R+D Kitchen

I have passed by this place many times and it is always packed. Took the plunge and tried it out and I was extremely impressed ! The service from start to finish was impeccable.
The Crispy Chicken sandwich was excellent and the fries were crispy. My wife had some outstanding breaded fish. Can’t remember what type — sorry.
What separated this restaurant was the desert !
I am not a big fan of Carrot Cake but OMG !
It was so good that I almost transcended to Nirvana. Seriously ! This is my newest Montana Blvd favorite and I will be back very soon.

Always love this place. Very busy. Consistently amazing food and the servers are very friendly and attentive.

Been coming here for over 5 years! My favorite thing is atmosphere and food! Least favorite is the wait time to get a table. Since so busy should take reservations.

My family and I came in on Saturday June 25^th for lunch. The food was great and the service was on point. I will definitely come back when we come back to LA to visit. Everyone was great from the beginning to the end. Thank you!

The seared tuna salad … ribs… burger … cocktails… all excellent. The servers were charming — until they tried to remove my husband’s plate while my son and I were still eating! It’s such bad manners and spoiled what would have been an enjoyable dinner.

Great place to kick back in after work. Part bar, part restaurant, the place is always buzzing and has a nice upscale vibe. Wine selection is great and I love the appetizers. Mains are OK but I usually just stick to a few glasses of wine and some appetizers for sharing. Great place for couples

Service was excellent. However, the menu is deceiving as it does not list all the ingredients and there were nuts not listed and I was with someone with a really bad nut allergy. Caught it in time but still frightening. Excellent atmosphere and well rounded menu. Wine by the glass is lacking in terms of quality and quantity.

I love this restaurant but I do have ONE COMPLAINT. And unfortunately, it’s a CONSTANT here. But that will come later.
I have a standing once a week lunch date with a friend. This is one of our favorite places to go. And we’ve been here about 7 times.
The atmosphere is friendly, clean, and private. Although it does seat a fair amount, you do feel secluded in your seating due to a nice layout and low lighting. We always go early — getting there as they open — as it does get crowded later. But usually, due to our timing, there are still tables available as we leave.
The service is superb… from hostess to multiple waiters (the wait staff share their duties), we have had nothing but lovely attitude and fabulous food. (OK, ONCE one person was a tad snippy, but ALL the rest have been A+).
The menu is «clean.» Every taste that comes out is special with a slight twist. But from cocktails to dessert, the word that keeps coming to mind is «clean,» — crisp, inventive. Applause, applause to the chefs.
Today our lunch for two was $ 100 (pre-​tip). OK. We knew what we were doing. We each had a drink, an entrée, split a side, and each had a dessert.
But here comes the complaint: Every time we have been here, the check comes WAY before it should. Today, when our dessert was put in front of us, so was the check. Yes, they say, «No rush,» but that’s not what it feels like. I admit, this is a pet peeve of mine. We are not dawdlers, we were not being loud, there were still open tables, and we surely ordered enough, but this inappropriate timing always leaves us with a bitter taste.
This approach is something you could expect at a lunch counter in a coffee shop, not in a quality restaurant.
I wish the management would instruct the staff not to do this. It turns a wonderful experience to one with an unhappy ending. I understand they want to turn the table, but could we at least finish our plate before we are given the «heave ho» feeling? To not have even begun our dessert and already be given the bill is tacky.
As we were mid-​dessert, the wait staffer asked how we liked it. We told her we LOVED it, and I said as I saw her looking at the table, «Oh, I put the check over here, «(indicating behind the salt, etc.) as it was making us feel rushed.» «No worries,» she answered and walked away. (I would have rather heard, «Oh, sorry about that!» but… OK). I was hoping she’d get the hint, but perhaps not. And it may not be her fault, she may be TOLD to do this. I sure hope not. And I hope it changes.
Again, we were not trying to pitch a tent! We were not lingering. There were tables available. Not only were our plates NOT empty, but not ONE bite had been taken from our desserts and the check was delivered. This practice does not match the quality of this lovely place. We’ve decided that since this has happened every time, sadly this is probably it for us as we don’t like ending such a lovely (and not cheap) meal with the feeling of being pushed out the door before we taste our last plate. It truly ruins the experience.

This is one of our favorite spots in LA… It’s located in a great area… This place has a menu made simple but bursting with flavors… Just amazing!!! I believe R and D stands for research and development if so they definitely did their research and developed it with every bite.

Truly a five star meal. The service was fantastic and quick. Everyone we talked to was great, from the hostess to the manager who stopped by to say hello. (Pretty amazing on a busy holiday weekend. The service definitely stood out.) The kitchen was REALLY quick, which was great with two hungry preteens. And the food. The food!
Basic menu, right? Looks tasty, but nothing too extraordinary? No. This place has a twist on everything. Crispy chicken sandwich? Give it a kick with spicy mayo and the sweet (but not too sweet) cole slaw. Burger? Fresh ground meat with the perfect balance of classic fillings. Carnitas sandwich? What was in that BBQ sauce? I don’t know. I don’t care. It was «close your eyes and take a moment alone» good. And my Asian chicken noodle salad with mango was popular with everyone. Our table looked like a merry-​go-​round because we kept passing our plates so everyone could try everyone else’s.
This place is the perfect restaurant to visit when you want a classic sandwich or salad, you just want it really REALLY good. We went for lunch and had an amazing time.
And great cocktails too. Will definitely revisit.

Brussels sprouts: delish
Burger: amazing. Highly recommend. Tastes very similar to Honor Bar (which is my favorite)

– ⁶⁹⁄₁₀₀ Reviews of 2016 –
Ahhhhhh…mazing. Enjoyed lunch with a fellow Unilocaler who introduced me to this awesome restaurant. Thanks J. V!!! ^_​_​^
Service: 2.8 365 ⁴³¹⁄₅
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Haha, hm. Well, I can tell ya, she was barely around (Megan). After taking our orders, she only came around once to let us know that our cocktails were coming. Other than that she was out in the Fiji Islands because she was nowhere to be found. We had other servers taking our plates, retrieving our check, OH and my water was never re-​filled. It was pretty bad.
Food: ⁵⁄₅
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Daily special sandwich —
«Carnitas Sandwich» — Slow-​roasted pulled pork shoulder marinated in peach BBQ sauce with a generous bed of avocados, pickled vegetables, slaw doused in vinaigrette, Jack cheese resting on perfectly toasted brioche buns.
– I personally LOVED my dish. It was perfect! All of the flavors and textures came nicely in unison. I usually dread having slaw in my BBQ sandwiches let alone by itself because of its’ rawness, but the sweet vinaigrette did a fantastic job at masking the raw cabbage taste. This sandwich is not for the faint of heart. If you’re a BBQ lovin’ son of a mutha like me, this is perfect for you. The pulled pork was tender and marinated well in the peach BBQ sauce. Good balance of sweet and tangy, just how I like it. Oh… and the brioche buns. How can I forget about the brioche?! Ahh yes. It was fresh, buttery, nicely crisp, and golden brown to perfection. The trick to eat a huge sammy like this, is flipping it upside down. The thickness of the brioche bun catches all of the juices and helps to not have the bottom all soggy and hard to pick up… but of course. We took a while taking pictures of the food and by the time I was trying to pick up that thing it was soggy. But no problem ;) When in doubt, FOB it out! lol You bet I used my knife & fork to eat that sucker. ⁵⁄₅
Tabouleh (side order instead of fries) — Very tasty, but overly-​salted. It was very refreshing with cherry tomatoes on the side, but yeah. That’s too bad. Maybe next time, don’t «shake it like a salt shaker» too hard! ;D 4.4÷5
Drink: 4.4 564 ⁴³⁷⁄₅
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«Elderflower Collins» — Bombay Sapphire gin, St. Germain, grapefruit juice
Great cocktail! Sweet yet a tad bit bitter from the grapefruit. I would order this again!
Would I come back? Sure! Great food, drinks & cool lounge-​y dark ambiance. Love that there’s a bar that’s easily accessible too! I likes ;)

It is a stunning match of the beautiful women servers who are gracious and with lots of charm, always helpful in answering questions with calm and grace.
The menu is so full of a variety of well prepared dishes.
It is simply all excellent.
Highly recommended!!!

My 1-​star review is based on the treatment of my party by the waitress and manager. If only looking at Food and drinks wise I would give them 3 stars.
My good friend recommend this place for Happy Hour drinks and appetizers on a Wednesday night. I expected 8 of my good friends to show up, they don’t take reservations, so I arrived at 5:30pm to survey the bar. All seats were taken at the bar, but the restaurant was ¼ full so I asked the host if I can get a table for 6. We were there for 90 minutes, 6 people tricked on in 30 minutes eventually 8 people show. We ordered $ 180 worth of drinks and appetizers. However about an hour in, the waitress told me that dining tables are reserved for dining. 10 minutes after that, as more people were coming in and both drinks and appetizers were being ordered: the manager came up and basically said we are not welcome at the dining table and we should move to the bar.
After 90 minutes and continued to get stares from the manager and waitress. I closed the $ 180 tab, paid the minimum 15% tip and ushered my group to the bar. By then the mood and buzz has been killed by the bad treatment, so my party started trickling out, and even those who remained and wanted to eat dinner now did not feel like eating here anymore, so we all left and did not make a stink.
This is not how a restaurant should be treating paying customers. Our party had high powered and well connected Silicon Beach executives, but we never made a stink nor show airs. We felt we should be treated equally like any other paying customers, and not space-​taking pariahs. Well we will let our influence show now by voting with our feet and dollars, and spreading the news to our network, starting with this review!

I really enjoyed R&D has the same feel as Hillstone and go figure it’s from the same branch. I went with four of my girlfriends and ordered chicken sandwich, which was super juicy and hit the spot, chicken Chinese salad which is impeccable– and is a must try! Also ordered the cheesy/​guac appetizers! Wowza, the cheese was spicy and delicious!
We also ordered two side of fries– super salty– but I love salty so if you’d rather go the healthy route I’d ask for less salt!
Ambience was great– we did have about four waiters– which was weird so we didn’t know who to ask for things because our waitress/​waiter switched out so many times.
Other than that loved this place.

Great Service + Great Food.
I’m surprised how much I love this place but they deliver and do so consistently.
Favorites:
The Cheeseburger: If you are a fan of a well prepared standard burger, IMHO this is the best one you can get. No gimmicks, mo «wasabi mayo», «parmesan crisps», «ketchup leather» or «hand ground wagyu patty» (ps anyone who grounds wagyu should be stripped of their kitchen) This is just a straight up burger done right and it’s AWESOME!!!
Dings Chix Sandwich: Perfectly crispy fried chicken and crisp fresh coleslaw (I go no swiss) it’s ridiculously good. I have dreams about it. Get one.
Deserts: Just order them, I recently had a carrot cake here that blew my mind, I don’t even like carrot cake, I honestly think I ordered it to watch them fail, they didn’t now I like carrot cake HOORAY!
The place get’s packed, especially on the weekends (not sure why they decide to design the R+D locations so narrow and small) It’s not really meant for groups and with a couple drinks it adds up quick so be prepared. But, if your eating on Montana none of this should be a surprise or a dealbreaker anyway.

This place is always packed!!! Even in the middle of the day when it’s not typical dining hours… So go prepared to wait for a table. I guess that’s a good sign though.
The food was delicious!!! The staff is friendly!
It’s just a great environment all around.

I had this place bookmarked for quite some time. We do not wander over to this part of Santa Monica often. Parking can get tricky so give yourself a few extra minutes. The décor is cool. It has a modern tavern feel. The menu supports that feel as well. Our server was friendly and helpful throughout the meal.
For my meal I chose one of the specials of the day a Cuban sandwich. On top of the normal Cuban ingredients was a good amount of cole slaw. The sandwich was great. The flavors came together nicely. It was huge so I only finished half though. The fries were ok. The spicy mayo dipping sauce helped them out.
We will certainly be coming back to try more things out.

I love this place but you know when a place knows they can slack and still be popular…
I ordered the Newporter salad… Instead of cashew there was walnuts. No mention of fruit in the description but it came with apples, grapes and maybe what looked to be dates. When I buy a car I go to a certain dealer because I want a certain car with certain features.
The deviled eggs had the yolk constancy where its almost like translucent plastic and not all the elements combined.
I’ve had the meat loaf many times but this time it was extremely greasy and the seasonal vegetables were bok choy.
It gives you that vibe like you should be happy regardless what you get.
When a great fighter starts fighting like he can’t be beat they get beat.

Ein atmosphärisch wirklich guter Laden mit einer tollen Bar in meiner Santa Monica Lieblingsnachbarschaft /​der trendigen Montana Avenue.
Auch an Wochentagen sehr gut besucht.
Das Essen ist allerdings leider eher durchschnittlich, die Karte einfallslos überschaubar und dafür zu hochpreisig.

I have been coming here for six years and the service has significantly gone downhill. I will not be back!
We were literally getting the evil eye during our dinner to «hurry up» and finish as a lot of people were waiting. We were only there 1 hour and 15 minutes and ordered a full dinner, wine and coffee. The manager literally was pacing the restaurant and gave us the look down at our check — like pay now and get out. Similar to a look down on what you’re wearing. I couldn’t believe it! It was blatant. We spent almost $ 100 on dinner and to be treated like this is unacceptable.
I live in the neighborhood and have been coming here as a regular for years. I had such a bad experience tonight, being rushed out of the restaurant that R+D Kitchen will not be getting my business again.
The food is not that great and now there’s Forma down the street where the food is amazing and the manager/​owner is a doll! Love him! Go there instead.

I stopped in after hours of shopping on Montana street. There’s always a wait so be prepared for that. We were told 45 mins for a table for two but scored seats at the bar after about 15 mins and decided to just eat there. I had two drinks the Casper and the 13^th street. Both were delicious and refreshing. For dinner I ordered house favorite and paleo-​diet worst nightmare, Crispy Chicken sandwich. It was delicious! Crunchy, breaded chicken on a thick bun. My mouth is watering just thinking of the slaw falling off the breast. Can’t wait to come back to try other dishes.

Outstanding… The food was spot on, the cod sandwich and fried chicken sandwich were amazing. The perfect portions and the perfect blend of flavors. The service was also outstanding, my girlfriend and I waited 30 minutes to enter on a Friday night. Once we were seated they extremely attentive and courteous. Evette was our waitress and she was so polite and on top of every detail. Every aspect of the experience was perfect. The pricing was also extremely appropriate. I felt I actually got a deal for what I paid for. I would recommend this place to any of my friends.

Crispy Chicken sandwich didn’t disappoint, very good. My husband who got a burger liked the my sandwich better. Other people in our party also liked crispy chicken. One of them ordered flank steak and she really liked it. I tried it, it was pretty good but Crispy chicken still wins.
For dessert we shared chocolate chip cookies (yummy) and a pretty awesome carrot cake made with mascarpone cream — delicious!
Make sure your whole party is there on time, they won’t seat you otherwise.

Every time I’m here, I always get the same thing: the crispy chicken sandwich. It’s that good and I totally understand why it’s so popular. The chicken is nicely breaded on the outside and the tanginess of the slaw contrasts perfectly with the sweet, buttery bread. I hope they never take it off the menu!
The restaurant can get pretty crowded on the weekend, but I’ve never had to wait more than 10 – 15 minutes for a table. It has a cool ambience, with old posters framed on the walls and a library-​like setting in the bar area, complete with books and figurines on the shelves. There’s also great people-​watching to be had here.
The only reason why it doesn’t get 5 stars? The price is a bit too high for a stand-​alone sandwich that doesn’t come with any sides.

The most excellent food in the Western Hemisphere! I’ve been here twice, and everything I’ve tried is incredible. Hats off to the chef! Service was great both times. There’s always a wait time, but that’s to be expected at a place with great food. I’ve tried the Chicken Sandwich, and the spaghetti, both were Incredible. I had the cookies for dessert, they are warm and delicious. I’m getting hungry writing this review. Go here at least once in your life!

This place is usually packed on the weekends, but the wait is not that long. Service is great but item prices seem to be off. We ordered one of their «Daily Features» which at the time was a mushroom meatloaf. It had a nice size portion of the meatloaf, mashed potatoes and vegetables, all for around $ 16. It was actually quite delicious. But then, we also ordered their cheeseburger, which was $ 15 and had to shell out extra $ 5 for their «Hand-​Cut Fries».
Even though the restaurant claims that their «burgers are ground in house each morning», there was really nothing special about it. Just a plain cheeseburger and fries for $ 20. So I would not get their burgers again, but definitely look into some more of their «Daily Features». Much better items and value.

While this place is pretty well established as a quality restaurant — enough style to warrant it being a chain, but enough attention to detail to make it feel like a local find, I land here frequently due in large part to the wait staff. If you make it out, find Charles or Rachel behind the bar. Most of the regulars know them by name, and that’s because A) they are excellent at what they do, and B) they are listening to YOU, and will remember who YOU are, which is the perfect way to subconsciously suggest you keep them in your thoughts, too.
As I sit here at the bar, right now, enjoying Charles’ beautiful Mai Tai creation (and it is absolutely delicious), no less than 5 other patrons have approached Charles to wish him a happy new year, as they would an old friend.
Where are you right now? Does your bartender remember your dog’s name? No? Then you ought to skip out and head over to R+D kitchen and meet Charles or Rachel. They are your new best friends.

2015 Unilocal 100 CHALLENGE — ⁰⁸⁶⁄₁₀₀
My Unilocal buddie Tiffany L. introduced me to R+D Kitchen a few weeks ago, and I am a fan!
I’ve had this place bookmarked for awhile and was excited to finally try it out. We came on a Thursday night around 6:45pm and the place was surprisingly packed. Thirsty Thursday, much? We had somewhere to be at 7:15pm anyways so we asked if we could get a table around 9:15pm once we were finished with our appointment. The seating hostess put us down. I don’t think they have reservations, but she said she would make sure we got seated when we came in later that evening.
When we came back around 9pm it was still extremely busy, especially in the entryway because it’s right next to the bar. Fortunately the seating hostess remembered us and we were able to get seated within 5 minutes!
Tiffany and I ordered drinks from the bar, and then got seated at our table. I introduced her to my current favorite drink — Aperol Spritz. She enjoyed it! I was very happy to find the bottle of Aperol sitting at the bar.
Our waiter was pretty fantastic! I don’t remember what her name was, but she was great. We ordered deviled eggs as an appetizer, and then each of us got the crispy chicken sandwich with a side of fries. Our deviled eggs took an unusually long time to come out, so our waitress apologized and gave them to us for free! Also, when we were eating our main course, she somehow ended up with a spare order of fries, so she gave that to us for free as well! YAAAAS! I was sooo excited about all of this food for free, haha.
I read on Unilocal that the crispy chicken sandwich was highly recommended, so I decided to give it a shot. In my past experience I’ve found chicken sandwiches to be hit or miss. This one hit the ball outta the park! The chicken was perfectly crispy yet moist and juice on the inside, and the slaw that was in the sandwich paired so well with the chicken. I was surprised! The fries were also really delicious and the aioli they came with was really good.
Overall, I highly recommend R+D. I was really surprised at how amazing all of the food was! 5 stars!

Not bad. Not great. Just bland.
Went here for lunch last weekend and thought the menu was average. I had the crispy chicken sandwich. Somewhat annoying that it doesn’t come with sides which means if you’re very hungry (which I was), you’ll have to pay an extra $ 5 for fries that seemed like they were fresh out of the microwave.
Probably won’t go here again but others may find it different. I’d at least encourage you to try it and form your own opinion. As I said… it was just bland.

First time at R & D Kitchen. From the minute I walked in I loved it. Beautiful interior. We got seated right away.
I ordered the flat iron steak with Coleslaw instead of the fries. It came so fast. Even though the restaurant was packed on Monday night, our food arrived less than 10 minutes after ordering it. The Steak and Coleslaw were unbelievably magnificent.
When we got to dessert, we ordered the carrot cake but told Carl our waiter that we didn’t like raisins. He immediately discovered that there were raisins and suggested the Pot De Crème chocolate dessert.
It was heaven. Chocolate perfection.
The coffee after was wonderful.
THANK YOU to our waiter Carl who was extra attentive and wonderful. Definitely coming here again.

Met up with a friend for lunch last week and R+D Kitchen was the rendezvous. A very crowded popular and hip spot on Montana in SM.
The dip duo was good but not on a par with other elements of the meal.
The Deviled eggs so good and done right. Moist but well seasoned with big flavor not drenched in mayo.
The Ahi burger was superb. Sushi grade Ahi OMG so good. A must try period end of story.
The truffle fries were twice fried with the perfect crisp and well seasoned.
The ambiance is loud, trendy, well heeled and easy on the eyes lol
Thusly depending upon what you have a craving for R + D Kitchen may be just what the doctor ordered and your elixir…
Service is good but a bit rushed as they are trying to flip tables as there is seemingly always a crowd. Parking is brutal. Considering the lack of space nearby or getting a ticket at a meter or in the adjoining streets. Park a few miles away and take an Über which in light of the neighborhood is clearly a viable option :-) Be prepared to walk or hope that the parking gods like you and are shining down upon you otherwise no Bueno…

I’m normally a fan of small menus. I like when a lot of thought has gone into the menu and options and everything they do is perfectly done. This was not the case at R&D Kitchen. The menu left MUCH to be desired (I had a hard time finding things I wanted to order) and not everything was perfection. What we had:
Dip duo (⁵⁄₅ stars): delicious queso and guacamole with light and crispy tortilla chips. I’m a huge fan of these from their sister restaurant, Bandera, and it didn’t disappoint! Keep in mind, this is pretty much your only option for a starter. There aren’t any others on the menu. I really would have liked other options on the menu as I love ordering a bunch of starters to share.
Fried chicken sandwich (²⁄₅ stars): Cut into 3 pieces, this is perfect for sharing. And sharing I wish I did. I ate 2 of the pieces and felt super sick after from the heavy and greasy fried chicken. The first piece was tasty though.
Burger (⁴⁄₅ stars): My hubby got this and loved it. He said it was super simple but perfect in its simplicity and he really liked the coleslaw it was stuffed with.
Cocktails (²⁄₅): We tried quite a few and the only one we liked was the 13^th Street.
Next time I’d rather just go to Bandera.

The burger is good but the wait is long. The drinks are strong but the bar is always packed. The service is quick and friendly but you’re literally starving by the time you finally get a table. Hey, R&D Kitchen, you know you’d solve all my But’s if you’d simply take reservations, right? And this was on a Wednesday night! Can you imagine weekends?
I wanted to meet up with my gal who had just finished a shoot in Santa Monica so I figured let’s head to this joint because it’s convenient and I’d always wanted to try it. My gf is from outta town but as soon as I said burgers and beer, she was all in.
Well, we had a great night here and so did about 100 other people because this place was buzzing when we arrived at 8:30p. Montana Ave itself is pretty sleepy at this time so I was rightfully shocked.
And yes, all I’ve said above is true: the drinks, the burger, fries, and deviled eggs were delicious. But a 30 minute wait on a blooming weeknight I just can’t abide by. This statement will always be true: Cici does not wait for food, no matter how phenomenal. Onward!

R+D Kitchen is a solid option for a good meal with nice service in a modern American restaurant setting. My friend and I ordered their Fries, Rotisserie Greek Chicken and Ahi Tuna Mediterranean Salad. The fries were a great start. One of the dipping sauces was spicy mayo which I couldn’t help but think about/​taste sushi while eating it. It was good. The Chicken and Ahi Tuna salad were both good too. Service was excellent. There are a lot of other places in the area I’d probably return to first, but I did enjoy my visit here and would return.

R+D you were amazing! I went here on a Tuesday night at 9:30ish and the place was so packed. I had no idea this was a Hillstone restaurant! Now it all makes sense :)
I tried the Crispy Chicken Sandwich based on all the rave reviews and they were right… this is probably the best crispy chicken I have ever had. I wonder how they do it?
I also tried the Barbecue Beef Ribs which come with a Honey Mustard type sauce. The ribs were great, too.
Lastly, I tried their french fries which were not good. I wouldn’t recommend them. They came out cold and stale. That was a bit disappointing but the other dishes definitely compensated.
The service here is also fantastic (just like Houston’s and all their other restaurants). I know I will be back for more of that sandwich!

Service is great, it’s just that the menu never really interests me.
I’ve had the house salad, which is fine, a little heavy on the dressing. I used to get the salmon, but that seems to be off of the menu now. Don’t love that fries are extra. We had the steak as well, which was pretty good for what it is.
The 2 dip app is decent, quac and cheese dip.
Bar scene is a scene, but can be fun.

I have lived in Santa Monica for many years, &
R+D kitchen was quite possibly the only restaurant on Montana Blvd that I have not been to. It’s been on my to do list for awhile, but in my eyes any place that’s always so crowded there is constantly a group of people outside waiting to finally get a table is usually just severely over hyped; so that’s what kept me away for years. Today I finally told my guy that I was ok with waiting for a table for 30+ minutes (since regardless of the time I have passed R+D there seems to always be a wait) & I finally wanted to see what the hype over this spot was all about.
So I got my flip flops on, and we walked 3 blocks to what I figured would either blow my mind and make me a customer for life, or make me realize my initial thought of this place being overly hyped by the Santa Monica locals would indeed be right all along. I was blown away alright, blown away just by how bad everything was. First of all, the menu is tiny… which I usually like. I hate big overwhelming menus with so much crap on it you can’t even decide what to order. This tiny menu really had nothing to brag about. A cheeseburger, simple salads, a chicken sandwich… meh, I can go to any damn restaurant and get that, what’s special about that? Ok, I thought; maybe they sprinkle their burgers with specials powder and it will blow me out of the water… nope regular ok burger. I’ll even dare say it was sub par. I’ve had better for half the price. What pissed off even more that for paying $ 15 for a burger you don’t even get any fries with it… no listen to me YOU GET NO FRIES. Fries are a separate $ 5. So for $ 15, you get a mediocre burger. I call it robbery, I don’t know what else to call it. Mind you, if you follow my reviews, you know I don’t mind paying for good food… key word GOOD food, this was anything but.
So after grubbing on this nasty mediocre food & dropping $ 60 on who knows what exactly; I walked out knowing the review wouldn’t be a good one, but I like to be nice, especially since it’s a local restaurant in a city I live & love; I was going to give R+D 3 stars and forget about this lunch experience. I had no bad feelings towards this spot, just not for me. I don’t want to be suckered in to paying more than what the food is really worth… however I am giving this place now a much deserved 1 star; let me elaborate why.
The food wasn’t the only thing that left a bad taste in my mouth. Apparently the people who work here are also not very honest. I am one forgetful gal, I admit it. I eat out pretty much every night and always like clock work will forget my purse or car keys or credit card or something at the table. I always remember 5 min later and come back in, and the employee at whatever restaurant I am eating at will say «oh yes, here it is, we kept it for you». So of course, being the forgetful Janey that I am, my lunch wouldn’t be complete without forgetting something. So this time around I forgot my Prada sunglasses. I KNOW I had them with me on the left side of the table, you can even see them in the picture I took of their nasty dry fries. I walked out with out them, only to remember 20 minutes later. I called the restaurant right away, only to have a not very helpful girl tell me «sorry no glasses». I hung up, only to get so annoyed at the lies I called right back. Now I spoke to a different girl, telling her the name of the waitress; where exactly I sat, the exact time I left. Again, without even checking I was told no Prada sunnies were left. Well, I KNOW someone cleaned the damn table after we left. You don’t just sit the next patrons at a dirty table, so I highly doubt a customer jacked them. I don’t want to point fingers but who wouldn’t want a free $ 300 pair of sunglasses. An honest person wouldn’t take them, but apparently someone didn’t care about the honesty aspect all too much and snatched up my glasses.
The only thing that would take the bad taste out of my mouth at this point is either A) washing my tongue out with soap, like really scrubbing it B) getting my $ 60 refunded for an awful experience or C) whoever snatched my sunnies fessing up and giving back the glasses to its original owner, me. We all know the last 2 won’t happen so I guess I will be on my merry way to scrub my tongue out with soap to get the bad taste out of my mouth and hopefully forgetting this awful lunch experience I had at R+D.
And FYI R+D management, train your employees to at least act like they give a hoot. Had they at least said «let me take down your name & number & if they turn up we will call you» it would have left me feeling just a bit better than «nope don’t have them bye». The highlight of my lunch was being bothered by a super drunk lady with the cutest dog while waiting for a table. She kept going on and on about shit that made zero sense; which had me wondering what planet she was really from; yet now I think it was pretty entertaining & is def the best part of my visiting R+D.

The world’s greatest chicken sandwich. ‘Nuff Said!
I’ve loved R+D for several years. It’s comfortable, fun, hip, sexy, and tasty, tasty, very, very tasty.
Sure not everything is perfect, but that’s the thing about menu innovation, they create, test, create, serve, and when the dust has settled… create some more.
Have I mentioned that they have the greatest chicken sandwich in the world?