Sona

One of the finest meals we've eaten in Los Angeles. We had the six-course degustation menu and split a wine pairing. Entire wait staff were warm, gracious and totally professional -- never seemed to hover but were always there at the right moment. Rather than present diners with a menu of courses, they simply check to see if you have any food allergies or major dislikes and then ask you to trust the chef. So trust him we did and in turn were served one delightful surprise after another. The wine pairings were perfect as well. Portion sizes were ideal -- we left feeling well-fed but not uncomfortably stuffed. Can't wait to go back. more

The meal at Sona lived up to all the hype I've heard. The sweet corn chowder started the meal wonderfully, followed by the melt in your mouth beef tenderloin and short ribs. A companion and I split an ounce of the wagyu beef just to try it and it, for me, beat the wagyu at Cut. For dessert definitely try the fried lemon meringue pie. It's unique and flavorful. Our waiter expertly recommended wines and we all left very full and incredibly satisfied. I would recommend this restaurant without hesitation. Pros: attentive service, excellent wine list, incredible food more

We visited Sona for Valentines Day and it was a night to remember. Sona is incredible in that the flavors one experiences are like nothing you have ever had. The desserts were in my oppinion some of the best I have ever had. Estimated Price: $220 Pros: Skillfull and unique recipes. Cons: Small portions more

Went to Sona for a special occasion where they had a nine-course prefixe. Just as a qualifier, I've eaten at just about every "nice" restaurant in LA as my significant other likes to call herself a "foodie" which makes no sense to me whatsoever. Over nine courses I did not have one thing on my plate that I liked. I ended up giving every last dish to her and left hungry. I've traveled a lot and have eaten at amazing restaurants around the world. I'm more than willing to try new foods, and even exotic dishes. At the end of the day, good food is about tasting good, not what it looks like on a plate and not how exotic the incredients are. This is Sona's problem. The food just doesn't taste good. Sure, the portions were miniscule, which is fine in a nine-course meal, but the dishes that they created were just garbage. Who charges $125 per person and doesn't have any steak on the menu? Don't even think you're getting out the door for $250, either. I had one glass of wine and she had one mixed drink and after the tip and tax I spent almost $400! I asked for a glass of wine that said it cost $11 on the menu, when I got the check it cost $30. I ended up eating rubbery duck and surprisingly tough veal as the main course, but I forced it down. Celery ravioli? Really? Oddly enough, that was one of the few dishes I could tolerate. They served foods that even my girl didn't know what they were. I tried them all and one-by-one they all tasted blech. There are six flavors in each dish and none of them seem to go well together. This place is for people who take themselves (and food) waaay too seriously and will think something tastes good only because they paid so much for it. When I walked out of that place I felt totally cheated and wished I had spent the money on anything else. The "foodies" can throw their money away at this place. Pros: Decent service, great wine list Cons: Awful food, strange dishes, overpriced, bait and switch with wine more

This place was perfect. It was like an LA secret. Perfect for our date, and I would love to go back for business meetings or a holiday party. They have a private room that scream, perfect high end party!!! The food was mind- blowing, the desserts were creative. Everything on our 9 course dinner, was plated on a different type of plate. Staff was attractive and kind. Everyone must try this place. Pros: EVERYTHING Cons: It was pricey, but you leave full and feeling saucy!!!! more

If you are going to a restaurant for the food - not the scene or to be seen ( sorry half of my friends belongs to that category ) you do not want to miss this place . The food is absolute fantastic ! .We have been there several times and we are absolute blown away every time . The service - the food - the AMAZING desserts from Michelle Myers ( during the day enjoy Boule across the street ) . The only minus - the room - its a small quiet room - Im sure many will enjoy this - but a bit to quite for us! . Want more noise and party and still enjoy David Myers incredible food - try Comme ca more

I will make this short and sweet. I have eaten at Sona over ten times over the year I have lived in Los Angeles (previously lived in NYC, London and New Orleans-all food mecca's). This is the BEST restaurant I have ever had the pleasure to dine. I have been to many extraordinary restaurants around the world, from the French Laundry in Yountville to Louis XV in Monte Carlo and many many more. David Myers is a genius and has perfected the dining experience. Bravo! more

The best Dinning Experience. I took my girlfriend for a romantic dinner. We had an amazing experience. The food was great. more

For those of you who are saying that Sona isn't an amazing experience- you obviously don't dine at upscale restaurants very often! My husband and I were visiting from out of state and ate at Sona for our anniversary and it was, hands down, THE best dining experience we've ever had. Chef Myers and his staff were courteous, VERY educated in the food they served us, and so accommodating. We each had the six course tasting menu, and Chef Myers sent us several extra courses, along with champagne, as it was a special occasion for us. I've been to many fine dining establishments in NYC, LA and other large cities that are known for great food, and Sona tops my list. I've followed Chef Myers career for several years, and there's a REASON he is Los Angeles ONLY Michelin 5 star rated chef, and he definitely proved himself on the night we visited. I highly recommend Sona and give it 5 out of 5 stars. Pros: Great food, high profile chef, tasting menu, superb wine list Cons: nothing! more

I celebrated my birthday at this suspiciously five star rated restaurant and I must say that I (and everyone else in my party) was thoroughly disappointed! The menu was totally lame and unoriginal. There was absolutely nothing creative about the six and nine course prix-fixe menus. We had the six course menu and the first dish brought out was inherently only "a dish," save for the tiny speck of food centered in the plate. I'm serious one would need to bring a magnifying glass to see the portion. I don't even know what the dish was exactly but I think they were trying to recreate the stuffed zucchini flower, which was absolutely bland. Then they brought out some sashimi which at this point they introduced gender specific dishes. I was served seared ahi-tuna with apple compote. YUCK!! Then they brought out baked cod with miso sauce (wow I've never seen that before). This was followed by venison which required the consumption of copious amounts of water due to the ridiculously high sodium content. Then this was followed by two desserts. A fruit dish and two little scoops of freakin' ice cream! Now I'm no professional food critic but I would predict that this establishment will be going out of business quite soon, unless they can get some more celebrities to endorse the garbage they call food. Please, stay away from this restaurant as it is an expensive joke. You for sure won't be laughing. Pros: Absolutely nothing Cons: Service, food, experience, cost more

I spent some serious time researching a restaurant to take my boyfriend to for his birthday... Sona really talked themselves up and had a lot of press to back them up. We are both serious foodies and the chef was rated "most creative chef in LA" so I figured it was going to be an incredible night. I was also hoping for a very romantic classy atmosphere, where we would be wined and dined properly, getting all the attention we are paying for. The service was absolutly unacceptable for an establishment rated at 5 stars. We were basically ignored the entire time, empty plates lingering for 15 minutes, each coarse taking way too long to arrive. Bread would arrive and then the butter would follow 5 minutes later. NEVER once asked if we would like another glass of wine and NEVER once asked how everything was. I actually was so bothered I tried for five minutes to flag a server down to cancel our deserts and bring us the check and I couln't even get the attention of a busboy. The place was crawling with staff, but somehow they were completely in their own world oblivious to our existance. My food was nothing worthy of the hype. Presentation was poor, there was nothing interesting about the dish at all. My boyfriend loved his food, so it wasn't a total miss, but the desert was completey boring and I had lost my appetite from the horrible service. (yeah, they brought the desert anyway even after I said I didn't want it! ) So the ambiance was not bad, but not romantic because you are too far away from your date to feel intimate... the tables are a little too long and are only inches away from the couple next to you, which makes you feel like you are sharing a table. I will never go back and would not recommend Sona to anyone. The prices do not reflect what you get and there are many better restaurants in LA to go to for better food, ambiance, price, and service. Next time I will remember to read the reviews on citysearch before making reservation! Cons: service, food, price, ambiance more

Sona is a fine dining, special occasion, destination restaurant. This is not a place you go for a casual kick back meal. It is not a bistro and it certainly does not try to be. Totally different genre. This is a place you go to have an other worldly experience with food, not grab a bowl of pasta and cruise for hot guys. Dthstar ... you think the servers there are dressed like FBI agents? Seriously? You must not own a suit. Their atire is entirely appropriate for fine dining .. I can't imagine what you showed up to dine in. I also wonder about people, like yourself, who are so incredibly insulted by the use of good manners and the appropriate and respectful use of the english language. That amazes me to no end. Not very good commentary on today's society I guess. Then again anyone who spells because as "cuz" wouldn't appreciate. Sona is a place for a cultured and adventurous palate. I highly recommend doing the tasting menus. That is how a restaurant like this is intended to be experienced. I appreciate the discrete, well mannered, and knowledgeable staff. They have never lied to me about the food I was eating and in fact I find the description of each dish exciting. This food should be savored. My favorite thing is taking the time to notice the subtlety of flavors, how they evolve, how they compliment each other. So many intriguing combinations. i am especially impressed with the desserts. They were delicious! Some people tend to inhale their food as though they are in a competition and therefore miss the fun all together. Sona is definitely not the place for the picky eater or the entirely uncultured eater because the whole point would be missed. more

the decor reminds you of a nicely-manicured contemporary manhattan bistro. the servers are dressed as secret service agents and none of them ever smile either, and they only think they know more about the dishes than you when in fact everything they described about a particular dish you asked about turns out to be totally false. the only thing 'intriguing' about the place is perhaps the 'clean contemporary' ambience & the occasional hot gay couple strategically seated near other noteworthy straight couples here and there. they tried to impress w/ the menu, but when they say 'black pepper flavored ice cream,' they don't mean it by any mean! it turns out to be just plain old vanilla ice cream w/ vanilla bean specks- this is 1 of the things we asked our severs about and he assured us it really IS black pepper flavored ice cream (as we hoped for, cuz THAT'S something worth trying!)... anyway, he lied. we had 8 things on their menu and wasn't impressed at all. either it was too salty or too charred or too 'soooooooo not what the menu description said'- a dead give-away of mediocre to poor 'cuisine preparation'... it's a bit on the pricey side as well. so we recommend going there AFTER you've eaten elsewhere- just to check out the ambience & how stuffy the secret service agents talk you and treat you. they say things like, "a truly impeccable choice, mam" or "a magnificent decision going with the steak, sir" or "i cannot recommend the quail strongly enough, madam." really, where do they get these guys?? Pros: manhattan-like contemporary decor Cons: secret service agents as servers more

Let?s be honest, we were pretty disappointed! This restaurant doesn?t live up to their 5-star ratings or the prestigious John Beard Foundation Award given to Executive Chef David Myers in 2004. Initially, we thought that the zen-like atmosphere was nice and the staff was professional until we sat down. The place is just too tight and far too noisy to enjoy fine dining. During our main course, we noticed (it was so apparent) that the table beside us received the ?real service? compared to the rest of us. These three young ladies had the staff (including the chef) over service them. It was annoying and unprofessional. During this whole time our waiter disappeared. Be warned! The entrees are TOO SALTY. Order plenty of sparkling water to wash it down. For those of you with heart problems might want to ask them to ease up on the salt! Why do the French always over season their food?? Their Menu was typical and boring. Why serve Churros as a complimentary dessert? This isn?t Magic Mountain or El Pollo Loco. It was too crowded and far too noisy for elegant dining. To top it off, it is really tacky for such an establishment to hang a framed letter written by a friend bragging about the Chef. Show off what you have through the food and service. All in all, it was mediocre for a $$$$ restaurant. more

My husband and I went for our anniversary. The staff was wonderful and they had gone so far as to customize our menu with a 'Happy Anniversary' at the top. We both ordered the 6 course tasting menu. It was simply good. If it were for the food alone, I'd actually give it three stars, but the positive experience with the staff pushed it to four. This 'good' dinner would not have been disappointing under normal circumstances, but when you are paying $400 for a dinner for two, expectations are set higher for an exceptional experience, which was not what we had. We also had to pay an additional $50 each for opotional the inclusion of truffles on one of our courses. Which seemed like a tacky sales pitch to me. The price tag of our dinner warranted the finest ingredients as it was; we shouldn't have needed to pay more. Sadly, the chef's use of the truffles wasn't that exceptional either. One more small annoyance - a fine dining experience shouldn't feel crowded - but this one did. The seating arrangements felt more like a california pizza kitchen, with very little privacy (we were probably 20 inches away from the couple next to us) than an upscale restaurant. For this price tag I would recommend Bastide (five stars on all accounts...go!). Pros: Wine list Cons: Unexceptional food more

I went with a couple of friends for the first time the other night and too me, it was just a little above average. I gave it 3 stars becasue I loved the wine. The food was delicious, but very very small portions which makes sence that they stuff you with bread. After every dish the size of a domino, the waiters would come around with a huge basket of bread. So, since we had the 6 course meal they came around 6 times. Thats too much bread to handle. And if you dont eat it, you leave hungry. Dont get me wrong the food is great but not what I expected. I am going back soon, this time I will order an entree and see if i have better luck! Pros: great wine Cons: ok food more

Phenomenal food and superb service. The execution of the 6 course meal was flawless. The food was inventive, presentation elegant, and oh the taste! Divine! Excellent, friendly staff that met all of our needs without ever needing to ask. They even handed my fiance a little bag of goodies from the patisserie across the street and wished him a happy birthday on the way out. My only detraction was that it was a tad loud in the restaurant. Dinner for 2 (6 course tasting menu for each, 1 glasses of wine each, sparkling water for 2 + tax and tip) was $320. Pros: Food, Service Cons: A bit too loud in the restaurant more

Great atmosphere, but large plates and quarter-sized food does not do it for me. We spent $690 (for two) and were still very hungry! Confusing menu lead to an increase in our bill...never add truffles to your food (it was $70 per shaving per person). Bottom line, don't waste your time and money at this restaurant. Pros: Ambience Cons: Too Expensive more

This is one of my all-time favorite restaurants for exquisite fine dining. Food, service and wine are all impeccable. Truly one of the best restaurants in town. David Myers' cooking is sublime. He really offers something special. The wine list is amazing, and the cocktails are very good as well. They use all natural ingredients and everything is hand-crafted. Get the 6 course tasting menu and let the chef do his thing. They will often do a "dual" tasting menu, where if there are 2 people then you each get different courses. Or the 9 if you are really hungry! Desserts are good as well. The only downside is that it's a little starck inside. This is not a fireplace/view type of romantic experience restaurant, but if you love good food it really doesn't matter. Pros: truly fine dining wine list, great cocktails Cons: parking on la cienega, very minimalist vibe more

The food at Sona is incredible and probably beats out Table8 and Grace. Everything is great except that the service is just a bit too pretentious, even as the promise not be on their website. Far too many servers for a small dining room, especially when dining on a Friday night and seated at one of the tables in in the middle of the room. Pros: amazing food Cons: service more