This popular West Hollywood restaurant and bar gets its name from the historic hardware store that occupied these premises for decades. Translation: The restaurant gets to keep the former tenant's awesome vintage signage. Inside, sliding floor-to-ceiling windows open onto the sidewalk. An open kitchen in front is surrounded by a dining counter. Two dining rooms are filled with mismatched chairs and tables made from reclaimed wood. The back, tree-covered patio couldn't possibly be any cooler. Laurel Hardware is beautiful. But like the stereotypical blonde bombshell who looks good in a bikini, there unfortunately isn't much going on upstairs.
The kitchen is lazy. The hostess couldn’t care less. Want to speak with a manager? No such luck. French fries are served cold and stale. (Cut from scratch? Oh, right. Please.) Burgers are consistently overcooked. Why even ask us how we want it cooked if the question is simply rhetorical? The pizza crust is gummy. A $10 arugula salad is nothing more than a pile of last week’s rotten greens soaked in dressing that tastes like it came from a 5-gallon jug. Try telling the staff your fried chicken is undercooked, and they’ll shrug and respond, "Sorry" then walk away without actually attempting to do anything about it.