Le Comptoir

Fantastic experience. This is a small place, with just a few seats (eight seats?) on a counter overlooking the kitchen, where you can see the chef cooking everything. The food and service was exquisite, close and personal. The food was not vegetarian but was vegetable focused and inspired, and absolutely delicious. Set menu, with optional substitutes that cost a bit more. I loved the vegetarian dishes just as much as the meat dishes, may be more so. You can taste the quality of the ingredients, much of which I believe is grown at the chef's garden in Long Beach. Loved it.

Me and my fiance visiting and we stumbled upon Le Comptoir and I just can't say enough great things about chef Craig and Allan!The food was so amazing, delicious and the experience... don't even get me started!!Great company, great food, great ambiance overall.. you have to come here and try their breakfast menu .. I'm gonna recommend anyone and everyone here forever! Such a great place and impression!

Incredible Chef who knows food and how to prepare it!!!Don't miss an opportunity to have a meal prepared by Michelin Chef Gary Menes!! Not only can he cook he's a lovely person.

One of my long-standing hopes is seeing more vegetarian food being incorporated in fine dining, and while more restaurants are focusing on a vegetable forward menu, putting a stake in the ground as a primarily vegetarian tasting menu restaurant is something to commend in itself!Chef Gary Menes is pushing challenging the perception that a thoughtfully prepared tasting menu has to incorporate exotic ingredients by offering a varied, flavorful and vibrant assortment of vegetables across 8 dishes, expertly prepared in front of the diners and carefully presented! The staff is very helpful and happy to explain preparations when not being called to order by the chef. The connection to the Hotel Normandie may seem a little odd, and the dive bar next door a little out of place, but rest assured, once inside Le Comptoir, the focus is as much on the food and the dining experience as in any Michelin-starred restaurant worth its salt!

I love how it was on the counter experience and you can watch them cook and listening to the chef explaining each dish. I love these experiences!! it was very intimate experience. The food was really food. For the price and what came out, I think it was slightly over price. One dish was straight pieces of fruit and vegetables. actually some of the dishes was small. We did leave not full and wanting another snack. I would come give this place another try when the menu changes.

My husband and I ate here last night and I feel compelled to say something because I am so incredibly confused about this experience and how it's possible for there to be so many good reviews. First of all, I've never felt so ashamed of how much money I've spent on any thing ever. Food was completely underwhelming (more shortly) service was okay but slow, aloof and did not provide any discussion around what we were eating or how to eat it, environment was fine, but wow the price $$$$... we spent over $1000 for what was mostly flavorless small portions. Let's break that down. We spent $465.50 to make the reservations. It then cost us $175 extra for ONE portion of the special truffle pasta with the absolute most flavorless black Italian truffles - luke warm, under seasoned. The pasta underneath was more or less a bland Mac and cheese, and so strangely watery. I fully feel like we got scammed with the truffle. I know it was "market price" but most reviews of this place mention $45-75/person for the truffle. This wild price was not communicated ahead of time and it was truly shocking to see on the receipt. We could have gone to Spago and had the truffle experience of a lifetime for less instead of this terrible tiny and tasteless serving. The Wagyu was a good portion for $45 - but was over salted. The meat wasn't particularly tender or marbled and the crust was crisp with salt... yet the bok choy was bland and stringy. The best part was the Japanese sweet potato, which like in so many instances at this place was hopeful but WAY too small of a portion. It was like we were being punished for finding a single moment of joy. The wine pairing for $125/p was actually a wine "TASTING" pairing where you pretty much get about 1-1.5 glasses of wine in 7 courses. Wine pairings were not sommelier quality. My husband ordered the $20 extra cheese plate the bread was prepared the same as the egg course and the cheeses were very average. As we arrived at the restaurant we were informed that 3/4 loaves of bread for the night were taken but there was one more to fight over. We were the last group who placed their supplement order, and we asked if the bread was available. It was, ($15). My husband ordered the $18 cup of coffee and I ended up getting a second glass of wine for $35. We spent $660 at the restaurant tonight including tax and tip. This means our total bill was over $1000. $1000!!! $1000??!!! This is insane. I've been to fine dining restaurants. I've spent $1000 for 17 courses with a few glasses of wine. Comparatively, I feel completely scammed by this experience. This was 90% salesmanship in the first 10 mins with 10% delivery. And probably still the most expensive per person per amount of food and drink. This restaurant feels like it's relying on its history of being a cool pop up that used to cost 1/3-1/4 of the price 7+ years ago and has in no way leveled up with the quality of ingredients, presentation, preparation. I believe the chef was working hard but what is unclear is whether he just never gets real feedback, or purposely tricking tasteless visitors or wannabe foodies who want a cool LA experience.Notes:- the truffle was terrible terrible. I actually think they may have targeted us as suckers and charged us an ungodly sum because they knew we wouldn't say something. During the experience I was too shocked to really take in what was happening.- the plating was dramatic and painstakingly slow... and took so long the food was cold and wet by the time we got it. The taste was similar to a very average veggie saute one may make with whatever random bits and bobs you have in your fridge. - serve a regular size wine pairing- Stop selling and start tasting - your food is a bait and switch. Your pitch is better than your food. Stop focusing on tweezer bullshit and just make stuff taste good, keep your wine cold, and make sure your food is hot. If you're serving just twelve a night you have to be cheaper or more disciplined. It's been a while since I've spent this much on food and I can't convey more how much I suggest NOT eating here if you want to go big for a rare splurge. This morning we woke up and just feel... taken advantage of and upset with ourselves for wasting so much money. I truly wish we could have donated the money we spent to a charity and ordered dominos instead.

I was surprised and delighted to see that Le Comptoir was back! This is the only vegetarian tasting menu I know of in Los Angeles with seafood & meat supplements. Many fine dining places will do a veg menu but for Le Comptoir this is its focus. We went many years ago pre pandemic and it was just as lovely as ever. You enter thru the Normandie Hotel which is really beautiful at 730 but be prepared to eat around 830. The chef does a lot of explanation and Introduction. It's a tiny spot of I think 12 seats? We did the wine pairing too and they were all delicious and unique. I forgot to get a pic of all the wines tho. All the dishes were also delicious and unique and because the kitchen is right there you get to see everything being prepared. I got the lobster and wagyu supplements while my friend stayed veg. Please go if you like fine dining, vegatables and boutique dining experiences. Do not go if you will be upset by a $600 dinner for 2 and dislike vegetables.

Le Comptoir (French for "The Counter") serves a Michelin-starred tasting menu, each dish uniquely crafted and designed to enhance the flavors of each and every ingredient. In this era of plant-based diets, I'd imagine that vegetarian gourmets and gourmands will beat a path to Le Comptoir due to their vegetable-intensive menu. It's perfect for a plant-based special night out. I've visited Le Comptoir twice, once at its Glendale iteration and now in K-Town. My impression is that Gary Menes' cooking has grown and developed in subtlety and originality over the years, without sacrificing taste and satisfaction. Each dish showcased different ingredients in a a unique and beautiful way. Each dish surprised me in a different and delicous way. I won't go into each specific item since the menu is constantly in flux; however, my favorite dish by far was the purple artichoke soup, so rich, smooth and flavorful. What a way to start off an incredible evening. And what a pleasure to be eyewitness to a skeleton kitchen team at the top of their game: Chef sauteeing, staff pouring and serving and cleaning up and never missing a beat. You won't miss a thing since there are only 10 seats at the counter. It's truly dinner and a show. My only slight concern is the wait time. I arrived early for our reservation, was greeted by someone from the restaurant and asked to wait until all the guests arrive. 25 minutes later, and with no explanation, we were finally seated. Why not seat us as we come in and give us a chance to order a glass of wine while we wait? Sounds like a win/win to me. Overall, however, Gary Menes is in the zone....the Michelin zone! And it shows. Truly amazing. Highly recommended.

Le Comptoir just started serving breakfast on the weekend! Highly recommend if you want a French style breakfast.It's a simple French-inspired menu with high quality ingredients. We ordered the "oeufs brouillés" (soft scrambled eggs, speck, emmentaler, sourdough toast) and it was perfection. At first glance, the portion may look small but it's a rich dish that left me satisfied. I also got the side of hash brown which was on a new level! It had a perfect buttery crisp on the outside and it was airy and soft in the inside. Also great baked goods. We ordered the butter cake and it is a MUST TRY. I ate it so fast that I forgot to take a photo. Parking tip: If you go early (before 11am), you can easily find metered parking.

We went here just to see how the experience 1 Michelin star going to treat us. The chef is the Filipino who open this restaurant in ktown. All their menu basically all veggies you can get them from the farmer market compared with the price we paid and the experience I personally got from this place. While you eating you will get many people come watch and staring at you from outside time to time while you eating. The seat is extremely uncomfortable and small. The space is just so packed inside. Passively rude. The whole thing was around $250+ for a person. The whole experience just feel fake and getting ripped off. We had to wait in the hotel lobby for a hour to get in the restaurant from the back. What was the point of that? There are a lot more of the nicer restaurants with more affordable price and great service in ktown.