Table 8

So I know, I know, you’re closed. But will you send me the recipe for your lamb dish (or give it to another deserving chef in LA because let’s be honest I can’t really cook to save my life, maybe enough to be useful on Survivor)? Holy bejesus, I’ve remembered this dish for over two years.
Looks like they took someone’s advice and made this a burger place. Booo, I guess I’ll just have to go to the one in Miami. Really convenient. On the other hand, if you do live in Miami or are going to visit, try it out! If you’re skeptical, let me just say they don’t put the best and prettiest dish on the website cover art because it doesn’t deliver.

This was yet another upscale hamburger place. Fortunately, they payed close attention tot entire menu and produced some excellent sides including fries.
Although there were not many fries for the money, they were very good, had moderate amount of skin, and were perfectly crispy with light seasoning/​herbs.

I hear this place rocks and is one THE best restaurants in LA.
So… Where the hell has it reopened?

IS this place still open? I heard it closed, its opened, it moved. I’m confused. Who knows. anyways, if it’s closed I’ll cry, because I love this restaurant so freaking much. The interior is a little dark/​grungy for me, but it’s still cool, and full of character. The food is unbelievable. Everything is cooked so perfectly, and everything is absolutely divine. I had this steak with a salt crust, something like that, and I still think about it almost daily. Table 8 always delivers a consistently remarkable meal.
And the cocktails are legendary…
Table 8 is in my top 5 in LA. It’s such a great dining experience. I need to go right now, its been a while since I’ve been back. Love. Love. Love.

Table 8 is one of the best restaurants in los angeles. The frizee salad with poached duck egg is phenomenal. And the sweet breads with papardelle is out of this world! Chef Govind’s restaurant is very sultry and sexy. Good ambience and great service! I would expect nothing less from such a noteworthy chef!

I’d normally give this place a ³⁄₅ stars but i love the intimacy of this restaurant. don’t be fooled by the reputation of this place, it is very small.
the prices are decent for what you would expect at a nice restaurant.
the bill came out to be about 130 TOTAL including tax and tip. This included: two entrees, an appetizer, two martinis, a dessert.
for some reason we had to wait about 15 minutes before getting seated in the dining area. even though there were only 3 other couples there. But once we were seated the service was great, although i’m not sure it’d be the same were the place to be at full capacity.
i recommend both the trout AND the baby chicken. don’t care for the dessert menu much nor the cocktails although they do pack a punch.

Don’t be fooled by the look on the outside! My girlfriends and I went to this place on our girls’ nite out. We’re asians and we indeed looked like 18-​year old. When we sat, we realized the people around us are much older and maybe they thought we’re in the wrong place: P, that’s what I thought too when I first arrived :). Oh no we’re not.
The atmosphere was so serene, and their specials seem to keep changing every day, so they don’t have like regular menus that you could come back and eat all the time. Most of the appetizers and the food we ordered are generally really good, but yes, for girls, the portions seem okay, but for guys, it’s too little. Very friendly service and I would definitely recommend it.

Beautiful restaurant, dimly lit, very friendly and accommodating service. But the food? The food… didn’t entirely live up to my expectations. My friends and I each ordered from the 3 course prix fixe menu.
For my appetizer, I had the pan roasted baby broccoli with confit potatoes, flaked salt cod and parsley hollandaise. I thought this was pretty darn good! The baby broccoli was amazing!
The waiter (very cute!) recommended the olive oil poached sea trout with shaved artichoke salad and caramelized onion mash. Overrated. Nothing special about this dish, and the shaved artichoke salad was pretty disgusting. I tasted it and couldn’t bring myself to finish the rest.
There were only two options for the dessert, and the lime parfait just didn’t sound all that appetizing. The three of us all chose the other option, which was the chocolate peanut butter cake with strawberry cream. I’m not big on chocolate peanut butter, but this thing was pretty damn delicious. The chocolate cake was really thick and semi-​sweet, and once I worked my way to the center, I was welcomed with warm chocolate-​y peanut-​buttery goo. Divine! But I wish the ice cream on the side didn’t melt so fast… =(
3.5 stars for the less than impressive entrée. No appetizer nor dessert will ever be able to make up for the heart of the meal. But if you insist on coming here, I hear their steak is supposed to be delicious! =P

It’s chic, sexy and very glamorous! I love everything from the begining appetizers all the way to desserts + all the cocktails and wines we had in between! haha… It’s awesome! Must try their steaks… very tender and juicy! I have not tried the EVER So Famous Grilled Cheese Short ribs that was even featured on Oprah. But I know for sure we will be back… as soon as the gas price dropS! arrgh! Can’t believe this crazy gas price is getting in the way of food indulgent!!! Grrr… Never! Gas can’t get me down… even if I have to take the bus! hahaha. me == piggy! haha. and Proud of it!
Cons: can be hard to find… but look for a valet sign right in front of the restaurant.
Oh yeah… for all y’all dudes out there… T8 has lots of gorgeous waitresses! I think they are all very beautiful! But hey, it’s Table 8! meow…

Table 8 was on the news, on Unilocal,and just about everywhere so I had to check it out. I continuously heard about their Grilled Cheese sandwich with short ribs and just had to try it! I love grilled cheese!
My gf and I drove to Table 8 and couldn’t find it! It was stuck in the middle of all these shops and on top there is a «tattoo» sign so we missed it completely. We finally saw it, parked on the street, and went in. It’s very nice and chic yet casual. I liked it a lot! We were catching a late dinner and wanted some wine so we chilled in the lounge. Leather couch, coffee table, my roomie… It was just like being at home! Nice!
We ordered the artichoke hearts, grilled cheese, pomegranate martini type drink (on their drink menu), and a Malbec (red wine). The artichoke hearts were SOOOO good. They were grilled, warm, and just yummy. It tasted meaty which was so delicious. The grilled cheese was really good as well. The bread was a bit crispy but still wonderful. The short ribs were perfectly tender and the cheese was warm and gooey. My wine was light and not overwhelming which was great because I didn’t want it to overpower the tastes of the food.
My gf wanted to try their Chocolate Pop Tart dessert but they had closed the kitchen by then so we didn’t get to order them. My tummy was satisfied, I was buzzed (from not eating all day and drinking wine), and I was one happy customer.
Next time we are definitely coming back, sitting in the restaurant, and having dinner at a decent time. 4 stars for now.
:D

As we entered into the room our eyes took a moment to adjust, our pulse slightly accelerating in anticipation as we saw the dim but warmly lit room, leather accessories, and freshly laid linens. After some chatting about life going through the customary foreplay, she was ready. The meat was presented to her in all its glory — large. juicy.succulent. Her lips parted slowly as she brought the meat closer. Without a word, she took it in, and instantly you could see the pleasure. The juices flowed from the meat as she enjoyed it for the first time, but this would definitely not be the last time she would enjoy the mouthgasm inducing salt encrusted Porterhouse Steak from Table8.
I figured as my first review, I’d have to get your attention somehow. =)
So I took a girl here on her Birthday Dinner to have steak (Happy Birthday Fel!)… yes a girl who chose Steak over Dessert. haha, she got dessert either way =p
The establishment is dimly and warmly lit. Keeping with the romantic atmosphere, but not so dark that you can barely see your date. Other than that its pretty minimalist, not too many decorations so you can focus on the food and your company… now I can’t guarantee your company, but the food — excellent.
Bread — the bread was standard fare glazed with butter. The olive tapenade although looking appealing, disappointed once tasted. I was expecting a little salty, a little tangy… all we got was very little salty and sweet. Sweet? where in the world did it come from? no clue considering it was made of olive oil, olives, roasted tomatoes, anchovies, and some other spices. overall. meh
Appetizers — We started with handcut pasta with calamari and a chorizo vinaigrette. The pasta was definitely fresh and al dente, the chorizo vinaigrette was surprisingly good as I would never think of making such a sauce.
Wine — Their wine list is sort of sparse, perhaps only 20 wines. The first wine I tasted was horrible, granted it was a wine by the glass, but it was French from 2004, I expected better than crap. good thing I didn’t get a bottle. I went with a bottle of Cabernet from Alexander Valley which ended up to be pretty good. Nose was good, initial taste was like a splash of fizz, then it mellowed out to a sweet fruity finish… good pick.
Main Event — They first bring out the steak for a presentation mid cooking. Yes, I am a man who likes to have my meat presented to me before I enjoy it… er. uh, yeah. The waiter explains the porterhouse — Fillet and New York cuts separated by the bone (T-​bone). Then goes to explain the salt crust — way too many ingredients to remember or list here, but trust me it works! I have eaten at many 5 star steak establishments and by far this is the tastiest steak ever. Your taste buds will thank you every time you take a bite of the steak. The steak alone is amazing, but for a little extra sprinkle a little bit of the salt crust that they set aside onto your steak — your eyes might actually roll back… fair warning. The actual cuts of meat, although not the best, are still excellent.
You MUST get this steak Medium-​Rare (if you ask me, get all steaks Medium-​Rare), even while the meat is red, it is not «bleeding» — so the faint of heart can relax. The first time I came here was with a couple of non-​steak eaters who wanted medium-​well. After a bit of convincing (and emasculating) the entire table got medium-​rare. Everyone loved it. NOTE: you should reserve the porterhouse when you reserve as they are limited in number every night and not on the regular menu
Service — Overall our server did a pretty good job, she was helpful, but not overbearing. I just wish she had more knowledge of the wine list. There’s only a handful on there, its not that hard.
I’d give this place a 4.5 subtracting the 0.5 for the winelist and tapenade. Now I’ve never been to Table8 for a non-​steak eating event, so I can’t comment on their other entrees. But with a steak as good as they’ve got, there’s very little reason to eat anything else here! Oh Govind Armstrong, how I love your salty meat!

Seeing that I dropped my first «You’ve been Unilocaled» card here, it seems only right that I write a review for the place. The boy said he might make this his first review, but just in case he doesn’t follow through, someone’s gotta write a review on that delicious salt encrusted porterhouse steak…
Ambiance? Service? Drinks? Pfft. Forget all that. I’m just writing about the steak, and that steak was GOOD.
Now I had very high expectations for this porterhouse. Very high. The boy had been hyping it up all freaking night about how it was the best steak ever and how it melted in your mouth and blah blah blah… After all that talk, I was hoping (for his sake) that it was as good as he made it out to be. The last thing you want is a girl to be disappointed when a guy’s meat isn’t as good as he says it is. But when the wait staff presented the porterhouse in all its glory — that big slab of beef encrusted in herbs and spices and salt — I knew.
The boy knows his meat.
Every bite did melt in my mouth — each piece was perfectly cooked and perfectly tender. The flavors from the salt crust were already infused in the beef, but when I sprinkled a bit more on top, my taste buds exploded with delight. When we paired that up with a bottle of red wine… well…let me say, wine and good steak make me a happy (and somewhat frisky) girl.
Now, was everything at Table 8 as good as the steak? No. But I don’t care, the porterhouse trumped all for me. Maybe the boy will write about everything else… I guess we’ll see.
**SEE PICTURES POSTED**

This place was awesome. We sat in the lounge area, split apps and drinks and made some good conversation. It’s got a «New York East Coast casual feel with some West Coast flair» to it (to quote my friend Tim). The food was good (we had sliders, crab cakes, kobe beef and artichoke dip), drinks yummy and they played Portishead and Thievery Corporation as part of the music selection (always an indicator of a cool place). It’s definitely refreshing to be at a place where you weren’t expecting a beach ball to hit you upside the head all of a sudden.

Being a restaurant critic, I am always curious about the name of the restaurant. «Table 8 is the ‘most requested table’ by diners», replied by our «Colin» look-​a-​like-​waiter. I wonder if he fits the stereotype that most waiters in Hollywood zone are actors waiting to be discover?
The atmospher is dark mysterious. A bit spooky. But the food is excellent, out shines the décor.
As I like to keep the review short, you can get the load down on Akiko T. review.

A group of us went here for Happy Hour this past Fri night and we all had the BEST time! The food and drinks were top notch… and trust me, I’m picky.
Drink highlight: Basil 8
Food highlight: Truffle Gruyère Fondue
Night highlight: Exchanging ideas with Govind Armstrong (executive chef, himself)!
I felt like I was a welcome guest at his house. Can’t wait to go back!

This place doesn’t look flashy from outside. When i walked in, i was expecting a little bigger than that. It looked like they have only like 10 to 15 tables. The decoration is a little weird. We were seated across from this shelf which Chinese people used it to put their ancestors sign on it. I ain’t Superstitious because i am Christian, but i grown up in their environment. one star less there.
We came here with the dinela deal. I picked the soup, fish and chocolate cake. The soup was very good. It’s greenish color, but it was good. Salmon was great and more of those chocolate cake please. I also got a drink, and it’s tasty for girl, so it’s kinda sweet. Afterall, i think it’s worth to try.
Good place to bring your date here.

Are the owners Chinese? Whats up with the #8 obsession on every chair and in the front of the door? I felt very auspicious while dining here, and of course the largest table it the house is for… 8 people.
You know, it wasn’t spectacular, but it wasn’t horrible either. Service was a bit lacking for a nicer joint and the Chinese styled buffet table where they keep their extra plates and water was really random borderline tacky. I agree with Michelle L with the Christmas light décor. It reminded me of my dorm room circa 1999.
Food was debatable. Salmon was pretty tasty and the drinks were not too bad… but again, I don’t know if I would categorize the auspicious Table 8 for a must try for people.

I LOVED the abmbience… the walls. the lighting… even the little flowers on the table… it reminded me of NY.
I LOVED the fact that what they offer on the dine LA menu, were all things I really wanted to try… I never thought I would eat a salad w/​persimmons, pommegrante and Butter Lettuce and love it.
I LOVED the grilled cheese w/​pulled pork.
I LOVED that we walked out of there happy and full, and not feeling overstuffed, even after three courses of food and an extra appetzier.
But most of all, I LOVED that fact that after I bought the cookbook, they host stopped me and told me if i waited a minute, Chef Armstrong would come out and sign it… and he did! I LOOOVE that I went to a restaurant… left at 10pm and the executive chef was STILL there working. He was such a nice guy too… took the time to talk to us for a bit, call me a dork but I was slightly starstruck.
I’m coming back… not b/​c we’re best friends now ;) hahahhaa. but b/​c there’s plenty more of his cooking that I’m eager to try!

From the moment I stepped inside, I loved Table 8. The host welcomed us with a warm smile, not at all annoyed that we had arrived 15 minutes late for our late night reservation, and brought us straight to our table. The décor and ambiance was chic, and I didn’t find it to be cold at all. We walked through the swanky lounge area first, and was led into the dining area, where it was dimly lit and lively with the chatter of all the beautiful diners. There was an unpretentious vibe about the entire place that made it that much cooler.
We were seated at a table that was tucked between a table for 4 and the private dining area for a large group that was separated by a black velvet curtain. Let’s just say it was… cozy. It was actually a great spot to watch for who was going into the private area, and it was fun eavesdropping on our neighbor’s conversations. I’ve always loved people watching in LA.
The pomegranate caiprihinia on the cocktail menu caught my eye, so I decided to begin my night with that. It was yummy and gave me just a slight buzz, which was just what I needed after a long day.
Our server, Tai, was very friendly and attentive throughout the night. He explained to us that the menu was constantly changing depending on the fresh ingredients that were used that day. Our food came out extremely quickly, probably no longer than 10 minutes after we ordered. The presentation was excellent, and the food tasted just as wonderful as it looked (see my posted pics). I had the Estancia grass fed rib eye with potato gratin, crispy bacon and creamed swiss chard. My friend had the New Zealand salmon with golden beet risotto, red wine gastrique and horseradish gremolata. Our portions were rather big, and as amazing as my rib eye was, I could only manage to finish half. I also really enjoyed the paper-​thin crispy bacon on top, and my friend’s salmon was perfectly prepared and was topped with a paper-​thin square of salmon skin. Although I was full, I wanted to try a dessert. Tai recommended the tres leches cake, so we shared that, along with the coconut macaroon and vanilla gelato it came with. I had 3 bites and was satisfied.
As we were about to head out, Tai came out to give us a proper send off, which was really thoughtful. He made sure to ask us if we had a nice time, which we did. I asked for a copy of the menu, and he happily gave one to me. If that wasn’t already gracious enough, he had Chef Govind Armstrong come out to say hello to us and signed the menu. I was very honored to meet such an accomplished young chef (his first job was under Wolfgang Puck at Spago when he was only 13!), and he too was very down-​to-​earth and friendly. I had already decided to give the restaurant 5 stars by the time we finished our main entrée, and this extra act of kindness just confirmed that Table 8 absolutely deserves a solid 5 stars, it’s truly gr8!

Yay! Finally found a place where there weren’t too many young-​Hollywood wannabe types. This place is the real deal where they let the food stand on its own, not having to make up special ‘house martinis’ or stupid crap like that.
This is probably a place where chefs go to eat.
I want to write more but I am in the middle of an online poker game and about to wash down these mothertruckers. All in all, great joint if you like non-​pretentious gourmet food.

Hype. The word ‘hype’ is actually ‘epyh’ backwards. In this context, it refers to an establishment that is much — or at least somewhat — less than the sum of its exorbitant prices and brazen ravings. For solid examples of said terminology, please refer to: Pinkberry, Sprinkles, The Ivy, Ruth’s Chris, most dentists, some music (I shan’t name names due to the inevitable backlash), Bristol Farms, Las Vegas, baby cauliflower, and raw varnish.
A small group of friends and I arrived at Table 8 with trepidation; we have experienced numerous times the Los Angeles hype machine in action at restaurants like this. Settling on eating with an open mind, we walked in.
Between the four of us, we had:
1. Grilled skirt steak with charred escarole, braised cranberry beans and blistered tomato salsa. $ 30. This had a general lack of flavor, and the tomato salsa was cheap and dull, like an episode of King of Queens.
2. American kurobuta pork with cheese grits, braised collard greens and bacon glazed turnips. $ 25. The pork was bland and overcooked, and the veggies were actually bad tasting — none of us would finish them off.
3. Kansas city steak with blue cheese spaetzle, maui onion rings and peppercorn aioli. $ 39. How the bloody earwig can you dull-​ify an expensive, tasty cut of meat? This tasted like something you would get at a cheaper steakhouse. The taste-​to-​wallet ratio, yet again, was sour.
4. Liberty duck breast with warm bulgur salad, duck sausage and squash blossoms. $ 30. This was decent, but not worth the price by any means.
Look, I’m not TRYING to be negative, dammit! Look at many of my other reviews: I can be as sweet as Natalie Portman, or a good dessert wine. Hell, I sometimes eat at Taco Bell, so who would I be fooling if I tore down Table 8 solely due to a lofty attitude? The service was great, and the décor was fine, if not trying way too hard. See? I’m not nearly as sour as Dick Cheney.
But goddamn it, people, this is not a place to rave about when you compare it to some of the other greats in this town. I don’t understand why this happens so much with restaurants in Los Angeles. Is it simply that people don’t have quite the refined taste of some other cities like New York or San Francisco? In those two metropolises Table 8 would not be raved about… it would more likely be largely shut down, opinion-​wise. The food here is simply average at best, which is unacceptable for such a bloated price point and such hype.
Did we come here on a bad night? I didn’t even know who Govind was at the time, and couldn’t care less what he looks like. Come on, L.A., you can do so much better — it’s gotta be mostly about the FOOD at a place like this, not about how shiny you can make the décor or how «hawt» your chef is.

Can someone spit in my mouth so I can taste something? I mean really? Seriously? REALLY? Raving about this place? REALLY? SERIOUSLY?
I’ve eaten here. I tried all the goodies. I sat next to some guy on some show that everyone seemed to know except moi. The food was so unoriginal. Typical. Almost boring.
Another example of how yet another restaurant in L.A. can sneak under the radar due to hype. Table 8… your 86.
Really? Seriously? REALLY? wow.