Checkers is an excellent downtown LA restaurant. The food is always great!
Its quiet you can hear one another during a business meeting.
Food is stable without many surprises, could be a little more adventurous, but its good.
Service is always excellent.
Free valet service at the entance is a real plus!
Fantastic menu, lovely setting for a special occasion. Outstanding choice if headed to Disney Hall.
Small departmental holiday lunch. Service was MEH, food was MEH. The Brussels sprouts were good, however.
Max is the best waiter at Checkers! He is professional, thoughtful, kind, considerate, and has a great sense of humor!
We had a party of 15 in the private room on a Friday evening. There was only one other guest dining in the restaurant . While the food was good I can’t say the same for the service. Very slow, waitress couldn’t get our orders correct and complained about having to split the bill.
I can understand this if the restaurant was busy but that wasn’t the case.
This restaurant won’t be on my list to visit ever again.
As a former employee - I return to see how far down the scale this amazing venue continues to slip. At one point - Thomas Keller ran this kitchen - and today it has very untrained service professionals 'servicing' the floor... the food is actually acceptable but when servers bring dirty glassware, forget that oatmeal comes with milk, and bring you into a dirty dining room and sit you at an undressed table... you can't give the location a high mark.
I wish the venue well and hope that management knows where they are operating... from the lack of management overview - I witnessed - it appears bleak.
Very disappointing for Sunday Brunch! My eggs benedict were clearly warmed over and tough and the english muffins tasted like cardboard. The waiter poured coffee that was barely tepid and I sent it back. No wonder there was hardly anyone in the restaurant! The prices are high but the food is clearly not on anyone's mind - only the money.
Very diverse menu and wine list, with great service in a well appointed space. The halibut was off the charts good!
Outstanding food and service
The Sea Bass was absolutely amazing
What a pleasant surprise. Our daughter was staying at the hotel and we decided to just meet at the restaurant instead of going out. The food was outstanding. We had appetizers of eggplant roulade and the beet and goat salad - both were excellent. The Chilean sea bass was a very generous portion and was absolutely delicious.
It was a nice dining experience. The food was good and the service was very good.
We booked the reservation at Checkers because of its close proximity to the Ahmanson Theatre and complimentary shuttle to and from the theatre. It is very convenient to valet park in the hotel and not deal with parking at the theatre. However, after dinner we were informed by the waiter he could not reach the shuttle service and could only offer to call us a cab (at our expense), which meant we would also have to call a cab to get back to the hotel afterward! Now pressed for time, we had to quickly leave and try to get parking at the theatre. We were extremely disappointed in the way this was handled, especially since the waiter told us there was trouble in the past with this shuttle service.
Otherwise the food was very good and service was friendly, but the way they handled the debacle with the shuttle service was less than acceptable.
Well, I'd love to write a review but the restaurant was closed. It was Easter Sunday but Open Table listed it as open and accepted the reservation. This was supposed to be a relaxed dinner for my husband and myself after hosting family for a week - and we wound up with take out. I'm really disappointed but I don't know if it's Open Table or the restaurant's fault. We've eaten here many times and enjoy it but clearly we can't trust this app or the restaurant at this point.
I've always enjoyed dining at Checkers. This time was as good as I remembered. The menu was great as was the service. I looking forward to dining at Checkers again in the near future.
A perfect place for a private business breakfast, lunch and dinner. Excellent service, discrete and attentive. Would recommend.
I brought my brother for his 40th birthday. How embarrassing! What was described as a cool, classic downtown restaurant was nothing more than a sad, old, hotel restaurant. The food was executed fine, but even with an empty restaurant we barely saw the server, had to ask for drink menus, etc. the furniture was beat up and ugly, the ambience was like a basement with windows. Wish I had chosen a better spot for such a special occasion since they didn't bother to read my request about it being his birthday.
Had a wonderful brunch in a beautiful dining room before going to Disney Hall. Sure beats the restaurants closer to the Music Center for ambience and menu selections.
Checkers is a very reliable venue. Wonderful service, nicely appointed dining room and quiet enough to have a discussion without the all-too-common hustle/bustle "din" noise that makes so many restaurants difficult to have a business meeting in for lunch.
Service was slow, the food choices were not compelling and they did not have our reservation.
Undiscovered Gem!! Chef Walter very personable, knowledgeable and creative! Patio dining was quiet and comfortable! All in all, a truly enjoyable dining experience and my wife and I hope to return in the near future!!
Food is always first rate. Restaurant is very classy and well maintained. Service and food always top notch. Validated parking. Quiet.
Fabulous meal, our server was attentive and knowledgeable about everything on the menu. We had fabulous cocktails in the bar before dinner, and would certainly choose Checkers again.
The wild arugula burger and fries is among the best burger and fries you will ever eat. I've had it once before and it was exceptional both times. Only difference this time was the service was very slow despite being nearly empty inside. But I still recommend this restaurant. The food is very good. And the ambiance is quiet and classy.
That was the worst meal I've had in a long time. Took 3 bites if the French dip and couldn't eat anymore. It was bad. I was hungry but couldn't do anymore. To bad the waiter couldn't get my hint that it was not pleasant. I would not recommend this for our puppy let alone someone else. This btw is the first time I've ever written a review in this app.
Restaurant closed without notifying us and we did not find out until our large party arrived.
Very easy in andand out, free valet and excellent service and food.
My breakfast was fine, the ambience was fine, the service was sub-standard.
Mother's Day brunch was phenomenal. When we got there they were still setting up but once done, it was really beautiful. Highly recommend it for future festive brunches.
We stayed at Checkers and had breakfast before leaving. My daughter and I shared two items so we could have protein and a sweet item- the 2 eggs any style and the Belgium Waffle.
The eggs came with potatoes which were small rose potatoes grilled or sautéed with wonderful shallots that add great flavor. The Waffle comes with strawberries and very generous side of fruit. That day it was pineapple, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and pieces of melon. All of this fruit was ripe and delicious. Also on the side was a small pitcher of maple syrup- my only disappointment was that the syrup did not seem to be pure maple but seemed to be part corn syrup and was not warm enough... But a great breakfast and the organic coffee that was refilled at the right time was a perfect beverage.
We reserved a table not realizing checkers is a hotel restaurant. There was no one to greet us, the food took nearly an hour, and was hit or miss. The favorite was the fish part of the fish and chips. Fortunately, there wasgood wine to be had, although I had to ask for the wine list.
When you guys search thru Google or other else for see how they're looks like, don't believe it. They don't have a balcony and view. They're located on ground floor.
The food wise, so bad. Tasted was very salty and I ate steaks and lobster grill plate, it was very horriable. I requested medium rare, however the meat lost juicy taste and it was very dry
I took my girlfriend here for Valentine's Day before we saw the Magic Flute at the Dorthy Chandler. The service was above par. The wait staff were really attentive and were considerate with of our time constraint. We were able to have all three courses in a reasonable amount of time without feeling rushed. My girlfriend did confess that the potato pancake that was served with the filet was a little too salty. And I will admit that the lobster served with the filet was underwhelming. The desserts were definitely the stars. Overall, the night was great and I would come back if I was in downtown again.
Excellent food and ambiance. Service out of turn with a later couple finishing ahead, and we were late for the opera despite asking initially to be finished on time an hour ahead, when we were seated. The wAitress was covering too many tables. This was on a holiday so an enigma.
The food is not special or spectacular in any way. It is just okay. The service was a little slow and did not come around often enough. I wanted more water and had to wait a long time before anyone showed up to refill it. Also, the wine list is mediocre.
Despite an OpenTable reservation and confirmation and THREE phone calls , when we arrived for our brunch for 12 people, no table was set and they were surprised to see us. It took 25 minutes to set the table, literally. Service was equally slow, which MIGHT be why the poached eggs were hard. About 60% of the orders were close to accurate, at best, 2 did not arrive at all and one had to be re-ordered three times. On the other hand, the bill was staggeringly high. I chose the restaurant because it was good years ago and conveniently located for a Sunday matinee at the Music Center. The best thing can say is that maybe it was not the worst dining experience I have had in LA in decades. Maybe.
A good place to go for a pre-theatre or pre-sporting event dinner. Good service. Reliable food quality. Quiet. Comfortable. Easy parking.
Was very excited from the pictures we found on Yelp and other sources. Little did I know most of the pictures were taken at the bar. I guess the bar was cool but dinner was not happening. Took 15 minutes to get our drinks, didn't even get offered water. Good had no flavor. I was actually really disappointed.
We were 8 people for breakfast - the food was great as was the service. We were there for a meeting - the room was very quiet and easy to hear.
We had a wonderful meal with great service here. The lobby bar at the Checkers Hilton is a treat as well. The only sad thing is that the restaurant was so empty on a Tuesday evening that it felt a little lonesome. Too bad, too! It's in a great location, not a bad walk from the Music Center, except for the climb back up Grand to get back.
Our food and service was outstanding. Between us we had rack of lamb, salmon, sea bass, and butternut squash ravioli, all of which was amazing. The flavors exceeded expectations and the presentation was phenomenal! Great place to celebrate our anniversary and birthdays.