A Los Angeles food influencer says her 40th birthday dinner at Cipriani in Beverly Hills turned into a disaster after the restaurant allegedly failed to honor part of her reservation and then charged her group $1,300 for the night.
Kerry Rose Schwartz, known on TikTok and Instagram as @comfywithkerry and @comfywith_kerry, shared the story in a video posted to her accounts. Schwartz reviews restaurants across Los Angeles and labels each one a “slam” or a “scam,” depending on whether the experience matched the price, according to an SFGATE feature.
In the video, Schwartz said her boyfriend had spent months planning the celebration before a last-minute change of restaurant led them to Cipriani.
Rain forced a last-minute change of restaurant plans
Schwartz said in the video that her boyfriend originally booked an outdoor restaurant for her birthday, but the reservation fell through about a week beforehand because rain was forecast for that night. She said he then searched for a new venue that could fit a party of seven on short notice.
Schwartz said her boyfriend chose Cipriani because he knew she loved jazz, and the restaurant hosts a jazz night in a separate upstairs room. She said he called ahead, booked the reservation specifically for that room, and also asked whether they could bring a birthday cake. According to Schwartz, the restaurant agreed and said there would be a $4 per slice cake fee.
When the group arrived on the night of the reservation, Schwartz said a host told them the booking was only for dinner, not for the jazz room. Reservation mix-ups like this aren’t unique to Beverly Hills, as seen where a similar dispute recently involved a diner turned away despite a reservation at a restaurant. Schwartz said her boyfriend pushed back, telling the host, “that’s the only reason why we came here, so figure it out,” but said the host maintained there was no reservation for the jazz section.
Schwartz described the restaurant’s atmosphere in the video as “middle-aged, snobby, white, preppy,” and said, “nobody’s smiling.” She said the group decided to stay and eat despite the mix-up, since their guests were already on their way.
Schwartz said in the video that entrées on the menu were priced between $35 and $40, and she criticized the portion size of her ravioli, calling it “paper thin” and saying there was barely any filling inside. She also said a friend’s Bellini cocktail arrived in a glass roughly the size of a shot glass. Drinkware problems have made headlines elsewhere in the city too, including a recent case where a glass cracked apart mid-sip at another Beverly Hills happy hour spot.
According to Schwartz, the trouble continued when it was time to bring out the birthday cake. She said the same host who handled the jazz room issue told the group the cake could be placed on the table but that staff would not sing “Happy Birthday” or serve it, despite the earlier agreement over the phone.
Schwartz said her boyfriend became angry at that point, telling staff, “you guys better f–king bring out this cake or I’m not paying for this bill,” and adding that the restaurant was “making her birthday a nightmare.” Schwartz described her boyfriend as usually calm and said his reaction was unusual for him.
Schwartz said a different staff member later agreed to serve the cake, but said the restaurant still charged the previously agreed cake fee. She said the staff stood over the table while her friends sang and appeared to rush the group to finish so they could clear the table. At the end of the video, Schwartz said the final bill came to $1,300 for a group of seven that had ordered entrées, drinks, and two appetizers, with an automatic tip included.
She ended the video saying, “The least you could have done was try to accommodate me in some small way, but you made zero effort. I don’t even know how your restaurant is still open because the food sucks. Do not go to Cipriani’s.”
Cipriani has not publicly responded to Schwartz’s claims. The video received a lot of comments. One commenter pushed back on Schwartz’s stance on tipping, writing, “You lost me when you said you weren’t going to tip. The server has nothing to do with the cooking, or the fact that Cipriani lost your reservation. It’s just disrespectful.”
A self-described former server disagreed with that take, replying, “Ex-waiter here… the waiter who wouldn’t sing or serve the cake or allow them to eat the cake? The waiter showing no concern for their enjoyment? Disagree.”
Another commenter questioned why staff wouldn’t sing “Happy Birthday,” writing, “Sing happy birthday to you? It’s not Chucky Cheese…” A separate commenter countered that other restaurants do sing for birthdays, writing, “I’ve been to Benihana and they sing happy birthday 🙅”
Published: Jul 23, 2026 05:50 am