Vegan Exchange

Jacob Watts

We arrived hoping to eat at the rooftop restaurant, yet dinner service had ended at seven. The security staff guided us to the restaurant downstairs, and I am glad we gave it a chance. The dishes were plated nicely, even though the flavors were not exactly my style. I am quite particular with my meals, so others who enjoy exploring new tastes may find this spot exciting. It is worth a try for anyone open to new culinary experiences.

Kailey

Food: 4.8/5.0 for lunch is pretty good! Kale salad is on point! Very tasty and healthy! Lamb pita is very delicious! It doesn't feel too heavy perfectly with side salad. And even the side salad is very good with the right amount of dressing. wine: I wanted to have their chilled red but they ran out. Tried this orange pretty good for lunch. Balanced out the grease from lamb. Perfect Service is good! The waitress has been very nice to us and gave us different wine to try out. Pretty empty during lunch time. The place is bigger than I expected. With fusion of Asian and middle eastern decorations.

Cherylann A.

Love the atmosphere of this place! It has a cozy, old world meets new world, vibe!!! When I travel, I seek out unique cuisines. This menu delivers for both vegetarians and meat eaters alike with it's Isreal and Cali inspired marriage!!! The servings are an amble amount. The price point is justified with the service, presentation and flavors all being exceptional! The wine selection is fantastic and our server was both knowledgeable and informative about all the dishes. She also helped me pair my lunch perfectly with a white wine! I will be back and marked this as a to go to in my journal!

Olga Tepliuk

Dinner was sooo delicious, lamb and fish, service very good, drinks are great 👍 🥰❤️

Stephanie Stotelmeyer

Normally I'm not a fan of wood paneling, but somehow it works in this vibrant yet cozy space. The music is set at just the right level so you're not yelling at your fellow guests. The staff were a fun and eclectic group who all seemed to work very well together. The food and cocktails were outstanding! We will definitely return.

Julias Bento

This was quite an interesting surprise inside a boutique hotel, it is Israeli/Cali based cuisine. Despite having things like kabob, it is also vegetarian friendly too though you can easily request for grilled chicken an such to be added to their salads and quinoa bowl. I loved how fresh yet well flavored everything was.

Just DeePee

I chose from the DineLA menu. It was an incredible amount of food for the price. Everything I had had a bit of kick to it. My starter was an interesting assortment of pickles and olives with a spicy, crunchy shredded salad, a hummus-like spread and a warm cloud of pita. I loved the exotically spiced grilled lamb kabab with broccoli served in a shallow pot. And the dessert! My mouth had a whole new experience! The malabi was a delightful combination of flavors, textures and temperatures that I cannot describe! You have to try it! Also, the staff was very friendly and attentive. I will definitely go back.

Helen Page

Such a cute and quiet little restaurant! Chill vibes and delicious food. Chrish (probably spelling it wrong( was amazing! They were so kind and helpful! Gave me some fantastic recommendations for other places around here! They have a lunch special for 15$ so they definitely have affordable options for people!

Amy Cooper

This place is 🔥!!!! Everything we got was socfreaking good. The vibes are sexy and classy and our waitress was super sweet. I'm 100% coming back and already recommended it to many of my friends 🩷

kearth reynolds

A really tasty hip place for Mediterranean/Isreali food and awesome cocktails in downtown LA. Cool decorating and nice ambiance, but a bit noisy, if you're looking for elegant privacy.

Had a nice casual meal here, they have interesting menu options and they were all solid. Drinks were just okay and the service was decent. I'd return for the food and atmosphere.

Delicious and inventive cocktails and dishes! Shareable plates are on the small side… I’ve always wondered why restaurants give you three portions of something (as with the falafel and shrimp) when people dine in parties of two or four (typically even numbers), thus someone always gets left out. Any event super cute place with an awesome chill vibe!

They say it’s Mediterranean and Asian fusion but the “Asian” part of that seems nonexistent. The food is fine, nothing to write home about. More of a place to get some productivity and light bites/brinks.

Great cozy atmosphere. I was welcomed with smiles and great service. However, the food is just OK. Nothing spectacular that would make me dying to come back.

The servers were very nice, I would recommend not to sit on the bar because the bar chairs are tad bit uncomfortable and there isn’t enough space for foot rest. Food was great though and the interior too.

Food was amazing, staff were super helpful and friendly. Music was a little loud, but the overall ambience and flavour experience was well worth it.

Krystine L

Had a nice casual meal here, they have interesting menu options and they were all solid. Drinks were just okay and the service was decent. I'd return for the food and atmosphere.

Amy “FabulousFoodie”

Delicious and inventive cocktails and dishes! Shareable plates are on the small side… I’ve always wondered why restaurants give you three portions of something (as with the falafel and shrimp) when people dine in parties of two or four (typically even numbers), thus someone always gets left out. Any event super cute place with an awesome chill vibe!

Dylan Prévost

They say it’s Mediterranean and Asian fusion but the “Asian” part of that seems nonexistent. The food is fine, nothing to write home about. More of a place to get some productivity and light bites/brinks.

Blake Staton

Great cozy atmosphere. I was welcomed with smiles and great service. However, the food is just OK. Nothing spectacular that would make me dying to come back.

Leroy T

The servers were very nice, I would recommend not to sit on the bar because the bar chairs are tad bit uncomfortable and there isn’t enough space for foot rest. Food was great though and the interior too.

Adrian Nash

Food was amazing, staff were super helpful and friendly. Music was a little loud, but the overall ambience and flavour experience was well worth it.

Update: I'd like to thank the team at the Exchange Restaurant and Freehand Hotel for reaching out to resolve the experience my girlfriend and I had. I truly appreciate that they took the time to hear out our situation and try to work with us to make it better. We've since been back to The Exchange and had a pleasant experience. I didn't get a chance to get our server's name, but they were very very kind. Original Review: Extremely disappointed with my experience here. I made a reservation to celebrate Valentine's Day with my girlfriend. Upon arrival there appeared to be a bit of chaos in the kitchen. We waited for about 15 minutes until a host appeared. He told us the kitchen was a little backed up and if we could wait at the hotel bar until the kitchen got caught up. We thought that was weird as we had a reservation, but we did that. He said it would take about 15 minutes to be seated. About 20 minutes went by with us waiting at the bar. The host never came to get us. At that point we noticed other couples waiting at the bar to be seated at the restaurant. After talking to other couples that were there we discovered that some other folks had been waiting over an hour to be seated. They all had reservations. So a line of people began to form at the hosts station to figure out what was going on. The host continued to state that the kitchen was backed up and they were waiting for them to catch up. But we were all trying to figure out when that would be. He couldn't really give us a time frame. At that point it was very late into the evening on one of the busiest restaurant days of the year. We tried to call around to other restaurants, but everything else was either closed or no longer taking reservations. After waiting over an hour and a half we left and ended up spending our Valentine's Day getting food at a taco truck across the street. We didn't even get to eat at the restaurant. The host seemed overwhelmed and avoidant to talk to anyone. I'm not sure if they were understaffed or they overbooked or what, but the way the situation was handled was extremely unprofessional. Our special Valentine's Day evening was ruined. So disappointed in this experience. The service was absolutely terrible. Can't even review the food cause we didn't get to eat there.

Richard Robey

Update: I'd like to thank the team at the Exchange Restaurant and Freehand Hotel for reaching out to resolve the experience my girlfriend and I had. I truly appreciate that they took the time to hear out our situation and try to work with us to make it better. We've since been back to The Exchange and had a pleasant experience. I didn't get a chance to get our server's name, but they were very very kind. Original Review: Extremely disappointed with my experience here. I made a reservation to celebrate Valentine's Day with my girlfriend. Upon arrival there appeared to be a bit of chaos in the kitchen. We waited for about 15 minutes until a host appeared. He told us the kitchen was a little backed up and if we could wait at the hotel bar until the kitchen got caught up. We thought that was weird as we had a reservation, but we did that. He said it would take about 15 minutes to be seated. About 20 minutes went by with us waiting at the bar. The host never came to get us. At that point we noticed other couples waiting at the bar to be seated at the restaurant. After talking to other couples that were there we discovered that some other folks had been waiting over an hour to be seated. They all had reservations. So a line of people began to form at the hosts station to figure out what was going on. The host continued to state that the kitchen was backed up and they were waiting for them to catch up. But we were all trying to figure out when that would be. He couldn't really give us a time frame. At that point it was very late into the evening on one of the busiest restaurant days of the year. We tried to call around to other restaurants, but everything else was either closed or no longer taking reservations. After waiting over an hour and a half we left and ended up spending our Valentine's Day getting food at a taco truck across the street. We didn't even get to eat at the restaurant. The host seemed overwhelmed and avoidant to talk to anyone. I'm not sure if they were understaffed or they overbooked or what, but the way the situation was handled was extremely unprofessional. Our special Valentine's Day evening was ruined. So disappointed in this experience. The service was absolutely terrible. Can't even review the food cause we didn't get to eat there.

Food was average middle eastern fare, common food you’d find at Mediterranean restaurants. Except the plates were small, the prices were excessive. Hummus was average. Kebab was bland. Given only 2 pitas for the whole table despite having ordered a whole variety of salads. Cocktail was tiny. Only saving grace the the desserts, that were original and interesting. Overall this place needs to improve if they want to market themselves as a culinary experience. Otherwise you’re better off going to any Mediterranean grill for better and better valued food

A vegetable centered Asian and Middle Eastern fusion restaurant in the financial district in DTLA. The inside is really well done, dark but in a welcoming way with thick wood tables and plenty of different types of seating, complete with a wood paneled bar. My server was very polite and did a great job as well as the rest of the staff I encountered. When I sat down there were all open tables around me, but within 15 minutes every single table next to me was occupied. I wish they would have spread around the seating a bit more, especially because the table directly next to me consisted of a very loud group. I wanted to order the Stracciatella & Peaches, but sadly they were sold out of it this evening so I went with the Salatim Platter instead. Tonight it consisted of hummus, burnt eggplant, and red cabbage. Overall it was okay, I really enjoyed the hummus but the other sides were pretty bland and weren’t as rich with flavor. Next came the Chorizo & Clams and this dish really let me down. The amount of chorizo was very small, it was too chopped up to be able to eat it with the clams, and had absolutely no spice to it. I would suggest using Merguez sausage instead so at least there’s some kick to it. They also added way too much kale, it was almost raw, so it was a strange flavor combination with everything else. I felt as if I could make better at home. Based on my first two courses I decided to skip dessert to avoid further disappointment. Overall I feel the food could be way better and considering all the options downtown I felt they fell short. Service was great, and the design inside was well done but sadly those were the best parts. It was not a horrible experience, but I don’t plan to repeat, especially considering all the other dining options on the same street.

Nadav Somekh

Food was average middle eastern fare, common food you’d find at Mediterranean restaurants. Except the plates were small, the prices were excessive. Hummus was average. Kebab was bland. Given only 2 pitas for the whole table despite having ordered a whole variety of salads. Cocktail was tiny. Only saving grace the the desserts, that were original and interesting. Overall this place needs to improve if they want to market themselves as a culinary experience. Otherwise you’re better off going to any Mediterranean grill for better and better valued food

Zan Lee

A vegetable centered Asian and Middle Eastern fusion restaurant in the financial district in DTLA. The inside is really well done, dark but in a welcoming way with thick wood tables and plenty of different types of seating, complete with a wood paneled bar. My server was very polite and did a great job as well as the rest of the staff I encountered. When I sat down there were all open tables around me, but within 15 minutes every single table next to me was occupied. I wish they would have spread around the seating a bit more, especially because the table directly next to me consisted of a very loud group. I wanted to order the Stracciatella & Peaches, but sadly they were sold out of it this evening so I went with the Salatim Platter instead. Tonight it consisted of hummus, burnt eggplant, and red cabbage. Overall it was okay, I really enjoyed the hummus but the other sides were pretty bland and weren’t as rich with flavor. Next came the Chorizo & Clams and this dish really let me down. The amount of chorizo was very small, it was too chopped up to be able to eat it with the clams, and had absolutely no spice to it. I would suggest using Merguez sausage instead so at least there’s some kick to it. They also added way too much kale, it was almost raw, so it was a strange flavor combination with everything else. I felt as if I could make better at home. Based on my first two courses I decided to skip dessert to avoid further disappointment. Overall I feel the food could be way better and considering all the options downtown I felt they fell short. Service was great, and the design inside was well done but sadly those were the best parts. It was not a horrible experience, but I don’t plan to repeat, especially considering all the other dining options on the same street.

Pretty restaurant, but if you're looking for above-average Middle Eastern food or California fare, then this place is not it. I don't see any particularly Israeli take - its just 100% Arabic food + banh mi. Theres no Eastern European influence at all as you'd typically see in an Israeli restaurant. And they do that sneaky 4% surcharge to "pay for healthcare." Just raise the prices instead!

R K

Pretty restaurant, but if you're looking for above-average Middle Eastern food or California fare, then this place is not it. I don't see any particularly Israeli take - its just 100% Arabic food + banh mi. Theres no Eastern European influence at all as you'd typically see in an Israeli restaurant. And they do that sneaky 4% surcharge to "pay for healthcare." Just raise the prices instead!