Napa Valley Grille

If you have extra cash to waste, this is the place to go. One should review their bill carefully especially when hosting an event. There are many hidden costs and the possibility of over charging.

Got there half hour early but they were able to seat us. Service was great, had the kale chopped salad — loved its freshness, nice kiss of citrus. Almonds gave it a little layer of crunch, Parmesan gave it a little zest and richness, and a sprinkling of quinoa and golden raisins rounded it off well. Made for a very flavorful taste experience. Good-​sized portion.
For dinner, I selected the braised short ribs, which were very tender and tasty. It had a nice hearty flavor. Wish it had a few more veggies, though. Loved the little Peruvian potatoes, cooked to perfection — not too firm and not overcooked.
Dessert was the peach berry crisp with vanilla ice cream, and the chocolate Marquis flourless cake with chocolate ganache, strawberries, and vanilla ice cream. Not to worry, I did not eat both desserts by myself. Both were very nice, will definitely have them again.
Service was very good. The atmosphere was a bit noisy, tables are situated fairly close to one another. And there was an event in the outdoor patio area, so there was a lot of foot traffic going through the restaurant past our table. It looks like a nice venue for networking/​cocktail events.
Prices were fairly reasonable for the quality and quantity of food we received.

Temporarily closed for remodeling, though I very much doubt we’ll be back to see it. This is one of those places that trucks out an open kitchen (which can be sort of fun). Unfortunately, the only thing this adds here is a full-​on view of the most genuinely miserable cooks you’ll likely ever see. Maybe they were having a bad day. But all of them, all at once???
Parking is a real drag in the neighborhood. The valet, like the menu prices, charges a bit much. Something to consider when you’re going to plunk down $ 80 for lunch on top of that. Even for the kale salad, which is actually pretty good. Dry and hope you like a LOT of kale, but pretty good.
Before it closed, I’d taken an older friend out for a birthday lunch, mentioning the special occasion to our waiter (Sevastien?). The guy looked like he hadn’t slept in a week. Although pleasant and attentive at first, he kept trying to get us to order more. And it was totally not subtle. When we declined, it’s like the guy hit the off switch and blew us off. Looks like he had other customers and a large party who were spending more. :(
When we finally got our food, we were a few bites from finishing when he finally returned, if you could even call it that. Nothing for the birthday. No thank you. We were able to flag down a busser and another waiter. If we understood correctly (it was loud), we asked who the manager was.
They said it was our waiter. Ridiculous.

As much as I love this place, I’m sad to say they’re closed for renovations starting yesterday and apparently for ~3 months. I’m still giving 5 stars because I anticipate the changes will be positive and my last dinner there last week was fabulous! Thanks and til we meet again NGV!

I have been here plenty of times for happy hour and really enjoy it. I especially like their large, pretty outdoor patio with plenty of comfy lounge furniture and tables.
Their food is overall OK. I don’t think I have ever had anything truly excellent here but I think it’s always been an enjoyable experience.
My last visit here was for a large pre-​fixed dinner. I had their vegetarian house made pasta which I actually really liked. It was a bit salty but overall enjoyable. I also liked their salad and dessert platter.
We were in a nice room that’s perfect for company dinners or for a dinner where you will have a presentation.
Parking: they have valet for 7 dollars I believe. You can also park in the meters around Westwood.
Check out their HH – I have enjoyed it in the past.

I’ve been untimely in my reviews, and this one is a long time coming. I booked one of their private rooms for my sister’s birthday in July, and found their event planner difficult to get a hold of – her schedule is more of a swing shift and she’d mention trying to call back but left no voicemails; her e-​mail responses delayed. Nonetheless, we were able to connect and plan a pre-​fixe 3-​course meal with non-​alcoholic beverages for $ 51 per person. It was one of the better deals for such an event in the Westside. The contracting process was a challenge due to the $ 1,000 minimum – I had a difficult time confirming whether our guests’ separate purchases of alcoholic beverages would figure into the minimum. When I finally did confirm, it was not placed in the contract. Our event actually came off nicely: food was good and our server was friendly. However, there were glitches. Because the contract did not include that guests’ alcoholic beverage purchases were included in the minimum, the restaurant almost charged us a heavy chunk of change to make up the difference. We had to have our waiter talk to the manager to get it all sussed out. We had a cake that we brought, which ended up being plated in small squares along with the pre-​fixe desserts. It was odd, since our guests really couldn’t have much of the really delicious cake. Also (small thing) the menu did not have the appropriate date of our event – it’s more one of those memory book things more than anything else. That said, this is not my usual experience working with an in-​house event planner. Their job is to make sure all is planned according to discussion, and it was a bummer to have to negotiate over the $ 1,000 minimum when I really just wanted to enjoy the event. I’m rating this one harshly, but with the note that I would eat here again. But I would NEVER recommend it for an event. Too disorganized.

I came here for a business dinner and had an overall pleasant experience.
Started things off with a bottle of Red and a cheese board. There was 7 of us, so the 4 small blocks of cheese didn’t go far. The fresh bread (and a refill basket) helped tide me over until the entrée arrived.
I wasn’t sure what to get, so I enlisted the help of our waitress. My eye is always drawn to Filet Mignon, but $ 45, I didn’t know if it would be worth it. Two of her recommendations included the scallops and the short rib. I found myself starving, even after some cheese and multiple slices of bread, so I asked what was more filling, and was advised to go with the short rib, so thus I did. I’m not usually a big short rib fan — tends to be too fatty and chewy for my tastes, and I’m usually left hungry if the bones are large and doesn’t leave much meat. Though I suppose you get what you pay for! The NVG short rib runs $ 29, but it’s one of the best I’ve had in a while. «Fork tender» meat as they say, easy to pull apart, and very tender to the touch. The jus sauce was a little light, would have liked just a tad more for added flavor, but the meat was just tasty and juicy enough that I didn’t gripe. In terms of the portion, it was the size of my fist, so a fairly good size for the price. The carrots and potatoes and spinach it came with were more of an afterthought, I looked at them more as pretty garnishes than substantive sides. All together it was moderately filling and in the end, I was happy with my choice. Good recommendation from the staff.
I added a glass of white wine with my meal (sauvignon blanc for $ 10 a glass). We got 3 desserts to share for the table. I got a taste of the crème brûlée and the tart — both were a nice sweet addition to cap off the meal. (I preferred the crème brûlée)
Service was consistent and attentive. We were not in a hurry by any means, but we never had to wait long for refills, to place orders, or to have dirty dishes cleared. Our waitress came by on many occasions and made sure we were taken care of.
Valet is $ 6 for the first couple hours, but we stayed longer than that, so it wound up costing $ 7.50 (tip not included). Not many parking options in this area of Westwood outside of valet.
Definitely pricey but given the quality of the meat I received, and the attentive service, I’d be ok treating myself here again, but I’m honestly not super eager to come back anytime soon.

My family and I went to Napa Grille for Thanksgiving dinner tonight and while the food was mediocre the service was great. Everyone worked hard to make sure we were happy and had what we needed, especially our waiter who was awesome. We appreciated that people who were working on Thanksgiving were happy to be there. We went somewhere else for Valentine’s Day and our waiter was so unhappy that it ruined the whole experience. Thank you again, Napa Grille!

I’ve been here mostly for Sunday brunch. They have a pretty decent menu of smaller items that were somewhat reasonably priced. But the last couple of times we’ve been the menu has changed (for the worse) and the prices have increased. The last time I was there I ordered the crab cake benedict, it was the most expensive item on the menu and also the most bland — was not seasoned well at all. The coffee cake that I normally love was rather dry. The mimosas had too much orange juice and not enough champagne. Everything else just seemed rather underwhelming. A friend and I did the happy hour once years ago and I recall having a good time, I’d actually like to check the happy hour out again at some point. The kale salad and blueberry fizz were our favorites.
The establishment itself is nice, clean, big windows, very minimalist — they have a private dining area also which would be great for graduation dinners (very close to UCLA) or corporate lunches. The outside patio is great for a nice day! All in all, this place is OK. But I’d like to try dinner here first before I make my final verdict.

I really thought that is was going to be great but it was just okay. I just had a cesar salad so maybe I need to give this another try, but overall for the price we paid it was just okay food but nothing to write home about. The service was nice and the wine list was good, we each had a glass of nice white with lunch and the waiter topped us off for free. $ 75 bucks out the door with tip and tax for 2 which is not bad, but for what we both had it was a little expensive.
Funny one reviewer mentioned that the bread was great and just kept coming, I guess we never asked for any so we never got any.

Always a favorite of mine. The kale salad is unbelievable and that’s coming from someone that doesn’t like kale! The bread is delicious and keeps on coming. The consistently changing seasonal menu has also never failed me. I try to order new dishes each time in here. I’m never disappointed. Come during Happy Hour. It’s a fantastic deal.

A great eating establishment in the heart of Westwood, near UCLA and the sorority road. The parking can be a little sketch here, but if you don’t mind walking a few blocks, park over at Broxton and get a couple hours comp in the afternoon — if it’s night pony up the $ 6 cause you’re gonna want to eat here.
I’ve never had a better piece of duck than I did here. They make a duck confit salad that is awesome and it’s the perfect portion for the cost.
Great service, wonderful looking location and all around classy joint. Across the street from another one of my Westwood haunts, I could find myself here at the bar after a show at Royce Hall to have a night cap with some friends and the wife.
Enjoy!

Nothing special. The food is everything you would expect of a «American (new)» restaurant but with really expensive prices for the portion sizes of some dishes. I wish they could be a little more flexible with substitutions too, as flexible as they are with requests to remove certain ingredients on the entrees.

I’ve eaten here twice after being invited for dinner after an event which is closed to the public. Both times, it was really good. I just feel like everything here is really good. Whether it is meats, veggies, or salads, and desserts, if the food is this good for large scale events, I’m sure coming for dinner is also very delish. Love the outdoor patio, and the service is always great.

This place was freaking awesome. Go here if you can afford it –their steaks and aka carte sides are fabulous. I had a beef tenderloin and sautéed spinach. Both were awesome. One of my friends had the bone-​in ribeye ($ 88) and mashed potatoes, and the other had beef short ribs. Everyone was happy at the end. Well worth a visit.

Serene dining rooms. Excellent food. Spot on service. What’s not to like? Order any burger. Pasta was superb. Beer on tap was a treat. Definitely will return. Valet parking… so convenient in this area.

A place to have a power lunch so to speak. A little pricey but not outrageously expensive. Service is slow so your client is trapped for the spiel you are going to give. Ok for business lunch not so much for everyday dining. Kale salad was good but not exceptional. Burger was just ok.

Yesterday, my sister and I stopped in Napa Valley Grille for lunch. We Valet park the car and were seated right away. We ordered the Kale Salad with Grilled Shrimp $ 23, the Steak Salad (Kale salad) $ 19, Bacon lentil soup, $ 7 and lattes $ 5.75. The food was OK. Salads were identical except for one was steak and one was shrimp. The table service was excellent and the bread with herb butter was good. Paid the check and went to get our car. Here is where the problem starts.
After giving the Valet the parking ticket we wait for 10 minutes to have them pull up a black dirty Lexus RX SUV. Nope not our car. We came in Silver Lexus LX450. The 3 valets begin digging around the key box and talking to each other. We tell them the Black car is not our car and keys are incorrect. One of the Valet rudely said did you mix up the tickets. Ummm we came in one car and ate with no one else. After fumbling around for another 5 min minutes. I walk to the front podium were a young man in suit presumably the manager to tell him the Valet lost our car. He snickered and proceeded to answer the phone and blew me off. Instead for walking 20 feet to the Valet stand to find out what happened, he proceeded to talk on the phone in front of me. After another 10 minutes the Valets pull up the car. $ 6 with Validation. Minus stars…

Updated my review. See above. Things are SOOOO much different than my experience in 2012!
Great food. Great service. TV’s in the bar. Quiet in the dining room.
The wait is a bit longer for food but I realize for finer dining, it can be longer. Everyone is pleasant. I look forward to every trip!
Give them a try if you have before and it wasn’t good, it’s great now!

After a very disappointing first experience in the spring, I returned in December — twice. The kale salad continues to be a knockout punch. Better than almost any salad anywhere. That was my lunch one day.
For dinner, I had the warm brussel sprout salad with pancetta and a poached egg. Not very big, but huge on flavor. Then I had prosciutto wrapped scallops with maple butternut squash purée. Very very well done. Way to go!