Bite Bar & Bakery

Pretty good food.
We went a few months ago with a BBE when it was full waiter service. Now it changed to ordering at the counter and then taking a number to your table. Food comes a few minutes later, and you pay at the end.
The food is remarkably well made and tasty. We had the egg white frittata and it was great for being egg whites only.

I really would give this place a 2.5 stars, but I don’t want to be a complete jerk. I met a friend here for a late morning meeting and when I entered, I like what I saw.
The counter had lots of baked goods that looked decent and the seating area looked nice. From there it was downhill…
I ordered a pumpkin cream cheese muffin and paid at the counter. The cashier wanted to bring it to my table, but I didn’t want to tip here for just putting it in a dish so I paid there (she seemed annoyed). I also brought a coupon for a free salted caramel bar and she again looked annoyed as she told me to leave the coupon on the counter. (I guess I could have been a jerk and canceled my muffin order and just got the bar to go, but I wasn’t quick enough on my feet.)
Once the person I was meeting arrived, she ordered a quiche which took a while to warm up. She also wanted to pay right away and asked for a neighborhood discount because she works close. The same worker (you guessed it) seemed annoyed again and reluctantly gave her 10% off.
Let’s be honest here… you’re a neighborhood shop that isn’t anything special. When were there, there was one other customer. Treat people right. Customer service brings people back. The food wasn’t that great either. The only reason I gave it 3 stars is because my wife liked the caramel bar.
I won’t be going back… we’ll see if this place survives.

I will eat them in a chair. I will eat them anywhere. Having eaten every last morsel and gram, I can say I LOVE these green eggs and ham!
Ridiculously good — must try!

We came here for dinner because we saw a sign outside that said «Grand Opening» and we were excited to try something new. Turns out they’ve been open for about half a year, so that sign was a bit misleading.
The décor is awesome. You feel like you’re in someones rustic home and they’re about to cook you the best meal of your life. The service was very friendly. It’s not super fancy, but great for smaller more intimate groups or perhaps even to take that special lady.
The only problem was the food. I’m not saying I didn’t like it, but despite it all sounding completely delicious, nothing blew me away. Nothing even came close. This is definitely one of those situations where I like a place more for the atmosphere than the food.
We ordered the Papas Bravas, bacon-​wrapped dates, mini kobe cheeseburgers, roasted figs, fried chicken with grits, and their dinner special which was sweet potato with marshmallow sauce and other stuff. Clearly, it’s tapas.
I’m not going to go through each one. My favorite was probably the sweet potato thing. The most notable aspect of the burgers was that they came with this bread that seemed almost undercooked. But the effect was that it didn’t get soggy or fall apart from the juices of the patty. So that was pretty interesting.
They only serve beer and wine, and their wine selection, especially of what you can get by the glass, is fairly limited.
Who am I kidding, I’ll probably be back.

I came here for lunch with BBE 30% off coupon.
Everything is made fresh and tasty. Great lunch spot.
a bowl of soup $ 7 — tastes homemade. 3.7 stars out of 5
Toasted crab sandwich $ 13.25 — They do use real crab meat. It’s simple, but really tasty. 4.2 stars out of 5
Pecan crumble cake with raspberries $ 2.50 — 3.7 stars out of 5
Croissant $ 2.75 — Buttery and soft inside. — 3.9 stars out of 5

Gimme a bite!
What a cute name for this cute little bakery café… I visited a few weeks ago for weekend brunch. The staff was super friendly, the coffee refills kept coming, and the food was fresh and tasty. The best part? There wasn’t a wait as there typically are at brunch places on weekends.
I did have order envy. I went with the «Vanilla Bean Greek Yogurt
Served with homemade granola, local honey and fresh summer berries.» At $ 9.75, it was on the pricey side. Next time I’ll go for the «Seasonal Egg White Frittata,» which looked delicious and judging by the fact that everyone at our table who had that scarfed it down!
The lunch menu looks appealing… and as Christina Y stated in her review, their free wifi makes Bite Bar a great spot for a working lunch sometime. I’m a fan!

This morning I read Unilocal friend Jean L’s review of Bite, and an hour later I found myself a block or so away with a gf having breakfast. We finished our (unfortunately disappointing Rae’s) breakfast and decided to walk to Bite for some REAL coffee — and boy are we glad we did!
First of all, we were disappointed once again to see that we COULD have had breakfast HERE, where we could even have had mimosas! We corrected forward however when we saw the bakery case, and instinctively knew there was great coffee in store for us.
After drooling over the amazing baked goods (chocolate croissant bread pudding, white chocolate blondies, lemon bars, chocolate ganache brownies with cocoa nibs, drunken peach tarts, pecan crumble cake with raspberries, hot cross-​looking cinnamon buns, zucchini bread, lemon olive oil mini bundt cakes), we asked if they were sampling anything (there’s a sign outside the door offering).
Luckily, they were sampling these baked bar cookie-​like toffee squares sprinkled with sea salt. One little piece of these was all we needed to know they were rich and buttery and toffee-​y, and RICH!
We decided on:
Soufflé — a single serving croissant-​like cupcake-​shaped and sized pastry wrapped around a quiche middle, with zucchini inside, and a halved cherry tomato on to. Now THIS made my Rae’s breakfast clouds clear! Layers of pastry on the outside were flaky and crispy and tenderly supporting a firm quiche center — like eating a quiche on croissant sammich that’s been toasted in the oven! YUM-​O!
Jamaican Me Crazy cookie — a buttery chewy-​buttery cookie chock full of coconut, white chocolate, macadamias, rum and mango. Wow — another rich and delicious cookie! One little bite was all I needed to get all the flavors — right down to the RUM!
Lavender shortbread — a beautiful round shortbread, visibly studded with lavender. Fragrant to chew, with a BIG lavender flavor and a subtle shortbread buttery-​ness. The texture of the cookie was crumbly, and it was so satisfying that just one little bite of this one was all you needed too!
We also got iced coffees, which were super dark and strong and awesome with cream. Sitting in the one comfy leaf-​green corner bench by the window, sipping our iced coffees and nibbling on the yummies, we browsed the book of pictures of awesome wedding cakes and themed specialty cakes and other desserts, and had fantasies of being bakers ourselves.
Oh — and Unilocalers take note: print out a copy of your Unilocal (or blog, or Tweet, or FB post) about Bite and get 10% off your visit! Nice!
I think next time, we’ll walk right by Rae’s and come to Bite instead!

This review is purely on my take-​out experience.
1 star for my experience.
3 stars for the taste of my food.
— the passion fruit choco cup was good.
— taste of the quiche not bad.
Was greeted at the door by a very tall gentleman who seemed like he needed to take a deep breath and relax. I shrug this off and go to the register to order… quiche special: ham and cheese, comes with a side salad. «would you like to substitute with cajun fries? $ 1.5 extra», «sure» I say. Waiting… waiting… waiting… my order takes a VERY long time — meanwhile, I’m watching the restaurant and they’re not super full but the waiter is running around all STRESSED! he just has a Stressed attitude about him… made me uncomfortable. Anywho, my food finally comes out and he hands it to me… i immediately wonder if they even put the quiche in the bag cuz it was soooo light, but i was in a rush so I thought i’d check it in the car. In the car, I open the box just to make sure I have my quiche, and find the most pitiful looking box of food I’ve ever seen. The slice of quiche was TINY… the fries i paid extra for? maybe 15 of them– that would equal to like $ 0.10/fry… I will post a pic to show how pitiful it was. Maybe eating in is a better experience but I don’t think I want to come back again.

I started my LA vacation weekend with Bite Bar, found off of the Eat LA site. I had the best time here because of all the freebies! See below:
Me: Is there free cookie Fridays?
Waiter: Hmm. did you hear that on Facebook?
Me: … Yes.
Waiter: Ok, feel free to grab one of your choice!
When in doubt, say ‘Yes’.
Then later:
Me: Can I also get a mimosa?
Waiter: Actually we’re offering complementary Strawberries & Prosecco today!
Me: Sweet! Make that two!
Service was friendly, food came out fast. We got the crab sandwich and it was the perfect amount for two people. I also love the fact that they offer olives in place of the usual free bread. Get the Jamaica Me Crazy cookie — total deliciousness! All in all — a great experience, but I can’t promise this will happen to everyone.

Some of the food is really good, some not bad, but overall it’s quite pricey for what you get:
— dates with bacon and chorizo — probably my favorite dish
— deviled eggs — good and quite rich
— charcuterie plate — another of my favorites
— crab cake — stay away from this, it was my least favorite
— mac and cheese — another great dish
— burgers — not bad, but were served cold
— steak tartare — just ok
— pavlova for dessert — delicious
Service was good (although I prefer being served one dish at a time, and despite the fact that our server said they’d come one at a time, they didn’t) and they have an ample wine and beer menu.

I was pretty pumped to see Bite open up in the neighborhood, but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get there for brunch until my very last morning in LA! The inside is very nice looking, not at all cutesy like I thought it would be. The menu is a little more refined than your typical eggs and pancake type place. I had a frittata with local veggies and cheese and it was good, although I would say, kinda small for the price. Same story with the mimosa. Service was excellent. Too bad I never got to come in for dinner or the wine bar!
Next time I’m visiting LA, I would be happy to return to my old ‘hood and visit Bite.

I thought I would like this place a lot more than I did.
Nothing was exceptional or stood out.
Also, they had already run out of 3 dishes when we got there, which was a shame because we were only left with mediocre boring dishes.
BLTA Sandwich
I was expecting a crunchy hard bread to come with the BLTA sandwich. instead, it came with a soft foccacia bread. The bacon was thick (for you bacon lovers) but dripping with oil that I had to pat the oil off and ended up only eating 1.5 slices out of the 4 slices that are put in the sandwich. Not enough lettuce or tomato was in the sandwich. All in all, I was disappointed. The bread really makes or breaks this sandwich and the bread they chose to pair with the fix-​ins definitely failed it.
Egg White Frittata
Good but way too much butter and oil. I could taste the butter in every bite. This is served with a SMALL side mesclun salad.
Cajun Fries
The overly salted fries was probably the best part of the meal sadly.
Bite Bakery Basket
For $ 6, I was expecting at least full portions of the pastries. A skinny sliver of zuchini bread (which was way too greasy yet oddly at the same time very dry and bland), half a small carrot muffin (why would they cut it in half?! what is going on there? why even bother seriously? It’s not a big muffin to begin with.), cinnabon (very bready in the shape of a cupcake/​muffin. I actually enjoyed this), and a small chocolate chip scone that basically was pure butter packed and shaped in the form of a dense scone. so it tasted like a shortbread. I was thoroughly disgusted. And there are no chocolate chip scones throughout the scone, just a tiny sprinkle of them on top of the scone itself.
Their pastries are ok and very decadent (but not in a good way). They remind me of Platine pastries in the fact that they are loaded with butter and whatever else fat that goes into them. To me, that is not a sign of good baked goods. I can literally taste the grease and butter after each bite and my hands were left oily and greasy. A huge pet peeve of mine. But to be fair, I feel the same way when restaurants do that with regular food that’s heavily salted or seasoned to mask or make the food taste better.
The service was peppy and attentive, which I appreciated.
Peep the pix.
3 stars = 2 stars for the food and threw in an extra star because the service was decent
Location: easy to miss because it blends in with the adjacent stores so make sure to know the street # which is 3221.
Parking: street metered

I am rooting for Bite. I want them to be successful. Such a cute space. So much potential. So close to my house!
I’ve heard they first launched serving only breakfast and that it’s fantastic. Haven’t had their breakfast but went there for lunch mid-​week. The service was excellent. The food? Eh. Mediocre. Again, I am rooting for Bite. I had the Naanwich, which didn’t have much flavor. Needed more salt. Needed more spice. Maybe they’re still working to perfect lunch!!!
Their blondie dessert though? Ah.mazing. Wow. I can taste it now… order it!
Want to go back and try breakfast so I can review Bite again :)

Had excellent brunch here on a Sunday morning, waitstaff was friendly and attentive.
Pressed breakfast sandwich was sweet & savory and delicious dipped in maple syrup, and we also really enjoyed the corn biscuit soup of the day – delicate, fresh flavors offset by perfect seasoning and texture.
Again, I really appreciate the nice, subtle touches these folks give to their plates (baby mint garnish on the honeyed fruit salad), and am looking forward to what the upcoming dinner service will bring this summer.

i love this place! Stopped here for lunch this past weekend & we picked up some sandwiches — the toasted crab sandwich– yum! and also the «word of mouth» sandwich which is basically a chicken salad sandwich which was average.
The real winners were the baked goods items– The crostata with filled fruits were justtt right and the Jamaican cookie! Love it! they made it just right that I pretty much gobbled it up in an instant.
Also, the service is great! The gentleman who helped us clearly knew how to treat customers. I wish I had a lunch spot like this close to my work. It would be my go-​to joint.
Have been away from Unilocal for a bit, but this cute place brought me back to these pages.

I’d walked by this place on the way to DSJ before it was open and had peered in curiously, so I leaped at the chance to have lunch here today in the late afternoon. I wish that I had come earlier that 2pm because I only had an hour to enjoy the quiet atmosphere and amazing food… not to mention the free wifi! But now I have yet another café in my arsenal for my working lunches in the future.
I was greeted with the warm smile of the lady behind the counter when I approached. She stayed chipper even when it took me forever to read every item on the menu twice. Everything just sounded so different and so tempting! I had a hard time choosing between the after school special (a grilled cheese combo), the market salad featuring fresh watermelon and the chicken salad sandwich with tarragon. In the end, I went with the Asian pork belly tacos because the tempura jalapenos just sounded too good to pass up. I also got a fresh lemonade, served in a cute Mason jar.
The tacos looked absolutely gorgeous when the came out, accompanied by a little serving of an amazing corn and avocado salad. But be warned — this dish is not for those who dab at their pizza slices. There’s a LOT of oil in this, like pooling around the dish kind of oil. However, i’m not a girl who’s afraid of oil and I dug right into those suckers armed with a bunch of napkins. For less than $ 11, I got three huge tacos piled high with tender pork. I thought it was definitely worth the money, although I’m sure taco truck fans might disagree. I have to admit that the oil did make itself known, and I couldn’t get through the whole dish as it was starting to get pretty heavy. But the tortillas were great as was the Asian inspired sauce on top.
All in all, I was happy with my meal here. Throughout my time eating, I kept glancing up at the menu to see what I want to try next time. I definitely want to try some of the breakfast items, and plan to come here to try some of their beautiful baked goods too, especially those cheesecake lollipops and drunken strawberry tarts!
I saw a sign on the door that said they’d be opening soon for dinner as well… even more of a reason to make a return visit!
A lighter dish next time and more open hours, and I think this place will easily earn 5 stars in my book next time!

It’s been about a month and half since my first visit so I decided to come back to see how things have improved.
Thankfully, they have their POS machine in place so there’s no more manual order-​taking on a pad. You can also pay by credit card and do take-​out now. Plus, my food came out in a good amount of time.
I had the PULLED PORK WITH COLESLAW. The pork was very tender, but I could barely taste the BBQ sauce. The coleslaw was good and provided some necessary tang and texture. I added a side of CAJUN FRIES again and they have improved the seasoning. However, don’t expect them to be spicy because they aren’t.
So, why haven’t I changed my rating?
— It’s expensive for what you get. The sandwich is not huge. It’s not bulging with pulled pork. And you have to pay extra for a salad or fries. My meal (and I didn’t order a drink) came to $ 16 with tax and tip.
— I heard from the owner/chef’s husband in response to my first review. He asked me what I would’ve wanted regarding the grilled cheese. I responded that it was important to indicate that they use blue cheese because it’s such a strong and pungent choice. Well, they still don’t tell you they grill blue cheese, so be sure to ask.
— I checked the website before deciding to come here because I wanted to make sure the chicken pot pie was still being offered. It was still on the menu so I came by for lunch. When I didn’t see it on the chalkboard I asked about it and the woman who took my order looked almost embarrassed as she replied that it’s been taken off the menu. Thanks for not updating your website and getting my hopes up. This place is too new to not have a website keep up with their changes. Also I the paper menu at the restaurant had prices that differed from the chalkboard.
— No one ever came to refill my little glass of water. Since there’s no table service, perhaps they should consider setting out water pitchers for customers to help themselves. My last impression was my empty glass. I gave up waiting and left.

Jumped on one of those group coupon deals to get a few discounted gift certificates. After a morning hike at Temescal Canyon we had a nice breakfast here of the french toast (brioche) sandwich, waffles with bacon, and a couple of coffees that ended up coming in around $ 22.
The wife wasn’t terribly impressed by the sandwich but i liked it, but liked the waffle much more. We really wanted the butternut soup with grilled cheese but they didn’t start serving that until lunch stared (11:30am).

I really wanted to like this place. It’s adorable and has real food + delicious baked goods. Unfortunately, I probably won’t return.
I ordered a beef salad and a pastry to go. My tab came to $ 17. which is a bit steep for a salad and a cookie. By the time you get to tip, you’re at $ 20. I guess I should have realized before I went that this place was out of my lunch price range.
Anyways, I ordered. The cashier was nice. I sat down. I waited. I waited. I waited. I was waiting for about 20 minutes before my food came. Not that long, but long enough for me to wonder how long it takes most people to make a salad.
I got my order, but no fork. It’s the little things :(
The salad was just not that good for the $ 14 price tag. The dressing was bland. The lettuce, and veggies weren’t that fresh. The steak was mediocre and cut into just a few pieces that were way too big. I didn’t grab a knife which was a huge mistake. This one little thing made eating the salad a nightmare. They also cut the mango into tiny pieces. Had they cut the mango into actual bite sized chunks, it may have saved the salad. The flavor of the mango was lost when all the little pieces gathered at the bottom of the dish.
The pastry whatever it was, was delicious. Perhaps a bit on the sweet side, but good.
Maybe they should just stick to baking.

Pain au Chocolat.