The Stinking Rose – A Garlic Restaurant

I’ve heard of The Stinking Rose many many years ago and finally got the chance to try it. My boyfriend and I came here on a Saturday night at around 6pm and it wasn’t too crowded yet. Keep in mind that street/​meter parking is difficult to find here, so it is better to just do valet, which is $ 5.50 per car. The atmosphere of the Stinking Rose is very interesting. It is kind of a dark circus theme? I think that is the best way to describe it. In the front, there is a «store» like thing where they sell different garlic goodies. I thought the garlic hat was cute.
We got seated in a «tent,» which I really liked! It gave us privacy and was really cute. Our waiter was very attentive and sweet. We got our complimentary garlic bread right away. We were hungry and excited to try the food, so we ordered a bit too much for 2 people. We ordered the Ragna Calda, which is «garlic soaking in a hot tub». This could have easily fed 6 people, so it was way too much for just the two of us. Of course we had to order the garlic fries and OMG, it was soooo good! I think the garlic fries was my favorite. The fries were perfectly cut and crispy and there was just the right amount of garlic. We also got the garlic shrimp on the sizzling iron skillet and it was good, but nothing too special. My boyfriend got the large cut of the Garlic Roasted Prime Rib, which came with some garlic mashed potatoes and spinach I think? He said it was good, but a bit overpriced. We also ordered the whole dungeness crab to share, but we were so full, I barely ate it. It was only okay. I didn’t really like the dipping sauces they gave us to eat with it. At the end, I was way too full to try the garlic ice cream, but that’s okay. I was all garliced out. Too much garlic!
Overall, The Stinking Rose was good, but I think it is a bit overrated. I am glad I tried it, but probably won’t come back. Definitely a great place to try for the garlic lovers though!

Came here for my birthday and have been wanting to try this place for a long time now. I would say it was not what I expected but in a good way. It has a unique setting inside that is cool and goes well with the theme of the place. Something to take note of is that it is valet parking of $ 5.50 per car. The staff is very friendly and took our order soon after we where seated. That’s a big plus in my book. As for my food I would say that you can’t go wrong with the Seafood Combo with Mussels, Shrimp, and Crab. They for sure hit a home run with that dish and I would say it’s a must try. I had the Salmon as my second dish and it was mostly dry with not a lot of flavor. That was a bit of a downer but overall this place is good and I will return.

We came to Stinking Rose for a birthday celebration. We were immediately seated and the server was prompt as well. We had two cakes and they were nice enough to hold them in the fridge for us and didn’t charge a cake fee. Our party ordered the bagna calda and it was good. Nothing too spectacular, but it was something good for the whole table to share. We also got the medium clams for share for the whole table (party of 7) and it comes with a generous portion of clams and the soup is good to dip the bread!
Our table ordered the seafood skillets and prime ribs. All of the food tasted great! The seafood was cooked well and not rubbery. At the end, they gave the birthday boy a garlic ice cream. I think I would pass on the ice cream haha. The service was great. Our server brought out everything in a timely manner and our drinks were always refilled.
I’m glad that our clothes didn’t reek of garlic, but our breaths on the other hand? Pass the mints!
Verdict: I wouldn’t decline if I was asked to come again, but with so many awesome restaurants to try in LA this isn’t a MUST GO on my list or a repeat resultant in my books, but all of the food was good!

Came here because I was enticed by the many reviews and because I love garlic! The atmosphere is very different than what I expected. Carnival like and almost kitschy but it works for their unique environment. Wait staff was friendly and attentive. They bring out garlic bread which would have tasted way better had it been hot. It was served lukewarm. Ordered the Caesar salad plus the chicken with asparagus pasta. The Caesar salad had way too much lemon or some other ingredient similar to that in it which gave it a weird taste. The chicken in the pasta tasted awesome and was flavored well. Asparagus didn’t seem cooked long enough to my liking. Seeing as how they’re chicken was seasoned and tasty, I would assume that they’re meat dishes might be better than their pasta. I’d come back again only after I’ve tried other Italian places in Beverly Hills or if it was a group dinner that I had no say in picking the location.
Parking is free for lunch until 4.

Came to the Rose for a Business meeting. Lunch is the only time to come here as dinner is much to crowded. Same menu, just a much more relaxed environment. The service was prompt but we had to remind them a couple of times for items. They also could have been a bit more inviting and friendly.
I know I’m being picky, however, when you are paying good money for a meal, the entire experience has to be nothing short of excellent. Anything less, it needs to be brought up regardless of how trivial. We had the Garlic Fries for the table and they are large! Plenty for four or five and they were cooked to perfection! Perfect crunch and garlic combo was awesome!
SIde salads were ok, nothing to write home about. This is the one item that could be improved upon. We had a couple of pasta dish’s, the bone in rib eye, 40 clove chicken and the rack of ribs.
The ribs came with no sauce as it was on the side so you could have them plain or with the sauce. Sign me up for the sauce as it was great on the ribs! THe bone in rib eye was good but not amazing. THe pasta dish’s were also good but not amazing. The 40 clove chicken had good flavor and the side dish’s served with the meals were decent as well.
For the price you pay for a pasta dish and it does not ‘WOW’ you, it needs to be noted. $ 23 and $ 25 for very simple pasta dish’s should have made the taste buds go into overdrive, however they did not.
We saved room (I do not know how after those fries) for desert. The Chocolate cake served with custard was quite nice and a perfect portion. Now, the Sundae on the other hand was enough to serve four. The lighting does not do this desert justice, but holy cow was it large!
Overall it was a good meal, however the service can absolutly be improved upon, especially when the lunch service is not that busy.

I been here a couple of times and thought it would be a great place to take my sister in law for her birthday. She is a huge fan of garlic so it worked out. We decided to have dinner on a Thursday night and it wasn’t too pack.
Valet parking is $ 5.50 per car.
We started with bagna calda. The bagna calda is also called garlic soaking in a hot tub. This dish goes perfectly with their house bread. I love the roasted garlic with the soft fresh baked bread. Its a yummy combination.
I decided to go with their prix-​fixe menu. They have tons of options on this ranging from $ 29.95 to $ 54.95 per person. I decided to go with the $ 34.95 per person. This included the stinking rose house salad, sizzling garlic dungeness crab legs and french vanilla frozen custard ice cream.
Stinking rose house salad-​eh. I definitely had better. I just felt something was missing and there wasn’t much flavor.
Dungeness crab-​this crab was delish. I love every piece of it. It wasn’t too heavy and just the right amount to get full. Every crab legs were full with meat. I would eat this again and again.
Frozen custard-​I did not eat this but I heard it was just okay. Nothing special about it.
Overall, I always enjoyed my time here and the food has been great. Basically, all I need is the bagna calda and the house bread and I’m a happy camper.

Ever since I saw stinking rose when I went to Newport seafood from across the street, I have always wanted to try this place. The restaurant looks interesting from outside and the concept of using garlic on everything intrigues me. This night, in the name of birthday celebration, I found a reason to check this place out finally.
Valet parking is on site for $ 5.50, cash only. Slave girl and I do not believe in paying to park so we went to our usual spot on Wilshire and took a 5 min hike for free street parking.
We had 8 people in our party and there was no problem for us to get seated. One strange thing was, we made a reservation ahead and when we checked in before our friends (I know, we were first on site for once!), we were told no seating until the full party was there but they did find the name on the list. Later on when friends got there, they told her they couldn’t find her name at all on the list… Strange…
Our table ordered all different kind of food, but for me and slave girl, we got the garlic noodles and 16 oz prime rib to share. We also got the roasted garlic and mussels + shrimp in iron skillet as table appetizers. They have minced garlic in a jar and garlic oil on the table. Minced garlic was raw and spicy and they definitely helped to enhance our meal.
The roasted garlic was roasted throughly but for being just garlicky with no other taste. Even though there was a hint of anchovy, it was just a hint and was pretty bland. I wish it was seasoned a little then it would be perfect. The mussels + shrimp was done excellently especially with the shrimp. I would recommend to order just the shrimp and get your money worth.
The garlic noodle was garlicky but kind of dry to me. As I have mentioned earlier, the garlic oil came to rescue and it was good after mixing it in. We ordered the prime rib to medium rare and it was done beautifully. There wasn’t too much fat and texture was just right. The only thing I wish to be done better was the creamed spinach and the mashed potato that came with the prime rib. It was seriously the worst creamed spinach I have ever tasted.
One of our friends ordered dungeness crab and we got the pity piece to try. It was marinated in garlic sauce before it was cooked and it was tasty.
Our service was mediocre. A lot of times we just grabbed whoever passed by to get what we needed since our server was always busy with other tables. Everyone was friendly and never declined our requests. Since it was our friend’s birthday, she got to wear the garlic hat and blow some candles. If it pleases you, you can request wear the hat during the entire meal too.
Overall, it was a pleasant experience but nothing to woo ahhh about. The food was OK but not worth the returning trip. They do make really good martinis and the bar had nice décor. To me this is more of a happy hour hop. Check it out at least once for sure.

Wow! I was so surprised by this place… It’s a restaurant right across from Lawry’s prime rib in Beverly Hills and it looks like a little hole in the wall place. I was absolutely shocked by their food! So delicious! And so garlicky! Yum :)
This restaurant is based off the idea of garlic so yes, everything has garlic in it. Even their ice cream!!! (BTW it was delicious)
Our server was SO SWEET! She was the nicest girl ever. We ordered so much stuff and everything was delicious. Their steak /​meat was to die for. It was so tender it just melts in your mouth. Their garlic French fries were also to die for. Usually it’s hard to find good tasting garlic fries w a lot of flavor but this place has THE best garlic fries I’ve ever tried hands down.
Environment /​ambiance — it looks like a circus inside haha I think that was the whole idea… But super cool! And different
Parking — valet
Price — not too bad for the portion and the QUALITY.
Will DEFINITELY be coming back! Don’t let the name of the restaurant fool you from trying this place.

Came here for an anniversary on Saturday night. Food was good, service was extremely slow.
I got the Silence of the Lamb Shank. The presentation was beautiful. The lamb was tender and delicious and fell off the bone. The mashed potatoes were smooth, and the creamed spinach was tasty! My boyfriend had the large cut of prime rib, which was juicy and flavorful. The free garlic rolls were hot and not too garlicky, which I liked.
Now for the service. while I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt, there were just too many mishaps.
We didn’t get greeted until 20 mins in. We had to flag down our server for water refills. The ice cream that came with my boyfriend’s 3-​course meal didn’t arrive until we brought it up that we had been waiting. And we had to remind the server twice about bringing in the check. Our server checked in on us once but I noticed she barely glanced at our table the rest of the night hence why we kept having to remind her of our needs.
In the end, I still tipped and now that I’m looking back, I don’t know why. Not sure if I would come back again.

If you like garlic, here’s your restaurant! I ordered the gnocchiettie, b it was really yummy. It is expensive, hey, welcome to Beverly Hills. A decent sized serving for this plate (no monstrously sized plates). The atmosphere and décor is dark and comfy. There’s tents over each table to close off from your neighbors if you want some privacy.
It was my friends birthday so they surprised her with a birthday song, placed a silly garlic on her head and had her blow out some candles while leaving us with complimentary chocolate fudge and vanilla garlic ice cream. Which wasn’t too bad.
So expect to pay no less that $ 20 a meal, complimentary garlic Bread, and expect a dark comfortable quiet/​calm setting. And if it’s your birthday expect a surprise birthday song and dessert.
Also, their valet is just mere $ 5.50.

The ambiance just didn’t work… I think they are having an identity crisis. They have a classy live piano player at the bar area and a hot sauce/​garlic hat shop at the front counter. Just stick to being fancy! You are in Beverly Hills, that’s what most of ur guests are expecting.
The highlight of my meal was the free bread and garlic spread they give you as an appetizer because it was the most garlic-​y thing I had that night. The short rib I ordered was really tender but I didn’t taste the garlic! What’s the point of coming to a garlic themed restaurant and not even taste the garlic!
Service was decent. They were pretty attentive which is hard to do since out party was so big. It did take them forever to get us the check though.
Overall we had a pleasant experience. I wish it was just a little more unique. It just felt like this was a high-​end Bucca di Beppo.

Long over due since I’ve had The Stinking Rose bookmarked for a while. I finally had the time to visit this restaurant.
First thing I’ll say to anyone, If you do not like GARLIC then this restaurant is not for you. You will walk out smelling like you want to fight the vampires off. :)
Food:
Complimentary Garlic Rolls
Medium Sizzling Iron Skillet Roasted Mussels & Shrimp
Garlic soaking in a hot tub served in an iron skillet– OH EM GEEE
Forty Clove Garlic Chicken
All these dishes were full of flavor and of course GARLIC heaven. I was so garlic out and could go no more that I refused to have the garlic dessert but opt for the Vanilla Custard PLAIN. LOL. Needed to wash down all that garlic flavor in my mouth.
The décor is a little strange to me as I don’t know the history of The Garlic House but whatever… We were first sat on a table that I was not happy at but glad that they allowed us to move to a canvased style table. It seemed more private.
Overall, I’d come again. The food was good and our server was very nice and attentive.

If you love garlic, this is definitely the place to go to. The theme of the restaurant is mostly garlic and the drinking menu was vampire inspired! The interior is beautiful and very well thought out. The customer service is great and I liked how they had valet parking.
What I had was the Garlic Noodles and the Bloody Chili Mary for a drink. Both very delicious! I left happy!
The Stinking Rose is high end with delicious food, with beautiful décor and a great atmosphere. I’ll definitely be coming back here. This place has become one of my favorite restaurants, so it gets a 5 star from me.

Hello, My name is Angie… And I am a GARLIC-​AHOLIC.
I am addicted to garlic and I cant ever get enough. The problem with that is when I eat it, I dont often taste it… Unless it is raw.
I have been to this location twice, and San Francisco once. Before this week, it had been YEARS since I was at either.
I found I had the same problem as when I had been before. I didnt taste the garlic in the food. I couldnt tell you what I ate the other two times I visited, I dont even remember.
The container of raw garlic on the table that you spread on the complimentary rolls, is AMAZING. I mean, TO DIE FOR AMAZING. I poured so much of that onto my roll, my nose starting running from the spice of the rawness. PERFECT.
On this visit I had the Spaghetti and Garlic Meatballs and asked them to substitute the noodles with the Garlic Noodles. Sadly. I did not taste the garlic. I put quite a few heaping spoonfuls of the raw garlic concoction into my meal and that helped.
I ordered a Large order of Garlic Fries to share with my friend, and anywhere else that offers Garlic Fries on their menu need to be schooled by this place. There was so much garlic, they were perfect. The way they should be! There was also some Parmesan cheese that I didnt even notice until about halfway through because I was so into the garlic.
My friend ordered meat that was so tender she didnt even need a knife to cut it, at all.
We split the Garlic Ice Cream and the Cheesecake for dessert. I decided to get the ice cream because it stated on the menu it had a caramel sauce. What we got, was chocolate sauce I believe… it tasted and looked like chocolate, so I was super bummed about that. The cheesecake had a cake layered twice inside, and it tasted more like an actual cake, not cheesecake. When I tried the ice cream by itself, without the sauce, I did taste a little garlic. I feel like it should be served plain as the sauce takes away from it.
My friend ordered a glass of the garlic wine, which I tasted. I dont usually drink white wine, I prefer red, but it was interesting.
I will most likely eat here again, I would just make sure the container on the table of the raw garlic was full to the top! The prices are a bit steep in my opinion, as well.

Good food! That’s all you need to know. Well there is that whole garlic thing going on. We were introduced to this place by friends of ours. I will thank them now and later for the introduction. I love a lot of things (food things). But I do have a special affinity for garlic. Won’t consider myself an aficionado by any means but I love eating it. I don’t know all of the varieties or their differences. Again I just eat it.
Upon being sat, we were immediately provided with an ample supply of garlic rolls. Fresh from the oven. Soft and garlicky. Some more than others. I took the chopped garlic with parsley in oil condiment on the table and proceeded to make sure no one would approach me for the rest of the evening. Maybe the chopped garlic wasn’t meant to be put on dinner rolls but it sure is frickin good. Garlic bites back when you put a lot on (I did).
We also ordered the garlic in a hot tub (roasted cloves in olive oil) and the roasted head. Both netted us with aromatic and wonderfully spreadable roasted cloves but I preferred the garlic in a hot tub. The cloves were a little more caramelized and sweet. Maybe they just added sugar. Who cares. It was good.
I ordered the garlic ribeye that came with garlic mashed potatoes and creamed spinach. I also added a side of skillet fried mussels (in the shell) and skin on shrimp.
So the ribeye was pretty good. Tender, flavorful (butter and garlic of course) and cooked right. But I was pretty blown away by the mussels and shrimp. I scarfed that whole thing down (pound of shrimp and pound of mussels) before even eating a quarter of my steak. I’ve always had mussels steamed in some kind of wine sauce and I do love it cooked that way. But sautéed in butter and garlic on a skillet may be my new thing. Next time, I’m just going to get this as my entrée (it’s slated as a starter on the menu).
The menu is pretty diverse with a large selection of pastas and steak and seafood options.
You won’t have problems with vampires after you eat here. Yeah, that was cheesy and predictable. Sorry.

This place was truly delicious and lives up to its name. Really good and nice service.
The inside of the restaurant isn’t too fancy or classy. You can show up in jeans or dress up if you want. The décor of the restaurant reminded me of the décor inside of an Old Spaghetti Factory.
Appetizer: order the bagna calda. A mini skillet of roasted garlic cloves sitting in a hot bath of oil and who knows what else just getting tastier and softer. You also get an order of mini garlic focaccia rolls to spread that delicious roasted garlic on. It was almost sweet. So tasty you can easily fill up on bread and garlic.
Dinner: 1) garlic prime rib with garlic mash potatoes and spinach. The slab of prime rib was thick and cooked perfectly. Super meaty. Potatoes were very creamy and the spinach was awesome!!! Felt very light.
2) boneless spareribs with garlic mash and spinach was amazing as well. The meat was super tender and «fall off the bone» even tho there wasn’t a bone. It was sooooooo good! Would definitely order again and it didn’t feel too heavy.
Dessert: well had to order the garlic ice cream with mole caramel. Don’t be scared of the ice cream. The garlic hits you towards the end and becomes more prominent as you eat more of it, but still tastes like ice cream. That mole caramel wasn’t very mole-​y, just tasted like caramel, but it was great on that ice cream. The ice stayed nice and frozen and didn’t melt too quickly.
Overall, I loved it!!! Haha took 24hrs to get that garlic taste out of my mouth though.

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been to The Stinking Rose so this visit has been past overdue. It was my mom’s birthday and she’s never been before, so it was not only the perfect opportunity to make my way back here but to also introduce her to all of its garlic goodness.
The food here is excellent. For those who aren’t familiar with this place… all dishes are cooked with garlic. Like most meals, I started this one with a nice cold beer while munching on their garlic bread. From here, a couple of appetizers arrived. I’ve said it in many reviews and I’ll say it again, I’m a sucker for fried calamari no matter the restaurant so that was a must along with the sizzling iron skillet of mussels, crab and shrimp. Delicious!!!
Main courses followed and there was literally a feast! I dug into every plate. I have a rule, I will not post a food image unless I’ve tried the dish so all my fam allows me try their plates. I also consider my closest friends family as well so they were apart of this feast minus two who unfortunately work night crew. Next time Oscar and Mark!
I don’t even no where to begin because every dish was awesome. My prime rib was as tender and flavorful as ever. The steaks were perfectly cooked and was the best I’ve had in a while. The ribs were tender with a crispy outing, the short rib could literally be cut through with the fork alone and the lamb shank, man oh man was that good. I also have to say the name of the lamb shank dish is pretty hilarious as well as its description… Silence of the Lamb Shank with a chianti glaze and fava beans. I meal I’m sure Hannibal Lecter would enjoy LOL. The best part about all the food is the garlic. There is no such thing as a little garlic just as little bacon in my opinion. I love the stuff.
Last up was the desserts as well as a Happy Birthday song for my mom with a garlic hat to wear as we sung. That was pretty funny. The Gilroy’s famous garlic ice cream was brought out. This had a present but very lite garlic taste to blend with the vanilla and caramel… very tasty! Last was the Italian wild strawberry cheesecake my friends ordered. Cheesecake fans rejoice! We have a winner here.
This was a great dinner and I’m sure the first timers who were there are now fans. Most importantly, my mom loved her birthday dinner. Our server Melissa took good care of us making the experience for everyone excellent. If you like garlic, this is the place to grub. Sucks if you don’t because you’re missing out on a awesome restaurant.
Dinner 2÷2÷2016
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Amazing experience!
We got the DineLA lunch for $ 20. Three out of four of us were vegetarian, and the waiter did a surprisingly good job at helping us keep our menu vegetarian.
We got roasted garlic in place of the bagna calda which paired perfectly with the warm focaccia bread. The house salad went well with the heavy italian meal. Tried the mashed potatoes on my friend’s chicken and it was amazing.
We split 2 DineLA meals, the neon ravioli and the vegetable lasagna, and both were delicious! Even splitting the 2 meals 3 ways, we still had leftovers. The meals look small but the portions are actually big! (deep bowls).
We needed some coffee after to keep working the rest of the day, and it was nice and strong. ($ 4), but I split that with a friend too.
Service: Great! (but also, we went at a VERY off time, literally only 5 other groups at the restaurant)
Food: Filling and flavorful
Parking: Free before 4pm in the lot (wish I read a little more on Unilocal before I paid for street)
Ambience: Very romantic/​cozy
Vegetarian friendly: Several great options!
Great meal and will definitely try frequenting here more often! :)

FREE PARKING BEFORE 4pm. Valet after. Street meter parking nearby.
Service was excellent!!! Our server, Aaron was so kind and cracked jokes and made us feel very welcome. He was ⁵⁄₅ stars on his own.
We got the dine LA $ 20 lunch. I was the only carnivore of the group so I got the oven roasted garlic with touch of anchovy and the 40 clove garlic chicken.
Roasted garlic was delicious and great to spread on the warm focaccia bread. Excellent starter.
The house salad was delicious as well and has delicate butter lettuce and walnuts.
40 clove garlic chicken came with even more garlic on the side and a delicious gravy like sauce smothering the chicken.
Also mashed potatoes that you can tell was made with lots of cream and butter. Absolutely delicious. I loved that even though the chicken was covered in gravy the skin was very crisp. Would order again.
Tried my vegetarian friend’s lasagna and neon pasta and those were delicious as well!
Everything is extremely filling (or maybe I just stuffed myself senseless on the focaccia lol) so you will probably have leftovers. I couldn’t believe that I didn’t finish my chicken because I’m usually in the clean plate club.
No matter, it made for great leftovers.
Finished off with some delicious coffee ($ 4) since I was half comatose from all that bread, olive oil, potatoes, chicken…
Great meal and I’m glad I went here. The older man who poured our coffee was super nice as well.

Whew, not only will your breath will stink after eating here, your pores will smell of garlic and slowly seep out throughout the night… and you’ll love it!
I have been here a handful of times and most recently before the Peter Cetera concert at the Saban theater. We tried to go to Lawry’s but the wait for over an hour. We called over and they said there was no wait. We got seated in the back at a kinda random table but it was cool. They brought out their amazing garlicky bread and of course you gotta put the spread on.
We also ordered the Bagna Calda — oven roasted garlic cloves because the spread wasn’t enough. We also share the surf and turf — prime rib and crab and a bottle of red wine. All very delicious and enjoyable.
Our waitress was super nice and everything was delicious and very garlicky. Food also came out pretty fast as we had to eat somewhat quickly to get to the show. Overall a very good, stinky experience.