Rate-A-Restaurant, #157 in a series

Restaurant: Tiara Cafe

Location: 127 E 9th Street, Los Angeles (Downtown)

Type of restaurant: Bakery, Californian, Eclectic

We stipulated: A friend and I wanted to take advantage of the "Dine L.A." promotion. Yet most spots we called said they weren't open for Sunday lunch, or weren't honoring the Dine L.A. menu on Sundays. That left us with few choices. Tiara Cafe was one of them. Big mistake.



What we ordered: Smoked Duck Media Noche Pressed Cuban Sandwich ($10) and Artichoke and Goat Cheese Frittata ($8.50)

High point: Zero. Nada. Zilch. Zip. Wala.

Low point: We specified the Dine L.A. menu when we made reservations and the person on the other end took a note of it and acknowledged our request. The only waiter there took our order off the Dine L.A. menu, only to return twenty minutes later to say that they were not serving the Dine L.A. menu on weekends.



Overall impression: There is no redeeming quality to this restaurant at all. Are we supposed to be dazzled by their jewel-like, high-ceilinged decor that we ignore the mediocre food and slow service? Granted, we were sympathetic to the lone waiter on his first day as he tried to handle the half-filled restaurant, but that is just bad restaurant management if you ask me. Downtown L.A. may be starved for more restaurants but there is more to opening a restaurant than having a cool locale.

Chance we will go back: No way in hell.

For a complete list of our over 150 restaurant reviews, check out our companion Rate-A-Restaurant site.