Simonette

We wanted to try one more restaurant before the dineLA ended last Friday. Simonette was one of the French restaurants on the list. The menu looked exciting. I asked my brother Gary if he's ever been, and he said no. He then invited Sandi and I for lunch last Wednesday. 

The restaurant is inside the Palihotel, a small boutique hotel in Culver City. The DineLa menu looked good as there was something for each of our heart's desires. Before we ordered, our server informed us they were already out of 2 items on the menu. We were okay with one because none of us would order that item. Then he proceeded to tell us they were out of the dessert that was included, which was the Crème Brûlée. He mentioned a couple of desserts for replacement, and one of them was Crêpes Suzette; Bingo! We all love Crêpes Suzette.

For our appetizers, Sandi ordered the Croquettes with aioli sauce. Gary had the Tapenade a Crostini, kalamata olives, orange, capers, and garlic. I settled for the Steak Tartare Crostone with sauce gribiche dijon, capers, and truffles. We all shared our appetizers, and they were spot-on and delicious. I especially loved that the steak tartare was already on the bread, ready to devour!

I was very disappointed that the entée I was looking forward to was no longer available: the Poisson en Papillote, fish baked in parchment. I reluctantly ordered the Parisienne Burger with fries.  Gary ordered the same thing. Sandi had the Croque Madame. Gary and Sandi shared their entrées. The burger was okay, nothing to brag about, and so was the Croque Madame.

Our saving grace was our dessert until our server told us they were out of the Crêpes Suzette. They had some chocolate tart, so we all settled for that. I had three bites, Gary and Sandi had one bite, and we decided to take the rest home. 

This dining experience was very disappointing. We were there shortly before noon, and for them to be out of several items on their DineLA menu is just inexcusable! I can understand if it was late in the day for lunch but at the height of lunch hour? DineLa is a great introduction for restaurants to showcase their food. This place failed completely. 

When I try somewhere new, I always ask myself, "Will I ever come back or recommend this place?" The answer is "No." By the way, the service was slow, as they only had one server in our area. It was not his fault; I can only blame the management.