Pastis Restaurant

My fifth visit and I am overjoyed to say that Pastis qualifies as a consistently wonderful restaurant! Pastis is not a new comer on the LA dining scene, it is a tried and true restaurant with staying power, there are many reasons why. The atmosphere is a welcome respite from the typical "decorated to within an inch of its life" LA dining spot. Understated, Euro chic, lovely lighting, simple, sophisticated, decor. The service is charming, attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable. Everyone is willing and able to accommodate you and to see to it that your dining experience is a satisfying one. The real star here is the thoughtful, bistro inspired menu and the perfectly prepared food. The artichoke and goat cheese tart is as divine as it sounds, in a flaky crust with a creamy texture and savory flavors. All of the entrees Ive had have been perfection. This last visit, I enjoyed the monkfish with papardelle pasta, beautifully presented and utterly delicious. If something can be light and rich, delicate and hearty, then this is it. On previous visits, I have also enjoyed the lamb chops and the steak. Both were prepared perfectly. I took my Mother for her birthday, she is a true foodie, and its so not like her to order the same thing in the same place since she wants to try all the offerings. She ordered the duck...again, explaining, I can't help it, it's the best duck Ive ever had. Pastis is a 'yes' place, unlike the notorious Terroni, Pastis wants to please its guests. They understand to make it requires more thought that slapping up some trendoid dcor and hiring a bunch of model/actors (although the staff is extremely attractive ;) Pastis understands the fundamentals of a fine dining experience. It is about the food, the wine and. the customers. Don't miss the charming mint tea service, a refreshing departure from after dinner espresso. Merci Pastis, for remembering my Mother with a lovely lemon birthday tart and another completely lovely evening

We probably didn't enjoy anything quite as much as the warm goat cheese & artichoke tart we ordered as an appetizer, but I still recommend Pastis for its warm ambiance, service, and menu. Some our dishes had a bit too much sauce for my tastes (yes, I know it's a French restaurant, but I still think it's always a good thing when you can actually see your food underneath the sauce), and the waiter bristled a tad when one of our party had the audacity to ask for Soy milk. "We are French, we only drink milk straight from the cow...sacr bleu!"

Overall, not bad at all, average priced ($50/person with wine), bad parking situation.

I just had dinner at Pastis. What a charming restaurant. A perfect date place. The food was excellent. The service was top notch. It was reasonably priced for cuisine of this quality and caliber. I look forward to my next visit.

Last night my boyfriend and I decided we would try Pastis. Even though it has been there for quite some time we ended up overlooking it! We came in without a reservation and the staff was extremely accomidating. We sat down and informed our waitress that we were both very allergic to fish of any kind. She made sure that we got butter and olive oil instead of the usual tapenade that has some anchovies in it. She also recommended us fabulous wine and two of the best dishes have tasted in a long time. Good French food is hard to come by and we were both extremely happy. The ambiance was great and the service was wonderful. I highly recommend Pastis!

What happened to Pastis? We used to love this place and eat there regularly up to a couple of years ago. Since, I believe the ownership changed and the restaurant; although looks the same is nothing like it used to be. The special was the calf liver and it was over cooked and didnt seem fresh. The service, used to be friendly and professional. This time the waitress couldnt answer about the cooking or recommend wine. Also, she was busy schmoozing with the staff and paid very little attention to us. The place was almost empty on a Thursday, something that would have never happened under the old management. We paid a lot for mediocre food and lousy service. Never again.
au revoir pastis.