Sophia’s California Bistro

Amazing food. The service was also excellent. Loved the seafood and the omelet/​pasta bar. Everything was so tasty. They kept the mimosas coming even before the current one was finished. Mimosas are included in the brunch, by the way. The spread of food was really impressive from fruit to seafood to a chocolate fountain. I would definitely recommend this place. The hotel is also beautiful. The restaurant is a great compliment to the hotel stay. Will definitely be back!!!

I called a couple days ago to make a «Mother’s Day brunch» reservation– it went to an answering machine and said to leave a message with the reservation details– I did. But at the end I said to call me to confirm the reservation. No one did. 2 days later I called them back to check on it. They didn’t have a reservation for me and are now all booked up!!! Wow! I wonder how many others called and left messages… This is sooo unprofessional and we definitely won’t be back (even tho the guy tried to reschedule for a later time) I NEEDED that time! How are you a hotel and NO ONE answers the phone. This is very disturbing…

Just read in the Whittier Daily News this place was recently closed for business due to roach infestation. I personally have never eaten there, but after reading that I certainly will not be visiting anytime soon! Thank you Whittier Daily for the heads up!

Not bad for the price plus mimosas. There’s crab legs, clams, shrimp, omelette station, chicken fingers, fries, Mac and cheese, menudo station, eggs Benedict, fruit, yogurt, Spanish rice, braised beef, chicken dumplings (not good), chocolate fondue, plus cakes. Service was slow at times and you have to go get your own coffee. Mimosas are premixed in a pitcher but mixed well. They do have the bottle in case you want it made differently (weaker, stronger or just champagne). Automatic gratuity, $ 16.95+3.56 (21% gratuity) +1.53 (tax) =$ 22.04 per person

Brunch review… Parking was easy. Had about a 5 minute wait to be seated since several tables were leaving. They have a good food selection that isn’t just limited to breakfast foods. They have an omelet bar and menudo, I didn’t try either, and chicken strips and fries for the picky eaters aka kids. I had some of the lemon tart and it had great flavor along with the rest of the food. Probably would never be my first choice for brunch… But the food was good and the service was attentive.

I was expecting an upscale meal since the place appeared to be expensive. What we received was just okay. The food was tasty, but mediocre and it made my hubby and I sick. We both were nauseous, and lethargic. It hit me before we left the restaurant, and him an hour or so later. He was sick throughout the night.
I had shrimp quesadillas, and an apple walnut salad, he had a rib eye and tomato basil bisque. We stayed at the hotel for a week, but ate out after that.

Went for the brunch and was surprised at how fancy this place looks inside. The prices did not go with the décor tho! 14.99 for brunch buffet including bottomless mimosas and or champagne? Fish, chicken, tasty ass bacon, shrimp, lobsters legs, french toast and a plethora of desserts. Staff was super attentive and nice. Well be coming back!

Took 45 minutes to get our order. And they still got it wrong. We came for Mother’s Day so we had the kids with us. They charge gratuity for 8 or more people.

The guy I’m dating’s aunt was in town for work in Anaheim. He lives in Santa Monica and is fairly new to SoCal in general (keep this in mind throughout the review). That being said, his aunt asked him to pick a restaurant somewhere between Anaheim and Santa Monica, and of all the possible lovely locations to choose, he looked at a map and picked the immaculate city of… Whittier.
Yes, Whittier.
Not Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, or even Huntington Park.
Whittier.
For his aunt. Who has never been to California. Scenic, fragrant, lovely… Whittier.
When I heard he’d picked Whittier I wanted to punch myself in the face, but by that time everyone had their directions in hand and were en route to the planned destination.
Whittier.
We walked right in and right out of the original place he picked out. I won’t review it since we never sat down to eat there, but it was basically a sad, low-​rent version of Denny’s.
In desperation, I walked up and down Whittier’s lovely «main street» (read: many boarded-​up buildings and wifebeaters) looking for something somewhat respectable to take his prim and proper visiting Delaware aunt. I ended up stumbling bleary-​eyed into the Radisson to ask them where the classiest restaurant in Whittier was, and they pointed behind me… to their restaurant. Which, attached to the lobby, looked like the Garden of Eden compared to everything else I’d seen in the area. The hotel staff was helpful and put in their $ 0.02: «Of all the places to take his aunt to in Los Angeles, he picked here? WHITTIER?!»
Long story short, we redirected his aunt to the Radisson where we sat down to eat. As the only patrons. For 3 hours.
Bread: 5 stars! My favorite part of the meal! Soft and fluffy with a nice light, crispy crust.
Service: 4 stars. There were 4 waitstaff and 3 patrons — us. Every time I took a sip of water, it was immediately refilled. Literally. The poor waiter literally hovered by the table and came back 3 times before we decided what we wanted to order. All the waiters seemed very anxious and said they just got a new menu 2 days ago, which is probably why they weren’t familiar with anything on it. Either that or we were the first customers they’d ever had to serve. Ever. At least they tried, A for effort?
Accuracy: 3 stars. 1 wrong salad dressing (ranch instead of vinegarette) and 1 wrong side (mashed potatoes instead of creamed spinach). I must repeat: We were the only ones eating in the restaurant for 3 hours and… they didn’t get our order right.
Speed: 2 stars. The bread and salads came out quickly but the main courses took about 45 minutes. Did I mention we were the only people in the entire restaurant a.k.a. extension of the hotel lobby?
Presentation: 3.5 stars. Everything was nicely decorated with sprigs of fir/​xmas tree. We didn’t ask.
Taste: 2 stars. I had the ribeye w/​creamed corn and asparagus w/​hollandaise sauce ($ 30), my travel buddy had the filet mignon w/​honey glazed carrots, creamed spinach and free accidental mashed potatoes ($ 28), aunt had some sort of chicken dish with bacon and avocado with a baked potato and sauteed garlic mushrooms on the side. If you like fat, grease, and butter, this is the place for you! The mashed potatoes were more butter than potato, the creamed spinach was more cream than spinach, the asparagus was more hollandaise sauce than asparagus, and the creamed corn was more cream than corn. No joke. My ribeye was ¼ fat, ¾ meat. Served in a pool of butter. The aunt reported her chicken dish was okay, the travel buddy appeared to like his filet mignon (it looked less fatty than my ribeye), and I did my best with my meat.
Dinner came to $ 110+ which his aunt generously covered. Not worth the food, the drive, or even the nervous laughter we shared as we ventured out hesitantly into the parking lot post-​dinner.
If you’re looking for the nicest restaurant in Whittier to go to, this is your place. This is the ONLY place. Hence the 3 stars instead of 2.
Moral of the Story: If you live in Santa Monica and have an aunt visiting town staying in Anaheim, do NOT make plans to meet her in Whittier.