On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Categories: American (New), Pubs, Gastropubs [Edit]
Neighborhood: South Los AngelesMon-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Loading...
Sure, the place may look interesting and it's conveniently located directly across from a major university, but that doesn't make it good.
I love the artichoke/spinach dip with what I think are pita chips. But once you go through that first bowl of chips and are staring at delicious dip with no way to eat it? Your waiter will take a very long time to get you a refill, if they ever do. Once, our waiter never even came back.
If you intend to go here, be ready to wait for service, because they do not pay attention. One server was texting on her phone and ignored us while we tried to wave her down.
I've been here multiple times, had different servers every time, and this is always my experience. Average food, horrible service.
do NOT get the "sauteed vegetables." I wasted $5 on something I would have never forced someone I hate to eat.
Pretty upset about my horrible lunch. Not only that but the waiter told me there were asparagus and broccoli in it. Uh, shouldn't waiters know what is in a plate before saying it to their customers?
I basically ate a plate of dehydrated carrots, barely cooked turnips, and raw potatoes with no taste. I had to ask for some hot sauce, which they brought to me when I was basically done forcing myself to eat (cuz I felt like it was a waste of money).
the hummus isn't too bad here. def need more pita to go with it though.
service is slowwwwwww.
the lab…
Read more »
Not bad for being right across from USC. I went here for a company recruit gathering, and we soon discovered that the small room and patio on the left side of the entrance is NOT enough for 50+ people.
The flatbread is pretty standard. The sliders were cute, but didn't love the bread it was on. The elbow macaroni was pretty light in flavor but very rich. Sweet potato fries were too crispy for my tastes.
Loved the theme of the place, and I really like the TVs around to watch any sports game that's on. Decent food, good choice of drinks. Not bad. =P
I've been here twice and it's really not so bad. Maybe because the first time I went it was already super late and this last time I went was on a school day. I read some of the reviews and I feel like they were a bit harsh--either that or The Lab has improved since then.
They have a good selection of wines and beers. I ordered the Green Flash IPA which I absolutely loved, loved, loved. Slightly fruity and bitter. My friend ordered the Lab Amber Lager. It was just what a lager should be--savory.
Elbow Macaroni with Three Cheeses & Sweet Peas - pretty damn good. I'm not a big fan of macaroni or do I order it often. So when I say it's the best macaroni I've ever had, it might not hold much weight.
Hummus & Tapenade Plate - it's a solid dish. The great thing about this place is the pita chips are fresh. They slice the pita bread and fry it so it's slightly crispy on the outside, warm and gooey on the inside! For the sauces there's a tapenade, black bean hummus, and a white bean hummus. They are all good in their own right, but nothing that stands out. So in other words, if you want to try the pita chips, order something else.
Service is nothing to rave or complain about. They take your order and bring your food. The end.
Seating is on a first come basis, communal style, please seat yourself deal. They do show whatever game's on that day, if you care. The patio area is my favorite. And yes, you can drink on the patio but no smoking allowed. The place has a very breezy feel. There's no front wall, it just spills out into the patio area. The decor is lab-themed as its name suggest. Nothing spectacular, really. There are complex benzene ring systems printed on the dishes and beers served in beakers. Big whoop.
Parking is free, yay! The driveway into the parking structure is between the Radisson hotel and the restaurant on Figueroa. Go go up to the attendant and tell them you're there to eat, and viola!
Overall, I enjoy hanging out here on their slow days.
I have usually had pretty good food here but my last experience made me not want to go back for food ever again. I have had the buffalo wrap, mango habanero wings, along with a few other items that I enjoyed but last time I was there I ordered the turkey and cranberry sandwich and it was awful. Instead of your standard turkey cranberry which actually uses cranberry sauce, they used cranberry flavored cream cheese and it didn't state it on the menu and the waitress didn't point it out beforehand either. After taking two bites I decided to take the turkey out of the sandwich and just eat that because I was hungry and the waitress was nowhere to be found. My plate was clearly full when she finally came by and I told her it was terrible and received no offer for a replacement and it wasn't even comped. Horrible experience.
As for grabbing beers and hanging out after classes or watching some games it is a great option.
3.5 Stars
I have no idea what the food costs or what normal service is like because I was here at a USC-sponsored event so this review will just cover atmosphere and food taste.
That said, given the chain and fastfood restaurants that dominate the area around campus (That's right University Village - I'm looking at YOU) it's really nice to have this hipper option in the neighborhood. I'm honestly not sure what makes this place a 'gastropub' but the decor is very modern and clean, lots of black slate and aluminum polish. Drinks are served in short beaker-style glasses and there are chalkboards - which is a cute but fairly pedestrian nod to the 'lab' theme. The outdoor patio is pretty small but I'm stoked that they have one!
The food is decent but nothing to write home about. Decent calamari, decent wings, above average pizza. Would be nice if there were a few more unusual items on the menu. Good beer and wine list though.
Overall, I'd love to come back on a night when it's not so crowded and sample some non school-sponsored food items. It seems like the kind of place that might be good to wind down with a few friends while enjoying a cool breeze on the patio.
Jesus Christ, can we have Sizzler back yet? The Lab "Gastropub" is a sleekly decked-out disappointment serving up crappy versions of your favorite dishes. The atmosphere was promising, but long tables means clumping several groups together in a strange mishmash of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Mostly the ugly.
The service (run by students, perhaps?) is dreadful. I've tried the place twice just to be fair, and both times found myself waiting ages to get the refill or the bill. The hummus was nothing special, the onion rings decent, the lamb dish honestly one of the worst i've ever tasted.
If I could give it zero stars, I would. But the one star is for the strawberry ketchup they serve with the onion rings. Props for originality. Fight on.
I came here twice in the last few weeks, once for lunch and once for dinner. The location is very convenient if you work at USC and the prices are ok, but the food could be better. For dinner I had the fish and chips. The fish was tender and perfectly cooked, but the fries were sort of limp. I bet they had the fries waiting around on the plate until the fish was done. The guy who sat across from me was eating the vegetable risotto, and I have to say, it smelled so disgusting that it was distracting. I asked him afterwards how he liked it and he said he wouldn't get it again.
When I came for lunch I had the fig jam and prosciutto flatbread, which would have been good if they had taken it out of the oven 5 minutes earlier. I was there for a work lunch and didn't have the nerve to send it back, but I should have.
One thing I loved, though: the have a fabulous lavender soda on the menu that I haven't seen anywhere else before.
The service was nothing out of the ordinary, a bit confused maybe.
Amazing and creative interior/ambiance, but really shitty customer service. Our waittress incorrectly even added a lemonade that we didn't receive, onto our bill. Came on a friday night as a total party of 8, and got taken advantage by her.... UGH.
I didn't order anything, but I observed and tried some of my friends' dishes. My firend ordered a mac and cheese and although it was VERY small and expensive, it was made of gourmet cheese which added a very tasty twist. My other friend ordered some orzo, which was meh-whatever to me. My friends also ordered juices, which were very overpriced. A 6 or 8 oz cup of cranberry juice or grapefruit juice was 3 bucks (WITH NO REFILLS). even our glasses of water were bigger than them. SAD. all the entrees come out cute, but are very small. The total bill (even though my friend next to me and I didn't order anything) was around $90.
I'd come here every now and then, but not anytime soon.
Bleh!!!! Bleh!!!!
This place sucks! If you are into overpriced overcooked food that sucks, then this is the place for you. If i go to a restaurant once and it sucks, i will give them another chance if i like the place enough.
This place blew it all 3 times that i've been. Its USCs attempt to have a cool place for the kids to get a nice gastropub experience without driving to the westside. But it fails. Sorry, it sucks guys.
However, the ambience is awesome. It truly is a cool place to hang for beer. But the FOOD SUCKS. Get a new menu or a new bunch of line cooks who can actually not overcook something.
It is a place for beers and appetizers after class or in my case after the hundreds of sorority meetings i had while i was in college. I had fun with the beer sampler where you got to try four of their drafts for $7. My favorite beer to get there though is the Trojan Blond
Appetizers:
Calamari 4 stars - the batter was just right and the sauces were yummy
Buffalo Wings 2.5 stars - it was a really small portion and they were just OK
Onion Tower 3 stars - They were good but i would stick with regular ketchup not the raspberry one. The sweetness to the raspberry just didn't seem to go well with the rings.
Main Dishes:
Three Cheese Elbow Macaroni - 3 stars People recommended this to me and it really wasn't anything special and it is probably one of their smaller portioned main dishes
Beef Sliders - 3 stars I thought they were cute and very tasty
12 Grain Risotto - 1 star Maybe it was just when i ordered but they undercooked the risotto. It was also pretty bland
When this place is crowed and it usually is during the evening and especially when there are events at USC their service is really REALLy slow.
This might not have been the most glowing review but this place is soooo much better than the Sizzler that was her before
Finally a place for real SC beer drinkers to find a decent draft! As a USC alum, the Lab has been needed for quite some time.
It's not quite Father's Office, but they have a lot of the same fare: Sweet potato fries, pulled pork sliders, and decent fried calamari.
My favorite component of the Lab is the outdoor area. It's spacious, has heat lamps for those blistering cold California nights, and big comfy couches so you can sit and then lay down after laughing hard in your inebriated state at your buddy's jokes.
They also have Green Flash IPA on tap, which is refreshing since everyone nowadays thinks they're cool for having Stone on tap as the local brew. Gotta fight the man somehow.
The menu is slightly overpriced in my opinion but its nice to see some decent food and classy (eh-hmm 90) places around USC to go for a good beer and meet up with some friends.
I came here for a USC Alumni Association sponsored event. In summary, there were cool people and great decor, but average drinks and pub food.
As it was a sponsored event, there were complimentary light appetizers of Angus beef sliders, proscuitto and mozzarella flat bread, pepperoni and sausage flatbread, plain fritters, and an assortment of cheeses and vegetables. Everything was just okay. The fritters were warm and toasted; a great compliment to the cheese plate. I thought I was going to enjoy the sliders, but their beef patties were tough. I even tried two of the them, each from different batches. It was a big disappointment.
On another note, they only served beer and wine. I tried their Trojan Blonde and Lab Amber Ale, which was alright. Not bad for house brew. However, I loved how the beer was served in beakers!
The highlight of the gastropub was their decor. They had fire pits and cushioned furniture in the patio, chemistry equipment and books on shelves, a private room, flat screen tvs, and fun chalkboards.
Overall, 3 stars. Food could be improved and what about daily happy hour events? They need something to spice things up.
Being a graduate of USC, I wish this place existed when I was an undergrad.
With that said, this place is a tease (but I'll chalk it up to growing pains). The menu is filled with great sounding items, but the only thing that I've had that I really liked was the burger. The beer is great and inexpensive, but you can't drink outside. It's a good addition to the hood, but I wouldn't go out of my way to go here.
Compared to the other places owned by Trojan Hospitality, both on and off-campus, The Lab isn't that bad. It's convenient for the 21+ if they want to get trashed since you can just walk there - no need for a DD. And with Traddies currently housed in a little corner in The Lot, this place is a lot snazzier. They look like they have a pretty extensive beer and wine collection that I'd have to try next time - I came for lunch the first and only time I've been here and I didn't really feel like drinking that early in the day.
The food is okay ... I think I got the only thing good on the menu - the rosemary chicken sandwich. My boyfriend got the steak sandwich which was meh. Their fries were pretty good though.
What was kind of gross, though, was that my boyfriend found one of those plastic square clip things you use after you open a bag of sliced bread to keep the bag closed in his sandwich. He didn't mind 'cuz he's a nice guy and the waitress apologized but no discount or anything for that mistake. So, in that sense, service needs to be improved. It just doesn't feel like a real pub.
I think next time I want food with drinks, I'll go to a downtown bar. But if I just wanted to grab a drink with friends after class, I might come here if I'm feeling lazy.
Since my first visit about a month ago, some new things have happened that have upgraded this place and will probably mean it will be a four at some point. I've been back three times since and it's gotten better.
Their liquor license (they can only currently have beer and wine, and only inside, not on the patio) is coming in two weeks (two weeks too late for school, but prime for the fall semester)
You can sit on the patio with the heated lamps and use USC wireless while you type away at your laptop...what an upgrade from my short coffee bean days (having no internet at home is killer).
Service is still weird...but getting better. Ask for a hot bartender/waiter named Joshua and you're golden. He will remember your name, follow all the appropriate restaurant rules, and generally be awesome.
It might be good eventually once they've figured out some basic rules in restaurant behavior.
Rule…
Read more »
Despite the horrible service and the relatively steep bill, I am a fan of The Lab. Besides Bacaro, it's the only nice restaurant for USC students to go to. The food is good (far better than the 29, and I've had most things on both menus), and students can put it on their cards to trick their parents into paying for their booze along with their tuition. I'm also a fan of the science lab theme and modern decor.
Nothing I would drive across town to enjoy, but it's a good place to eat and drink with friends if you're in the area. But bring someone assertive to get your waiter's attention or you'll be there forever.
Suitably themed for the academia across the street, The Lab welcomes those with backpacks and those in heels. Come here for beer and wine and nothing else, unless you really feel like munching because the food is neither fantastic nor filling. The Lab is keeping its place clean, meaning more sit and stand fun than bumping and grinding beats.
Like me, you may get excited over the laboratory theme of this place, especially the beer served in beakers. For the indecisive, the beer sampler of four small beakers is a good choice.
Although noisy on some nights (such as Thursdays) and low-key on others, there are enough room and chatter, waiters and people, to dowse the night away with inappropriate conversation and tipsy friends. Definitely has potential to be a consistent college scene.
At the Lab, you've got a cross between high school science class setup and a fancy hotel restaurant. Chalkboards with scribblings of Beautiful Mind formulas decorate the walls, beakers are used as pint glasses and the hanging lab lights and science-themed murals complete the look. Fortunately even though the theme is all things laboratory, it's not a cold, sterile environment what with the warm wooden floors, the honey-leather armchairs and the long wooden tables.
And on the beer menu there's nary a Bud Light to be found. Rather 14 brews are on tap, like Blue Moon and Fat Tire, and even some house beers specially crafted for the bar by San Diego's microbrewery, Karl Strauss.
The night I went with my friend, a USC alum, I didn't know what to get so I ordered the Lab Sampler ($7), four small glasses of the draft of my choice. I went with the Lab Amber Lager and Trojan Blonde (both the Karl Strauss house beers) as well as the Green Flash IPA and the Red Trolley Ale since those seemed to be the only microbrews on tap.
Unfortunately I wasn't a fan of any of them. None were flavorful, welll, except the Green Flash IPA, which tasted like I was chewing on pine needles. Blech. (A shame considering I loved Green Flash's Grand Cru which I tried at 4th Street Vine.) The Trojan Blonde was the least bad one as it was just very light. The Red Trolley was watery, barely any flavor, except a nutty finish. And the Lab Amber Lager tasted like a poor man's Newcastle.
If I ever come back here, I'm going to stick to a what I know, a sampler of Guinness, Fat Tire, Blue Moon and Stella.
At least the entree I ordered was yummy. I got the turkey pot pie ($10) which was basically a plate of a deconstructed pot pie -- vegetable bits covered in turkey gravy with a floating pastry crust. The gravy was nice and buttery, the turkey pieces tender and the pastry was nice and flakey...OK, I'm just a sucker for that buttery gravy. It made everything taste good.
That might have saved the calamari we ordered which, by the way, arrived with our dinner and not before it. Yeah, the squid was kinda mushy and the breaded part just fell away leaving me to work on the calamari. Not fun or yummy.
And my friend wasn't thrilled with her order of the 12-grain veggie risotto ($8) which arrived looking very much like a rice pilaf with gravy instead of creamy risotto. Perplexed, we flagged down our waitress who verified from the chef that it just looked like that because it was 12-grain risotto which, I guess, is ricelike and not creamy at all. "But he said he knows what you were thinking it was and can make that for you," she offered. That was nice but not really the point. I mean, isn't risotto creamy?
Anyway, we were about to order dessert but weren't feeling the selection of chocolate creme brulee and banana split.
The verdict: Even though this is a different college bar with beautiful decor, an airy space and a large beer selection, it seems like a beginner's gastropub. It's like the idea of a gastropub without any real know-how yet. For instance, just because you sprinkle some parsley on a dish does not mean it's gourmet. And Karl Strauss and Green Flash are fine but how about more microbreweries on the beer list?
I wouldn't make a special trip out here for some Lab action but I will say it must be a nice place for the students and alumni to congregate.
Hard to believe that this is run by a university food service. This gastropub is owned by USC Hospitality and replaced their aging (and awful) Traditions bar with a more contemporary and accessible hang out for students, faculty, staff and downtowners in the area.
The decor is modern with clean white marble and black slate tops, polished aluminum chairs, wood benches and an open, airy feel. While I don't think it goes creative enough with the laboratory theme (chalkboards and science textbooks are far too literal), it is a great space in an of itself.
They have quite a selection of beers including some specialty house beers like Trojan Blonde (bland), The Lab Amber Lager (good), and Red Trolley Ale (very good). These are served in beakers, while the other brews are served in regular tumblers. Don't look for your standard beer. Despite having a huge beer selection, Miller or Bud is not amongst them.
I've been there a few times - the first a week after they opened. The food at that time was very inconsistent. Especially bad was the artichoke fritters. It was oily and soggy. However, the last time I was there, they changed the recipe and it was quite good. Overall, they have evened out the food quality and got the kitchen under control. The prices are inline with what you'd expect from a gastropub type of upscale bar menu. Not overly expensive, but not cheap either.
The service is friendly. I asked if they were students, but she said most of them are not. However, they are not well trained. I ordered a half bottle of wine, but when the server brought it out, she didn't know how to use the wine opener. Another time I went for an event, and I asked the hostess (or she could have been a server at the front) about it, she said she didn't know and would get the manager. Perhaps they can train them to open the binder and look at information. That is all that the manager did to get me the information.
I'm going to be on the forgiving side since they are new. I enjoyed my time there and they showed definite improvement between the first and second visit. I think they will clean up the service end as well. And really, if you are in the area, there is very little choice. The only other nice place to go is Bacaro which is great for wine and vibe, but with very small-portioned expensive food.
I'll also let you in on a secret about parking that isn't widely publicized. There is parking behind the building off of Flower that is reserved for the restaurants in that building. And as far as I can tell, almost no one uses it. So rather than pay the meter (before 8 pm), first check the back.
New bar near USC themed like a science lab.
Nice clean interior, friendly waitstaff and drinks served in beakers. I ordered a beer sampler which was four 5oz pours of different beers, including a few of their house drafts which were pretty good. Beers ranged between $5-7 and there was a huge range of drafts and bottles.
The food selection was interesting. We had a generous mixed green salad ($5), Turkey pot pie which was DELICIOUS ($12) and seared tuna ($16).
This place showed of their flair for science by pulling off some amazing feats that seemed to defy physics; such as bringing us a seared tuna steak that was ice cold in the middle. Twice. The third time it came out it appeared the chef had given up and just decided to err on the side of overcooked to ensure it was at least warm. Somehow our side of mashed potatoes got cut in half everytime it went to and from the kitchen. It was something off Mr Wizard.
Overall a great experience in a gastropub with a clean but unpretentious feel. Seating is huge communal slate tables, with some private seating if you're a xenophobe. Will definitely be going back.
The area is a little shady so watch your back. South of the 10 and just West of the 110. Across Figueroa from USC.
While I was a student it was a convenient place to go to between evening classes or just to hang out, but there's really nothing special about the place. I had lunch and dinner there a few times and was always disappointed, not by the food but by the service. The staff are polite and amicable, but not helpful. Many times we were seated and not given silverware, plus we had to wait a long time to order then even longer to receive our order.
The incident that turned me completely against The Lab took place on a sunny day when I was on the patio and ordered a beer. The server brought it to me. A little later the owner comes out and yells at me that I can't drink on the patio because they don't have that type of liquor license. As if it was my fault that the server brought me a beer.
I am happy this place opened up,being in USC the only fun place was 901,which is apparently not great.
The lab gastro pub has this lab effect with boards and chalk pieces.I think the place is perfect for evenings to have cafe or a few drinks and just chill out.They have a good list of wines too,the food items are generally light yet filling.Its a good place to hangout.All the trojans must go here and the non-trojans can still visit :)
-Smriti
My inner nerd rejoices! The only way I could be happier is if I could drink out of an Erlenmeyer flask...
Beautiful design for the bar. The commitment to the theme is consistent but not overdone.
I dined on the 12 grain veggie risotto, which we discovered has the same gravy as the turkey pot pie (veggietards beware, I believe this "veggie" dish is actually not veggie-friendly). But it was the delicious meat stock that made this risotto AMAZING. The flatbread was also quite tasty.
The beer is well priced. The trojan blonde ale for five dollars is a decent microbrew, well worth the money...and you drink out of beaker. So nerdtastic!
The Lab is hopefully the first bloom of an upcoming neighborhood around USC. Keep up the good work. How about throwing in a happy hour too, wink wink :)
Service was horrible. Waitress spilled water ON US, didn't apologize. She was more concerned about cleaning the water off the table than helping us clean it off the person.
Food took forever to get - and the check took even longer! We were waiting to get back to class.
Food was good - I ordered the prosciutto parmesan flat bread. Decore was also nice. But ugh, the service.
Great atmosphere! This place has such great potential... the catchy theme, casual comfortable seating, the outdoor fire-pit, the menu options are decent, the presentation of the food is fantastic - which raises the expectation even further - then you take the first bite and disappointment abounds. The food is either tasteless or just OK. I have been here a handful of times and I can now say that I am confident that there is nothing that tastes good on the menu. I had such great hopes for this place since it's so close to where I live near USC and the area is SERIOUSLY lacking in the "restaurants-with-good-food" department.
The atmosphere is great and the menu meets the same standards. Their wine and beer list is pretty comprehensive and has an awesome selection of half bottles. I've tried a few things from The Lab including the burger (delicious) and the lime marinated shrimp (a little bland). I'd definitely go back to try more things on the menu. The atmosphere is fun and it's near impossible to get a seat if there is game one (Lakers or USC). Waitstaff is pretty friendly and patient in light of the fact that they are probably undertipped and barked at by college students most nights.
I really wanted to love this place. Unfortunately, it was not to be.
The food itself was pretty good (3, maybe 4 stars worthy if you compare it relatively to the places around the pub.). The fries are delicious, the other food pretty good and upscale. A definite good attempt for USC food services.
The beer offering is also good, and I love the sampler platter (pick any four beers on tap and get them in small glasses for 7 bucks).
But the service was so abysmal that I can't forgive it. If the food weren't decent, this would be an easy 1 star.
We waited forever for our waitress. Our friends at a different table waited 50 minutes only to be told later that their waiter hadn't put in their order. They had tried to check on their order multiple times, but were told it had been put in until finally the waitress admitted it had not been put in.
It took 30 minutes for my friends to get their bottle of wine they ordered. First the waitress brought the wrong bottle (easy to tell since my friends ordered a white wine and the waitress bought a red). The waitress blamed it on the bartender, but while we had some sympathy for her, it's got to be her job to make sure the bartender gets it right and does it quickly. She most certainly did not.
A small thing that in the whole wouldn't have been a huge deal without the other context, but I asked the waitress if my hamburger came with onions. She said yes, and I said "good!" The hamburger came out without onions. It just speaks for the lack of knowledge from the wait staff.
It's not that the waiters are understaffed at all. The place isn't that big and had two bartenders, a busgirl, a manager, and at least 3 waiters that I saw running around purposefully but without seeming to help anyone quickly.
To make sure you know it wasn't just us, there were a pair of girls who sat for 40 minutes before finally flagging down a waiter to serve them.
In the end, we talked to the manager who was helpful. He was apologetic and got the food out once we told him quickly. But maybe he's over his head trying to train college students to serve.
This place is promising and warrants review over time. If it gets its service problems solved, it'll be a great place to go. But as it is? Frustration awaits.
Not bad considering it's owned by USC...interesting decor, clean, and wasn't as terribly busy as I was expecting it to be. The food was good, and the prices are pretty average, we paid about $15 per person with one drink, an appetizer, and two sandwiches. Service was fairly quick. I'm not usually a fan of the family-style tables, especially at places like this that are usually pretty crowded anyways, but that's just me.
If it were somewhere else, I might judge it a little more harshly, but considering the rest of the options around USC...it's not bad at all.
First, let me say this place has fantastic decor - it manages to look scientific but not sterile. It has a nice combination of communal tables, individual tables, and a long bar with stools. The wait-staff was really friendly and chatty. Plus, they didn't mock us too much when four of my friends and I busted out our laptops and got a study group underway at a communal table (let me just say that a study group with alcohol is way better than a study group in the library).
Second, the food was pretty okay, but I thought it was a little pricey considering the small sizes of the portions (for instance, the sweet potato fries were good, but the order was the size of a small McDonalds fry order. My friend got the tortellini and was also pretty surprised at how small the dish was, considering the fact that it was around $10). The beer selection is pretty sizable and includes lots of interesting beers (including Abita Purple Haze) and excludes trashy nasty beers (I'm pretty sure there was no Bud Lite on the menu). A warning though: steer clear of the Green Flash IPA - it kind of tastes like death (and I love beer, so it takes a lot to make me say that).
Overall, I'd definitely go back for drinks and the decor, but I'd suggest skipping out on the food.
The service is absolutely appalling (I guess USC's more used to dishing food out to students in cafeterias instead of actually serving them.) When we walked in there was a host table thingy without a host, and we couldn't figure out if we were to seat ourselves, or wait around, or.. just wander about like idiots. Well, guess what. There is a host, but you're supposed to grab the menus yourselves. Of course I knew that beforehand.
Now on to the food. I ordered the hummus platter and, I swear, only one of the dips tasted anything like hummus--the rest were merely mystery food. (EVK, anyone?) My ginger ale tasted like watered down Italian soda, if there's even such a thing.
Other than that, there's a screen blasting some sports game or other, just like in any regular sports bar. And sure, the place is ridiculously pretty, and probably a decent hang out spot, but this place wouldn't stay open past 6 months if it wasn't right across the street from USC.
YOU CAN DRINK OUT ON THE PATIO.
I've seen a lot of people giving poor reviews claiming otherwise, but as of MONTHS ago the patio was opened up for alcohol.
Woo hoo.
The lab is super dank. Its a great place to watch any sporting event on TV. They have great food and a great selection of beer. They're really lenient on ID's for people that are under 21. If you ever go their to eat try getting their flat bread pizza's. Way lush!!!
Come on Karl Strauss! The Trojan Blonde tastes like Bud Light. The food gets the job done, and the interior is frat-tastic. It's literally steps from my apartment, though, and why not get wasted using my USC ID?
So being that I go to USC my friends and I figured it would be worth a shot to try to this place out. Overall, I would say that there's nothing too special about it. The drinks are pretty standard with no particular beer or anything that wow'd me. However, the food is quite good. I ordered salmon and was extremely savory and perfectly cooked. The pricing was very adequate as well. However, being that I'm originally from a place with amazing gastropubs, this place gets a decent score in my book. But I would say its worth a try. The coolest thing though is that the table is one big chalkboard, so bring chalk if you want to write stuff all over it haha (just a thought)
the atmosphere is great. i would give it 4 or 5 stars if the food was as good as the atmosphere.
we ordered the the pizza bread thing, and it was super bland. the calamari was bland as well. the bruscetta was a little bit too garlicy, and let me tell you, i love garlic, but this was too garlicy, even for me, which is really saying something.
the quesadilla was probably the best thing that we had.
i'd say if you are just going for drinks, fine, this is a great place with a cool, college-town vibe. if you are going for dinner, i might rethink that, unless you want an okay meal.
AWFUL service, and the food tastes like dorm food. Definitely will not be eating here again.
HORRIBLE SERVICE! its cool cause its near USC, and lets face it, theres not much else over there in terms of dining. good drinks selection, cool place to go watch a game with a bunch of friends, but the service really sucked. basically everything served there is fried, and the french fries were mushy, as was the calamari. chicken was dry as well. dont go for the food--go if you are a USC student and want a beer. but only if you are 21, they are really strict on ID's.
Plain and simple, the food sucked. Artichoke Fritters didn't taste fresh and were soggy and dense.
The predominant flavor of the burgers (sliders) was bread. The bread was OK, but the meat and cheese were pretty flavorless. We were ordered it cooked medium but came out well done (as in cooked more than we wanted, not well executed).
The crab cakes were just bad and they only gave me two little ones. The tasted like they could have been frozen. I guess the french fries were good, but you are really screwed if you mess up french fries in the a restaurant.
I've had better food at EVK. And the place closes at 11:00 so it's not really a bar either.
But there are a few good things:
Maybe it's a little over done, but I think the design is great. They must have spent a fortune putting it together - marble and slate tabletops, custom plates and glasses. top notch look. But, I'd rather eat in a dungeon if the food is good than a palace if it sucks.
Drink prices are fantastic and selection is good. They had my favorite beer on tap (a rare-ish micro brew - Green Flash IPA) for only $5.
Go for the drinks, not the food (as long as you don't plan on staying past 11:00)
Come Unwind - One Olive at a…
Neighborhood: Downtown
10% Discount Continues
Neighborhood: Beverly Hills
Here's my take on all the "restaurants" (see: fast…
The review of the good and the bad around our…
The places where most of my college memories were…
