Best Hawaiian Restaurants in El Sereno

In an area where finding a really good restaurant can be a sketchy proposition, Belles was a solid option. The location near Venice Beach is good, but obviously touristy. But the Tiki Bar vibe was totally awesome!! Great ambience and the food was very solid as well. We shared 2 apps and split a dinner and everything was delicious. Service could have been a little peppier, but hey, you're in CALI. We got a couple of Tiki cocktails which were awesome, and priced where you'd expect for a top notch Tiki Bar. One thing I'd warn anyone about are the wine pours. We got 3 glasses of wine priced at $17, and they were easily 1/2 of a standard wine glass pour. The glasses were small and the pours were even smaller. I regretted that we didn't send the small pours back (which I can honestly say I've never done) and requested a different drink. If you go the wine route, invest in a bottle. Bottle prices were high for the varietals available, but a much better value than the "by the glass" pours and pricing, which were basically (and I'm not going to pull any punches here) a complete rip off. As my wife said, "that wasn't a pour, it was more like 3 sips!"

Of course the Mat Tai is a must. The filet and lobster combo was excellent and will definitely be a repeat! And let’s not forget their famous cheese bread… Unfortunately I requested a booth, which was reserved for us, but a group of guys in front of our table were extremely loud. We moved to a nice window table for two, but always prefer a booth.

Music a little too loud, hard to hear conversation