Burgers at City Billy

I love it every time a new restaurant pops up in downtown LA. I really want to support them and so I find myself generally giving them the benefit of the doubt. So despite the mixed reviews for the new Korean-southern-comfort-food concept restaurant, City Billy, I suggested it for a night out with another couple.

As you can tell from my tepid introduction, the experience was less than stellar. Everything started off well. The hot tea choices were really nice! Then we split two appetizers, the spicy kochujang wings and the bacon onion rings. The bacon onion rings didn't seem to have any bacon flavor, but they were still tasty onion rings with nice sauces. The wings were great, and I started thinking that all those Yelp reviewers had too harshly judged City Billy. But then the entrees (all different kinds of burgers) came out and were all, except for mine, cold. So no matter how deliciously flavored or well-cooked the meat might have been, everyone was grossed out that their meals that had clearly been sitting out for quite awhile while mine finished cooking. The waitress tried to make up for the screw up by taking 20% off of the bill, but she didn't know how to work their ipad computer system. So we were ignored at the end of the meal while she pressed buttons in a corner. Thank goodness my dining companions took it all in stride because I felt terrible for having picked the place! There was a lot potential in City Billy, but execution (and bacon to onion ratio) just has to improve.

PS: In case you were wondering, my burger, the one that came out hot, was really good. I got the portobello burger and added avocado, and I would definitely recommend it (if you go by yourself so your meal does not have to be timed with any others).

City Billy
611 W. 7th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90017