Dined on February 2, 2025
- Overall 3
- Food 4
- Service 3
- Ambience 2
I was hoping for great things from Palma, as I live in Burbank and would like nothing more than for Burbank to develop a higher-end dinner scene. While Palma may eventually hit its stride, right now, there are thousands of other restaurants in the greater LA area that offer a better experience. I'm not talking value here - this is a higher-priced restaurant, and that's fine if the experience fits the price. But Palma needs to iron out a LOT of details before it can justify its prices.
First off, the food - I sampled a total of five dishes, and they were all good, none were great. That alone doesn't disqualify Palma from charging what it does, but let's move on...
Drinks - very good overall (I loved my Manhattan, I didn't sample the others but I didn't hear any complaints). They are a little expensive (we had 4 mixed drinks among four of us, plus a glass of wine, and it was about $20 per drink). I'm going to give Palma a pass here.
Service - earnest, polite, but not particularly good. Long waits between dishes, and our server was totally tied up with other tables the last half hour on a Saturday night, and simply could not provide us our check. We waited about 20 minutes to pay, and had to use a different server to do so, who himself had trouble running the bill. Not acceptable.
Physical space - The tables and loveseats do not match up in terms of size, as the table blocks entry into the loveseats, meaning you actually have to push the table out of the way to get in or out. Terribly awkward when you are pushing your table into your friends on the other side to go to the restroom. Palma could implement a short-term fix by pulling the loveseats out about a foot from the wall, so they stick out further into the aisle, allowing people to scoot in without moving the table. But long-term, this seating arrangement is simply not acceptable.
Ambiance - Ludicrously loud electric violinist playing easy listening covers. Need I say more?
Verdict: Needs work, skip for now.
