Ray’s and Stark Bar

What a perfect way to start an afternooon at the museum! We split some fries, then I had a fish dish with quinoa. It tasted great. The service was very good, the atmosphere was beautiful and peaceful. It was pricey, but we expected that and were willing to treat ourselves. A great addition to LACMA!!!

We were not thrilled with the first visit… but let’s face it… it’s right there at LACMA. so convenient prior to the screening we were attending. We thought we might have ordered the wrong things the first time (rubbery seafood & soggy pizza). We’re gonna give it another chance. The place got a bit of a face lift… don’t really know why because all it needed was a bit more light so we don’t bump into the tables as we meander to seats and so that we are able to order from the menu without using both of our phone flashlights to do so.
We are seated… by nice host Nate… It was comical that 2 staff members made it a priority to show us the discreet drawers in the tables that house your silverware and cloth napkin. Get it… instead of the napkin and the silverware being on your table, they’re in a secret drawer… go ahead… pull it out… there they are!!! please. you are not serving children.
I hope they didn’t spend much on the rest of the décor uplift because it was not notable. Totally not needed. Restaurants priority should be to be clean and offer great service and great food, right? so… best thing we ordered last time were the fries… yes, fries. so we re-​order it. Totally new look, totally different fries. Instead of string fries, these were fat fries that resembled frozen Oreida’s thrown haphazardly in a white shallow bowl only salvaged by the delicious sauce that accompanied it. You could’ve dipped shoestrings, bark, styrofoam in this sauce and it would’ve all worked.
We also ordered a bottle of bubbly… Our surly server opened it, poured 2 glasses and left the bottle on the table… he had an uncanny way of swiftly leaving our table as if he was Dracula floating/​skimming above the floor… I had to wait until he’s tended to his other 4 tables and time it perfectly so that I can ask him on his way back to the kitchen if he could keep our bottle chilled. He barely acknowledged us, kept floating pass after a slight nod. Ten minutes later, he returned with a bucket of ice after we’ve poured ourselves another glass… moot moot moot.
With fries consumed we order our dinner… John Dory with pureed spinach and the hamburger. Both great. It took 35 minutes to get our food… we had to wolf it down as to not miss our event. I ordered coffee and panna cotta… no panna cotta but Drac suggested tiraimisu… I declined… seriously? you can make panna cotta ahead of time. I would have skipped the coffee had Drac informed me no panna cotta sooner. Because we were now rushed, I asked if I can have it to go. Drac said «we dont’ have to-​go cups». Drac was sooo not impressive. Our favorite part was when we asked him what the item the woman across from us was consuming so enthusiastically in a small fish bowl. Drac looked towards the lady, shrugged and said «I don’t know». We laughed… at this point, he’s become our main entertainment. He did come back and said that it was the fries and then told us that we lucked out because they ran out of the fish bowls and we actually got more fries in the alternate bowl used for us… Oh geez… we might have gotten less Oreida fries? Shut up and pour more of that dipping sauce in my mouth! guffaw… guffaw… guffaw…
Synopsis — fries — bottle of sparking wine — fish — hamburger — 1 bottle of beer — 1 coffee = $ 121… and we left Drac a good tip… thank you for the Suggested Gratuities Calculations for «my» convenience that starts at 18%… Ray’s and Stark… you got some ballz…
You’re not bad… you can be great. why aren’t you? You just need to cinch some things up…
” you could’ve been a contender… ”

We just had brunch here today. Lovely location with lots of spacious seating and heat lamps so you can sit on the patio. Very friendly service with 2 people attending to us. I loved how clean everything was including the high chair. Great place for children as they are completely entertained by what is happening around them while they eat. The food was tasty with great presentation. I had the smoked salmon with hard boiled eggs. A bit too long of a wait on drinks but for the most part, A+ service. It was a great place to take my clients with their child. The waitstaff is amazing with little ones.

The food is superb, the setting is spectacular (outside patio seating at LACMA).
The octopus, the squid ink pasta, the ambiance. I’m loving this place.

Smug and rude servers!
I recommend seating at the bar instead, avoid the stuck up servers, who feels to empowered to say «hello», «you’re welcome» and «thank you».

I got a glass of sparkling wine and the cheese plate and sat at the bar. The cheese plate was 22, really not worth it. Had about 6 mouthfuls of cheese, and small servings of apricot jelly (good) and hazelnut butter (terrible, DOES NOT GO WITH CHEESE, WHOSE IDEA WAS THIS?) and then 2 pieces of buttered toasted bread, which I don’t get.
What is this cheese plate, even? It makes no sense. Why the hazelnut butter? Why is it the most expensive thing on the menu? There was barely any cheese! Also, the cheeses were high quality but I don’t think they paired all that well together. The cheddar was too harsh for a cheese plate. Add some fruit, nuts or honey (or something more exciting) and then cut off about 9 dollars and you’re good. Also, do not butter/​oil the bread, like… what?

They have happy hour here! I stopped by here around 3:30pm because I was a bit hungry after exploring part of the LACMA museum and rain room. I think they make small changes to their happy hour menus from time to time because the waitress told us to wait a moment while they get the new menu for us. Seating is outdoors, but they have heaters to keep you warm during the fall/​winter. I love the chairs and tables here.
Service was great. The waiter checked in with us multiple times to see if we needed anything. I got one of the wood fire pizzas called Prosciutto di Parma and Yucca chips as an appetizer. The portion for the pizza was very large, definitely large enough to share with someone. And the yucca chips were amazing as well! The chips come with a Sriracha dipping sauce.
Overall, a great place to stop by if you’re at the museum or urban lights and want something to eat!

I’ve come here a couple times and I really enjoy stopping by for a quick bite or drink during my stay at LACMA.
Been here for brunch and as an afternoon snack. They make some great cocktails and have a great charcuterie plate you can share with friends. The Kobe and Egg Sandwich is my favorite thing here. It’s nicely balanced in terms of flavor and textures. The breakfast pizza is something I’d stay away from as it was nothing special. But all in all, there are some great dishes here and its paired with great service from the people working here.

Two stars for slight improvement though the place is still an eyesore. Two things I learned: 1. It is no longer self seating in the lounge and has not been for a while and 2. If you are a member at LACMA that only affords you discount at dinner not lunch.
For 1, it’s good since they have more control over the messes. However, it’s still not really up to par with cleanliness for the outside lounge for world class museum aspiring standards.
An added star for improving their cocktail menu. The Rothko with carrot juice is amaze.
Their pizza is sub par… oddly though, during LACMA member only events it’s amazing. But at the resto, they skimped out on ingredients and the ratio of the ingredients to bread was a travesty as well as how it was spread on the pizza. I got more bread than anything and had to ask: «do you guys use a pizza cutter for your pizza?» «Yeah we do» «can you guys use one on mine?» Basically there was a sign the cutter went over the pizza but… didn’t actually… cut it… just indented it… which to me showed carelessness. It was not even all that busy.

The food here is pretty expensive for what you get. Yes, I know, it’s at LACMA, and we were allowed to sit outside and listen to the music for jazz night (so that was a plus). I guess you’re paying for ambiance and convenience.
We started off with a salad and fries. The salad was drenched in vinegar. I’ve never eaten anything so doused in it ever before in my whole life. Luckily, I like vinegar, so I was okay eating it, but the salad was very salty as a result.
The fries were standard and with a garlic dipping sauce/​aioli.
I ordered the market fish for my entrée. I’m not even sure what kind of fish it was, but it was white and the skin was crispy. The skin was actually quite thick and textured, almost to the point where I was wondering what they had done to the surface (not in a good way). The fish itself was fishy (which sounds stupid, because it’s fish, but it was slightly off-​putting).
The rest of the vegetables, etc., on the plate were forgettable. All I remember is that I felt a little sick while eating it towards the end.

I don’t know what’s happened here. As a resident of the Hancock Park/​Miracle Mile area this was one of our main go-to’s. They had an amazing bar with an exciting and extensive cocktail list.
Gone.
The dinner menu at Ray’s always had lots of interesting, delicious choices, both small and large plates.
Gone.
They’ve replaced the cocktail menu with a water menu? When I go out for dinner I want cocktails and wine, not expensive water. It’s pretentious and doesn’t enhance the dining experience. In fact I would argue that cocktails are more profitable. You give me a couple great cocktails to loosen me up and I’m likely to part with my money in the form of a dessert and/​or a little extra tip.
Patina, please bring the old days back, it’s what made this place stand out from the crowd.

I was early for a screening at LACMA and since I had time to spare I decided to have dinner here. There was a private event going on so I couldn’t sit at the bar but they had plenty of seating inside the dining room. The décor and ambiance is very artsy and modern (of course), and the staff was attentive and friendly. I had the Pilota (Crispy farro, toasted almonds, broccoli, scallions, apricot mostarda, goat cheese, Stone fruit), paired with a California Blonde Ale by Eel River. While the dish was delicious, vegetarian and healthy, at $ 17 the modestly-​sized bowl was on the pricey side. Coupled with the beer my dinner came to over $ 30 with tax and tip. I understand that it’s all local, farm-​to-​table stuff and the prices reflect that – just prepare yourself going in. While it was a pleasant experience and I’m glad I tried it out, I don’t see myself going back any time soon.
STEPH JUDGEMENT: Cool ambiance and good food, but a bit spendy.

Had some drinks here before our museum day. Sat at the outdoor bar, it was kinda crowded on a Saturday afternoon. Outdoor bar is chic and modern, liked the moving arts on TVs.
I wanted a Lemon drop martini, one of the bartenders said they ran out of sugar, the other one said they had some in the back, took them a while to make my drink, glad the drink was tasty and strong, so it was worth all the trouble. Hubby had a sparkling water with organic lemon, it was a very refreshing water, perfect for a warm day.
Bartenders were very friendly and polite, I think it’s AWESOM that there is a full bar at this museum!

I’m not sure why this place doesn’t get better reviews as I always enjoy my meals here. I came here for a business lunch on Monday, which was my 3^rd time here.
Pros:
— has lots of outdoor tables; perfect for beautiful LA weather.
— good seasonal rotation of food items.
— decent options for drinks.
— easy parking via LACMA
Cons:
— the parking is relatively expensive for a restaurant ($ 12).
— the water menu (and water tasting) is a tad much.

The bar and restaurant are conveniently located in the heart of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. They offer both indoor and outdoor dining in the restaurant section. The bar
area is outdoors only with a roof overhead and no walls, great for people watching with comfortable chair and sofas.
The hostess seats you as best she can. LACMA gets very busy on weekends. Waiter service is uneven. The last time we dined here, our waitress messed up my drink order and we had to remind her to bring the water we had asked for. A double faux pas.
The atmosphere is nice except for loud music distracting conversation.
We had the fish and chips for $ 21 which arrived with limp french fries and 3 very very very tiny pieces of what appeared to be fried Alaskan or Pacific cod. The 3 pieces were smaller than one piece at any other fine dining establishment.
Previously, we ordered a pizza which was very dry and literally burnt.
They try to rush you out and our busboy tried to take our plates before we were done. How rude! I guess he was just going on orders from management.
The hot and iced teas are delicious. I cannot comment on the alcohol as we have not imbibed
here.
Overall, I have mixed emotions as the location is great, the atmosphere pleasant, yet the
food mediocre, at such high prices.
Your options at LACMA for food and drink are limited. The other choices are the Coffee and Milk takeout but there are tables and chairs outside and also a cafeteria on the far side of the
Bing Theater on the other side of the LACMA campus.
One may also check out the 15 or 20 food trucks on Wilshire Boulevard and Spaulding Street acroos the street from the museum.
Would I return? Yes for the drinks and no for the food. The food gets 2 stars and the drinks and ambiance receive 4 stars.

Ahead of us, a young, starving artist couple, tender with lightly laced hands, cutting edge clad for a near summer night were profiled, turned away, redirected to hopefully more affordable fare at closer to Sixth Street Patina Group kiosks by a pleasant yet stern hostess. They seemed to take that rejection, er, redirection in stride. I didn’t, I wanted to hug them but that’s just me remembering what it was like not to have the price of admission.
Older, more moneyed, my guy and I agreed to the $ 35 per person minimum reiterated by said hostess then lead to a patio seat. Not sure if that edict is just for Jazz at LACMA Fridays. But the $ 35 per weighed heavily. I perused the menu doing math in my head. I hate doing math especially on a night out. We are not big eaters. Fortunately Ray’s and Stark Bar price points are conducive to the total BUT what happens to us if we don’t make the minimum? Would we be relegated to the aforementioned kiosks or worse? We should have made friends with that couple, invited them to join us or perhaps we should have joined them… I ceased to enjoy, kicking myself for not making sandwiches and filling a flask.
Ray’s patio at sundown is still sunny this time of year. Good news a multitude of umbrellas provide shade. Bad news, a nape of the neck man bun server took the easy way out; usurped our umbrella to comfort his patrons who had purchased the evening’s Patina pre fixe. This not only affected us but the four-​top behind, they left shortly thereafter finishing dessert in haste. Interestingly there was a surplus of umbrellas available but ours was just easier to move. Tip: If you want to sit in the shade, make a reservation.
OK, now I’m bristling while my sweetie is happily people watching, lovin’ the music unaware I am writing a Unilocal review in my head (way better than doing math)! Enter the evening’s redemption our server, David. He fixed the sunset’s heat/​glare in a heartbeat, brought us complimentary warm bread with soft, creamy chive butter, was attentive but laidback in checking in, and knew the menu through and through to guide us in making the right choices.
Chardonnay and club soda to start along with a $ 15 three cheese plate (five for $ 20) to share. Online menu has not been updated, here’s what we enjoyed
. Accompanying baguette was ordinary, unnecessary but the dollop of honey and razor thin Granny Smith slices really worked, especially with the Humboldt Fog. A plate like this is my kinda dessert as opposed to a starter.
Would have ordered a salad but I had lost my appetite from the pressure to make that minimum.
We shared the wood-​fired Roman pizza loaded with San Marzano tomatoes, Taggiasche olives, garlic-​caper oil, and oregano
. Now this pie has a wonderful outer crust but the bottom is super thin and susceptible to absorbing the aforementioned oil, which makes it tasty but impossible to pick up and eat by the slice. Light eaters that we are, two slices went home. Overnight the outer crust softened up, the flavors melded and it was quite the breakfast cold!
No room for more food, we ordered another round of drinks. I kept doing the math. I knew we had not met the minimum per person, but we’re a couple doesn’t that count? Will we be taken to the kitchen to be force fed foie gras style until we do? Will the hostess happily handcuff us in TSA plastic bands till the gastronomy police whisk us to jail?
Uh, oh! THE check. I looked up through my bangs at David and sadly said, «But we didn’t make the minimum.» He started to laugh and waved me off. My guy was rocking out to the music, I shoved him the check. We tipped on the minimum per and then some.
David = 5 Stars
Food = 4 Stars
Rules & Regulations = 0 Stars
Average = 3 Stars

Two Words: Pleasantly surprised
I decided to order something different this time. I ordered the Charcuterie plate. You have your choice of three or five of the following meat selections. I chose salami, pâté and duck rilette. I actually thought it was going to be my appetizer until I was served the dish. It was presented on a wooden board. The presentation was phenomenal — it was like art. It also came with grilled buttered bread. The taste exceeded my expectations.
My dish was substantially better than the last one I tried. The hostess informed me that they change their menus often. That’s a sign that their ingredients and food are fresh. Service was accommodating like last time and the view (even when overcast) is lovely. I met the manager, Martin, and he is a very upbeat person. Maybe I’ll get to meet the chef next time. I will definitely come back for more.

I played hooky at work and came here during lunchtime to fit this place in my schedule to eat «Burgers, Bourbons, & Brews» special menu for National Burger Month.
Bad to the Bone by Viet Pham
$ 25
Angus Beef Patty, Short Rib, Truffle, Smoked Tomato Jam, Bone Marrow, Caramelized Onion, Foie Gras, Arugula, Brioche Bun and served with Duck Fat Fries
Pairing Options
with Beer Milkshake $ 30
with Bourbon Milkshake $ 30
I arrived early and there was plenty of seating since it is spacious, although there are plenty of walk-​ins as well and reservations are not quite necessary. The crowd is diverse, probably because it’s located at LACMA, but predominantly an older, Caucasian scene. There is outdoor patio seating as well as indoor seating, so it’s nice to have your pick depending on the weather, and dogs are allowed!
Upon being seated, we found out that the special burger was actually a burger on their normal menu… hmmm…but we got that nonetheless and paired it with the bourbon milkshake. The burger came out quickly enough and we noticed that it did not look impressive at all. Upon biting into it, it was definitely bland and every bite was not consistent. The foie gras and short rib was nonexistent and the beef patty alone could not even hold the burger to a certain standard.
The fries were basic steak cut fries with salt on them. Most of it got soggy really quickly and I could not finish-​which says a lot based on how much I adore fries. I highly question whether they were duck fat fries.
The complimentary bread was good, however, and made fresh before being brought out. The butter melted nicely into the warm bread and had it not been for this to finish filling us up, the meal itself would not have done the trick.
The milkshake came out late when we were practically done with our burgers-​but this was actually a solid alcoholic milkshake. You could taste the bourbon immediately and the creamy texture really did a lot for it-​but at that price, the small little cup really looked pathetic. I would definitely not order it again.
One aspect that we also noticed was that the burgers were not consistent among tables. We saw another woman’s burger order come out and hers was on a different scale. It was piled higher to the point where the burger top had to be placed on the side and you could actually see all the individual items. I’m not sure if our chef messed up but that should not be our problem to deal with. They should work on the kitchen food since the excellent service will do nothing for the restaurant if the food sucks.

Came here for the Bad to the Bone burger available only in May.
The Bad to the Bone burger with short rib, marrow and foie gras was a really good burger, but I couldn’t really taste the foie gras or marrow too much. The foie gras was definitely smaller in person than was pictured in the Burgers, Bourbons, and Brews promo picture. I couldnt see the marrow either. However, I still really enjoyed my fatty burger. The burger was cooked more on the rare side than medium rare, but that was a minor issue. It was moist and not overly greasy. The tomato jam was really good.
Duck fat fries accompanying the burger was crisp and good. Seemed like it was double fried.
Bourbon milk shake that you can add on to the burger had a lot of bourbon. It had tons of vanilla bean specks and hubby said they used high quality ice cream. Since I am overly sensitive to the taste of alcohol, I only tasted alcohol. He seemed to like his bourbon milk shake.
Hubby ordered Piloma — a farro dish. For a grain dish, there was a lot of flavor and it wasn’t bad. I wish he ordered himself a Bad to the Bone burger instead so I wouldn’t have needed to share my burger.
Stroller friendly. Outdoor seating had plenty of space for my bigger than average stroller and the restaurant was very accommodating for my request for space to park my stroller, which was noted in special request when I reserved my table. It may have helped that we dined at 11AM on Saturday and there weren’t that many other patrons.

I found myself here grabbing something to eat before an after hours event at LACMA. The outdoor bar and restaurant were dimly lit and there was plenty of seating in the restaurant area and decent space to lounge and mingle at the bar.
Wanting to eat a quick bite, we ordered the «slow pig» pizza with braised pork, San Marzano tomatoes, provolone, olives, and broccoli, as well as the pretzel bites. We didn’t really have time to savor the food as we were in a rush to follow the group into the exhibit, but after taking a bite of the pizza, I was fine with just stuffing it down. With very little toppings — especially the pork — and even sparser seasoning, the pizza was forgettable. So, I was glad that we ordered the pretzel bites, after seeing them on a nearby table. They came warm, fresh, and soft. Dipping them into the hot cheese sauce was the perfect snack on a cool night.
This certainly isn’t a destination place to get food — at least not at the bar. But, if you find yourself at LACMA and hungry, you can probably find a snack or two to tide you over.