It’s what happens when I’m away from West Hollywood for an extended period: The Abbey remodels, expands, and changes its menu, again.
I don’t recall exactly the last time I visited the Abbey before my lunch yesterday. Even when I still lived in L.A., my visits grew rare. As such, it had been quite a while for me, as I arrived yesterday to multiple changes in progress.
The bathroom area expansion appears sensible and well designed. The new VIP “peninsulas” may be the preferred place to sit, if you don’t need much table space. I miss the island bar, though not nearly as much as I do the cozy lounging cabanas. The latter have been replaced by large tables and bench seating, sans curtains. It’s just not the same.
Also not the same is the menu, as it’s undergone yet another reinvention. While the BLT and burgers remain ample in portion, the famous heaping pile of nachos has been cut down in size by almost half, now with a higher price to boot. Don’t you just love getting less for more? Thankfully, the martinis have not been scaled back, while holding steady at a barely-palatable $12. I recommend the cucumber.
Perhaps I’ll pay another visit in a few months when I’m back in town again, at which time all the current rear bar construction will no doubt be complete. Then, perhaps, the Abbey will have finally grown to its limit, or not. I have a feeling the menu will look different, if not offering less for more.
And that’s my hungry and thirsty opinion.
Ryan R. Sanderson 