What a fun night! Great service and yummy food. Definitely an old school charm. Recommended when you're in the mood for steak and a little Sinatra. The only dish that was a little disappointing, but not bad: the Caesar Salad. It is made tableside, but isn't anything special. The steaks were well cut and perfectly prepared. The truffle Mac was solid. Overall a great experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Steak and Sides
Anton Lekocevic
Expected a lot, paid a lot, food was good, would not recommend. Inside is definitely going for speakeasy “old LA”.Atmosphere: I’ll paint you a picture.Vintage western doors in the restroom with vintage plumbing fixtures, and an antique mirror. I totally dig it. Candle-lit and dark, little musky all okay. But then… there’s this giant industrial, motion-activated paper towel dispenser (which was malfunctioning) and an equally off-putting similar soap dispenser. Why not cohesion? What about the aesthetic?What before could’ve been charming, instead comes off as careless.Parking: Valet for $20 (with tip) or Park on the Avenue nearby for $2 / free.Kid-friendliness: Not for kids.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Chicken Parmesan, New York Steak, Chicken Parm
Food quality was about what it is to be expected at a place like this. Service was great, the old-school ambience was fun, and the peanut butter and chocolate dessert was out of this world good. Prices were steep for all.
Tori Estren
Came here for our 4 year anniversary. We had the caesar salad (made tableside), the French onion soup, the sand dabs, and the chicken parm. Everything was exquisite; the highlights for me were the French onion soup and the sand dabs (also my partner’s favorite).The only con was that it was very loud in there and my partner and I had a hard time hearing each other and the waiter. Worth it for those sand dabs though.
My wife and I went there to celebrate my birthday. The room was smaller and dark. The tables are fairly close together. Two men dining at a table adjacent to ours were using profanity laced language. The staff was very attentive and provided very good service. The food was good, I had a ribeye steak and my wife had salmon. We had a somewhat pleasant evening but I would probably try a different restaurant next time.
mattj
Food's still great but something's changed with the house - we had to wait 35 minutes AFTER our reservation time for a table, which was not cool at all since we spent most of that time watching the waitstaff keep refilling the water glasses of the party lingering at "our" table for a half hour after they finished their dessert. Somebody should have comped us a drink or a dessert at the least for this wait and it's enough to not hurry back anytime soon.
The food is exquisite and I love the ambiance with the low lighting and old Hollywood themes. It does kind of irritate me that they don't serve bread, charge $5 for bernaise sauce with a $65 steak, and for a birthday all they do is give you a candle. That being said, I would still go back for the steak, the sand dabs, the potatoes au gratin, the Caesar salad...and the bar.
Melissa NB
Delicious food and great service. Definitely recommend experiencing the Caesar Salad as they prepare it in front of you! The steak was cooked to perfection and the sides were tasty. The ambiance was like an old jazz club and I enjoyed the cocktail (Old Hemingway) and the red wine that was recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Broccolini, Steak Tartare, Traditional Caesar Salad for Two, Steak and Sides
Eli Geschwind
Steak, steak, and steak. Of course they also have a great martini.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
AaronS
Had a great time here for a friend's birthday dinner. Food was great, space was incredibly cool, but the service was a disappointment. Our server knocked over an entire glass of wine at the start of the meal and then later spilled a glass of water on one of our phones without even comping the glass of wine. Not looking for free stuff, but seems like a basic courtesy would have been to have made things right with an adjustment to the bill.
Dear John's holds a special place in my heart. My wife and I have celebrated birthdays, valentines days, holidays and more here. It's a lovely place and we'll be back soon.
KristenH
Food was very good and the bartenders are the best. Great menu. The only two negatives of this place are that the restaurant is super dark so it's hard to see much & the valet was pretty rude and unorganized. But the food is great. Would recommend
TLTA
I recently visited Dear John's and I have to say, their ambience is truly great. The cozy space definitely adds to the overall experience. While the food was good, I wasn't completely blown away. Nonetheless, it was a pleasant dining experience overall.
LizzyB
Great martini, cool environment. The service was really a bummer though. Zero hospitality. It's like we were an inconvenience and he was waiting for his shift to be over all night. It wasn't done in a 'cool' way, really just kinda sad and dreary. Won't be back, there are great steaks and martinis all around town where people are happy.
Desmond Adams
Great food and a good time! Little loud, but you adjust to it.
What a fun night! Great service and yummy food. Definitely an old school charm. Recommended when you're in the mood for steak and a little Sinatra. The only dish that was a little disappointing, but not bad: the Caesar Salad. It is made tableside, but isn't anything special. The steaks were well cut and perfectly prepared. The truffle Mac was solid. Overall a great experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Steak and Sides
Expected a lot, paid a lot, food was good, would not recommend. Inside is definitely going for speakeasy “old LA”.Atmosphere: I’ll paint you a picture.Vintage western doors in the restroom with vintage plumbing fixtures, and an antique mirror. I totally dig it. Candle-lit and dark, little musky all okay. But then… there’s this giant industrial, motion-activated paper towel dispenser (which was malfunctioning) and an equally off-putting similar soap dispenser. Why not cohesion? What about the aesthetic?What before could’ve been charming, instead comes off as careless.Parking: Valet for $20 (with tip) or Park on the Avenue nearby for $2 / free.Kid-friendliness: Not for kids.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Chicken Parmesan, New York Steak, Chicken Parm
Food quality was about what it is to be expected at a place like this. Service was great, the old-school ambience was fun, and the peanut butter and chocolate dessert was out of this world good. Prices were steep for all.
Came here for our 4 year anniversary. We had the caesar salad (made tableside), the French onion soup, the sand dabs, and the chicken parm. Everything was exquisite; the highlights for me were the French onion soup and the sand dabs (also my partner’s favorite).The only con was that it was very loud in there and my partner and I had a hard time hearing each other and the waiter. Worth it for those sand dabs though.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Parmesan, Sand Dabs Lemon Caper Butter, French Onion Soup
My wife and I went there to celebrate my birthday. The room was smaller and dark. The tables are fairly close together. Two men dining at a table adjacent to ours were using profanity laced language. The staff was very attentive and provided very good service. The food was good, I had a ribeye steak and my wife had salmon. We had a somewhat pleasant evening but I would probably try a different restaurant next time.
Food's still great but something's changed with the house - we had to wait 35 minutes AFTER our reservation time for a table, which was not cool at all since we spent most of that time watching the waitstaff keep refilling the water glasses of the party lingering at "our" table for a half hour after they finished their dessert. Somebody should have comped us a drink or a dessert at the least for this wait and it's enough to not hurry back anytime soon.
The food is exquisite and I love the ambiance with the low lighting and old Hollywood themes. It does kind of irritate me that they don't serve bread, charge $5 for bernaise sauce with a $65 steak, and for a birthday all they do is give you a candle. That being said, I would still go back for the steak, the sand dabs, the potatoes au gratin, the Caesar salad...and the bar.
Delicious food and great service. Definitely recommend experiencing the Caesar Salad as they prepare it in front of you! The steak was cooked to perfection and the sides were tasty. The ambiance was like an old jazz club and I enjoyed the cocktail (Old Hemingway) and the red wine that was recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Broccolini, Steak Tartare, Traditional Caesar Salad for Two, Steak and Sides
Steak, steak, and steak. Of course they also have a great martini.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Had a great time here for a friend's birthday dinner. Food was great, space was incredibly cool, but the service was a disappointment. Our server knocked over an entire glass of wine at the start of the meal and then later spilled a glass of water on one of our phones without even comping the glass of wine. Not looking for free stuff, but seems like a basic courtesy would have been to have made things right with an adjustment to the bill.
Restaurantji Recommends
Dear John's holds a special place in my heart. My wife and I have celebrated birthdays, valentines days, holidays and more here. It's a lovely place and we'll be back soon.
Food was very good and the bartenders are the best. Great menu. The only two negatives of this place are that the restaurant is super dark so it's hard to see much & the valet was pretty rude and unorganized. But the food is great. Would recommend
I recently visited Dear John's and I have to say, their ambience is truly great. The cozy space definitely adds to the overall experience. While the food was good, I wasn't completely blown away. Nonetheless, it was a pleasant dining experience overall.
Great martini, cool environment. The service was really a bummer though. Zero hospitality. It's like we were an inconvenience and he was waiting for his shift to be over all night. It wasn't done in a 'cool' way, really just kinda sad and dreary. Won't be back, there are great steaks and martinis all around town where people are happy.
Great food and a good time! Little loud, but you adjust to it.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5