Asterid - Los Angeles

The staff provided excellent service. The restaurant was busy and a bit noisy. The food was flavorful and delicious.

The staff was incredibly friendly, from the front desk to our waiter. Even though we arrived late, they accommodated us quickly, ensuring we had everything we needed to make it to our 8 PM show at Disney Hall. I highly recommend the crab appetizer—it’s absolutely delicious!

While the staff was very friendly, they seemed a bit unaware. We had to flag down our server to get clean plates for our biscuits and bread instead of just using the small plate that held the chicken. After finishing our main course, the server cleared our plates but didn’t bring us clean forks for the next course. He headed off to get forks but took quite a while to return. By that point, we had resorted to borrowing forks from a nearby table.

The food at Asterid is, for the most part good. One of our party had the lamb shank and said it was the best he had ever eaten. Two of us ordered the beet risotto. It was delicious although an Italian member of our party said it was delicious but not really risotto. There was a crab dish I consumed and it was tasty but so very tiny. The Maitake Mushrooms and roasted carrots where a huge hit with the vegetarian who ate them. The rice pudding dessert was strange and I would not order it again. The portions of the food are small so the restaurant makes sure you order a lot of dishes and increase their income. The wine by the glass list could be longer. The service was fine although the server could not describe a dish that was on the menu. Be prepared to spend a lot here.

Since they opened, Asterid has been serving by far the best food we've had anywhere in Downtown LA. Always inventive, delicious, reliable, and beautiful, with friendly, helpful service and a lovely setting both indoors and out. You must try the thick, meaty maitake mushroom prepared in a totally unique way, the chicken that rivals Zuni in San Francisco, and the succulent lamb shank, among everything else really. It should really be difficult to get a reservation here any night, though this area of downtown by the Disney Concert Hall, Broad contemporary museum and Ahmanson Center Theater Group tends to be hopping only during concerts and shows, then strangely quiets down. But this is one of our go-to special occasion spots, or just a pop downtown for a great evening out restaurant. Live music outside most Thursdays too.