Based on a Thursday evening, I was very impressed with the prices, service, and atmosphere in this loungy hotel bar. I arrived around seven and found that a few of the food items had sold out, but I assume that to be a testament to their deliciousness. The drinks I had were also very delicious, although a tiny bit frou frou.. But when in Rome The service was good, and even though they were busy, I never felt forgotten. I will surely be coming back on another Thursday to enjoy the ambiance and well dressed clientele while drink gin-based cocktails. read more

4.5 stars This place rocks! No matter if i'm wearing a $1,000 suit or my $30 Chucks and jeans, the service is exceptional. Staff is very friendly, accommodating and professional. Checkers restaurant features American cuisine with French and California influences, served in intimate surroundings and the service is attentive and knowledgeable without being stiff. There is patio seating, tucked away from the hustle and bustle of downtown where you can enjoy a meal or just a cocktail. I belive they offer complimentary town car transportation to the Music Center for restaurant dinner guests. The lounge provides an intimate, upscale atmosphere for dining and meeting friends or entertaining clients. They have the city's best martinis or choose from the draft beer selection and specialty cocktails. This place is classy and the service is awesome. The hotel and rstaurant have been treating me like a king for the last 10 years. read more

Four. Finally joined Mr. Jin N. here some their four four Thursday. Four four dollar dishes and four four dollar mixed drinks.. starting at four P.M. The menu and drinks get switched up weekly as well. On this particular Thursday, they had some seafood dishes, all which were delicious. And the two drinks I sampled were also mixed just right. The best part about this all was the ridiculously cheap bill four everything. Delicious food, awesome service, and great drinks. Checkers, I'll be seeing you soon. Four. read more

I don't care what part of the state you live in, THE Cali bar scene LIVES in downtown LA on Thursday nights! Intimate watering holes like pirate treasure lay hidden on any given corner: Checkers Downtown, the Hilton's hotel bar, is one such gem of a place. Normally I'm not one for hotel bars, but this place is special. Now let's be clear--this is the review for Checkers' Thursday's happy hour event "FOUR" that takes place from 4PM - 8PM. Checkers is normally a pretty upscale diner; it was ranked #7 in LA in Gourmet Magazine and tends to do American-based gastro-fare. The restaurant headed by Chef Todd Allison runs pricey, but on Thursdays Allison likes to open up 4 of his appetizers and 4 carefully constructed cocktails to the pedestrian pocket offering them for $4/pop (hence the name). Unlike the American food that saturates the menu, FOUR offers a new theme every week with a rotating menu--for example, one weekend they did a Mexican theme with tequila-based drinks and lamb empanadas as well as the best homemade churro I'll probably ever have; last week, FOUR featured a Russian-themed Limoncello Bramble ("A martini of Vox Vodka, Limoncello, blackberry puree, and fresh lemon juice"), Red Checker ("Vox Vodka, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, muddle raspberries, and lemon juice with a hint of orange bitters") as well as Vichyssoise and Olive Oil Poached Ahi ("with cannelloni bean and basil pesto ragout, and red onion pickles"), to name a few. This being said, the appetizers are usually pretty good. Nobody does this much cooking for $4--from deconstructionist dishes like a bratwurst dog on sourdough with violet mustard, Dijon, and sweet glaze, to classics done right with a certain culinary precision like handmade meatballs in spaghetti or foie gras! Even though they're not ALL spectacular, they ARE all well thought out and there ARE homeruns. The drinks are fantastic--hands down the best drinks you will ever have for $4. Even the strong ones taste well rounded like you can tell there's a lot of alcohol but you don't mind. This is where Allison pleases. You will find him wandering around greeting the guests quite frequently. I suggest ordering one of everything, family styling it, then ordering by preference if you're going for round 2. You can park in the structure next door and stop by Library Bar afterwards to get validation, costing you & your group a cool $2 (the structure is the same structure for Library Bar & the Standard but the opposite end). There is lounge seating and a small bar; I'd estimate capacity at around 35 comfortably, and the numbers are usually around that. There have been seating issues with arriving later, just because spaces there tend to run smaller (2 - 4 persons). Bartenders are friendly, but not the fastest with drinks all the time. That's understandable considering the drinks are more challenging to make than most. The crowd is mostly older (30+), but word is spreading and younger guests like myself are beginning to come around. In fact, I've made this the usual hotspot for starting off my Thirsty Thursdays. Try it out and you will see why. If you're disappointed, let me know where you prefer, because if it tops this, I WANT IN ;-) read more

Checkers Downtown - Salmon Pastry Puff from FOUR - Bars Near Me - Los Angeles, California

My bf got a deal from travelzoo and brought me here for my bday yesterday (I didn't mind since he asked me first). The deal was for a three course meal for two. When you enter the hotel, you walk straight down and you'll see a register there. That's where they check you in for your reservations. For our starter, I got the pan-sear ahi tuna salad and my bf got the rock shrimp risotto. My salad was refreshing with strips of cucumber and chopped celery. There's not much seasoning on the salad itself, but when you eat it was the tuna, it's fine. Overall, I felt like it was missing something but not sure what. Oh yeah, the dressing was ranch. My bf's dish was kind of heavy for a starter. The other issue, for me at least, was the saltiness. The chorizo has salt as well as in the broth and in the cheese, so it ends up being a salt-heavy dish. But overall, it was flavorful and good. You just need to eat it in small bites, so the saltiness doesn't seem that bad. Bf ordered the striped bass (he wanted the sea bass, but it's not on the menu) and I got the duck breast. I think I had the better dish this round. My duck was cooked to a nice medium and the pomegranate reduction sauce was good. The sauce was sweet and tangy and it reminded me of an American twist on the Chinese plum sauce for duck. The only thing I liked about bf's dish was the nice crisp skin on the fish. I tried the mashed potatoes that came with it and it wasn't good. I didn't try his sauce which I believed to be a pesto sauce. Creme brulee and berry shortcake was our dessert choice. For my brulee, the sugar coat was a bit thicker than other places I had it, but at least it wasn't burnt. I actually don't care for the sugar coating. Bf is the one who really eats it. So what I do is: I would take the sugar top off and just eat the custard with the fruit. And if bf wants to eat some, he'll break a piece of the sugar and adds it to his spoonful. The berry shortcake was good if you let sauce soak into the shortcake. Otherwise, it can be a bit too much to eat. They're not skimpy on the berries, which is necessary to bring some tartness to the shortcake. Side Note: The 3-course meal isn't a prix-fixe. You can basically order what you want up to $108. Warning: I overheard from a different table that their steaks were overcooked. So maybe you might want to make it one step rarer. read more

Wow so disappointed in this place...can't believe it's suppose to be fine dining. I feel bad because my boyfriend took me here for my birthday dinner and I wasn't impressed at all. The service was poor - they were not busy but it looked like they had one big party about 20 people maybe inside this room - we were seated five tables away from that private room but the outside there was only one other table besides us. There was one waitress serving the party as well as us...she was overworked and I felt bad but it really took a long time for everything - especially at the end of the meal we sat around for 20 minutes waiting for the bill - there was another person working but he didn't get us the bill - had us wait for the waitress but at the end she took so long that he got us the bill after all so I don't know why he made us wait at all. The menu was pretty simple - choice of starters and entrees - about 7-9 items listed on each side. I had the Ribeye because the Blue Cheese Butter appealed to me however I was very disappointed with the steak - it was rough and chewy - and it's quite embarassing to spit it out and at one point there were some pieces of the tendon/fat stuck to my teeth. There were no vegetables accompanying my steak but three fried onion rings...which was really crispy but I think I would have liked some greens instead. My boyfriend's Downtown Braised Short Ribs were okay - it was soft and tender but I wasn't very fond of the flavor - like they soaked it in red wine and it was overwhelming and the vegetables were mediocre nothing fancy - thick old asparagus and potato salad...not very good combination. Since we had a Laker Vs Clipper game to catch at the Staple center - I thought we should get the check and go but my boyfriend ordered sorbet - two scoops - mango and raspberry - again not very unique. For the price of the meal - I really expected much more but am sorely disappointed from the service to the meal. The only thing I liked was it was very quiet - probably because it was a weekday though. read more

For the price, I've definitely had much better. This was one of the places on my list that I always wanted to try. As a young lawyer, I remember my boss talking about going here with clients. Yee haw, classy & classic steak place... I can't wait to try it. After a lovely show at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, it was time for a birthday treat and Checker's was the place. I checked it out on Yelp. I saw the mixed reviews & thought we'd try it anyhow. Yeah, put us in the not-so-much category. We arrived around 5:30. Yes, the blue light early bird special. I like to eat early with the blue-hairs. So sue me. We were the only people in the restaurant. Ok, fine, the Yelp reviewers mentioned that. We pulled up to the valet, but stayed in the car for a minute while I called to check if we can get a table before sending the car to valet. Silly me. When we were ready to exit, the valet went to my husband's driver's door, but no one came to mine. I guess it wasn't the doorman's job to open car doors, only the hotel/restaurant door. We walked into the hotel/restaurant. I thought it was a restaurant only, I didn't know it was the Hilton too. There was the reception on the left & bar on the right. There was no sign of the restaurant anywhere. We walked in and looked around and had to ask where it was. Walking down the hall we saw the menu, but no restaurant, it was still the bar. A little further down we saw the dining room, but no people, no maitre'd, no one. We looked around, confused. Soon a young man came up to help us & seat us. Since we were the only ones there, we took a nice table by the window. It was pleasant, sorta sub-terenean below the old LA Library. It was nice. The dining room was nice. Well, turns out the maitre'd was our waiter. He was OK, but hard to find on occasion. Hubby ordered the rib eye, medium rare. I ordered the filet mignon, medium. Both arrived well done. At $36 (+/-) for a steak, I want it perfect. We couldn't find the waiter. Finally hubby went to the kitchen & found the waiter giving the chef instructions. What????? The waiter/maitre'd was gracious & took my steak back (hubby didn't complain) and re-did it. I told him to tell the chef to make it medium-rare and maybe it would turn out medium. I'm not sure what they did to it. It was not pink on the inside but kind of grayish, as if maybe the grill was not hot enough to sear the outside & keep the inside pink. I don't know. I'm not a chef. I leave the steak cooking to the pros. We won't be coming back. Sorry Checkers, I'm glad I tried you & I won't wonder any more. read more

This review is for the bar only. I have never heard of Checkers before but on my short visit here I was quickly impressed. My friends and I sat at the bar and ordered some of the appetizers from the bar menu and had a few drinks. The bartender, gosh I should have gotten his name, whipped up a raspberry crafty drink and it was very good! I know that crafty drinks are the "thing" now and I stil have the stereotype of them of being too sour like Midori Sours, too strong like Dirty Martinis, or too sweet like the rest of the fruity cocktails. That was not the case at all here. They totally reinvented the "cocktail" to be crafty masterpieces. Great job bartender guy! As far as the small bites I had... they are absolutely delicious! We ordered the hummus, yellowtail, and grilled artichokes. The hummus was SO good! VERY flavory where I couldn't get enough of it. I must say... that was the best damn hummus I have ever had. The portions are rather generous too. My party and I had the pleasure of chatting with the events director, Tyler Dow, there and he told us about Four, Todd Allison, and their plans to revamp Checkers. From the looks of it and from judging the food and drinks... they are sure on their way up. He also was so kind to make Checkers' version of a mimosa for us which was very good as well. Till next time Checkers... see you on a Thursday. Cost: 3 apps and about 4-5 drinks: about $90 read more

Lovely place with great service and staff. We were provided with the service by Victor, he did make sure that everything is fine and we feel comfortable around. Very thankful to him for the hospitality and service!!! read more

3.5 STARS Checkers is a nice and elegant hotel restaurant located at the Hilton in downtown LA. We went on a Sunday afternoon so the place was dead! I think I seen a tumbleweed blowing across the restaurant...that's how dead the place was! So not much for the atmosphere. The upside however was the service, it was quick and attentive. The food was good but nothing was really amazing except for the shrimp and saffron risotto. It was very tasty and creamy. The Rack of Lamb and Angus Ribeye was good. Cooked well but not as flavorful as the meats you'd find at the Cut or Mastro's. But then again, it won't put a huge dent on your wallet either that will force you to eat off the 99 cents McD's menu for a few weeks! The Creme Brulee for dessert is pretty good but pass on the flour-less cake. I would go back if I can find another deal. The deal I got for this one is a 3-course meal for two for $39. With the added charge for the entrees, tax, and tip it came out to another $60. If you can find a deal, it's worth it but I won't come back here and pay full price. I'd rather go to BLT or Ruth Chris. read more

Okay, granted - I was here on a Saturday afternoon before going to the ballet at the Music Center, so not the best time to judge the food, etc. I just had a cheeseburger, my friend had an omelette. The burger came without any lettuce or tomato, and dry fries which I didn't eat. Got a side salad which was good. There was hardly any one in the dining room so at least it was quiet. I would never make a special trip to this restaurant but for those staying at the hotel it's not the worst food I've ever had. read more

Dining Date: 4/22/10 This week Checkers is presenting the "Best of FOUR" for their special Thursday night happy hour. My girlfriend orders the Parisian Orchid described as "A delectable combination of vodka, elderflower liqueur, lemon and pineapple juice. Simple, flavorful, and tasty, tasty!" My friend emphatically agrees and ends up ordering a second one. I order the Old Cuban Cocktail "From the Pegu Club in NYC: a new classic... Hand-squeezed fresh lime juice, dark rum, and muddled mint, topped with sparkling wine." I think it's wonderful. I'm really happy with my cocktail. We talk about life and boys and men as we wait for our food. GRILLED LOCAL CALAMARI SALAD - with charred edamame, olives, and a garlic aioli. Wonderful salad filled with little presents, truly delightful. I really enjoy the extra crunch from the green beans. We each have our own plate. I'm glad not to have to share. BRAISED BEEF SHORTRIBS - with a wild ramp and parmesan risotto. I love how tender the meat is. The risotto is a bit mushy for me but as a whole it's creamy and comforting. The jus is also wonderful. I'm not sure where the ramp is. I consider ordering a second one but I probably would've only eaten the beef. I'm lactose intolerant so I have to watch my dairy intake closely, Lactaids only help so much. ALASKAN HALIBUT FISH TACOS - with pico de gallo, and a house-made avocado crema... it'd be rude not to have at least one! The avocado crema is nice and the fish is thankfully fresh with a bit of heat in the pico de gallo. The only dish we skip is the roasted pepper and tomato soup. I want to order it just for the soup but I don't want to eat the grilled cheese sandwich. The tab for two is about $36 including tax and tip. read more

Happy Hour Review I met downtown happy hour partner, The Minty, at Checkers, but not before waiting for the valet for nearly 10 minutes. I was actually pleasantly surprised to find out that they offer valet, which I guess is pretty natural since it is attached to a Hilton hotel. However, when I pulled up, there was no valet out front by the sign. I waited outside for a while when I noticed that other people were waiting as well. I finally followed suit of another driver and went to the front desk with my keys. The staff acted surprised that we were left waiting for a MIA valet, but quickly got us tickets and took our keys. Once inside, I settled in for a drink with The Minty and her PR pal who happens to do PR for Checkers. We waited and waited and waited before someone gave me a menu, let alone took my drink order. I was pretty surprised considering I was with someone who does work for the bar. While I waited for someone to take my order, staff members came over twice to remove empty glasses and spray down the tables. They seemed to be way more serious about cleaning tables then taking orders because when spraying down the tables, I managed to get sprayed with mysterious blue cleaner - twice!! Finally, we were able to order drinks - my first, their second - and I gotta be honest, the staff didn't seem too happy about serving us. I don't know if they don't like bloggers or just don't like happy hour. A couple of other bloggers had joined us so maybe they felt they didn't stand a chance? The only one who seemed friendly was the bar manager, but he was busy with other things, so it was clear that he didn't notice who had drinks and who did not. The crazy part is the bar is not that big or that crowded. Unless, the staff was busy making drinks for room service, I have no idea why there was such a hold up. We were also sitting thisclose to the bar so it's not as if you could miss us. For this particular Happy Hour, the liquor of the night was gin. I had the Bronx cocktail,which was made of gin, sweet and dry vermouth, and a splash of orange juice. It was pretty damn tasty, just a shame that it took so long to receive. I sampled the Gin Gin too, a cocktail with gin & Ginger beer, which tasted like a refreshing mojitio. For food, I ordered the spinach salad with cherries, pine nuts, & feta cheese. The salad was pretty tasty along with other dishes I spotted. The dishes were of a just right size - not too small, not too big. However, if looking to fill up at happy hour, you may want to order more than one dish. It was a good thing that I wasn't looking to order anything else because the staff sure wasn't in a hurry to serve us. Before leaving, I asked for parking validation and a server told me that he had to ask for "authorization" even though the website and the valet will tell you that parking is $6 with validation. We decided to move onto the art walk and check out new food trucks, which I can promise were all friendlier than the group at Checkers. Thanks to PR Pal Eddie for the drink & food! However, I gotta wonder if this is how Checkers treats a guest of the company, how do regular customers stand a chance? read more

I wouldn't normally go here but I had a breakfast meeting. The restaurant is in the back of the hotel--which feels formal and stuffy, perfect for a meeting. The service, coffee and food were all very good. I had the healthy breakfast wrap with scrambled egg substitute, zucchini, squash, salsa, and baby spinach. It's in their "eat right" menu and only had 290 calories! read more

Checkers Downtown - Breakfast wrap with fruit $12.25 - Bars Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Excellent, amazing food. Friendly & helpful staff. I highly recommend Checkers. I wasn't sure what to expect, but what I got was this: a traditional dining room - complete with heavy drapes, muted tones, padded chairs, full table linens. The waiter and host were friendly, joked with us, knowledgeable about the food, and very patient with our indecisiveness. I went with a group of women for a girls-night-out/last-day-at-job celebration (not my last day, someone else's). We got a lovely sparkling rose wine, which went perfectly with the Roasted Candy Striped Beets (with yummy bits of goat cheese) and the Harissa Rubbed Alaskan Halibut (the fennel was amazing!). For dessert we ordered the Creme Brulee, which was delectable and was made the exact way that creme brulee should always be made - smooth and creamy as silk on the inside, brittle as sweet glass on the surface, with some fresh fruit and freshly whipped heavy cream to go with it. It's pricey, but well worth it. Damn, now I want to go there again! read more

Really good food and creative craft cocktails. The staff was extremely friendly and the aesthetics upscale. There are lots of choices downtown but this is worth checking out. read more

Checkers Downtown - Ribeye and eggs - Bars Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Dined in the restaurant for a belated Valentine Day's dinner. We ordered the prixe fix menu for $39 a person. For starters, the risotto was interesting with Spanish flair but the calamari salad really blew me away. The dressing made the dish hands down. For entrees, Kevin ordered the Braised Beef Pot Pie and I ordered the Halibut. His Pot Pie was huge! I loved the baby carrots. It wasn't really a pot pie; they topped braised beef over veggies and mashed potatoes with a scalloped puff pastry. He said it was good. My halibut was cooked perfectly but I have to say it lacked in flavor. I believe it came with a tomato based sauce which had a funny bitter taste to it that almost ruined the dish if the fish hadn't been so fresh. For dessert we had the creme brulee (Kev's favorite) and the flourless chocolate cake. They were both amazing. Valet is $7. Decor is nice. The kitchen closes early here and we were the last diners in that night so it felt a little awkward. Would definitely come back again. read more

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Staying at the Hilton and having arrived somewhat late in the evening, I was pleased that the Hilton Checkers offered what appeared to be a nicely appointed restaurant. I left more than happy. I dined at the bar, as is my custom when dining alone. The service was most attentive. They offer an ample variety of wines by the glass and the menu has something for everyone. I enjoyed a flatbread with chicken and artichoke that was absolutely delicious. Top that off with college basketball in the TV in front of me and I'm one happy camper! read more

Not your typical hilton hotel restaurant! Well, breakfast is very typical, but dinner was quote good. Fresh ingredients and a seasonal menu made for a tasty dinner. I started with the diver scallop small plate that came with fresh succotash and pea shoots. Main course was a Mediterranean snapper with tomato confit, capers and olives. Portions were more than adequate and service was excellent. Multi-lingual server Heidi from Switzerland was excellent and I only wish I had her lovely accent. It was a little cool this eve, otherwise I would have asked to sit in the secluded ivy covered courtyard. read more

Checkers Downtown - Diver scallops - Bars Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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FOUR on Thursdays at Checkers Downtown is a cultural treasure. I disputed if I should Yelp it or not out of fear of giving away the best themed happy hour in Los Angeles. Every Thursday starting at 4 pm a new drink selection and food menu is prepared by the staff at Checkers Downtown. It could be Brazilian Rum night or California Pinot Noir. In my experience it is best to sit at the bar or come up and order your drinks at the bar if you are sitting in the main lounge area. Keep the kids at home this is a grown up place. read more

Came here for a company holiday luncheon, and I'm sorry to say that I was expecting more. Execs from my work had frequented this place many times over the years and only had good things to say about it. As such, I think my expectations of the restaurant weren't unreasonable. First off, the service was poor. Our waiter didn't seem to know what he was doing, or even that he was supposed to be helping our table. The restaurant had very few patrons in it to begin with, so I'm not sure what the problem was. It was a task to even get drinks ordered (and we were only a party of 6 too, definitely not intimidating). Unfortunately for us, this pattern in service continued throughout the meal. For lunch they offered a prix fixe menu, which my coworker got. For $25, she was able to pick a soup or salad, entree, and choice of dessert. It seemed like an overall decent deal, and her food definitely looked good. I ordered the grilled romaine hearts with shrimp as my entree--essentially a ceasar salad with 4 shelled shrimp, a crunchy piece of sourdough "crouton", and two fully in tact hearts of romaine. It was a workout cutting that sucker up. The dressing was good and garlicky, and you could definitely taste the anchovies which was a plus. I ordered the flourless chocolate cake for dessert, and it came with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was very good, but too rich for my taste. Overall, presentation of the dishes were definitely on par. Everything looked delectable. However, poor service and "ok" food really screwed with the entire experience. read more

So after much hype I finally made it to a Thursday night Happy Hour and it was "OK". The service was outstanding from the valet attendant to our servers, everyone was very attentive. The drinks were priced at $4 so that didn't hurt and there was a variety of drinks on the menu. The appetizers were also $4, but no one in our group was impressed honestly. The atmosphere is lovely and the hotel is beautifully decorated. It was a pretty cool Thursday night. read more

We'd been meaning to check out Checkers for a while. We meant to try the happy hour menu first but it was a Friday night, our stomachs were empty, and our wallets full. Okay well his wallet was full. :) We ordered the grilled calamari which I didn't realize was a salad but was overall good. He liked it. I'm not big on salad dressing so to each his own. I had the blueberry mint margarita which was very good. You can tell they use fresh and natural ingredients. He had the black mule? which was also very good. Main dishes: Salmon for him- I took a bite and I had to restrain myself from taking his plate, that is until I tasted my own I had the Alaskan Halibut which was yummm sooo good. The glaze was delicious and the veggies were crisp and cooked just right. Definitely a repeat order. The portions were very generous, the servers were polite and helpful without being overbearing. We had a late dinner and the place was practically ours, I will definitely put this on the shortlist. read more

This review is for FOUR on Thursday nights... My experience here would have been 4 stars if the service would have been better. A friend and I met for the Thursday night special where drinks and food are $4. We walked in and since the bar was full we decided to sit in the lounge areas they had around the bar. So we sit, and sit, and sit...you get the picture. After about 20 or so minutes of waiting with no attention I walked to the bar and asked if anyone was going to be serving our area. I got a quickly reply from the woman bartender that she'd be right over. So, 5-7 minutes later she came by to take our order. Not overly pleasant or apologetic about the delay, but then again nobody knew how long we were waiting cause no one was paying attention. Drinks and food wise I'd give 3/4 stars. I ordered the Rosemary Salty Dog...satly in deed! It was nice and refreshing and I really enjoyed the hint of rosemary, but the salted rim over powered it a bit. We also ordered the Halibut in Red Curry sauce which was very tasty. Had a nice curry kick to it that I enjoyed. Of course when we wanted to leave we had to go to the bar to get the check as no one really came back to check on us once we had our food and drink. So, again better service would have made my experience at FOUR much better. I will give it another try as perhaps it was an off night, and hopefully I can updated my review to reflect a better experience. read more

I ordered the saffron shrimp and chorizo risotto and duck with quinoa. I have to say that the risotto is now one of my favorite dishes. It was full of flavor and cooked perfectly. The duck was by far the best duck I have had. To top of the dinner, I ordered the Vanilla Creme Brulle for dessert. The food, ambience, and service was superb. read more

Not great, ordered the short rib pot pie. Order was very large, but just got old after a while, ribs not that tender and a bit tasteless. Service very polite but then try getting her attention later - ticked me off, with only 3 tables occupied and she walked past 3 times without even looking at me. And why not give me a 2nd copy of the bill - ever head of expense reports? Quiet and somewhat classy. Breakfast has been very good so far with much better service. read more

After and evening at the art galleries my girlfriend and I decided to come here......What a great decision that was. A great dining treat all the way around. Neat dining room with great photos of the old Mayflower Hotel. Now down to business...... The food is awesome. We shared the apple blueberry salad. It had radishes, brie, apples, blueberries, mustard lettuce - all together a very interesting combo! I almost ordered another. I had the rib eye, cooked perfectly and served 3 of the biggest and best onion rings I have ever eaten. I am a steak lover and this is up in my top 5! She had the striped sea bass. She loved it....I do not like fish so I will take her word on how good it was. Well worth going - the place is neat - the food is AWESOME! The bar is a bar with travelers and the hotel bar sort.... Go - you will not regret it. read more

Very good. If you ever make it to Downtown, make this one of your stops. Fantastic menu with creative dishes. Well worth the stop. read more

Awful customer service. I was over charged on Thursday and the hotel manager is doing nothing to resolve the situation. I would not suggest dining or staying here. read more

Definitely so-so, but then again it's in a hotel so I'm not sure what I expected. We came with a travelzoo, but even that wasn't really enough to make it feel like I got a good deal. The food wasn't mind-blowing, but it wasn't bad either. It wasn't offensive in a way I can put my finger on - it was just sort of there. It's like that really nice guy that you secretly hope has a Nazi S&M fetish but is actually as boring as you think he is. Bland, filling, and utterly impersonal. Definitely wouldn't go out of my way to come here, especially as it's downtown and you have to pay to park. read more

Dropped in for lunch on a Friday afternoon after checking in to the hotel. Service was a bit off, since there appeared to be only one server, and no one manning the bar. Given that it was after 12pm, I think that's a bit odd? Still, couldn't fault the guy - he was as attentive as he could be and even managed to whip up a fairly decent Cosmopolitan for me. The food was actually quite good for the most part - everyone in my party was happy with their orders. My only nit was that the blue cheese used in my salad tasted a bit musty. I know, I know, it's blue cheese, but it should be strong in flavor, NOT musty. We were certainly left to hang out and chat for quite a while - no being rushed out of here, which was great, given that it was a gathering of ladies who either hadn't yet met or hadn't seen each other in a long time! read more

Come in on Monday night during a big convention in downtown LA. The restaurant was empty but I had to find people to sit us. Not a good first impression. For drinks, we ordered a dirty Martini and an ice tea. The "chemical taste" ice tea is in a tiny 8 oz glass. Later I learn they charge $4 for the ice tea, which I think it's quite ridiculous. We ordered Pan-Seared Ahi Tuna and Sea Scallops for appetizer. Scallop is juicy and flavorful but the tuna is underwhelming. For entree, we got Alaskan Halibut and Grill Lamb. The lamb was tender with good spices. Halibut had good sauce but the meat was dry. I was joking "it tastes like chicken". We had flourless chocolate cake and crème brulee for dessert. It was average without inspiring. Maybe it's Monday night, there was only one more sitting during our dinning. It felt strange that we were dining alone. Parking is $10.00. When the waiter gave us the bill ($140), he included the parking as part of his tipping subtotal. This left a bad taste on my mouth. The food and service is average, but I feel I am dining at a Red Lobster. There are plenty good restaurants in downtown LA and I doubt I will go back. read more

Great room and music for dinner. Quite excellent food: beet salad was satisfactory and plentiful enough for us to share as a pre-entree course. My chicken breast was on polenta with mushrooms and a beurre rose sauce that was salty to my taste but I'm sensitive to that. Carol said that the butternut squash ravioli was good and matched the season's sensibilities. Remarkable toasted rosemary as well as striped rye were excellent breads although butter was too cold for spreading. Very nice service with appropriate attentiveness and interactions. We passed on desert only because we were nicely full at that point, and this kept the meal from passing into a "too expensive" category. The wine list was on the pricey side, noticeable as back in my hometown I've been seeing even nicer restaurants be a bit agressive on pricing below the normal 2x retail. With the room and the competent cooking and high quality ingredients in place I'd like to suggest another detail that would have improved my impression. They served room-temperature tap water, much better than ice-water without the ice; and it would be great to have the water served at a white wine cellar temperature. I know this might involve having another refrigerator to deal with, it seems a small detail, and they aren't charging for it -- all of these are why it would have impressed me if it had been done. If I come back for dinner I'll ask how can they adapt to a no to low salt request. read more

Overpriced, hotel food type restaurant. I had a Caesar salad that was wilted. For breakfast, the options are limited and overpriced. On a busy morning they were understaffed and wait times were long. read more

Let's get down to bid'ness with this overdue review: ROCK SHRIMP & SAFFRON RISOTTO - deliciously creamy, with fresh shrimp. TOMATO SOUP - I didn't try it, but apparently it was a pinch too salty. RACK OF LAMB - It was definitely the best entree of the night. Flavorful, tender, and just enough. DUCK BREAST - You can actuallly taste the duck. The flavor is rich, and although I'm not a fan of quinoa, it was a great addition. FILET MIGNON - Not too bad. I've had better, and considering the price, this should have been better. The meat was cooked at the right temperature, but it wasn't easily cut with a butter knife as another yelper Sue K. mentioned. CREME BRULEE - I'm a big fan of creme brulee, so finding one who makes it to my preference is a bit prejudiced. I'm not a professional at judging the perfect creme brulee, but I think this would be a 7.5/10. I love the vanilla custard, but I do agree with Char L. that there is a thick layer of caramelized sugar. I'd like for it to be crispy, not crunchy, if that makes any sense - it's a fine line. BERRIES AND SHORTCAKE - My dad got this, and I'm not a big fan of downing major chunks of cream unless it's ice cream. He thoroughly enjoyed it though. The shortcake with powdered sugar was great and topping off with fresh farmer's market mixed berries was my favorite part of the desserts. SERVICE: Our waitress was nice, she warmed up after our appetizers. The wait for the food took FOREVERRRR. Valet was 10$ for dinner, not 8$ as someone else mentioned. read more

Some old co-workers and I went to Checkers last night for Four, the details of which have been run down in previous reviews time and time again, so I will spare you. Their menu changes weekly, so I knew going in that it would be a crapshoot, but still I was disappointed with the quality and inventiveness of last night's menu, relative to previous week's menus and other downtown happy hours. First off, last night's Four was sponsored by Summerland Winery, so instead of $4 cocktails (good deal!) the menu had four different wines for $4 a glass (not such a good deal). The Sauvignon Blanc was pretty good though, regardless. Food-wise, I expected more. I ordered the duck and the prawn scampi, neither of which I thought were very good. Mediocre, in fact. Even though the cauliflower and dates that accompanied the duck were good, the meat itself was gamey; the prawns tasted strongly of the sea, and not in a nice briney way, either. My stomach still feels a little queasy this morning at the thought of them. For a fancy restaurant that has a $$$ designation, I was disappointed by the food, honestly. The ambiance was nice. The lounge area got a little crowded, but we were cozy without being smushed. Logistically, the low tables made eating a little difficult, but our waitress was on point--she never forgot our table, even though we were sort off in a corner and she brought drinks and food out promptly. Right now, the best thing Checkers Four has going for it is the value: you could, if you wanted to, get all eight items for less that $40. But, the fare, in the end, is hotel fare, even if that hotel is the Hilton. Conceptually, the Four menu is a cool idea, and I have a feeling I might have had a different opinion if I'd come on a different night. Which I still might in the future. read more

Lovely dinner while on a business trip. If you travel for work then you are familiar with your typical, depressing hotel restaurants. Checkers was elegant and featured a great menu of delish choices. I had a grilled vegetable salad to start, which was perfect. Crisp, well grilled veggies that were not soggy. A light balsamic and some shaved parm finished the dish. For my main I had roasted jidori chicken with a blended wild mushroom and onion sauce. Seasoned well and perfectly cooked. With chicken that is a major plus! I will try to stay and dine at Checkers Hilton again soon. It is the best Hilton I have encountered in a while. can't say enough about the food... Fabulous! read more

Love this place and the new dessert menu is to die for!!! Would definitely recommend Checkers for a birthday, anniversary or just an amazing night out!!! read more

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I have always likes Hilton. They are clean, affordable and usually in decent locations. The Hilton Checkers in downtown LA is AMAZING!!! I was there on Saturday for the Red Bull Soap Box Race and booked a room at this hotel about two weeks before. This hotel is not your basic Hilton - it has a boutique feel to it, but was also very trendy and just "neat. I mean there are "Peter Thomas Roth" products in the bathroom - soap, shampoo, conditioner and lotion! Beds are very comfy and just enough blankets and pillows to make you feel right at home. Plus the windows open up a little so you can have a fresh breeze going in your room. Staff was helpful, personable and went above and beyond to help out their guests. The location was great - our room was overlooking the Red Bull race track! There are all sorts of restaurants, bars and lounges within walking distance, so a car is not really needed. Although I didn't eat there, I did have a few drinks and they were made to order - delicious! Plus it was nice that no one was knocking on our door at 11am to check out right away and we never felt rushed. I would recommend Hilton to anyone. We took the train from LB, so didn't pay the parking fee. BUT it is a downtown hotel - parking is known to be expensive. I gotta give Checkers 5 points! read more

One day, travelzoo sent me an email for a voucher for this place. Looked up the menu, saw that it was worth a shot so I purchased it. We used the voucher tonight. Service was good but food was mediocre. This is what we had: Seared scallops - the actual scallops themselves was not bad but the sides were not good shrimp risotto - delicious shortrib pot pie - there was an awful puree that accompanied it and that ruined the entire dish. The actual meat was good but too salty to eat on its own. The puff pastry biscuit was so hard that i didn't even bother to eat it. rack of lamb - the actual lamb was really good but again, the sides were not. berry shortcake - decent chocolate cake - not so great Without the voucher, the meal would not have been worth the retail amount. read more