I had my baby shower at Paddington's tea house in Beverly Hills. It was lovely and I remember the tea and accompaniments being very good. I would recommend.

Has anyone tried them for brunch? Is it a nice experience? How would kids do?

Anybody tried brunch at either of these places? I am interested in trying these places on a Sunday with a 6 and 13 year old. Any thoughts?

I am looking for some suggestions for Mothers's Day brunch. We have two kids and six people total. In the past three years we have done Joe's, Red O and Fig & Olive. I want interesting food and nice surroundings. Price is not a major concern.

My baby shower was held at Paddington's Tea Room on Robertson in Beverly Hills. It was great. We had about 20 people and it was good food and lots of fun.

My husband and I ate there a couple of weeks ago with the kids nd were totally unimpressed. We shared the beet salad, the salmon and green beans. The salad was nothing we could not have made at home, the salmon was underwhelming and the green beans were salty. My teen had the burger and my daughter had the margarita pizza. The burger was ok and the fries were the best thing we ate all night. The pizza was bland.

It was expensive and underseasoned. We won't be back anytime soon.

I am going to be in Toronto with my family for a wedding the first weekend in December. It also happens to be my daughter's sixth birthday. We are staying at the Inter-Continental in Yorkville. I am looking for a fun place to have a family birthday lunch for around 15-20 people. Flexible on the food, but we want something fun. Any ideas would be appreciated.

I really love The Village in Studio City. Good small plates and yummy cocktails. Really a fun vibe. Quite nice for the Valley.

My husband and I will be in Sonoma for a birthday lunch on Monday. We will be going around the area wine tasting and are looking for somewhere for a really yummy lunch. It does not have to be fancy, but local produce would be appreciated.

Thanks.

My husband and I are going to be in Sonoma for my birthday on a Monday. We are staying in Sonoma and want to go to dinner in Sonoma so we don't have to drive. We are looking at

1. Girl and the Fig
2. El Dorado Kitchen
3. Cafe 522

Any thoughts? We want something fun and seasonal.

Thanks

I have been to both, Spice Table for lunch and Baco Mercat for dinner. I would defintately go with Baco Mercat. They have a really diverse fun menu and with 5 of you , you could have many awesome things on the menu. If you have people in your group who really prefer Asian food, Spice Table might work better. I also like the look and feel of Baco Mercat better. Both are nice, but I am already planning my trip back to Back Mercat (and I ony ate there last Thursday).

I am trying to figure out where to take my foodie Dad and Husband for brunch on Father's Day. We will be dining with an adventurous eating 12 year old and a picky 5 year old. Last year we did Campanile and really enjoyed it, but this year we are looking for something new.

Here are the places that appeal to me based on menu/location

1. Fig

2. Farmshop

3. Eva

4. Gjelina

5. AOC

Does anyone have brunch experience?

Thanks.

I am going to Fig and Olive for Mother's Day brunch tomorrow and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations??

Thanks.

I have eaten dinner there. We went last year for a Friday dinner. They were fairly busy. The place was quite loud because they had live music. Kravings wants to be like Fogo de Chao, but it is not as good. The salad bar was pretty nice and the meat wasn't bad. There is some quantity over quality issues. It was a fun dinner, but if you are looking for something more refined, go to Larsen's.

You might like Corkbar. Good selection of wines and small plates. Have eaten there twice before events at the Staples Center.

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Staples Center
1111 S Figueroa St Ste 3100, Los Angeles, CA 90015

My husband and I are heading to Paso Robles next weekend for my birthday. We are looking for something lively and fun for Friday and something nice for my birthday on Saturday. On Sunday we head for Ojai and are looking for a romantic place with a fun vibe.

Thinking about Father's Day brunch at Campanile. Any thoughts?

I am thinking about Nickel Diner, but my hesitation in no wine/beer. Food sounds good,

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Nickel Diner
524 S Main St, Los Angeles, CA 90013

I am taking my son to see Les Mis at the Ahmanson next month, and I looking for somewhere to take him to eat before the show. We are going on a Tuesday. A shuttle is a plus, but not mandatory. I want something more interesting than CPK and something that will satisfy my foodie side.

How is the burger at Lazy Ox? Kid friendly?

Thanks.

I am looking for a fun dinner after a movie on Friday. Looking for a gastropub type meal.. We have done Mad Bull and Blue Dog. Any thoughts on Federal Bar or Local Peasant?

Thanks.

They started brunch service last week. Anybody been? My Mom has fond memories of the old one and I was thinking of taking her for Mother's Day. Is it a fun atmosphere? Would it be okay for a couple of kids?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

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Red O
8155 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046

i need sone help for Mother's Day. We usually go to Joe's in Venice, but I waited too long and tables are all gone. My parents are in the Westside, so anything from Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Culver City and Centrury City is possible.

I was curious if anyone has tried Craft's Mother's Day brunch? How about Tavern in Brentwood? Any other thoughts? I am not interested in any buffets, but anything else is fair game.

My friend and I met up for our about once monthly lunch. We decided to try Salt's after reading positive reviews here and elsewhere. I got there around 130 and was seated promptly. It was extremely hot inside, but they brought me some once cool water. After that I sat there for about 15 minutes before I finally asked someone for a menu. After ordering some wine and house made pickels, I waited for my friend to arrive.

The pickels were pretty good. I especially enjoyed the black radish and the red onion. Next we ordered a pulled pork sandwich and a burger with a side of grilled asparagus. The pulled pork was nice, but it didn't come with anything. The side of asparagus was literally only 4 small spears. Nice asparagus, but not nearly enough. The burger came with very nice fries, but was raw in the middle. Not just rare, but actually raw. We had to work really hard to get any attention to fix this. We got a replacement burger that was totally cooked through and not that great.

There were some decent elements, but it was too expensive for what we got and the service was lackluster.

Cube is next on our list for next month.

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Salt's Cure
7494 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90046

John O'Groats on Pico does yummy breakfasts and does lots of fresh squeezed juices.

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John O'Groats
10516 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064

I am looking for something interesting to try before the PAC-10 Tournament this year. We will be going on Wednesday and need something open at 5ish. In the past few years we have done Bottega Louie, Rivera, Corkbar, Roys and the Palm.

Ideally we want to be able to park once and walk to dinner and Staples Center. Anything new and cool that we should try?

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Bottega Louie
700 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90017

Staples Center
1111 S Figueroa St Ste 3100, Los Angeles, CA 90015

It is a little walk, but I second the Lazy Ox. I have been twice before the Music Center and you can park in between the two and it worked pretty well.

My husband and I are looking for suggestions for a Chinese banquet for my in-laws anniversary party. We live in Sherman Oaks and are willing to go from the valley to the Westside to Downtown. There are going to be about 10 of us. We have a reservation at Empress Pavillion, but are open to other suggestions.

Does anyone have experience with Empress Pavillion banquets?

Thanks.

Love, love, love the Big Macro at M Cafe. I dream about that one.

I had a nice lunch at the new lunch spot Sweet Butter. It is right across the street from Stanley's and they have a bunch of vegetarian friendly items. Sat outside and enjoyed a nice salad and book.

We had our rehearsal dinner for about 50-60 people at Monsoon in Santa Monica. It was on a Friday night. They gave us a private room above the main floor of the restaurant. They have dancing there sometimes, I am told. It has it's own bar. The food was served buffet style and they had lots of little tables. They gave us a microphone for speeches. It was really great and they did not give us any problem with bringing our own cake.

Everybody had a great time and I would totally recommend it.