Ciudad
445 S. Figueroa St.
Los Angeles
213-486-5171
I'll get straight to the point, this was one of the worst dining experiences I have ever had!! Terrible service and overpriced bad food. What a waste.
I had heard mostly positive comments about Ciudad. So I decided to give them a try. I had the fried buttermilk calamari,$10.50. On of the bottom was the calamari was a sweet and smokey chili sauce. But this was one of the saltiest items I have ever had. Very heavy handed on the salt there. The calamari was chewy, rubbery, and not fresh at all. The batter was pretty good but this wasn't hot. It was sitting under heating lamps and sitting there until somebody made a mistake and ordered this crap. But what got me is that they also fried some red and green jalapenos, so while the plate looks full of calamari, most of it is the damn jalapenos. What a rip off!!!
Then I got the gaucho steak, medium rare, $33, domestic kobe beef rib eye stuffed with caramelized jalapeños and roasted garlic, herb chimichurri,
bacon mashed potatoes, warm black bean, corn, and spinach salad. This was a waste of money. The steak had portions that were burnt on the outside and just a bit undercooked, a little longer on the grill and it would have been medium rare. It was also very fatty, with lots and lots of gristle, not that tender, and lacked flavor. I'm not big on presentation but this steak was put on top of the mashed potatoes and spinach salad, and looked terrible. They could either get a larger plate or put the steak on a different plate. What a waste of money!!!
Also lacking was the service. The host, who was OK when I walked in, never bothered to say "Thank you" when I walked out. But the server, plain and simple was a jerk. He gave the impression he didn't have time for my table. Everything after this jerk server took my drink order, was terrible. Within two minutes of taking my drink order, the drink still hadn't arrived, but WTF, why so quick, for the drink but so slow for everything else? He would only came to my table to bring the entree and the check. Nothing else, he never bothered asking how the food was or if I needed anything. He got a 26 cent tip. I don't believe in this BS, even with bad service you tip 10%. Servers are there to make my dining experience the best it can be. It is not asking much of the server to come to my table and ask how everything is. Even places like El Torito and Chili's the servers ask how the food is. Giving this terrible server a 26 cent tip is being too generous.
I would never go back to this terrible service, overpriced, terrible food, "restaurant" again.
