Will New Dining Hot Spot Mas Malo Blast Through the Noise?
Lauren Mattia
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Is Mas Malo just too loud to enjoy? According to L.A. Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila, the answer is yes.
Our server has to bend low to hear and be heard. Poor guy: He must be hoarse by the end of the night because this, I am quite sure, is the loudest restaurant in L.A. "It's the tequila," my guest volunteers. "When people drink tequila, they get loud." Oh, maybe that's why that table of six all had their phones out: They were texting one another across the table.
Last week, Mas Malo's nighttime boisterousness inspired us to post a story asking "How Loud is Too Loud When Dining Out??" We found that, for some, the noise level is just as important as the food.
In her short review, Virbila notes "the gorgeousness" of the Mas Malo space and the "affordable and familiar" menu, but focused most on the volume, which she says "huts down your senses, making it hard to enjoy the food."
One recent blogdowntown lunch visit revealed no noise issues, while a Friday night trip brought noise levels near 90 decibels according to our unscientific measurements.
But since weekend dining accounts for a large part of Mas Malo's potential success, could this restaurant's ruckus lead to its downfall?
Daniel Rojas (@danielrojas88) on January 21, 2011, at 02:21PM – #1
yes, having TOO MANY PEOPLE talking loudly will lead to end of this restaurant...
Chris Loos on January 21, 2011, at 07:36PM – #2
Ate there last night. It was loud but not unbearably so. I've definitely dined at many louder establishments.
bill on January 22, 2011, at 08:50AM – #3
I've been there 3 times since they opened. Because it's new and trendy all my friends wanted to see it. But she's right about the noise. It really is unpleasant. My ears were ringing by the time we left. It should hurt to go to dinner. Bottega Louie is just as bad, though. I know the owners like the "energy" the noise creates, but for me it's just too much.
Christopher Eaton on January 23, 2011, at 02:58PM – #4
The owners simply need to do some acoustic tweaking, much like a symphony hall or arena when it first opens. And I think that many of us feel like noise on some nights and don't want noise on others. I select the restaurant that night accordingly.
Sara Jones on January 23, 2011, at 05:42PM – #5
I've only been once. It was on a Wednesday, with a group of 12 or so and we were seated in the upstairs loft area. The place didn't seem too noisy, but it was pretty loud. I will go back, because the food was that good, but not if I'm looking for some quiet time.
OldAngeleno on February 12, 2011, at 03:25PM – #6
Before being used as the current restaurant and bar space, all three lowest floors of the five-story, including basement, 515 West Seventh Street building were part of the custom-built home of Brock & Co., the "Tiffany's of the West" jewelry story whose Los Angeles roots go back to the late 19th Century (as Nordlinger & Son). Brock's also had a branch in the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, on Wilshire Boulevard. Today, Mas Malo is in the basement and on the first floor; Seven Grand is on the Second Floor. Originally, the basement floor of Brock & Co. was shipping and receiving. The first floor was fine jewelry, watches, etc. The second floor (now Seven Grand and with all the amazing, floor-to-ceiling glass cases removed) was china, crystal, and silver. (Presumably, that's the reason for the Clinton family's choice of "Silver Spoon" when they remodeled the building as a cafeteria branch in the late 1970s.)