La Bodeguita de Pico

My Cuban husband, my Cuban father in law, and I went to La Bodeguita de Pico for lunch. I had the Vaca Frita which was more like a dry Ropa Vieja accompanied by the blandest black beans, the driest rice, and the hardest plantains I've had in my history of eating Cuban cuisine. My husband's Cuban sandwich was made with a Mexican like french bread rather than the traditional "pan cubano." My father in law's Media Noche didn't have the correct condiments or bread either. Lastly and most importantly, THERE WAS NO CUBAN COFFEE since according to the waiter, the machine was off. Being Mexican, I'd equate this to visiting a Mexican restaurant that doesn't have tortillas. We were very dissapointed since this restaurant claims to serve authentic Cuban cuisine. I wonder if the Cuban owner has tasted her own restaurant's food. Pros: Ambience, art on walls, live music, friendly service Cons: Terrible food, lack of authenticity, lack of ingredients listed on menu more

Tonight some friends all wanted to head to somewhere different. I had heard several people say bodeguita was great....so we tried it out. It was a little off the beaten path, but that made it more fun! I felt like I was in Cuba. The food was great, as well was the service. Nothing beats that family owned feeling. Latin salsa in the book room added to the quaint flare. I had a great time tonight and look forward to my next visit, which will be soon! Pros: Left full and satisfied completely Cons: Wish it was closer to me.... more

Their Mojitos are the best in town, no doubt about it. The food was nothing but outstanding, traditional Cuban cuisine at its best. Try their Pechu... more

Highly recommended to anyone who appreciate the delicate and authentic flavor of Cuba! It's been 7 years since I went to La Bodeguita Del Medio in Havana, and this one made me feel like I came back to one of my favorite restaurants once again. The food was outstanding, I had "Pollo Salteado con Pina" and my wife had "Ropa Vieja", the dishes were brought to us promptly, and the service was very nice. We had to wait a bit for our server a couple of times, but it did not feel like we were unattended at all. The Mojitos were great, especially the Royal one. Oh, yeah, it was a Friday, the band was playing when we came, and that was fun, a bit loud, but that's the way we like it. A+. more

Went here today for lunch with some coworkers. The menu has all the great typical cuban fare. I wasn't in the mood for something too heavy so ordered the seafood of the day which was salmon. It was really good, very fresh and tender, it was served with some steamed veggies and of course rice and beans and fried bananas- YUM. The atmosphere was very fun. And the service was great. Pros: low cal options more

Note to self: never rely on friends of friends for recommendation. 8:00: My date and I arrive at La Bodeguita. The band is already cranking, which makes dinner conversation a difficult proposition given the unmitigated tile, brick, and concrete interior. We are seated cheerfully and right away. 8:15: Someone filnally shows up to ask whether we'd like something to drink. I order a mojito. 8:25: Nearly a half hour since we've ventured through the door, I finally get a wet one. The waiter disappears before I can tell him my date has decided she'd like a sangria, and without a word about food. 8:35: Waiter returns, we order appetizer salad and entrees. He interrupts us to tell us about the specials. 8:45: Oscar, the cheerful manager drops by to introduce himself, asks how everything is going, says he'll check on our food. 8:55: Almost an hour after we arrive, our server brings the entire order at one time. I ask him to keep the rest warm while we have our salad, and order a glass of Cabernet, not because it goes with the food, but because by this point, the dismal experience warrants the extra alcohol content. 9:05: I have to go find the waiter to ask him to bring the rest of our food. My date is ready to walk, but I'm hungry. Food shows up five or ten minutes later, room temperature. No cabernet in sight. 9:25: Chicken's almost gone, still no wine. I go talk to manager, something which I am loath to do, having been in the business myself at one time. I explain, he apologizes. We wait. Wine comes. Inside of glass is foamy, tastes like burnt rubber. Manager makes excuses, takes 25 percent off of check. Check never comes, I find waiter and ask for check. I hand over hard-earned money, wish I'd spent it somewhere else. 9:45: As we leave, a mile away our movie is starting. Will never go back. Nice people, clueless service, cold food, insipid wine. Buena suerte! more

I have no idea what the people who gave this restaurant poor ratings were talking about. Were you people at the same restaurant as I was??? My parents both emigrated from Cuba and as a family, we are always on the hunt for good AUTHENTIC Cuban food. We found it at La Bodequita de Pico. Delicious; wonderful atmosphere; amazing mojitos; and the service was fast and friendly. I got to chatting with one of the partners, Danny, and he was just such a joy. I would for sure come back and will tell all my friends. I'm actually planning on scheduling an event for the firm I work for at Bodeguita. This was on a Wednesday night and I just can't wait to see what a Saturday is all about. Both my parents and I found it to be as close to home cooked Cuban as a restaurant can do. PERFECTO! Pros: Mojitos, the authentic nature of the food, great price, great service Cons: couldn't really find any more

My friends had previously highly recommended La Bodeguita & I'm so glad they did. I hosted a 35 person birthday dinner for a good friend of mine who invited all of her family - from grand-kids to grand-parents. The Managers & Waiters' service was excellent & attentive. The food was delicious & the mojitos were savory. There's a private dining room in the back that allowed some of us to have a casual conversation while the rest of our party danced in front of the energetic live salsa band on stage in the main dining room which was awesome. I'm still getting phone calls from friends & family members expressing their gratitude & that their over all experience was that they felt very cozy - almost at home! I will definitely continue to spread the good word regarding our terrific dining experience. more

As a Cuban, I'm always on the hunt for good Cuban resturants. Recently went to La Bodeguita with friends because a vendor gave me a gift certificate. Upon arrival, we're greeted by a very rude bouncer who asks "What are you here for?" Uh, dinner; what else! We're escorted to the bowels of the resturants, you feel you're being led to the kitchen. They seat us in a corner and forget about us. We eventually order mojitos, appetizers and dinner. Mojitos arrive, they're horrible. I've been to non-Cuban restaurants in Beverly Hills that do them way better. Appetizers arrive, and they are 4 of the smallest peices of yucca you have ever seen. No real Cuban would serve such powltry portions! Dinner arrives and the meal is less than inspiring - the taste is pedestrian and the flavors are just "off". The dishes are supposed to come with fried plantains. You get two of the smallest plaintains ever grown. Finally, we ask for the check and provide the gift certificate. PROBLEM. The waiter comes back saying they can't accept because its "expired" - We point out they are valid for another 10 months (they were issued in April '07 and its May '07; so clearly plenty of time). I ask he bring out the manager. This is where the service goes from bad to WORSE. Manager argues its expired and he won't accept. I'm just embarrased this is even happening and that he's making such a huge deal over a $50 gift certificate (especially when the bar is full and so is the dance floor - $50 nothing) He sternly refuses to do anything. We're all just shocked he had no interest in the customer experience. These guys need a SERIOUS lesson in customer service and hospitality. And by the way, don't even think about trying to have a conversation - between the live music and the radio playing in the dinning room, you'll be yelling all night long. Don't even waste your time going here, its just not worth it. Take if from a real cuban! more

A group of friends and I went on a Wednesday evening..not too crowded. Energetic vibe and we immediately sensed we'd enjoy ourselves. Food took a while to come but when it did, it was great. The arroz con pollo should be named arroz con poquito pollo because it was 90% rice and 10% chicken. What chicken I got was good though. Sangria was great and the band was great at getting the patrons involved. We will definitely be back, probably on a weekend to make a comparison. Worth a visit for sure! Pros: Live music, sangria Cons: Long wait for the food more

I've been in this place twice. The first when it just opened and the second some weeks ago. The first time wasn't that bad the hostess and servers were nice and friendly but the food was cold and tasted old. The second time my husband and I decided to give them another chance. HUGE MISTAKE!!! the food was disgusting, the service has horrible, it took hours to get our check and the ower was beyond rude. HE should learn how to treat his costumers. If you wanna eat some REAL CUBAN FOOD go to XIOMARA ON MELROSE www.xiomararestaurantcom the food is delicious, the dinks are really good and the service is outstanding. I will always go back to Xiomara on Melrose. Pros: Live music, parking Cons: the food, the service, the owner. more

We went on Wednesday night at 8 PM. It was a slow night, not a lot of diners. It took over an hour for the food to arrive. The food tasted bad. We packed the food for our dogs. Fortunately, our dogs loved the food. This place is not fit for human consumption. I think this restaurant will be out of business soon if the low quality and slow service remains the same. Pros: None Cons: Slow Service and Bad Food. more

This place was great. The sitting was fast and the food was great. My favorit part was the atmosphere. I loved the vibe. I will defenitly go back and when the Bar is open it will be my Happy Hour Spot. more

I'm glad to see some quality food moving into the neighborhood other than Oki's Dog. This restaurant is a step up from the more casual places that can be found along Pico. Hopefully this is a sign of more good restaurants to come. The sampler platter provided a nice variety of their Cuban fare. All the pork and beef dishes we've tried have all been surprisingly good. The staff was friendly and clearly wanted to make our experience as pleasant as possible. Kudos to the piano! We'll definitely return to try more of their entrees as soon as possible. By the way, their Mojitos are a work in progress. Let's hope they fine-tune this drink before our next visit! more

I have been going to this restaurant since it first opened a couple years ago. While the husband/owner was surly, the food rivaled anything I ever had growing up in Little Havana in Florida. It was hands down the best Cuban food I ever had. Over time, the quality slipped a little, but was still pretty decent as of last year. After not going for about six months, I went tonight and was shocked. I don't know if there has been an ownership change, but for some reason there was a big "Grand Opening" sign. When asked, they claimed there was no change. However, it was the most disgusting food I have ever had. Next to the Chinese Restaurant, Hu's, this is now the second worst meal I have ever had in Los Angeles (and with all the bad restaurants in this town, that is saying a lot!). The rice and beans were grotesque, the pork tasted like it had been cooked a week ago and reheated every day till it was dry and tasteless. The quality of pork was also quite nauseating. Even the green plantains were mushy and tasteless. And the sangria tasted like it was 10 percent wine and 90 percent Sprite mixed with cinnamon. Really, truly Gross. Add to that the incredibly bad service, and you have a really nightmarish experience. No one came to take our drink orders, so the manager finally came over and took them. There were two waiters and some six busboys (a number that should be reversed to ensure service). We waited 20 minutes for someone to take our order and that only happened when I stopped the waitress and asked her if we even had a waiter. It took 10 minutes to get the check after I asked, and despite us surrendering 1/2 to 3/4 full plates, no one bothered to ask if anything was wrong. They obviously know there IS. Never going back. If you're thinking of going, do yourself a favor and head to EL FLORADITA on Vine/Fountain. The food is way superior. Hell, even the chain Versailles is now preferable to this disgusting dining establishment. AVOID! Pros: The tap water was the best thing there Cons: the food and the service - GROSS!!! more

I was reading reviews of how great a restaurant this is and so I went to check it out. Overall layout is nice large open dinining area with a rustic feel. Lighting could have been a bit brighter, maybe that's way it has a romantic feel. There are pictures on the walls, not really art work as some have said, just large reproductions of old posters. Apperently the owner must really love his wife because there are two huge "works of art " on one of the walls of his wife posing. The restaurant themes it self around the original La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana Cuba, which in essence is little more than a bar, with a large bar counter and a few tables, where they serve drinks and your local standard bar food (usually small quick bites to eat) and yes reached celebrity status when Ernest Hemingway went there on a few occassions. Internationally some entrepnuers took the name and capitalized on it by establishing a franchise in Mexico , and some others have used the name to open restaurants in france and england maybe in other countries as well. Please remember that if you go to cuba this is just a bar . The menu is not what I would call authentic cuban food there a few traditional dishes mixed with modern interpretations, which the descriptions are badly spelled and do not accurately reflect the dishes served. The night we went was on a friday, reservations for 8:30, were sat on time, the overall ambience nice loud typical of cuban establishments, Since we researched the menu on line we new what we were going to order, overall there was a disoraganized feel to the service, all of the wait staff would leave and come back at the same time, our table as well as our neighbors table was not even recognized until 9:05pm . No bread or water served either, The staff seemed overwhelemed, what made the experience worst is seeing the owner and wife just staring into the dinig area and not helping, I would not return based on service,but the foodhadgood flavor no authentic feel. more

wow! i felt like i left LA enter Cuba. They have pictures everywhere and they encourage you to walk around and check them out. Friendly service, warm ambience, great food and live music....what else can you ask for? I will definetly be going back. Warning! this is not a fast food restaurant so if you only have ten minutes to eat, go across the street to that hot dog stand, cause this is definetly a sit down, relax, have some wine and eat kind of place. Can't wait 'till they start serving Mojitos!! Pros: everything Cons: NO mojitos more

My sister and I dined here on Saturday, Nov. 4. The restaurant was tasefully decorated with the old world charm one might find in Cuba, greating a warm, welcoming atmosphere. Our server was charming and made good suggestions for us from the menu. The food was excellent. Must try the Flan! They get an A+ for presentation of their dishes. The live music was a great touch and enhanced our experience. There's even enough space to show off your Mambo moves! I was pleasantly surprised during this visit to La Bodeguita, as there are few decent restaurants in the surrounding area. But I worked in restaurants for years and am always curious to try something new. Its a great place for a family get together or night on the town with friends. I highly recommend everyone try La Bodeguita. It is refreshing to experience a restaurant that knows what they are doing by serving good, quality food and treat their guests great without all the pretense that many LA restaurants embody and eventually die from. Good Luck La Bodeguita, you have what it takes to surpass the rest! Pros: Warm Family Atmosphere, Valet Parking, Music more

This restaurant is so beautiful and the food was amazing. I had my birthday of 10 people here and everybody loved the food! LA needed you! Finally a place that does Cuban Food Right! Pros: Great Food and great ambience! Cons: Service will get better over time. more

It's by far the most authentic Cuban food on the West Coast. The service and ambiance is outstanding! Pros: Free valet parking, live Latin music more