The Exchange Restaurant

Great food and drinks! Our server was great.
The hostess was incompetent and rude!! The music started off at a good level but then someone must have liked jamming to the 70s music and turned it up. A few tables complained.

The food and drinks were great. It is a somewhat Americana take on Mediterranean food but done well. We ordered a table plate that our server said is good for three or more. I would agree. The three of us felt full and satisfied. My drink was the closest they had to a house drink. It was a vodka/gin cucumber martini. My friend had a Manhattan. Both were good. The only problem was the glasses they were served in...tsk, tsk...I would have liked to see them in different classes more traditional to the type of drink. It was a HUGE undersell for a $15.00 drink.

Now saving the overall experience for last...again we were all pleased with the food but the service was overwhelming. The servers don't have a uniform or an apron. Nothing set them apart from the guests but there were a lot of people approaching our table and it always felt like strangers were coming up to us. We were in balcony seating and I was in the corner so I could see the approach. It was uncomfortable how many different people came to the table.

The server herself was doing a great job with trying to upsell us. Look...I've served tables and I get the gig, but the clear vocal tone change and look of disappointment when we said, "no thank you we'll order more if we are still hungry", and then having t ok repeat that at least two more times...well when are the guest heard?

The service is the only reason they aren't on my 'MUST go again and tell all my friends about this place', list. We all felt rushed out of there to the point ordering more drinks wasn't even an option.

Tone down the overwhelming service because your food is on point. The drinks were so, so, but I've hung out with award winning mixologists so I have a high expectation of small drinks with a high price tag.

I would not recommend it for dinner although I would for brunch. The dinner prices/food wasn't good.

This was our second visit to The Exchange on Thanksgiving. We enjoyed it so much the first time, we returned for a second and loved it even more. The atmosphere is special, due to the tasteful decor and gracious service and good quality that is consistent throughout the menu. We always choose a fish entree with vegetable sides which are thoughtfully prepared. On this occasion however, the big surprise was a desert described as an apple tart. To our delight, it was actually an authentic Tarte Tatin, which is extremely rare in restaurants these days. For those who appreciate classic French cuisine, you know how much quality and care goes into the technique. Needless to say, we had a wonderful holiday at The Exchange!

This is a fantastic restaurant. Surprising, creative food, and totally scrumptious. It deserves a mob outside fighting to get in.

OMG, this place was amazing. The drinks were delicious! The food - Simply amazing! The Hummus, the flatbread, Babaganoush, Avocado salad, the carpaccio, the Blue Crab Fried Rice, Sweet Potatoes, Broccoli. You can't go wrong. I'd give The Exchange 10 Stars if I could.

Nice restaurant, great staff and delicious food. Unfortunately we thought it over priced for what we got.

It is bad policy that a group of people that reserved a table can't sit down unless the party is complete. One friend got stuck in bad traffic and the rest of us were not allowed to sit down. This is ridiculous. The next issue is the noise level. The music was so loud that we had to yell at each other and at the waiter. What do you want to accomplish? More traffic so people leave as soon as possible because they can't have a conversation? Very antisocial and rude. Obviously just made for people who stare at their phones and give a damn about socializing. And $22 for a small plate of beef tartar...well not coming back and not recommending it, although I love the ambience...

Great food. But too noisy for intimate conversation. Beautiful location.

Phenomenal customer service and inventive, phenomenal cuisine. Highly recommend. A bit pricey but very worthwhile for a special occasion.

I went for brunch and had the first thing on the menu. I can’t remember the name, but it was a smorgasbord of hummus, labeh, feta cheese, olives and homemade flatbread. It was delish! The service was good, but a little off. OTOH it was pretty busy. The place is pretty noisy, but they have a small area upstairs that is a bit quieter. If you are going downtown, this is a good pick

Excellent always!

The food is so unique and delicious!

great service explaining the food, serving the food and helping with the best wine choice. Good flow from plate to plate and making sure we had water or a clean plate if we wanted. The food was excellent and so fresh!

The food was quite interesting with a clear Israeli theme, though the chef is apparently Mexican and Chinese. Ultimately, the food is easily classified as fusion.

The whole red snapper, fried and served sweet-and-sour was excellent as was the avocado salatim. I can’t say as much for the momotaro tomato or radiccio salad. The cauliflower was fairly good and the shishito peppers were adequate.

The only other negative was the volume of sound. The music was loud which exacerbate the cacophony of the crowd.

Lamb skewer for sure. Chicken skewer is fine but doesn't set itself apart. Burnt eggplant and avocado dishes were really good. Hummus was as expected. Crab fried rice was good, but again, doesn't set itself apart. The food is pricey but there are some gems on the menu worthy of a nicer dinner/night out if you're so inclined. Get multiple orders of the lamb skewer!

Fantastic food. Loved everything we got! Will be back.

There were so many different flavors in the food and we really enjoyed having several starters and main dishes. We were very satisfied at the end of the meal and the service was informative and friendly.

Although everyone in our party seemed to be happy with their food, the experience upon our arrival at the restaurant was not a good one. Upon checking in for our reservation the hostess was very rigid and refused several of our requests. When we arrived we found out that our party would have to be seated upstairs because it was larger than eight people. We explained that one of the people in our group is unable to climb stairs and it seemed to present a big problem to have the hostess understand that we needed to stay on the first floor (where there was plenty of room). It was so frustrating to have to argue about it until they finally agreed to set up the tables on the first floor. Our reservation was for 10 people and eight of them were standing together but the hostess refused to seat us until the entire group of 10 had arrived. That was absurd.
Ultimately after continuing to wait around we actually had to lie to the hostess to tell her that the remaining two people were not going to be coming merely so she would seat us.
So, although the food was good, I will not be coming back with any group larger than four people because it was just too much conflict trying to get seated.

Everything was great.

First time for our friends dining at The Exchange. They loved it and so did we!

They have the best scrambled eggs I've ever eaten in my life!

The Humus was homemade and ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. We took and extra order home!
The lamb kebab with pistachios was horrible.

Went with a group of 12 to celebrate my wife and friend's birthday. We were seated upstairs to the right in our own private little area.
Cool vibe, nice setup. Food was awesome. Our first time there, so didn't really know what to order. Went with our waitress's recommendations. Hummus, burnt eggplant and labneh are a few of the items we had. Also had the whole fried red snapper. Huge fish and perfect for our group. We all loved it!

The only negatives. They would not seat us until everyone arrived. 10 of 12 were there as 1 couple was running late; that's the majority (at least, they could have seated the 10 of us and served water/cocktails/appetizers); I would understand if more people were not present, but it was literally 2 people.
It also got pretty loud in there. It was, at times, very difficult to hear during dinner.

Great pick for Israeli-influenced food reinterpreted through familiar fare. Be sure to take some of their condiments home with you! Their summer rose celebration is worth checking out, too.

It was the perfect start to the day! We shared with the Kubaneh and the Exchange breakfast spreads! Delicious and more than enough for two! Great, friendly staff. Gorgeous comfortable room. Loved, loved it. A total highlight of the day. Definitely coming back! Oh, don’t forget the pineapple juice with tumeric, honey and bee pollen. Pure magic!

Great!! Food and service are awesome.

First time at The Exchange for a weekend brunch. The decorative aspect was original and tasteful, good music playing at the right level. The food certainly lived up to the warm welcome by the staff and this will be a must return destination. Especially enjoyed the panko chicken schnitzel, but the entire menu is tempting. Hard to fault and pleased to have discovered this fine venue. Coming back soon!

Maria was fantastic at food suggestions, talking about the food and inspiration, and made for an enjoyable evening.

Beautiful space and amazing food

Everything was perfect EXCEPT for the awful diner music!!! This place was so classy and worldly, was hoping there would be cool lounge music or something. But the awful diners music was SO LOUD and DISTRACTING and took a lot away from the experience. The food, service layout was amazing, but wouldn’t go back with people if we want to talk.’ Would only go back for casual dining. But minus the music, I really enjoyed the restaurant

Our waiter, Jacob, was exceptional. My friends birthday was a wonderful treat - the food was delicious.

Limited menu with little to no interest in the kitchen to accommodate special needs.

The way of cooking and preparing is in need of improvement. The music was much too loud, a conversation was only possible with effort

My third visit here, and it seems the quality control is slipping. It has been my favorite place in LA, but not anymore. First, music was about twice as loud than my previous visits, was told "this is how the owners like it" but later added that it's the staff's preference. Was there for a date, hoping to have a great conversation, was ready to leave when the manager later came up and apologized, turned down the volume and blamed the DJ...Food was went from being amazing to just good, not the same attention to detail and the portions that were always on the small side, shrunk even more. I mean, a side salad for $10 that is no more than 2-3 bites, come on... To the owners: watch out, you had a great concept, don't let it slip away. Consistency is everything.

Music WAAAY too loud. We asked several times to turn down the volume, which they did, but each time someone would turn it back up. I like a buzzy atmosphere but this was ridiculous. Dominated the entire evening, so hard even to remember anything else.

A good option for getting a good meal during business travel- tasty, excellent quality and not heavy

Fantastic food. Server was a little cold and unfriendly.

Delicious food and excellent service.

Overall experience was ok. However, we were there to celebrate a birthday, and I had noted that in my reservation, and I think it was either lost in translation or perhaps the servers just forgot.