I'd actually rate this place 3.5 stars, mainly due to how slow the service was. The food was phenomenal, but before diving into that, the pacing really left something to be desired. To be fair, our server, the manager, and the rest of the staff were all incredibly polite and gracious. Still, it was nearly impossible to find our server between courses, and my entree arrived more than 30 minutes after my friend's -- even though we had ordered well before two other tables who were served first. When I brought the delay to the manager's attention, she seemed a bit hesitant at first but ultimately apologized and comped my entree, which I appreciated. It just made the experience feel uneven, especially since the food itself was so outstanding. Now, about that food -- absolutely delicious! It's rare for me to enjoy every single dish at a new restaurant, but everything that came out was top-notch. The oysters were briny and ultra-fresh, the market lettuce salad struck a perfect balance of acidity and sweetness, and the bolognese à la japonaise was hearty, rich, and perfectly cooked. The burger was one of the most flavorful and tender I've ever had, the duck breast was juicy and beautifully prepared, and the yuzu tart was the ideal not-too-sweet finish. I also have to mention the carajillo cocktail -- so good I ordered a second, even though I knew the coffee would keep me up all night! Hopefully, the service we experienced was just an off night, because I'll definitely be back. The food alone is worth a return visit, and I'd still highly recommend giving this place a try. read more

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Camelia delivers a delicious take on Japanese-French fusion, with beautifully executed dishes that highlight the best of both cuisines. The koji-roasted chicken was my personal favorite (it was still as good the next day as leftover ), and the uni toast was a standout. While the restaurant was quite busy--we waited nearly 45 minutes past our reservation time for a table--the staff was thoughtful enough to offer a small gift, which was a nice touch. The experience was well worth the wait, and I'd definitely return to explore more of the menu. read more

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My girlfriends took me to Camelia for my birthday this year, and it was a wonderful venue for a celebratory dinner. We'd been to Church & State together for one of their birthdays in 2012, when we were young women, and the vibe was similarly trendy and sophisticated. Perfect for a group of totally super cool moms. Camelia is a hot new restaurant, already on the L.A. Times 101 after six months in business. I made our Sunday night reservation two weeks in advance and there was no availability between like 5:30 and 8:00. We went with the 8:00 and the place was full when we arrived. We were on time, and it took over 15 minutes for us to get our table. The host blamed some party that was lingering over the check. I kind of hate it when restaurants do this. I had time to get my first cocktail, in any case, and got good service at the bar, if not a comped drink. Table service was okay once we sat down, friendly but not especially attentive and maybe a little rushed. They seated us after 8:15, but got us out of there by 10:00. Something to keep in mind if you have a late reservation. The drinks were excellent. I started with the Army Navy, a bright, refreshing cocktail of Fords gin, green Chartreuse, mitsuba, rice orgeat, and lemon. Then I got the house Negroni, smooth and bitter, made with A Land of Muses gin, sakekasu, Campari, sweet vermouth, and genmaicha. The food was delicious, innovative French/Japanese/L.A. cooking from the team behind Tsubaki and Ototo in Echo Park. We started with the chicken liver mousse toast, which came with two neat little bite-sized toasts per order. Rich and flavorful, finished with preserved summer peppers and ume aigre-doux, a vibrant plum sauce. The kabocha and chanterelle mushroom agebitashi was a comforting, brothy dish with burrata, vadouvan, curry leaf, and whatever the kitchen calls "sweet and sour." The oyster mushroom kushiyaki was tasty, with a meaty texture and plenty of flavor from the charcoal grill. It came with Tokyo negi soubise and a brown butter tare sauce. We got three seafood dishes and this was my favorite part of the menu. Absolutely loved the donabe-steamed clams à la Bouillabaisse, served with lobster butter and seeded country bread. Delectable clams in a broth I kept drinking by the shellful. The abalone and Florida wild pink shrimp pot pie was superb, maybe the most memorable dish of the night. Buttery, flaky pastry dough on the outside; abalone, shrimp, and king trumpet mushrooms on the inside, bound together with "snail butter," the garlicky decadence of escargot. The Koshihikari risotto was nice, too. Lush, almost cheesy, with uni butter, shiso, and grilled Monterey Bay squid. I'll be honest, I don't really know what made the spaghetti bolognese à la Japonaise, well, à la Japonaise. It was good, though, satisfying and savory. The dry-aged burger was fantastic, with a thick, juicy patty, melted provolone, grilled onions, and pickled jalapeños on a brioche bun. It came with beautiful golden French fries, served with curry ketchup and aioli. We shared the clafoutis for dessert, and it came out warm in a tiny cast iron pan, accompanied by a birthday candle. The clafoutis was sweet and tart and loaded with huckleberry, with lychee fro-yo and candied pomelo on top. I had a lovely time at Camelia and would highly recommend it for your next night out. It's an exciting restaurant with great ambiance and spectacular food and drink. read more

One of my fav new restaurants in LA. Everything was so delish and the ambiance was amazing. Not sure why it's only 4 stars on yelp LOL. It's a lil pricey but I think it's worth in my opinion :) read more

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We came here for my birthday dinner. We were excited to try some Japanese/French Bistro Fusion and we'd already studied the menu. Fusion isn't normally my thing but it looked good. We found street parking easily and didn't need the valet service. Nice. We started with the black sesame Parker House rolls w/butter. Good. Next up some oysters which were tasty and came with a soy mignonette and a spicy cocktail sauce. Cold, a bit smart and briny. A good start. I ordered the Duck Frites ($70!) that came with red cabbage, carrots, Bearnaise and of course fries. Very good but a bit small for such a big price. I very much enjoyed it but I'd like to try a few other dishes in the future. The scallops caught me eye. Next time. My son got the Spaghetti Bolognese ala Japonaise and he loved it. I tried a bite and agreed. My wife tried the Croque Madame with ham Katsu, mornay sauce and an egg on top with cornichons. Also quite good. I also had a dry Haku martini with a twist of lemon. I'd asked for olives but I think our server misheard me or perhaps they didn't have any. No big deal as it was great. We perused the dessert menu but we were feeling a bit full. All in all I'd recommend Camelia but be prepared to pay for the high quality and good service. We'll be back again soon. read more

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I've been wanting to do French food recently, and Camelia, located between my friend and I, in the middle of art district, is the perfect place. I made reservation ahead of time, which they called to confirm in the afternoon. The food is great. I love the presentation of it (but I guess that's French food for ya). The ceramic plates are definitely a unique aesthetics. The lamb I especially want to compliment (the black pepper sauce with the radish makes it so fresh) The dessert is marvelous. The crust is a bit hard, so you have to cut it with a spoon. Excellent service! Also, if you haven't noticed, there is a section on the menu dedicated to the employees. Our server is really responsive and considerate of our every need. I did mistakenly dressed way too casual for it. (Great dating spot! Not too pricy for the quality of food) The only note that I had was for the sitting and valet (15 dollarish?). Although I have reserved a spot ahead of time, the tables were so crammed (we switched outside). The street is a bit crammed, so you have to make rooms for others while you sit and wait for the valet. While I did not stop on the side of the restaurant, the valet person would have checked in with me instead of letting me wait. read more

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We arrived a few minutes early for our reservation and waited about 25 minutes for our table. They were super busy and we understood they couldn't force people out of their seats (especially saturday night during holiday season). We could have been seated sooner had we been willing to sit outside under heat lamps. We had a long list of items we wanted to try and told our server we aren't huge eaters, but they advised 6 plates, we could easily have had 5 and been totally satiated...even 4 would have been enough with room for birthday-dessert. All the dishes had layers of complexity and flavor. Loved the seasoning on the Dungeness crab with ikura on purple yam blini, but it's all a matter of personal preference since I thought the Kabocha squash with burrata and curry leaf was terrific and my BF liked it but didn't love. I really liked that each server who brought the dishes to our table, described every dish as he placed it in front of us so we didn't have to go back to the menu to remind ourselves of what we ordered. I couldn't wait to try their Soufflé Tart Chocolate, passionfruit, coconut ice and it was perfect, not overly sweet, lots of flavor and an exclamation point to the end of a delicious dinner. Would absolutely go back here again!! read more

We booked a table for 6 at 5 PM and specifically asked for indoor seating, but were placed on the patio instead. When we asked to move inside, we were refused--even though there was an empty indoor table that could fit our group the entire time we were there. The patio setup was disappointing. The table looked like cheap stainless steel and didn't even have a tablecloth. It honestly didn't feel clean enough to place utensils directly on it. We asked for bottled sparkling water, but they only had machine-made sparkling water. The prices are not cheap, but the portions are extremely small. The server even told us we'd probably need to order two dishes per person, which says a lot. Food quality was okay, but everything was way too salty. We kept having to drink water throughout the meal. We brought a birthday cake, but they didn't allow us to have it inside, so we had to take it back out. On top of that, there was an automatic 4% "health surcharge" added to the bill. The only highlight was one young Asian female server who was very kind. Other than that, this was honestly the worst restaurant experience we've had in the past year. read more

Service was great but found few things that they need to address, if reservation is at 5pm maybe open the doors 10-15 mins so customers could come into wait maybe at the bar or have a seating area available. I called and message on open table, never got response so the front of the house needs to figure what happened? Food had some great Asian spin, the crowd pleaser was the appetizer's (uni/toro & Dungeness crabmeat) and the loup de mer must have. All others were ok, flavors were good but didn't stand out like the others. Indoor and outdoor seating with heat lamp street parking around including valet. Music playing all around so could get very loud when it gets full the decor is very sophisticated and intimate as it's very low light/dim. read more

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I was here on 11/15/2024 and the food was absolutely amazing! My favorite items were the Grilled Oyster Mushroom and the Abalone and Florida Wild Pink Shrimp Pot Pie. The oyster mushrooms were charred to perfection with a flavor both bold and delicate. The Pot Pie had a wonderful flaky crust, and the flavor of the filling was a delicious umami blast. One of the most interesting things was the plate warmers they had that were set to 4 different temperatures. I'd never seen that before at any restaurant, really cool. Excited to come here again! read more

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Black sesame Parker roll and croque madam. The best. So good! Service was great! Would come back for more! The only thing we wouldn't get again is the broccolini... peel and super quick blanch would've been great... but it was mushy and bland even with the sauce. read more

I love the ambiance of camelia. Indoor feels more intimate but outdoor is also lovely and refreshing. The lighting gives it a moody feel. The waitress we had gave us some great recommendations but was spotty at times. We got the market salad which had all the summer time flavors. The oysters were also a nice starter, the yuzu sauce that accompanied was a unique addition. We also got the mushrooms and steak, both pretty savory dishes. And lastly, the sweet potato which I would say was the star of the show. It has the perfect sweet and savory flavor that went really well with the steak. To end the night we got the cheesecake which was not impressive to me, I would save dessert for somewhere else. If you are looking for a nice date spot then Camelia is your place. read more

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Friendly staff and reasonable prices for the bracket. Food was good overall, but not quite wow.

Made a reservation and Got to try this new restaurant and thought it was okay. The restaurant does not have a parking area, so would have to park on the street or find nearby public parking and walk over. My friends and I got seated outside and service was slow. The entire time we were eating we did not get checked on and had to call the server ourselves. *** IMPORTANT *** If you make a reservation and show up late there will be a late fee charge applied. Recommend calling the restaurant and notify them of being late to reservation to prevent late fee charge. What We Ordered: ~ Uni Otoro Toast ~ Chicken Liver Mousse Toast ~ Sprouting Cauliflower ~ Spaghetti Bolognese ~ Beef Cheek ~ Grilled Chicken read more

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Put my name on the waitlist at 5:30 didnt get to sit til 7:30 pm even though system said table is ready. I drove here to sit for 2 hours. Thanks. read more

I've been wanting to try Camelia and it did not disappoint. All of the dishes were unique and delicious. We tried the Dungeness crab with ikura on the purple yam blini, celebrity tomatoes with burrata and ponzu jelly, abalone and shrimp pot pie with mushrooms and snail butter, scallops with maitake and king trumpet mushrooms and chestnut date puree, beef cheek with bok choy, pearl onions, and kizami wasabi, and the sweet potato gratin. The crab with ikura on the blini was a great start to the meal, though pretty small so I might want the whole order to myself if I come back. The sweet potato gratin was made with Japanese sweet potatoes, miso butter, Gruyère, and fontina. We almost didn't get this dish and so glad we did, creamy and smooth and not too heavy. The beef cheek was very tender and flavorful and the wasabi added an additional deep flavor with the pearl onions, perfect on top of the kombucha rice. The ponzu jelly was a great compliment with the fresh celebrity tomatoes and burrata. The abalone and shrimp pot pie was so flavorful and the puff pastry top was light flaky. The desserts were also unique, we tried the melon sago and chocolate soufflé tart. The melon sago was refreshing and light while the chocolate soufflé had a deep cocoa complimented by the coconut ice cream and passionfruit. All of our server's recommendations were great and she was attentive to us while not rushing us. Good spot for a treat as it's a bit pricey but worth it. We were able to find street parking but they also have valet. read more

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Foods were great. However it took way too long to get our main dishes. We were not told that it would take roughly 90 minutes. Disappointed on the lead time even though the foods were nice. read more

Make sure you double check your receipt here! This is a nice restaurant and very upscale with pretty decent food, but it's not life-changing. There's dishes that I enjoyed and honestly, I would have provided a better rating if this incident didn't happen. The service was fine and then when we received the check the price from the menu and the check was different. They were charging us $10 more than what was written on their menu for a dish and when we brought it up they just said sorry and brushed it off. It felt like a sneaky way to up charge people who are drinking and they made excuses that their menu changes pretty frequently. Very disappointed on how the handled the situation and it made me wonder how many times this "mistake" gets made. read more

I loved this place!! Pretty decent pricing for the large portions of everything! The uni toro toasts were AMAZING - so light and refreshing and I highly recommend. The black sea sand rolls with the ikura is on another level! The salty mixed with the butter and fluffy bread is perfection. Croque madame and clams were also very good. Market lettuce salad was yummy too. Seafood risotto wasn't my favorite as it was cheesy rice paired with squid. Chicken was super moist and juicy but the beef cheek was better!! Service is good, but the food comes a little slow. Ambiance is a little lout inside but very warm and lovely. read more

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Went here for a date night on Monday as the French/japanese fusion piqued our interest. I would recommend a reservation because it was quite crowded already for a Monday. Easily can make one online. We chose to sit outdoors since it was really nice weather and they had heaters to make it very comfortable. We ordered: Uni and bluefish tuna 5/5 Kombocha squash 5/5 Scallop pot pie 3.5/5 Peking duck 3.5/5 This is a higher end restaurant so expect pricey meals for small portions. They suggest 2-3 dishes per person and definitely need more than less. Scallop pot pie was too buttery for me and that's all I tasted. Peking duck was not what I expected, no crispy skin at all. And what got us full was the large fries they served with the duck. The other two dishes were delicious! Street parking was plentiful around the area. They definitely change the menu so may be curious to try it again. read more

I know Camelia opened fairly recently, and I usually don't like trying newer restaurants until they've figured everything out, but we decided to give Camelia a shot after seeing it featured on Eater multiple times and because the folks running this place are apparently seasoned, accomplished restauranteurs. Big mistake...the food itself I guess was ok and the restaurant is beautiful, but the service was just absolutely atrocious...like unacceptably so so sooo bad. The Dungeness crab pancake thing was pretty good, and we finished each pancake in one bite. The crab seemed pretty fresh and it was a refeshing first dish to start the meal. We also got the soft shell crab, but I probably would skip this dish. The crunch of each bite dominates everything else including any flavors. The croque madam was probably my fav out of all the dishes...it was pretty delish. The soft outer texture with the katsu crunch inside was amazing, and each bite had a rush of multiple subtle flavors. The scallops were also good, but nothing really special about it. I also got a side of fries because I love fries, and it was well, just regular ol fries just the way I like em. We also ordered the spaghetti bolognese, but it was just taking way too long so we unfortunately had to cancel it. The restaurant is designed and decorated beautifully, and the lighting throughout is just perfect. We were seated outside and were we not in the middle of an intensive September heat wave, it would've been pleasant. I think the hostess should probably ask customers if outside seating is ok, which she failed to do, but in any case I probably would've chosen the outside seating over waiting longer anyways if given the option so no big deal. The service was just absolutely terrible. For some odd reason, they don't give you the full drink menu with the wines by bottle when they seat you, and so I had to ask for it multiple times from multiple people. The drinks also took way too long too come out. Once I had to go to the bar and ask them for the drink myself. Also they managed to bring out the wrong bottle of wine, and the correction took forever. They also need to train the servers better on proper wine serving etiquette... they just suck at opening up the wine, pouring the first taste and glass (it spilled everywhere when they poured the first glass for you), and they don't give you the cork. The food also takes way too long to come out, and there was an unpleasant amount of waiting time between the dishes. We ended up having to cancel the last dish (spaghetti bolognese ) because it was taking way too long. The servers and the staff also fail to check up on you regularly, and I ended having to ask multiple people everytime I needed something. Overall, everything just takes way too long, they fail to check up on you, and way too many mistakes are made. When I go to a restaurant, the service and the ambiance are just as important to me as the food...With Camelia, the food is decent and the ambiance is great, but they absolutely fail on the service aspect. The terrible service here affects the dining experience so greatly, that I probably wouldn't recommend Camelia until they hopefully figure things out down the road. I think this may be the first time I've had no choice but to leave a $0 tip. 4 stars for the food, 5 stars for the ambiance, 1 star for the service. read more

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Decided to make a reservation her for my partner's birthday. Very happy and satisfied with my choice. I recommend the croque madame and the chicken liver mousse toast. Definitely recommend checking out the desserts too! Our server was amazing and the it was a nice ambiance as well read more

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Came here on a Friday night at 8 pm to celebrate my man's birthday. Despite the reservation we did wait about 10 minutes before being seated at a cozy table out on the patio - so yes if you get chilly bring a jacket. They do have heat lamps but for some they may not be enough. My boyfriend though the place gave hotel restaurant vibes - I got French Bistro vibes. Our server was Eric who was happy to make recommendations like the incredible wasabi mackerel toast. It was a little bite but so flavorful. Actually our fave thing we ate. We got the parker house rolls with the ikura , which was different but good. Not sure I would order again though - but only so I could have room to try something else. The celebrity tomatoes with the burrata and ponzu jelly were refreshing. The Croque Madam was so pretty and buttery that it almost reminded me of popcorn. My boyfriend really wanted the spaghetti - it was good but I don't know what was fusion about it. My boyfriend felt it was the perfect al dente texture with the sardines. I did really enjoy it paired with the Heirloom Red Sake Eric suggested. The Purin for dessert was so tasty , especially with the contrasting textures. Honestly I felt the price was reasonable. I had two drinks and it was under 200. I can't wait to try more of the menu. read more

Great spot for date night with my husband. We were happy with the ambiance and service. I wasn't sure at first about the abalone pot pie, but it ended up being delicious. Get the sweet potato gratin and duck as well! read more

The food was delicious! I loved everything I ordered, especially the pot pie. I went on December 15, 2025 with two other friends. It was one of my friend's birthday and the staff and manager were aware. Our waiter was kind and very attentive. However, we noticed that the manager went around the restaurant speaking to different tables except for ours. To many it may not seem like a big deal. It is when you are the only black people in the restaurant. She would look over at us and gave a quick goodbye when we left, but didn't give us a warm welcome and hospitality compared to others who didn't look like us. I guess there are just some things good food can't mask. Great food but be cautious to those who are not part of the majority if you know what I mean. read more

I recommend going elsewhere. We'd heard good things about Camelia and were looking forward to trying it. We arrived on time for our reservation, pulled up to the valet stand, and waited. We watched the valet drive off in another car. And waited. Fifteen minutes later, he finally came back, approached our car--and informed us there was no valet parking. The valet, at the valet stand, who had just valeted someone else's car, told us there was no valet. When we asked where we *could* park, he ignored us. We asked again. Ignored us again. His cowardice was palpable. Just left to figure it out ourselves while our reservation time ticked away. By the time we actually sat down to eat, we were already frustrated. The food? It was fine (BAD for $250 per head, but would be MID at $80). Not bad, but absolutely nothing special. And we had prepaid $250 per person for this experience. Five hundred dollars, committed in advance, for a meal that would have felt overpriced at half the cost. I had a thin-ass cut of prime rib that would have been the cheapest cut at Lawry's (the prime rib and sides were a sad imitation of classic prime rib houses) and my spouse got scallops that were uh fine. The best thing was an appetizer of salmon roe on a pancake (but even the pancake was mid). Maybe I'm just too poor to understand, but at this price, you cannot just be selling some mid food. You're selling an experience. And our experience started with 15 minutes of waiting for a valet who then refused to do his job and couldn't be bothered to answer a simple question. This was entirely avoidable. Don't leave guests idling in their cars. And when they ask for help, don't ignore them. Absolutely will not be back and will recommend the same to my interested colleagues. Los Angeles has too many exceptional restaurants to waste $500 on one that can't be bothered with basic hospitality. I cannot believe this place has me *excited* for Cheesecake Factory this weekend. read more

Not worth the price of admission. Severely over priced for the quality of food and customer service they provide. Additionally - we sat on the bench outside and it completely bled color all over my jeans that I can't get off. Not sure what it is.... Save your money and go elsewhere. Prime rib was bad and it came out completely cold. Had them remake it, and have a feeling the piece that was put on my plate was just reheated. Disappointed in Chase for recommending these restaurants read more

Excellent food! We particularly loved the pot pie, the scallops, and the clams. I also loved the cocktails, which came with little side cars! The service was also excellent -- the perfect level of attention and guidance without being overbearing. And the restaurant itself is beautiful and pleasant. Highly recommend! read more

Camelia - Cocktails! - French Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Had the most incredible meal at Camelia. From the restaurant itself, the ambience, the drinks and of course the food, everything was absolutely fantastic. We were a group of 4 and we almost ordered everything off the menu. The standouts were the croque madam, the spaghetti bolognese, the chicken liver mousse, the celebrity tomatoes, and the sweet potato gratin. We weren't the biggest fans of the duck frites as our duck was chewy. Overall though, we had a great time and will definitely be back! read more

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Food was good. Service and ambiance were great! Some of the items we ordered like the Koji-Raosted Chicken, Oyster Mushrooms, and the Scallops were all cooked to pefrection, but the sauce they came in were a little underwhelming, especially after eating other items on the menu that were superb! We tried about half the menu and I think the star of the night was the Uni Otoro appetizer. They also gave us a nice Watermelon Yuzu Sorbet at the end that hit the spot. It's a nice place to have a celebratory date. If you go as a group it can get a bit pricey. Overall, I enjoyed my dinner, but it'll be some time before I go back. Thanks for taking the time to read my review :) read more

The former space long occupied by Church and State has become Camélia, a Franco-Japanese brasserie concept from the owners of Echo Park's modern izakaya, Tsubaki. ("Tsubaki" and "Camélia" are the Japanese and French words, respectively, for the camellia.) The space has been given a bit of a mid-century modern sheen on top of the industrial loft quality Church and State had, and seating has been broken up with some booths and banquettes as opposed to the former restaurant's rows of tables, making it feel more intimate, while the large brasserie mirrors and small bar remain. Dishes are mostly Western (not always French) with strong Japanese inflections, such as a pot pie filled with shellfish or Parker House rolls flavored and colored with black sesame. Sadly, from older photos, one can see the portion size of those Parker House rolls has gotten smaller while the price for bread is rather steep at $11. I thought the plate brought with two half-dollar-sized canapés was some sort of amuse-bouche, but it was the $12 chicken liver mousse starter. One piece per diner, about the size of a fancy chocolate. The Croque Madame was delicious -- and beautiful, with its coddled egg yolk centered in the Mornay sauce to resemble a sunny side-up egg -- but $22 seemed a bit pricey for a ham-and-cheese sandwich with no sides, no matter how deluxe. My friend and I both enjoyed the Spaghetti Bolognese à la Japonaise, but at $28 for a primi-sized portion, I couldn't help but think, "I could make this at home." (I'm also not quite sure what made it "Japonaise"; I did not detect the secret ingredient to many Japanese pasta dishes, ketchup.) The $53 Ginger Pork was not a take on buta no shōgayaki but rather a pork filet cut under a wild lawn of julienned shiso. The pork was cooked perfectly, but I found it a bit underseasoned and underwhelming, especially at that price point. Like many restaurants today, Tsubaki finds itself torpedoed right at the nexus of portion size and price point. I felt like I got a nice meal, sure, but do I feel like I got a $100+ dinner that night? Not really. Service was uneven, as we went for long stretches without having our order taken, then having to resort to the occasional upraised eyebrow when the server was at the table next to us. Were Camélia's prices a bit more moderate, I could see myself there with some regularity, but, unfortunately, it will probably remain an overpriced curiosity I tried once. read more

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My bf brought me here for a date night. We were initially a bit put off by being told that there were no indoor seats available at our reservation time. The host offered to seat us at the bar with another patron, where we clearly would have been very cramped. They then suggested we could sit outside, but I didn't want that on a chilly April evening. They did get us an inside table without much wait. The food and our server more than made up for the bumpy start. - firefly squid warayaki was deliciously surprising. We hadn't anticipated it would be a cold dish. The squid were tender and the smokiness infused into the dish was subtle but added so much complexity. - sprouting broccoli ohitashi with burrata was such a generous portion - beef cheek - sweet potato gratin complemented each other really well and made a great (if fairly rich) main course. But the gratin was actually lighter than we expected, given all the ingredients. read more

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I enjoyed my experience at Camelia. I wish there was a way to clarify if you wanted an indoor/outdoor table at time of booking but happy that I was able to snag a table reservation to celebrate a friend's birthday. When we arrived, they had a table outside but neither of us brought jackets and the table was not near a heat lamp. I asked the hostess if she would be able to seat us inside instead. She said there's a few tables waiting to clear up so if we didn't mind waiting, she could put us inside. There's a small waiting section inside towards the restroom so we waited there. We were seated shortly after and our waitress knew that it was a birthday (I put the note in our reservation) and came over and asked whose birthday we were celebrating and started us off with a complimentary small glass of bubbly. The table was by the front near the entrance so it was still a little chilly but better than being outside. The table was also really close to the table next to us and we were able to hear their whole conversation. But we got to see the kitchen expo which I loved! I heard the cocktails were good so I ordered a milk punch which was in fact really good. For food, we got the black sesame Parker rolls with the house-cured ikura, the uni otoro toast, the chicken liver mousse toast, the celebrity tomatoes with burrata, the scallops, the beef cheeks and the sweet potato gratin. Everything was really good and I was pleased with everything we ordered. It was definitely too much food for 2 people but that's ok because the food was amazing. The combo of the salty ikura with the creamy butter and nutty black sesame rolls were delicious but I would've been happy with the black sesame rolls on their own so you don't need to splurge on the ikura unless you like ikura. The uni otoro toast was a must have for me since I love uni. Everything in that one bite was perfect. Would definitely recommend. I also loved the chicken liver mousse. It was so smooth and creamy and flavorful. The tomatoes were surprisingly amazing! So refreshing and juicy! It was definitely the star of the show for me. The scallops were cooked perfectly and I loved the mushrooms it comes with. The scallops themselves were slightly salty for my taste but still tasted great when you ate it with the mushrooms. The beef cheeks were super tender and tasted amazing with the gravy. Loved that it came with bok Choy too. It was especially good with the sweet potato gratin that we ordered. The sweet and creamy Japanese sweet potato with the salty melted cheese was the best accompaniment to the beef cheek! Don't sleep on this dish! Like I said, I was happy with all our choices for the evening so I would recommend all of it. Even though we were super full, I couldn't pass on dessert since it was my friend's birthday so we ordered the rum caramel pudding which they put a candle on for us. The pudding was soft and jiggly, not too sweet which paired nicely with the sweet rum caramel, light and fluffy whipped cream and nutty toasted topping. I loved the fresh figs it comes with too. Overall, I'm glad we got to come here. It's definitely a pricy experience (~$300 for 2) but worth it for a special occasion! Can't wait to try the other items on their menu! read more

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Too bad I can't bring a birthday cake for my son. Outside deserts, even birthday cakes, are not allowed. Not good!

I debated reviewing this place because I wasn't the one paying for dinner but the more I think about it, the worse I feel for my generous host so I have to do this. This place feels like a scam. The food and service absolutely is not worth what they're charging people. It feels like they are preying on people who think restaurants that are in the art district must be good since they're so expensive and trendy, therefore they're willing to pay for dishes that are absolutely not worth their hard earned money. Especially with how the economy is today I would be shocked if anyone comes back a second time other than to just show off how much money they have to burn. Then again, donate to charities instead ffs, don't waste it on places like this. Here's what we ordered: Parker rolls ($12): ok. Size of a small muffin. Uni & bluefin tuna toast (27): two pieces, size of an amuse bouche. Were ok, should be half the price. Charged us $14 more for one more tart so that all three of us could have one. Grilled mushroom ($22): nothing notable. Grilled loup der mer ($55): basically a small, flat filet of Branzino over bok choy & ponzu ginger. While the fish was perfectly cooked with a crispy skin, $55 is steep for a small filet, not a whole Branzino. Bok choy is a cheap green. Those ingredients definitely not worth that price. But the biggest offender is their freaking $65 chicken. Ok I know, it's our fault for ordering a $65 half chicken, we HOPED that it would be the most amazing chicken we ever had. NOPE. First of all they forgot about our order, our waiter was already asking us if we want dessert. Then we get it and it's a subpar 1/2 a rotisserie chicken quartered over a bed of cabbage. CABBAGE!!! Do you know how freaking CHEAP cabbage is??? I know it says on the menu "grilled cabbage" but my God use some effort to transform it a little. Just like the chicken, bland AF. Not to mention the chicken was still red near the bone. The waiter was trying to give us the excuse about enzymatic processes etc, but I don't care about any of that BS, if you're gonna charge $65 for half a chicken on some cabbage with tasteless cream sauce, at least DEBONE the freaking thing so it doesn't LOOK like it might be undercooked. Use your brain to avoid issues like that. Even small restaurants that sell chicken for less than 1/3 of that price take the time to DEBONE their meat. Give me a freaking break. The waiter also didn't offer any real apology about it. I can tell he was just over everything since it was near closing time. Finally, we also had Kombu rice ($12): overcooked with seaweed flakes. Sweet potato gratin ($16): tasted like super oily mashed potato. French fries ($12): they had forgot this along with the chicken, it was room temp and the container was only half full (I saw other people's were very full). I suspect since they were already about to clean up for the night they didn't want to fry a new batch of fries for us so they just scraped together whatever was left in the fries bin. Not only was our order halved but it had mostly short or broken pieces. Hence my suspicion. Is it our fault you forgot some of our order and had to make up for it when you were ready to end service? I don't think so. My non alcoholic Blood Moon drink was so sour it was bitter and gave me severe heartburn later on. We also had one or two alcoholic drinks but they were meh. As for the wait staff in general, their uniform sucks: being served by people in dirty looking aprons is not the most appetizing sight for an expensive dining experience. Our waiter hardly checked on us, didn't even remember we were missing a whole entree and side dish still. Food pacing was horrible. The bill came out to be like $360 something and my heart just ached for my host. She had some dinner reward points that halved the actual amount she would have to pay but I'm telling you $180 is even too much for this horrible restaurant experience. I will definitely never return and I know it's hard to run a business these days but considering the fact that I think this place is just scamming naive people, maybe not all businesses deserve to last. By the way someone in the reviews mentioned noticing mostly Asians being seated in the patio area...funny, I noticed that too (and we also had a wait staff person breaking something whereas that reviewer experienced them dropping utensils loudly). Could've been a coincidence, or this could be the next Great White. Hopefully it's the former scenario. read more

I'll preface this by saying I know negative reviews can impact a business. My dad ran a family restaurant in the LA area, and I really wanted to give this place a fair shot since I'm not much of a review writer. Also, as a Japanese customer (half, but first generation), I was genuinely curious about the menu and excited for the meal based on some of the reviews, and I expected a higher baseline standard. This review is from the same day as our dinner on Tuesday (12/9). It looked like they had the JV team in for game time. Dinner started out fine. My wife and I had a babysitter booked, so we made a 7:30 reservation. It took about 10 minutes to place an order for a glass of wine, but I wasn't too concerned at first. We ordered our wine and put in the full food order at once: the market salad, dinner roll with cured ikura, the abalone and scallop pot pie, and the burger. Nothing too complicated. The first three dishes came out in good order. Honestly, nothing spectacular, but the pacing was fine. The only note on those first three dishes: the cured ikura didn't really make sense with the dinner roll. The salad was okay. The abalone and scallop pot pie was quite flavorful. Then we hit a snag with the burger. About 30 minutes after the pot pie was cleared, the burger still hadn't arrived. When we sat down at 7:30 the place wasn't full, but by 8:30 it was. Halfway into our dinner, two other parties of two were seated near us. About 30 minutes into waiting for our burger, I noticed another two-top a couple tables down--who seemed to have ordered about the same or even slightly less--was already finishing their burger and paying their bill. Another couple that arrived after us and appeared to order one fewer dish was also finishing up before we ever received ours. We had arrived earlier, ordered everything up front, and still hadn't gotten the burger. We asked our waitress for an update and she said she would check. We were seated by the kitchen, and it looked like she took a quick glance but didn't flag anyone. I expected her to come back with a status update or even a reason for the delay, but she never did. After another 10 minutes (so roughly 40 minutes since our last entree), we asked for the check and to cancel the burger. The waitress apologized and removed it from the bill, but still no reason or explanation for the delay was given. I wasn't looking for any additional concession, but the lack of communication felt surprisingly amateur for a restaurant at this price point. A floor manager (maybe?) also apologized in passing as we left, but the apology felt rushed and didn't seem particularly sincere. Overall, the food was okay but not worth the experience. I left feeling more disappointed than anything (wasted time and funds for the babsyitter), and honestly regretted not trying Pasjoli instead. We chose this spot because it was one of the Chase Reserve credit participants, but maybe one of the other French options on the list would have been more worth the time and money. Based on some other reviews, this may not have been an off night, but it's definitely a one-and-done for me read more

The food is great quality. The black sesame buns are so soft, and the market lettuce salad I also recommend.

Oysters: meh. Served too close to room temp and more meaty than briny Market salad: nice acidity but underwhelming Sweet potato gratin: honestly bad, had no flavor and was just a cheesy mess. Had 2 bites and didn't eat anymore Spaghetti: noodles were well cooked but sauce was mediocre and had a weird flavor, didn't finish it Service was good, our waitress was attentive. Decor is cute but we were seated on the patio and it got quite hot with all the heaters on high. read more

Service was really slow. After offering drinks our waiter didn't check in with us for what felt like 15 minutes. It was too long since we were waiting for someone to go over recommendations on the menu. The food also was not paced well, with items taking too long between serving, especially for items intended to be shared. The folks that brought out dishes were too soft spoken given the louder atmosphere (introducing dishes and cocktails). After 50 minutes, we only got 2 appetizers for reference. We got the black sesame bread, risotto, beef cheek, Dungeness crab, and oysters. To top it off, when we were waiting for the last dish, the chicken, our waiter asked if we wanted anything else, to which I reminded him that I think we ordered the chicken, and he didn't think so but would double check. And then behind him came the busboy behind him with the chicken. That was a comically sad way to top off the night. read more

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Absolutely stunning dinner and transporting evening. Entertained out of town guests here, and everyone loved our dinner. Our evening started with the Parker Rolls with the Ikura were salty butter goodness, along with the Uni Toasts, and a bottle of Cremant from Alsace, and 2 cocktails for their list, that we loved, gin based, herbal, with chartreuse. I would come back for the cocktail alone! Highlight of the meal were the abalone, the ginger pork, and the mixed leuttce salad that was perfection. The soft shell crab was utterly delicious, and the mochi with spices and coffee was wonderful. We loved our experience here, and the playlist of Sade on a late Sunday evening as the restaurant started to quiet down only added to our experience. Can't wait to return more.. read more