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Versailles Restaurant
Rating Details »
Category: Restaurants [Edit]
Neighborhood: Universal City1000 Universal Studs Blvd
Universal Cty, CA 91608
(818) 505-0093
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Garage, Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good for:
- Lunch
14 reviews for Versailles Restaurant
As a Cuban-American chica who grew up in LA and visited Miami a lot growing up, I am well aware of Versailles as a chain restaurant. Imagine my surprise to find that there's a "fast food" version of their Cuban fare! And at Citywalk of all places?
Anywho, I take issue with the weird anglicized naming of the dishes. Why can't they just keep "ropa vieja" instead of some generic name that doesn't really describe it any better? (e.g., I think they called it beef stew when it's shredded beef in a tomato sauce with peppers/onions/garlic...)
I got the garlic chicken with a side of yucca so my dining companion could try it. I love a good yucca con mojo, and this one, folks, was not it. My dining companion mentioned to me that he recognized the stuff; in Nigerian cuisine they apparently refer to it as porridge. Neither of us was thrilled with it.
Anyway the two stars was mostly for the service of the cashier (the serving ladies were kinda unhelpful) and the fried plantains, those were A-OK. Hard to mess up a simple fried food :) Unless you're craving Cuban and know what good Cuban food is supposed to taste like, I recommend against this place--especially for first-timers! Wouldn't want newbies to get the wrong idea about what Cuban cuisine can be :)
Ok, this location is not THAT bad. Sure it's not as great as the restaurants, but it'll do.
We spent the day at Universal Studios and stopped to eat & shop at City Walk. I was super excited to see that I could get some garlic chicken via Versailles. It's been way too long since I went to visit their restaurant.
My experience seems to be quite different than other Yelpers. First off, the hot bed of food was covered. Maybe for good reason, but there wasn't anything that *looked* un-appetizing to me. Secondly, the garlic chicken meal itself was seasoned just right with garlic. Not too much at all. Very flavorful and moist chicken. The rice wasn't soggy, and the plantains were quite tasty. I ordered a papaya shake. [Papaya has never agreed with my stomach, but somehow my mind forgot that.] I will agree that the garlic can be too acidic, but hey I love me my garlic.
I stop at giving this spot a higher review, as I've only sampled two items. But, I would normally just order the garlic chicken anyways. For that alone, I'd give then 4 stars. Since I can't comment on anything else, I'll stay at a safe 3. Hey... there's always room for improvement.
ME GUSTARIA MAS POLLO CON MI AJO POR FAVOR.
I'd like more chicken with my garlic please.
Since I don't live in Miami or Havana, Versailles is as good as Cuban food gets here in Los Angeles. The garlic chicken is the dish I always order. They provide you with so much that I usually have plenty of leftovers the next day for lunch. Also, I wind up reeking of garlic for a day but I don't care. It used to be that the chicken was always cooked perfectly but not anymore as it's hit or miss. My husband loves the fried plantains and fried yucca prepared crispier than normal. We also order the bistec de palomilla which is a top sirloin, thinly sliced, marinated and topped with grilled onions. The place is very roomy with friendly service but you have to keep them on their toes when it comes to refilling drinks. I can't stress enough how hit or miss the place has become so enjoy at your own risk.
Nasty nasty food.
Fried/grilled lard
Funny story. My fianceé and I were here for a quick dinner before a movie. We were trying to decide what we were going to order when this group came in and one of them loudly proclaimed, "This looks disgusting!" and they stormed out. Great way to whet the appetite when you've already committed yourself to eating somewhere and you're ready to pull the trigger, huh? Only in LA.
Anyway, I ended up getting the house special garlic chicken. Wifey got the beef stew. Let me just agree with some of the previous reviews and tell you that the chicken is indeed very acidic because of all the citrus they use in the marinade and sauce. This was so acidic that my acid reflux started acting up immediately-- but don't get me wrong, the chicken was good. You just need to balance it out with the rice and black beans and you're fine. The beef stew was aiiight. We've had better. Plantains are ok too.
This place is good for a quick bite before hitting up a club or a movie in Citywalk, but that's it. Don't go out of your way to come here. I'm interested in trying out their sit-down locations to see if those are any better, but for now, I'll drive my ass down to Orange if I want top-notch Cuban.
Actually......unfortunately, the food here is like at the other Versailles locations. The main difference is that here, you actually see it sitting on heating trays while at the other locations you don't see into the kitchen.
A common pattern I've seen with Cuban restaurants in general is that the food tends to be highly Americanized and overpriced. Versailles is no different.
The $4.50 "avocado salad" is just a sliced avocado with some onion slices.
The $8.95 arroz con pollo was too dry, the rice was crumbling from having been reheated a bit too much and bony pieces of chicken in it were boiled and added later.
The $7.95 chicken sandwich consisted of a dry chicken with a mojo sauce that tastes like watered down lime juice(this is the famous "mojo" the restaurant mini chain stakes its reputation on), tomato and lettuce on a pressed, toasted baguette.
Seeing the Versailles sign as we headed to Howl At the Moon (http://www.yelp.com/bi... ) excited me since it reminded me of when I used to live in West LA and how my college "family" took me to the W. LA location of Versaille for the first time. I totally loved it and seeing that I'm not usually in the West side anymore, I came here to grab some food to satisfy a fix that I was long craving for.
Unlike the 2 other Versailles locations I've been to, this one was only for take out and no dining in. I got the garlic chicken and rice in a big styrofoam box. As expected, it came included with plaintains and black beans. Black beans weren't that good. The plaintains were just okay. The garlic chicken packed a punch with it's highly acidic flavors. It was flavorful, but I felt as if there was something amiss to the food compared to the other sit-down restaurants.
As another reviewer said, this place is only good just to get a quick fix. Not really worth the drive if you're coming from really far. Might as well drive to the West side if you want the good stuff.
If for some reason you find yourself in this God foresaken zone known as CITY WALK, there is some palatable quick-food and it's only available at Versailles.
_C$
They should not be named Versailles, the Versailles I know and love is in MIA on calle ocho!!! Universal City should make them change their name to cuban food you know is bad. I was shocked to walk in and look up at the un-appetizing menu, I was sad because I know it would be nothing like what I had been eating for several years. The arroz y fijoles negro was MAL. It made me want to fly back on a red eye to MIA and wait to eat the real thing. Sad sad sad attempt. not a place I wiil go back to ever. : /
Its the same food but its NOT the same food.
Just doesnt taste the same. If you ever try Versailles dont come here first. But definitely, if you want quick eat on city walk, its still a pretty good choice in comparison to the other fast food ones around there. The rice is soggier here too and the food quality vs value makes eating here a rip off like Panda Express. So 3 stars for a good place for Quick Eat.
My husband and I love cuban food and were at citywalk for a concert. I only wish I had read the reviews here before choosing this Versailles. As stated it is just a fast food walk up window and you have to fight for a table with all the other fast food restaurants at citywalk. I ordered the Breaded Chicken (which is what I always have at cuban restaurants) and it was very very dry and the flavor was ok. My husband had the breaded steak which I tried but it had a bad aftertaste. The beans, rice and bananas were just ok. If you have never had cuban food don't make this place your first try. I guess like othere reviewers said it is ok for a quick citywalk bite to eat but pretty overpriced for crappy food.
I ate here on the recommendation from my brother. We took a family vacation and we ate at the Universal City location. There is a lot to do in the area, so walking off the food was easy. Now to the food...... I love chicken a lot and it was my first time eating Cuban food. The chicken was awesome and the rice served with stewed onion was great. I truly recommend this place (especially the chicken). I can't say I tried anything else but hopefully other people's reviews may help.
the quality of food here doesn't even compare to the stand alone restaurants on venice or la cienega.
i love plantains but the ones i got here weren't cooked properly and they were still sort of raw. you're better off getting tommy's, which is meant to be fast food. don't be fooled by the name.
I tried this awhile back when it first opened at the City Walk. I dont know if has changed recently, but fresh Versailles cant compare to this one. Like with most foods like this that are prepared in advance. You cant really expect much. Its alright to just please the stomach, but I'd only go here if nothing else is around.
