Melody

Gabriela Saade

terrible experience! i invited a friend who was coming from out of town and i was super excited about trying this place cause i read about it in the NYT. unfortunately, the service was just shockingly rude and terrible. i told the waitress this was our first time there (twice!) and she was super rude and dismissive and didn’t provide any guidance on the menu. for no reason, she gave us attitude and literally dropped the plates on our table —i had never experienced something like that. we ended up leaving and paying almost $100 for an appetizer and two drinks total.

Chad Whiting

Came by for a pop-up restaurant event and I tend not to drink much. I got the feeling the waitresses were quite peeved by it and it showed (the bartender is exempt from this, she was great and very knowledgeable about the wine list). I mean, yea it's stupid going to a wine bar when you're not planning on drinking but I was meeting up with a group. The place is cute and clean, but the interior reminds me of a not-so-good job done on a not-so-great interior design competition show. Loved the patio though, the paving pattern is awesome, great tables of various sizes, I was at one that seats 10, a very comfortable outdoor space. The pop-up gets 5 stars, the bar itself gets 3.

Jamie Lai

I'm going to give Melody Wine Bar the full five stars because the vibe was great, the staff was awesome and any food I ordered from their venue totally hit the spot (cheese plate -- heavy but great for soaking up alcohol, and the oysters were great too). But the Kinkan x Melody Collab was a bizarre experience. Never have I ever had a sukiyaki that was not hot, and I'd say colder than lukewarm. It wasn't fridge cold but more like someone forgot that LA is having a cold snap and left the dish on the patio cold. And then I bit into a tofu and it was cold. Like you wouldn't describe it as room temp, but cold. So I mentioned this to my waiter because maybe it's a mistake and I also mention that the dish wasn't hot. So they were going to ask the kitchen. So I waited and my dish got more cold and then the chef or someone I presume to be the chef came by and I explained that the dish wasn't hot and the tofu was cold and she said something very fast that she's get me something and then disappeared. She came back with more cold tofu. But again like not on purpose cold tofu but more like someone forgot that there's a cold snap. And I say this because there were two tofu in the original dish and she brought out two more tofu. The second tofu piece in the dish was warm (not hot), but the original one I bit into was cold. And same for the pieces she brought out - the pieces were different temperature. And by now my whole dish was cold. And I was telling this to the bartender that my dish has gone cold and I haven't ever had a sukiyaki dish cold but it was delicious. The flavors were great. The egg yolk that came as a dipping sauce was delicious (but also cold). The bartender even volunteered to ask only to tell me that this was the temperature they serve at. I honestly find this to be bizarre. I totally welcome a new experience but I don't think sukiyaki is ever meant to be served cooler than lukewarm and that the pieces, namely the tofu, come in different temperatures. I've been anticipating having Kinkan food for awhile and though there are other dishes I'd like to try, this experience has given me pause. I want to say this is an outlier experience but also curious.

Tyrell Lloyd

This place is unique in the sense that they are doing pop-ups and basically switch out the menu and vibe every so often. In our case it was a Caribbean and Israeli infused cuisine. With themed accompanied music and a lovely outdoor patio, the time there was absolutely stunning. Melody is actually known for their 200+ types of wines, so eating delicious food there was surprising and very enjoyable at the same time. I highly recommend this place for those who love wine and great food. The staff is super friendly and the location is cool.