21 Square Bar and Kitchen, Torrance CA

21 Square, the restaurant bar in the Torrance Marriott, has terrific seating indoor and out. The bartenders are mixed: they all pour a generous drink, and some are spot-on friendly and quick. A few, not so much. Those can be snippy and quite slow at providing service, unless you're at a bar seat. A few trips ago, one disappeared on us and the others, including the manager, couldn't figure out what he'd done with our tab. That took way too long to sort out. Takeaway: if you get the right server, you'll have a great time (the food is also good-first rate French fries, salads and ahi tuna sandwiches).

We made reservations but they were not ready for us (it was not busy) no big deal we put 2 tables together and started looking at the menu. We had ordered corn ribs they were good.
Before our food came out I walked out front to go to the car and there was a CPS van (child protective service) I found that odd so I took a picture of it.
I went back in to the table. After sitting down the manager came over like we were being kicked out. He started asking questions like if we were under Lucy we said no, he continued to ask questions. It was very strange. He lingered around us for about 5 mins asking questions.
Then When our waitress came out with our food her whole demeanor changed she was not polite any longer.
It was just a very odd experience. We all felt very uncomfortable.
The food was nothing to brag about for the price.

The atmosphere was really nice and relaxing until we were questioned and the waitress changed up on us. This place is nothing special.

Not bad! A chill place overall.

Parking-wise, I wasn't quite sure if the restaurant validated hotel parking, so just parked across the street at the mall.

21 Square Bar + Kitchen can found going into the lobby and to the left side. It has big open doors to a nice patio area and a big bar area with a few tables. The bartenders were super nice and chill.

Going into the DineLA menu, here's what I got:
*Shrimp Ceviche Tostada: The presentation of the food on this was a little off and the tostada itself didn't look fresh (apologies if I'm wrong!), but the shrimp ceviche itself was delicious. Refreshing and was a great start.
*Adobo Braised Lamb Shank: Also surprisingly solid. The plating on this was better than the ceviche and the polenta base was good. The lamb was a little salty but overall just went well with the polenta. Loved the contrast.
*Cinnamon Churros: Again, the presentation itself wasn't spectacular, but the flavor was terrific. Bite into one of these churros and find a good amount of caramel overflowing. It's so good.
*Local Red Ale: Super solid and delicious!

Think some stuff can be better for sure but there's potential. A 3 1/2 star stop that I don't mind giving 4 stars here!

Love the garden, fire outside. Healthy and delicious options for breakfast, quite basic menu for dinner with larger drink options.