New Thing #23: Verse in Toluca Lake

Verse is billed as a supper club built inside of recording studio. The restaurant comes from a Grammy-winning sound mixer and promises live music every night. And I have to say, the sound is pretty much perfect. We had a duo of Spanish guitar players - we were told it was flamenco music when we sat down but I didn’t get that vibe from them, not that I’m well versed in flamenco music - and it was the perfect volume. Loud enough to listen to but quiet enough that you could still have a conversation. The food was also quite good. I got the lobster tagliatelle that made me nervous at first because it was surrounded by the foam but it was foamed butter so nothing crazy. I’d definitely recommend Verse for a date night or quieter dinner with friends; this definitely isn’t a place that you want to have any sort of boisterous meet-up but if you’re looking for a meal with some nice ambience, Verse is a good spot in The Valley.
My only real concern about the place is that it is open from 5 - 10 and, since there is music to listen to, it feels like a place that will only get one sitting per table, two at most. We showed up at 6:30 and left at 9. And there weren’t many people there when we arrived and I didn’t see anyone leave while we were there. I have to imagine that one seating a night isn’t great for a restaurant, even if they own the building.