Pacific Grille

I rarely ever think to come here but this seems to be a favorite spot for my boss. Like most other Unilocalers, I would have to say the carne asada taco plate is the yummiest. I also enjoy their cobb salad.
It’s in a nice atrium setting. There are nice people who open and close the door for me when I come and leave the building.
Why 3 stars? It wasn’t anything spectacular to me and I’ve definitely had a better variety of food elsewhere. It’s not bad and I recommend you come here at least once, but it’s not a place I’ll keep coming over and over again. Unless I have to.

I came here yesterday for lunch for their Dine LA offerings. For $ 22 + tip, I have had better.
The 2 shrimp empanadas were ok. It came with a small side salad and «rustic» guacamole. There was nothing rustic about the guacamole, it was pretty much like normal guac. The side salad was good, it had cabbage and red onion thinly sliced with a light lime dressing.
The entrée that I chose was the 2 carne asade tacos. They were not tacos – more like tacitos – as in they were small. The carne was well prepared, and it was topped with cabbage, sauteed onions, and diced tomatoes. They tasted good. It also came with restaurant style tortilla chips that weren’t greasy and tasted fresh with a small dish of salsa. Salsa tasted good, wasn’t spicy or hot though.
The dessert was the best part but again, like the appetizer and entrée – small. I chose the dark chocolate cupcake with white chocolate mouse on top. It came with a sliced strawberry and a few blueberries. It was delish!
I sat in the lobby area and it was nice. The service was prompt so I was in and out in an hour. Would I go again, probably not, just because it wasn’t anything memorable or great.

The overall experience was less than OK. We went there for the Restaurant Week menu and to use my
certificate and was told I couldn’t use the certificate for the prix fixe menu. The $ 25 certificate says,“Valid with a minimum food purchase of $ 35″. It doesn’t specify any exclusions I pointed that out to the waitress who checked with her manager and the answer was still «no».
The food was not bad overall but my green tea steamed salmon was sweet and I didn’t care for that. The description said nothing about a sweet sauce.
I love Unilocal since it provides me a way to vent and share both my good and bad experiences. Unfortunately, today’s was bad.
If you want a winner, check out

Unbelievable service and food. I go here as often as I can!

Pacific Grille is right across the street from my office. It is a nice, quiet restaurant with great service and good food. Had the sea bass special yesterday (substituted jasmine rice for wasabi potatoes) and it was great. My husband loved the cedar plank salmon. We had a party of 9 with some picky eaters and everyone enjoyed their food. We shared the calamari appetizer and thought it was very good — tender.

what’s the e for?
what’s a grille?
is it different than a grill?
i like the express version of you on the corner of wilshire and fig but maybe every once in a while you could pre-​make some of your burritos without cheese cause i miss eating them a lot.
maybe you could call a burrito with the cheese a «burrito» and one without, a «burritoe» so I know the difference. thankse.

This place was just okay… better than going to CPK… not as good as engine company… the risotto was pretty good…
their carne asada plate is pretty expensive. the food is just okay… my boss took me here… i wouldn’t pay for it myself. it really has nothing special… limited menu

I’ve had a few business lunches at Pacific Grille and it’s a great place to go! As others have said it’s nicely decorated and quiet enough that you can easily hear the people you’re with. Their food is a little pricey, but it’s good. The shrimp ravioli and the yin-​yang cake are not to be missed!

As some of the other reviews point out that Pacific Grille has a decent cal asian fusion menu with lots of different choices. I see why a lot of people choose to have their lunches out on the patio decorated with a Polynesian flair. We sat inside next to the kitchen with enough room to stretch out.
We were here not only to have lunch but also to support Dine Out LA. Our table started with an order of the calamari that was razor thin and it seems like it was just dusted with seasonings and flash fried. By itself without the aid of the dipping sauce it tasted like cardboard.
Since i was following my low crab /​low sugar diet, i ordered the cheddar burger ($ 14) with no bun, no fries, and asked to see if they could substitute the fries for a side salad. Normally, most places would have no issue or add an additional charge for the sub but this place did. The waitress told me it would cost a few extra dollars and i said fine. I didn’t realize until the bill came that my side salad was an additional $ 7 to my $ 14 dollar burger. I’m sorry, but no way was my meal worth or tasted that good for $ 21+ tax and tip.
I wouldn’t eat here again unless someone else paid for it. Looking over to what everyone else had in our party, the prices seem a bit high for what you get. One of our DTLA lunch crew ordered a cobb salad that was $ 19.

I agree with many of the other reviewers. PG is a great place for lunch, especially when the firm is paying the bill ;-) I absolutely love their carne asada. .. I’m getting hungry just by talking about it. Other than the great carne asada, the service at PG is pretty good. They have a drink guy who just walks around to make sure that your drink glasses are full and then they have a separate waiter to serve food, etc. The fast service definitely comes in handy when you have to do a quick lunch.
I took one star away from PG because of their hours — they should be open more often!

We had a great time! Pacific Grille is a great place for a business lunch. They are extremely professional service. Aileen, the manager, was a delight in setting up my reservation for the Downtown Unilocal Lunch crew (DTYL). We dined at Pacific Grille for Dine Out LA last week.
Pacific Grille’s menu consisted of a variety of Cal-​Asian salads, sandwiches and entrees. I was torn between the short ribs, one of my favorite things to order or one of the many fish dishes. I ended up ordering the seared ahi sandwich that came with sesame noodles.
I liked my sandwich but realized there were a lot of carbs going on and so I ended up eating just the noodles and slid the fish out of the bun. The ahi went really well with the picked ginger. I would probably have liked less sauce for the juilenned cucumbers as when I ate it with the bun, it slid around too much. It was fine though once I was eating it on its own. I would have liked a tad more micro greens but there was plenty of cucumber to give the overall sandwich a nice crunch.
We had an extra person that day so we were seated inside by the kitchen which was both good and bad. I could smell a lot of the food cooking, at some point there were strong whiffs of a rather fishy smell. Sitting inside the place definitely gives it a different feeling, more intimate and dark. I think I would have preferred to have eaten on the «patio.» With the high ceilings, it was like the best of eating «outside» without any icky bugs flying around.
I didn’t get to try them but I heard the ying and yang cupcakes were fantastic. If they’re not available, get the full sized slice (which I think I’ll get next time!).
Service was generally pretty good. Our beverages were refilled constantly and plates were cleared quickly. There was an issue with the bill though. Derek belatedly realized after we left the restaurant he was charged for a side salad at its full price when he requested to get salad instead of fries. If that was the case, he said he would have wanted to get his fries then. But they were very accommodating in giving him a bunless burger.
Overall, I would return to try the gorgeous looking Cobb salad Take T had who said it had a great dressing. It seemed the salads were the favorite things from looking at the other tables.
—edit, Derek said he knew they were going to charge for the side salad but did not mention it would be $ 7!

A downtown Oasis…
Pacific Grille is a great place to grab lunch in the DT when you want a little peace and quiet. The dining area sets the mood with its tropical, I suppose maybe «Pacific,» décor. It’s nice and dark… and even better… it’s nice and quiet.
The food here is pretty darn good too. I haven’t had a bad lunch here in the dozen times I’ve eaten here. The carne asada is delicious and I’ve heard that they make a killer cobb salad.

«Because I want to enjoy this business meeting…»
I’ve been to this restaurant 20 times in the past year and I have to say that it’s still one of the best places to have a lunch business meeting. It’s quiet (no music like Morton’s) and comfortable. I’m not a fan of fusion food, but I really like their sea bass on udon noodles. My partners are fans of the shrimp risotto and the huli huli chicken.
Aileen, the owner, and her co-​workers are especially friendly and charming. They take the time to learn your name and chat. But, if they see you are on a strictly business meeting they will be polite and know when to come by the table (very few recognize how important this is. Ever try to pitch to someone to have it fall apart when some waiter guy interrupts?).
They throw great cocktail bashes and one time I saw this Hawaiian Luau party complete with ginormous Hawaiian dancer balloons and tiki torches. Great place for a company party. They also help us with our monthly morning UCLA networking meetings by providing coffee and breakfast even though they are not open yet. That’s cool!
Dishes are thoughtful and the place is impeccable. Extra bonus points for a clean bathroom. I agree with Omeed S. about the faux-​patio. Sometimes you need to escape work…
For those who want something quick, try the Pacific Grill kiosk outside the building… The breakfast and lunch menus change daily. But, go early before noon because they always run out of food. Always…

Fusion-​y food inspired by places along the Pacific (I guess?). Lots of fish –and oriental-​type of dishes. I’ve never had a BAD meal here, but the entrees are not always show-​stoppers, either.
However, the décor/​atmosphere is very nice, as long as you don’t mind the suit crowd (what do you expect outta downtown!?). I definitely enjoy the faux-​patio, because you get the people-​watching benefits without dealing with the weather.
The menu changes regularly, which is nice, but that doesn’t compensate for the fact that it is slightly overpriced for the deelish-​factor. All-​in-​all, its more of a my-​company-​is-​paying-​for-​this-​meal kinda place than a enjoying-​a-​meal-​with-​buddies/​significant other kinda place.
If you’re tired of Morton’s and Roys then try it out. I could be wrong.

PG has some really good items and some not so good ones. Overall, the food has been on the better end of things. Since you’re sitting in the middle of the back lobby of 601, you feel like it’s overpriced. In actuality, it is. Since I worked in the bldg, they were really good about squeezing in a last minute reservation for a lunch meeting. They also cater. The hostess that used to work here was the nicest, friendliest person ever. Wonder where she went? If you need to watch your lunch expenditures, go to the kiosk and get a sandwich.