Dante Beverly Hills

This place far exceeded my expectations. The drinks were stellar; in particular, the boozy affogato and 20th century stood out. We also tried the dirty martini and the with a twist. The weather was also perfect for a late afternoon drinks and early dinner session. We were seated right at the railing so had unobstructed views. The food was pretty impressive to me considering the offerings many other places around have. We got: - mushrooms (which were great, though a bit bland and oily compared to the other things) - octopus salad (cooked nicely and well balanced; only a couple pieces of octopus seemed slightly underdone but the rest was perfect) - crudo (had a surprising kick at the end! Fortunately, the spice didn't overpower the fish or other flavors) - market salad with shrimp (this was HUGE and unexpectedly good) - roasted carrots (these were SO. GOOD. Like bring home to your parents kind of excellence) We also managed to get a side of fries, which I was super grateful for since all of the other carbs have gluten (i.e. pizzas and pastas). This will sound weird, but the ketchup was freaking delicious. I'm not a condiment girl but I will remember that stuff for the rest of my life. The only negative was the service was inconsistent. Most people were absolutely delightful and everyone we spoke with was responsive and lovely, but we were left alone for long periods, including when we were seated... it took about 20 mins for someone to even ask if we wanted water. I have to assume it was some kind of communication error because a table was seated after us about 10 min after we were and already had their drinks by the time we were asked if we wanted to order anything else, and a bunch of different people seemed to be serving us. Overall, would absolutely recommend this, and we will for sure be back to try some of the other cocktails.