when we wanted to order dinner we again had to flag him down. When looking over the menu, I have to say I was greatly disappointed to see that there was no lamb on the menu...except as the Sunday special. This is very different from what is shown on their online menu on the website. I guess a lot of items have been removed & that was too bad! I was so looking forward to rack of lamb! So I ordered the Wed Special, Beef Bourguignon (a la Julia Child). It was very tasty, with all the right elements, but I have to say the meat was not as tender as I would have expected (I had to use a knife) and it seems like it was made the day before or maybe the day before that!! My boyfriend had the same dish & thought the same thing! My mother had the Sea Bass which was excellent. Moist & very delicious. My dad had the 10 oz (supposed) rib eye without the bone. I say supposed because this did not look like any rib eye I'd ever seen & I thought maybe they gave him the flat iron by mistake. The steak was full of gristle and looked absolutely horrible. My dad make the best of it though. When mentioned to the waiter my dad was very cordial about it & I tried to speak up but the waiter insisted it was a rib eye. Im still not so sure - out of 10oz, 5oz was left on the plate - inedible! On the flip side, the pomme frites that came with it were excellent, as was the garlic aioli that my dad got on the side. They should serve their fries with the aioli always! We had the house caraf of Cotes du Rhone which was very good. Also we finished with the Pots de Creme (vanilla with little lemon madeline cookies on the side) which also was excellent. Would I go back once more? Yes. Maybe on a Sunday when I can get the lamb! Pros: Good wine, good atmosphere Cons: hit & miss service more

Last night was my fourth visit to Anisette Brasserie. Since past visits had been fairly good, we made a reservation to celebrate an anniversary. What a tremendous disappointment. It seems since the last time we ate at Anisette, the management has adopted the 'hurry-up-and-eat' business model. We placed our wine order and the waiter promptly returned to uncork and pour. Minutes later, he was back, interrupting an obvious toast. Rather than have the good sense to discreetly disappear, he stood there and stared at us. Feeling pressured, we ordered an appetizer. When asked what we wanted as a main course, we told the waiter that we hadn't yet decided. He informed us that we had to order the appetizer and main course all at once, saying something about the chef wanting it that way. Not to bore you with the details, but I had to fend off three busboys who were in a rush to clear my salad plate before I had even finished. Our waiter kept returning to check on us, but we both felt he was anxious to get us out of there so that they could seat more guests. From the upstairs section, I had a clear view of the entryway, and only once did it appear there were people waiting to be seated, yet there were empty tables available upstairs where we were eating. The waitstaff were simply doing what management tells them to do, so I don't blame them for doing their jobs and trying to flip tables quickly. I do find fault with any dining establishment in this category that finds it necessary to adopt a diner mentality and rush patrons through their meals. Needless to say, we won't be returning to Anisette. There are too many other restaurants in the area that understand customers are willing to pay a little more to have a pleasant and unhurried dining experience. Anisette missed the mark on this one. Pros: Decor, ambience Cons: Service more

Very traditional French bistro menu and though the service was hit or miss, the food was quite good. This place absolutely filled a void needed in Santa Monica. Be forewarned - no valet. more

we sat at the bar...I love the vibe there...the oysters were great and the bartender attentive...been back a few more times already...I love their cocktails...reminds me of my fav restaurant in NYC so I love being there!! Pros: drinks!! Cons: pricey! more

The food was great. Had the steak tartare for an app, and had the steak frites. Both were awesome. The space is really cool, but once it begins to fill up, it's time to start raising your voice. I would recommend booking ahead, since it looked like there were some walk ups who had to be turned away. Pros: Food, drinks, setting Cons: Gets quite loud QUICK. more

My sister and I went for brunch last weekend and were both very happy with the food. We had beef tartar for starters. It was high quality meat and included a quail egg on top. I got the Belgian waffle with strawberries, which was toasted to perfection while soft on the inside and had a wonderful vanilla taste. My sister ordered the duck hash, which I highly recommend. It was perfectly roasted with bits of potatoes and herb sauce with an egg on top. The warm yolk spilled out on everything once it was cut and every bite in that dish became so perfect to the palate. We ended with an apple tatin, which was also amazing with its great caramelized flavor and superb crust. Pros: food (brunch) taste and quality, service Cons: small portions for some dishes more

.... I want to next time! My friend and I came here for an intended brunch. I'd heard good things about... more

.... I want to next time! My friend and I came here for an intended brunch. I'd heard good things about this place - it was beautifully decorate... more

We went back to Anisette for brunch. Dinner was WAAYYY better. Pour Moi bloody mary: it was pretty good. It... more

We went back to Anisette for brunch. Dinner was WAAYYY better. Pour Moi bloody mary: it was pretty good. It was supposed to come with blue ch... more

I just came home from dinner with a girlfriend at Anisette. They were too crowded to seat us at a proper table so we sat in the bar area ( big mistake ). We split the goat cheese and beet salad to start. The goat cheese was very rich and tasted across between brie and a piece of cheesecake from the( cheesecake factory), arugula was on the top. It was pretty mediocre and very small in size. I then had the mussels which were served to me almost cold and with very little broth. Just not very appetizing. My girlfriend order the french onion soup which is usually one of our favorites. This soup was priced at $14.00 so I figured my friend would get a bowl but no she was served this soup in a very small ramekin. I had a taste and it was just ok, nothing to write home about. I just got home from Basalt Colorado on Saturday and had the best ever french onion soup which cost me about $6.00. Go figure. I would not go back to this restaurant ( oh by the way the service was horrific. Our waitress had super dark hair and she was awful. Would have to give this place two thumbs down. Also the acoustics were really bad and the lighting was super harsh. Not a good date spot. Not romantic at all. more

I LOVE THIS RESTAURANT!!!!!!!! I lived in Paris for 9 years and I finally found a restaurant that is truly French! From the croissants to the moules frites, all is perfection. I loved that the chef came by our table to see if everything was alright. He is adorable and so talented. I will be back soon , A bientot Pros: i felt like in paris Cons: n/a more

Really wanted to like this place. Had heard good things so finally decided to try it out. The physical space is nice, they did a good job with the decor. The menu was ok, nothing special. Champagne list (by the glass, I didn't bother with the bottle list) was kind of a joke - the prices and what was available already turned me off. The pastries were actually quite good... I will give them that. I was a bit full after a few pastries and the vanilla scented butter and would have been much better off had I stopped there. Had the Tuna ""sandwich"" as a starter, which ended up being brought together with our main courses... big loss of points there... watching the server and waiter try and put two main dishes and a ""starter"" on the table at the same time, before we even finished our pastries was pretty comical. Waiter didn't seem to notice or care until I mentioned something to him... instead of saying he was sorry and trying to fix the situation he blamed it on a computer error... really? Like you don't know that its not appropriate to serve a starter and main together... ok. So on to the food. The Tuna ""starter"" was awful, pretty much not even edible - the taste was off, and the bread was as hard as a brick... pass. Had the salmon benedict and while the taste was actually pretty good... it was cold. Had the Anisette Omelette which was also cold and even though I had requested the eggs cooked medium, they were hard and way overdone, served with cold soggy toast. When I brought up the situation to the manager... she ended up talking to the chef (who happened to be sitting a few tables from us). He proceeded to insult my girlfriend in French, not thinking we understood. They offered to comp our pastries, which I felt a pretty weak attempt at correcting the situation. When we left the Manager was unavailable, but needless to say we will not return again. Pros: Not enough to recommend. Cons: Horrible service. Rude chef. Below average food. Way overpriced. more

I'll admit it- I loathe new and crave things in my life that are old. I would NEVER live in a new house or apartment building, I buy vintage clothes with some new pieces thrown in here and there, and I don't like the sterile atmosphere of most new restaurants. And then I found Anisette. The second I walked in I felt transported to another time, when people built things to last and real craftsmen made them. I sat at the seemingly endless Zinc bar the first time and had a strong americano and a pain au chocolat, so buttery and delicious I actually felt guilty. The next time I came was for dinner and had a bowl of beef daube that changed my life. It was incredible! One of the managers actually recognized me from a few days before and came over to greet our table and welcome me back- I felt like a VIP! I've since become a regular and have very little complaints about service or the food (once too my fries weren't quite right, and if you don't have a reservation for dinner the wait for walk in's is not pretty). Food wise, here is what I recommend(and what I've tried): Pros: Real Simple Perfect Brasserie Food, Atmosphere, Ambience, Croissants!!! Cons: Not great for a walk in dinner place- reservations needed. more

went to anisette for lunch and was disappointed after hearing all the hype. i've been to comme ca many times and had heard the food was better here...unfortunately, it seems to suffer from some of the same problems. we started with the gnocchi appetizer which was described on the menu with leeks and summer truffles. there were definitely leeks and TONS of black pepper, but i could not taste any truffle. i don't really believe that there were any truffles in the dish, and when we inquired about it, the server said that it was made with truffle oil...a dish with truffle oil should not be advertised as ""summer truffles"" because they are not the same thing. the gnocchi was actually quite good, but the menu description was misleading--the flavors were more leeks, black pepper, and a hint of fennel, not truffle. next, we had the croque monsieur which was buttery and satisfying, however the pomme frittes tasted old and were so salty i couldn't eat them. the burger was actually quite good, but again too salty. the butter lettuce salad had a unique presentation and was good, albeit a bit difficult to eat since the giant leaves were served whole. the wine was great and the service was pleasant, although our server didn't seem that enthused to be working there. when we asked questions about the menu and the wine list, he was somewhat informative, but didn't really provide any input outside of the standard, ""it's good"" answer. i get that it's lunch and that's probably not the ideal shift to be working, but at least fake it. overall, i felt that anisette really didn't live up to its reputation and the mixed reviews are probably a result of inconsistencies in the kitchen. too bad, because i really wanted to love this restaurant... more

Josh Smith is a genius!!! He is the new chef in town that no one probably knows. I went to Anisette for the first time with my girlfriend and was blown away. I had sort of the tasters menu and was able to see what Josh was capable of. He kicked up classic French food with his own signature twist. He used lots of flavor in a subtle way that let me taste every ingredient he used. The food was rich with flavor allowing me to enjoy every bite. Dish after dish was a success, the food was prepared well and the consistency of taste did not go unnoticed. Josh is a young man who has passion in his work and it shows in his food. Go see for yourself and try the Oysters....they are the best in town. more

The menu is classical bistro food, the service is good. In fact we had two servers at lunch today. I'd go back. more

great looking spot, awesome escape from the promenade. close to the movies. food is fine, as the food at most brasseries is simply fine. good wine list. more

It's a great space Feels a lot like Balthazaar in NY and thats a compliment. Wanted a little more from Giraud both overall great space , the bar is beautiful. The raw bar and the fries are stellar. Pros: fries more

Very good food, loved the moulles and frittes. Had to wait about 10 minutes for our table. Only complaint, its loud and can be warm upstairs. Cons: Loud more