Plate 38

I wish I could tell you what the food was like, but I can’t. Service was so darn horrible we left before we could even order.
We came in with a reservation for Father’s Day, not one person greeted us. Stood there for a solid ²⁄₃ min before anyone even acknowledged us.
The place wasn’t even busy yet you’d think it were packed by the lack of service.
Our waitress finally comes over to get our drink order, 2 out of 5 of us order & before the rest of us could even look up from our menus– she was GONE. What the hell kind of service is that???
Sorry, but if you’re that miserable taking a drink order, there’s no way in hell in ordering food from you. By the looks of these reviews, this place is going down hill real quick.

Very satisfied with all the orders desserts are really good too I ordered crème brûlée

went back, against better judgement, for a large group again and my wife got food poisoning. The only thing we could pin point it back to was a dessert where she mentioned the dough portion of a peach tart felt like it was not fully cooked… The service was pretty good, most of the food was pretty good and after a tab of $ 700+ we getaway with someone getting food poisoning. I’m not one to use the term «food poisoning» loosely. These were the words used by a doctor, not me nor my wife.

I would give ZERO stars if possible, BUT… someone could argue that the food is tasty.
If you have the patience and tolerance for horrible customer service, this is your place.
First, there were three workers during the lunch shift and NO ONE bothered to greet us. We decided to just seat ourselves at a table in the patio area.
SECOND, Jose (our server) did not provide any utensils or ask for our drink order until we sent a busboy to flag him down.
THIRD, twenty-​three minutes after we ordered, not only did Jose not write down the order, he came back to verbally double check our orders, STILL managed to somehow get our orders wrong AND he still even forgot to put in our appetizer order!
Unbelievable. Worst service of my life thus far.

Food was alright — actually, the bread pudding was really good — but the service and the setting were subpar. Dirty, loud… smoky from outside.

Found this place on Unilocal.Had a great time and everyone was nice. Defiantly a come backer !!

Has to be hands down the best restaurant in Pasadena. Chef Robert Humphrey creates magic in the kitchen! Had the filet that was on the special last night and it came out absolutely perfect. The okinawan sweet potato were also to die for! Can’t wait to try his next special!!! Reverse happy hour from 9pm also works with my schedule perfectly.

Very disappointed for my first visit. Doubt we will be back.
Throughout my whole meal, I never knew who our server was. He/​she never introduced themselves to us. We had to ask one of the wait staff for drinks and food, finding out they weren’t even our waiter.
Service was very slow despite not even having too many customers for a Saturday brunch time.
Food was average. Nothing that stands out from other brunch place. I got the crab cake Benedict and my sister got the truffle mushroom burger. Benedict was lacking hollandaise sauce and the burger was too sweet.
Two star for decoration and parking.

This place could be awesome but the service has always lacked in being attentive and the menu is always just a bit off from being desirable.
The plus side is that, if you get service, the ambience can be nice. I’ve been a handful of times and it’s never quite worked. Could really work if it had the parts to make it a nice neighborhood place.
Hoping that one day they train the staff and get a better head chef. For now, come here only if you’re happy to eat and drink a small amount and pay for an experience that you’d hope you had.

This is a great local happy in East Pasadena! Importantly. they have happy hour every day! We have stopped by a few times for happy hour and always enjoyed it. They have a nice patio and large bar area. Place looks clean as well. They feature about 2 beers and 2 wines on happy hour along with tasty bites. I liked the fresh oysters which came with a ponzu sauce mix and the mini corn dogs and fries. We would like to come back and try the brunch and dinner menu! Burger looks tasty! Staff is always friendly and helpful! I want to try the dinner menu before it gets 5 stars. but this place looks good!

Amazing!
The service, the quality of the food, and of course bottomless mimosas was all top notch!
I split the breakfast burger with a friend. It’s huge!
The fries are perfectly seasoned and come with a side of ranch and ketchup automatically.
The service here is very very good. The three times I’ve been here, I’ve been treated the same each time.
I will have to come back at night to see that experience.

I drive past this trendy-​looking spot daily and it always piqued my interest. I finally tried it today and it didn’t disappoint!
I went for lunch on a weekday and to my happy surprise, they offer a limited breakfast menu. I tried the brioche french toast, which comes with Nutella, bananas foster, powdered sugar, toasted almonds and amaretto chantilly cream. I hate bananas and almonds but they were happy to accommodate me and substituted them with strawberries. Soooo yummy! It comes with syrup which depending on your taste, may be unnecessary but I used some of it and am still coming down from my sugar high. Totally worth it though!
The dish comes as is so I ordered a side of rosemary potatoes which were so tasty as well. They were seasoned beautifully with a heaping mix of onions and green and red peppers.
I’ll definitely be back!

As someone who eats at Plate 38 a lot, I must say that I find the low ratings here a bit mystifying. This is a 4.5 or 5 star place in my mind.
Here’s my take: This is a foodie’s restaurant as the ratings indicate it really isn’t for everyone. The prices are a bit on the high side. On the other hand you get high quality ingredients, a well-​planned menu and food that is always thoughtfully prepared. The service is probably about average; regulars probably get better service.
I think the food here is ranks right up there with the best in Pasadena, on par with the better places in old town (Union, etc), although Plate 38 is by design more of a mid-​range place, with a menu that ranges from excellent versions of comfort food to medium/​high-​end meals. I especially like the salmon salad, calamari, the garlic fries, the veal meatball special and the burger. Every dish is made from scratch … only good, real, freshly-​made food.
I saw several reviews knock this place for the size of it’s servings. Really? If you want big serving go to the Olive Garden or Applebees.
On the other hand I do think the complaints about service have some merit. I have experienced a bit of a prima donna vibe sometimes. I get good service, but I have seen that people who complain about the prices or the sizes of the servings get a less-​than-​fully-​sympathetic response.
The owner is there all day every day and it FEELS like a restaurant where the owner is present and cares about what goes on. If you aren’t happy ask to talk to him. My guess is that if he honestly thinks your complaint has merit he’ll make it right; and if not he’ll probably tell you to get the heck out of his restaurant.

This review is for the Happy Hour special they have here seven days a week. I’ve meaning to try this place for the longest time because I alway pass by it on the way to work and that happy hour sign always appealed to me! Well, today I finally got to the chance to try it out and it was definitely an interesting experience.
First off, parking here is horrible, they have a extremely small lot that is shared with numerous other buildings so you will really have to get lucky or find street parking. It wasn’t busy when I came so the server attended to us very quickly. After browsing through their happy hour menu, we opted to sample a good amount and tried the Lobster Po’ Boy, Fish Tacos, Oysters, Mushroom Bruschetta and a regular order of Garlic Herb Fries.
The Po’ Boy was disapointing as I expected a little more, it was tastful but was mostly lobster meat mixed with some white sauce. I would skip this. Similarly, the fish tacos did not really have a big piece of fish, it was relatively small and did not seem like it was worth getting. The oysters were decent but they vary in size, some were big, while others were really small, but overall they were tasteful and fresh for the price. The bruschetta was very good for any mushroom lovers and is something I would get again. The fries were perfect, thin and lightly fried!
Overall, I would come here again for their happy hour, but now I have a better understanding of what to avoid and what to get. Just stick with the oysters, fries, and maybe the bruschetta if you’re a fan and you will be mildly pleased!

I’m giving this place 3 stars because of SERVICE.
I been here twice already and every time I’ve order different food and yet food has not been disappointing, but I have to say their service completely sucks. «THE WAITRESSES» do not pay attention to their customer, instead they are hanging out behind the bar using their CELLPHONES, talking to the bartender or any other person besides taking care of their tables.
here’s my proof that waitress were hanging out talking to each other behind the bar instead of checking up on their tables see if we needed anything. I tried to caught her with the cellphone on her hand but the other waitress got in the way.

Parking: Big parking lot, usually with plenty of spaces, and it’s free! Such a relief from most other places where you have to hunt for a spot or shell out money just to park.
Atmosphere: It’s like going somewhere in DTLA or Old Town, but without all the traffic, crowding, riff raff, etc. Plate 38 may be isolated from the rest of Old Town, so it won’t be on the barhopping circuit. It’s a nice, quiet place to grab some beers/​food and have a nice chat.
Food and Drink: I remember the food was pretty good before they got their liquor license. Now that they can serve booze, their food is grrrrreat! Like I said before, you’re getting the best of DTLA and Old Town with none of the drawbacks.

Plate 38 is the place I go to for my weekly happy hour with my person in Pasadena. Since discovering this little gem back in 2014 (how far we’ve come) I really do enjoy coming here.
I would say the best time to visit is for HH as pricing of the food and drinks are reasonable. I think when it’s outside of that, it can get quite expensive. Recently, aka last week, we were here and instead of my usual glass of wine I decided on the Moscow Mule. Yum because I couldn’t taste the alcohol but definitely felt it! Haha.
As for food, well, since my person ordered, and I can’t quite remember all of the items, I sadly can’t give you all the names except order the Kennebec Potato Chips/​Sea Salt. A favorite of mine. Also, not this time but we’ve ordered the oysters before. I recommend! I’m sure we will be back and I shall update my review! Happy Eats and Happy Hour!
Tips– HH ends at 6pm. Parking is a shared lot with other stores with some street parking.

Rating: 4.5. Had a great experience!
Gf asked me where I wanted to go eat for brunch for my birthday, but my mind drew a blank and asked her to choose for me. She pulled out her cell phone and lbh this place showed up first on her Unilocal app!
Check-​in deal: Free dessert with entrée purchase only applies from large plate menu or chalkboard specials. Didn’t read the fine print and thought this would be a great bday/​brunch capper! I was a sad soul for a few seconds, but the food turned my frown upside down! :)
Time of operation: We thought this placed opened at 11, but it opened at 8am instead. The hostess said that they opened up early just for me, because it was my birthday! I know your kidding hostess, but that was music to my ears. All kidding aside, they open early for holidays.
Location/​Parking: Located on the corner of Colorado Blvd and Sierra Madre. Very easy to spot! Parking is great also!
Ambiance/​Décor: Very nice modern décor with a very nice outdoor patio, but decided not to sit outside because it was cold. Very COLD… even though the sun was out!
Service: Loved the service! Our waitress was friendly, attentive, and recommended some great plates to try. Hot water with lemon slices were flowing throughout our brunch. Food came out at a decent time. No complaints there.
Food: We shared three plates and they were both scrumptious.
1) 4 cheese sexy mac and cheese (ham, leeks, gruyère, fontina, white cheddar, parmesan garlic breadcrumbs): *singing* You know it’s right. You know it when you need it, baby. You see it, you fork it, you taste it. It’s right! Sexy mac… uh huh uh huh… you got the right one baby! *end singing*. You’re so voluptuous with your cheesiness (very cheesy)! If I can have you ²⁴⁄₇ I would! Ooopsie… don’t tell the gf I said that!
2) Croissant breakfast club (fried eggs, crispy prosciutto, avocado, butter, lettuce, tomatoes, roasted shallot aioli): I thought the croissant sandwich was decent. The cooks were able to modify our order to have over hard instead of fried eggs and replace the crispy prosciutto with bacon!
3) Crab cake benedict (poached eggs, grilled asparagus, english muffin, fresh fruit, hollandaise): Break the yoke of the poached egg and let it just ooze on everything! Very yum! Crab cakes were flavorful and the hollandaise sauce was not overwhelming. The salad, asparagus, and fruit rounded out the meal for me.
We had a great time and can’t wait to try your bottomless mimosas next time!

Plate 38 has great happy hour and I ordered the skirt steak with garlic fries. For happy hour, our table ordered oysters. I believe they are $ 1/​oyster and they are prepared well and they didn’t have any shell fragments like some higher end oyster bars.
Come here for happy hour. The entrees here are a hit or miss. The skirt steak was good but majority of the table ordered some giant short rib special? I’m not too sure what it was but it was a giant bone with some bit of meat hanging onto it. So stick to happy hour and tapas. This place isn’t really known for the entrees

Happy hour is 4−6pm and 9pm-​close!
Came mainly for their happy hour oyster deal, since I was already in Old Town Pasadena. Their oysters are extremely fresh and only $ 1.50 per half shell! Definitely try some of their happy hour drinks as well. They really don’t skimp you on the alcohol mix, which made me more willing when I ordered one of their $ 7 happy hour drinks. Here’s what to get for happy hour:
1. Oysters on the half shell ($ 1.50)– the oysters are super fresh! They come with horseradish and a spicy/​tomato lemon sauce. YUM!
2. Mushroom Bruschetta ($ 3.50)– I expected some mushrooms on a crunchy bruschetta, but this one was nothing compared to my expectations. The mushroom was grilled with some onions until perfection and the bread wasn’t super crispy, but still rather chewy! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!
3. Duck Slider ($ 3.50)– slider with fig compote and arugula. Not a bad choice to try, just rather small for the price.
4. Tuna Taco ($ 3.50)– Definitely give this one a try! The taco shell wasn’t like the texture and crispiness of regular taco shells. This one is on the thinner side, maybe like chips? Comes with avocado and cilantro crème inside the taco. They’re on the lighter side of flavoring, so it doesn’t overpowers the tuna taste!
Service: There were no line when I went around 5pm and you were allowed to sit anywhere you wanted. Servers are friendly and brought the food out within minutes. I will definitely come back to try other dishes!