This is what happens when friends go to dinner and blog - dueling reviews!
Heather: Oh this is going to be one of those difficult reviews. The Scratch Bar recommendation came through a friend who highly recommended it and I will say it has a lot going for it. It’s in an interesting spot on La Cienega’s Restaurant Row just south of Matsuhisa (and the SLS Hotel). The front is very inviting with the hostess right out there almost on the sidewalk. As you enter, there is a great courtyard/terrace area that looks perfect for those lazy afternoons when all you want to do is sit with your friends and have a drink. Walking inside, the decor is “bespoke” enough but not overwhelming - although they do have those mason-jars-as-glasses thing that I’m so confused by. The bar is the kind of bar you want to while away the evening with friends. So you can see where I’m going with this - I loved the look of Scratch Bar. I loved the wine cocktails (they are waiting on their liquor license). I even loved the staff (SUPER cute, sassy boys). The only thing missing for a home run was amazing food. I’m confident they will get there. But for now, they’re trying a bit too hard with too many flavors in each dish. As soon as they scale back a bit, this place is going to be on your must-visit list.
Craig: Remember those scratch and sniffs when you were a kid? You just scratched away and ended with a delicious smell. Well, Scratch Bar LA promises more of the same, with delicious smells abounding, except of course the scratch here is “made from scratch.” And that’s about all Scratch has going for it—a premise and some interesting smells from the food, which is overwrought and tries to hard. I’m not normally a fan of bad reviews, but then again I don’t have to be because there are so many other good restaurants out there. And you should try any of them before venturing to this one. A tapas bar with creative cocktails, my fantastic friend and I tried so many things on the menu and I didn’t like a single one, except for the wine-based cocktails. There were too many flavors in each dish, too many things trying to compete, and the result was what happens if you ever put me in the kitchen: confusion. Good thing that I had a good friend and amazing conversation with me for the night, because that could save any evening, and it did just that.
Heather’s Rating: Worth Going Back in a Few Months to see Progress
111 N. La Cienega Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
(310)289-8010