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Category: American (New) [Edit]
Neighborhood: KoreatownMon-Thu. 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Fri. 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Sat. 5:30 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.
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I just remembered I dined here last year for my birthday 'party'. Not much of a party when there's only five people there, but that's the way I like it.
It was a weeknight, it wasn't very busy. We ordered, the food took a bit of a while to come out, and I wasn't impressed by the food. Maybe I don't have a great palate.
My entree was a steak, and I recall there was an onion ring on it or something like that. It looked good, and it was, but nothing to brag about. Perhaps that's why it's taken me over a year to write this review.
It was fancy, but taste-wise it just didn't do it for me... just like most other fancy places. If you're into fancy food and feeling special, go for it.
If you just want really good food, there are lots of other places you can go. Oh yeah, I remember one of the Korean chicks who worked here was hot.
Last night I tried Opus for the first, and the last time.
Food mediocre, a bit overpriced and the service questionable - when asked if they had any guacamole, our waiter said he was ready to scale a clock tower with a rifle and start picking people off...what?!
I have to say he made the meal uncomfortable more than a few times.
The whole place was just disorganized chaos.
I'm not even sure if they know what kind of "restaurant" they even are.
I could go on, but i don't feel like putting any more time into even thinking about this place.
My advice, steer clear.
F for flooded bathroom floor
U for being very unoriginal with the menu
C as in CVS pharmacy is across the street
D as in disorganized ambiance
D again as in Denny's is nextdoor...
W for who ends their happy hour at 8?
O for Opus, there was nothing opus about this place far from the fancy name it acclaims
Korea town is soo disappointing.
Opus: A creative work, especially a musical composition numbered to designate the order of a composer's works.
Is this America or North Korea? Turns out there are multiple labor disputes with the owner Mimin Choi. She likes to not pay her workers. Free labor is good, it's not good for workers. Mimi, Justin, Jay, and the stupid DA can all deal with themselves in the mirror. As an American I am disgusted by the labor practices of Opus.
What happened? This place finally seemed to be turning a corner. They had a nice new chef, the food… Read more »
Don't GO!!!
This place relies on the traffic from the Wiltern Theater and not repeat customers. Translation: they don't care if you'll come back. Our waiter, Michael, is rude and inept. He insulted my girlfriend because she politely wanted to ask when our food was going to come out. I could go on for paragraphs. Bad management.
I gave Opus 4 stars but must preface this review by saying that I ate at the bar before a concert next door (PJ Harvey!) and all they had was a short bar menu. I was told that was how they did it when there was a big event at the Wiltern.
Though the bar was full, I managed to grab the last seat by the door, though a few stools did open up later. The adjacent seating area was open but only 1 or 2 people were in there. I strolled through on the way to the men's room and liked the atmosphere in there. The bathroom was VERY dark for some reason...
There were maybe 5 or 6 choices on the menu, so I picked the Chicken Chardonnay ($28) on the advice of the nice bartender. She was very attentive, and so was the other drink-slinger, which I found very nice after the slow service I usually expect at bars.
It was very good and had great mashed potatoes with fresh rosemary and an incredible sauce. Expensive but worth it!
Had one beer and the total, with our new high tax rate and $5 tip, came to just over $40. Again, that's kinda high but the quality was high also.
This is the second time I've been here and both times I've got great food. Had a sirloin burger over a year ago that I still remember!
I got killed with the parking, as I parked in the structure behind the Wiltern and got shaken down for $12 for motorcycle parking! Will probably take the bus next time!
not friendly...
Went yesterday for happy hour to meet http://Meetup.com friends. I read the reviews here and knew they had a $5 HH menu and didn't care if the food sucked. Also, this is where Natasha and I went on our first date oh so many years ago when it was called Atlas. But, some background before I continue: I called at 6 pm to make sure HH was taking place. Also, there is a sign on the building advertising that HH is from 5 to 8. 2 people in our group also called to make sure that HH was on.
OK. When we arrived at Opus the manager told us they were not doing HH afterall! Unbelievable! It gets better. One guy in our group got a waitress who didn't know the manager had canceled HH and she took his order for a $5 HH pizza. Boy were we PISSED!!!
So, stuck with the way overpriced menu on which everyone has yelped, Natasha and I had A DRINK and went to Astroburger. A few of us did order, something like: a bowl of soup for $12, a salad for $14, pasta started at $20. Food seemed average.
I know I'm getting picky now, but when I paid my check the waitress gave me the wrong change. Also, the Ralphs parking lot is supposed to validate for Opus, but if you tell them you're going to Opus they make you prepay! They leave at 9 pm, so there's little chance you'll get a refund for the parking validation! The $5 pizza took 45 min! I kid you not!
On a side note, there was a Trutanich fundraiser going on in a side room. Natasha and I crashed and schmoozed with the politicos. Free hors d'oeuvres were OK. The place did have the same floorplan as Atlas so Natasha and I did have that nostalgic feeling.
Anyway, this whole block is infested with scam artists! I may or may not be including Trutanich.
So, let's call this the Happy Hour That Wasn't
Spend your money elsewhere.
Average food that is way overpriced. Lousy service.
There are too many good restaurants to support to waste your time adn money with this one.
This may be the only place in Los Angeles I have been to without yelping first. And let me tell you, I regret that decision.
This restaurant is less than half a mile from my apartment. I see it all the time, and I was inspired by their half off happy hour banner to check out their website. Their appetizer/happy hour menu looks fantastic! I really wanted to check it out. But alas, I've been to Opus three times and have yet to try any of their food. And they're not getting a 4th chance.
All three times, the service has seemed incredibly distracted. (I was there in the early evening, if it matters. 5:30-6:30 ish.) Not overtly rude, but imagine feeling like you showed up at an acquaintance's house when they weren't expecting you and had a lot of important business to take care of. Not the sort of feeling you want to get from a bar, especially one where you're paying $10 for a drink.
The first time, the bar tender said something about the kitchen not being open because the chef hadn't shown up. He gave us chips and salsa on the house to go with our drinks.
The second time, it was apparently a "concert night". I didn't think to check the Wiltern's schedule before going, so I'll take the blame for the fact that I didn't get to check out their happy hour menu. But the place still had that distracted vibe to it, like I could have walked out without paying and nobody would have noticed or cared. I didn't walk out without paying - I had to have one of the bartenders hunt down the bartender who took my order so I could pay. (Can't any of them ring me up? It was a rum and coke! Jeez!)
At least the first two times, the drinks were tasty. They used a brand of white rum that I didn't recognize, and the drink was smooth and delicious.
The third and final time I have been (or will ever go) to Opus, the service was distracted, they couldn't FIND the bar menu, and the bartender put Meyer's in my drink and it tasted like cheap, foul rum. Seriously. How can you not *find* your bar menu? The bartender (whose daughter was running around behind the bar!!!) said "Oh, well, we have things like hamburgers and quesadillas. What do you want?" I said, "I'll think about it." and never ordered any food. I remember seeing vegetarian things on their appetizer menu that caught my interest. Things that were interesting, classy, and worthy of a restaurant in their price range. Hamburgers??? And you can't find your menu?!
I'm usually a very patient person. I don't like giving bad ratings. This place wasn't foul, in fact it was quite clean and nice. Nobody was overtly rude. I didn't feel the need to leave shouting or stiff on the bill or tip. But this place was so deeply disorganized that I feel like a group of 7th grade honor roll students could make a class project of fixing it.
Oh, and just because I say this in all of my reviews, it is on a subway line, and serviced by several bus routes. But don't bother coming here, even if you live across the street. I'd rather drive somewhere than come back to Opus.
why does it take over 1/2 an hour to serve a mini pizza and salad when there are only 8 people in the whole place at 7:30pm? I walked out once they served me what I think was pizza when I took a bite and the frozen crust was still raw. Gross, overrated, boring, and the worst service.
Wow, I can't say enough about this place. Let's start with the positive (I believe in that) the bartender was cool and the martini was good. He was very cool with us.
Servers at the table had a bit of an attitude when I questioned why they DID NOT HAVE ANY MENUS. That's right folks... NOT EVEN A PIECE OF PAPER NOR WRITTEN ON A NAPKIN. Their excuse, new chef and determining the menu.
They said they pretty much have whatever we ask for. So I ask if they have roasted chicken. NO, no roasted chicken. Ok so we are really contemplating whether to stay or what to do. We were going to a concert at the Wiltern.
We had read reviews about The Opus and they were NOT good but we felt we wanted to go with an open mind and decide for ourselves.
So after contemplating, I asked for something simple, grilled chicken, mash potatoes and veggies. UH... I am NO chef but Denny's would have been better. Seriously, not even being sarcastic here.
My friend, he got something off the "Happy Hour" menu (yes they did have a menu for Happy Hour) . He ordered a "BLAT". For those that are not hip (lol), Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado & Tomato". I'm saying, please. Are you serious! That was pathetic! How do you ruin that? Seriously, a child could have done this. And again, I'm seriously thinking Denny's would have done a better job.
My friend thought it was a cook and the NEW chef hadn't arrived yet (we were there at 5:30 pm). I heard from our waitress their new chef was preparing the food. After being a bit surprised and literally almost in disbelief, I told our waitress (with lots of love) "If that is your new chef as Donald Trump would say, you're fired". I mean really. If this was Denny's, we would have been fine and actually probably the BLAT would have been a better there.
Then the final kicker... their "happy hour" menu shows $5.00 for Happy Hour. That is shown to the left column of their Happy Hour Menu. You know for easy eye and advertising purposes.
So on the first line in the center top of the small page, "Hours 5 - 8:00 pm " (hot happy hour but just hours)
on the second line "$8.50 Non- happy hour"
My friend was confused and I told him Happy hour is between 5-8 and everything is $5.00. And after 8:00 pm, it's $8.50. I'm thinking, simple and case closed.
We get the bill for the pathetic BLAT and another appetizer and we get charged $8.50 each. Of course, my friend is saying, see, I told you it's $8.50.
Inquring minds want to know. We had a waiter and a watiress so I asked our friendly (NOT) waiter, what the Happy Hour menu says. He proceeds to tell me happy hour is between 5-8 pm and it's $8.50 each appetizer for NON happy hour time and when there is a concert. Again, we are there 5:30 and it's probably almost 6:00 by now.
UH..... NO, I don't think so. I asked him politely where does it state this on the menu. And he tells me our waitress was suppose to tell us. Well I'm thinking weren't you one of the ones serving us. And he says it is posted in the front of the restaurant. My friend checked the front and there I NO SIGN!!!
Without hesitation (obviously they have had this issues MORE times than he will ever admit to me) he grabbed the bill and he came back with the correction and charged the happy hour prices.
So this leaves the long lasting taste of "let's see if these people are stupid enough to notice and let's rip them off... Oh shoot, WE got caught",
And to top it off, the table to the left of us was NOT happy either (they wanted to walk out) nor was the table to our right happy either.
So you decide if you want to go there. And if you do, I hope it's a better experience than we had.
I've been here twice. I think the management/chef changed.
Such a waste of a nice location.
I second all the other one' stars on this joint (bad service, food, etc).
This place and Abrocrombie are the two places on my BOYCOTT list.
OMG.
I highly dislike this place now.
It was great when my friend was the manager and he was getting things back on track. But the new manager is unprofessional, rude, (insert other negative comment), etc.
I definitely DO NOT recommend going to this place. Unless you like horrible management, overpriced/average food, and an empty restaurant/bar.
Stopped by here to pick up something and my friend, Janet and I decided to stay for Happy Hour! YAY… Read more »
I'm not sure what they're trying to aim for. Romantic environment? No...employees are running around. Delicious? Meh...it was okay. Prices are higher than most places i can think of. No specialties. Don't think I'll be coming back anytime soon.
Food: 3
Service: 4
Environment: 4
Price: 1
DISREGARD ANY REVIEWS PRIOR TO THIS ONE, AS OF JULY 2008, OPUS IS AMAZING.
I went to Opus, which I had heard great things about, on Monday evening, and I pretty much ate a lot of the food there. I tried a lot of the bar menu, which included crab cakes, quesadilla, and nachos, all which were AMAZING. I also ate off of the dinner menu... Goat Cheese Salad and Lamb, also both were absolutely incredible. I've heard that Opus had lost their chef, but based on the food I had, the new chef they have is FAR SUPERIOR. So basically, that's just the food I've covered.
The design of Opus is insane, it's very upscale and well kept. Eating dinner in the dining area could be nothing less than peaceful, romantic, or classy. The seating is all very comfortable.
The bar area is great, it's a very long bar with numerous seats, awesome area for after work cocktails, or late night hook ups. If your in the area, I couldn't imagine going anywhere else for cocktail time, cause this place has it down! The bartenders (I've dealt with 2 of them) are very talented... the blond girl that works behind the bar makes the best Mojito in all of Los Angeles.
Basically Opus is a top notch dining experience and is worth any kind of drive to try it out, and if you live near it, your damn near crazy not to experience it on a normal basis.
Opus Bar & Restaurant, you have far exceeded my expectations!
The service here was excellent. Our waiter had a couple of mishaps but nothing crazy. I had the Kumquat soup which was just delicious. My boyfriend had the rib eye...and he devoured it =)
We also ordered the cheese and meat platter....also Delicious.
The place is going through some construction....so i say stay away for a bit till its finished...unless you like sitting next to a pill of bricks and stacked chairs.
I cant wait to come back and see how this place turns out!
I highly dont recommend this restaurant.
this is my first time coming to this place and the enviroment appears to be nice BUT the service was horrible. No one bothered to greet us when we walked in, wasnt offered any drinks (and when asked.... we were offered regular sodas but was not cold per server). Almost all (7) of our orders were all wrong and had to be taken back to the kitchen. The server's attitude was rude and poor.
The food in general was so-so. Our panini's were not even warm and served over a wheat bread. Overall, food was not spectacular for the price.
I guess back in the day Opus used to be the talk of the town on the food boards. I had been wanting to go here for so long. Finally, I got tix to see Mogwai at the Wiltern. So, I made reservations at Opus and waited patiently to have my fantastic meal.
When my husband and I got there at 7:30 PM, the place was empty. There were only servers in the house. So, we were a bit worried. When we saw the menu, it was uninspiring and boring to say the least. We couldn't believe this was the restaurant everyone was raving about a year ago. We asked the server what was up and he said they changed chefs 2 months ago and this was the new menu.
We were so bummed out. The dishes were okay but not worth the money and the place looked so empty, dark and dismal. I'm guessing the place won't be around much longer.
Too bad.
Never again. Not without a new chef and a new menu.
FYI: The reviews from 2007 may not apply, as the menu seems to have changed. They don't seem to serve anything listed on the menupages site.
(http://losangeles.menu...).
Let me just start this review by stating the following:
1) I do not rate a place based on decor. The decor here is great... if you don't include the cheesy music they happened to be playing that night (think Flashdance).
2) I rate a place based on the food and service. This place gets 1 star.
To put it bluntly, this placed sucked like a starving mosquito perched on someones butt. Yeah - I know that was bad, but not as bad as the food and service.
I happened to go to Opus with some new friends/associates on a whim. It was a spontaneous outing that required no reservation, low noise and availability for 8 in LA on a Saturday night. We should have gone to Carls Junior.
I know that may sound harsh, but its valid. Here are some of the dishes we ordered:
- Barely Cooked Ahi
- Some other raw fish dish
- Short ribs w/ cream of wheat
- Steak
- Salmon
- A pasta dish with mushrooms, etc..
I can't remember all of the names... and I can't find the menu online. However, all of the dishes I tasted were mediocre at best. All of them.
This did not upset me. The fact that the servers kept giving everyone the wrong dishes didn't bother me. I didn't get upset when they gave people the correct dishes, but then took them away b/c they thought they were making a mistake...
What did upset me was dessert. That did it. The dessert menu was mediocre so I KNEW not to order anything for dessert. The people in my party were not as wise. They ordered the following:
- An apple crumble dish w/ vanilla ice cream
- Bananas Foster
- A Thyme Strawberry Shortcake with Strawberries..
OMG! All of the desserts were HUGE. The apple crumble could have filled a dinner plate. It had two TINY scoops of ice cream on the side. It tasted like apple mush with no flavor at all. The Bananas Foster came in a HUGE bowl with two TINY scoops of ice cream on the side. It was... ok, but I know the man who ordered it regretted it. Finally...
The STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE. OMG. This is pissed me off. While thyme and strawberries can be paired, I've never had a salty strawberry shortcake in my life. It was disgusting.
Never again.
Ever.
They need a new chef and a new menu.
Had dinner here for my birthday. We ordered a family style special and it was the most delicious meal I've ever had.
Great service, great ambiance.
This was the worst dining experience ever. I regret not listening to the one star reviews.
Our bread was either very old or left out so long that it was dried out. Toasting it didn't mask that dryness.
We ordered 2 Chimays. The waiter brought 2 glasses of Chimays somewhat full without the bottles. That's wrong, he should've brought the bottles and poured them for us at the table. Instead we got 2 partially full glasses. We thought maybe he got one bottle and poured it into 2 glasses. No. We got charged for 2, $9 each. Where's the rest of my beer?
Menu- So limited. My friend and I commented on how the entrees and sides were reminiscent of the I Love Lucy days. New york steak with baked potato?
Cheese plate- ok. Cheese is cheese. Dates were good.
Beef tenderloin with gorgonzola sauce. Meat was tender but the sauce was already congealed when the dish came out. I was moving the film on top around. Not very appetizing. Another thing, the whole plate got cold in 15 minutes. I mean ice cold, and I ordered my steak medium. And it was a very thick cut! I did like the baby bok choy and the very thin asparagus. But not when it's ice cold! They need to do temperature control in there.
Wine- I looked at the wine list to see what kind of cabernet we should get. Didn't matter, there's only one choice for glasses. And one choice of merlot, pinot, and syrah. I thought this was supposed to be a nice restaurant. Why so limited? That told me they're really cutting down.
Dessert- Chocolate mousse cake. It was good. The same way Sarah Lee or Marie Callendar's is good. There is obviously no pastry chef back there.
The worst part- Paper napkins. I used the same paper napkin throughout my whole meal. Trip to the restroom, come back and unfold that same paper napkin back into my lap. Outside for a quick phone call... same napkin. You may ask why I didn't ask for more napkins. I shouldn't have to. It's called customer service. Same thing with the beer. I shouldn't have to ask for the whole bottle. It's a given.
We were so amused all during dinner at how Opus comes off as such a nice place and how we were so fooled. So amused until the bill came. $200 with tip for 2. Don't come here. Don't even walk past here. Stop at the Denny's next door.
I've had far better new-style American food at other places (in SD that would be The Market in Del Mar & Whisknladle in La Jolla).
I came here for a birthday dinner, the goat cheese salad didn't impress me, since the only really thing that stood out being good was the goat cheese (the dressing was bland, no herbal seasoning flavor in it at all). However, the short ribs were really tender, flavorful & filling.
Don't get me wrong, the waiter service was good, but noticing how there was only one other group of people for dinner said something for a Saturday night for this place.
I stayed here long enough when they convert the dining area to a nightclub dance floor. The DJ played hip hop, but nothing special about the nightclub atmosphere here.
Why? Why have you deserted us, Chef Josef???
No, seriously, ever since Chef left, the place has lost its..well, everything:
Our kind and friendly waiter informed us they were no longer offering the tasting menu because Chef was gone.
The bread basket that used to come filled with BreadBar goodies showed up half-empty, with Albertson's-tasting faux French baguette slices instead.
The salmon was mushy (sous vide gone wrong?).
My steak and fries entree was missing THE FRIES.
And the bar was ridiculously slow, despite the place being nearly empty.
What happened to quality control, people?? Gone.
Alas, now that Chef Josef Centeno has bid adieu to Opus, so have I.
I truly love the girl below me, and I can't agree more with her.
I don't have enough words to explain my insatisfaction with this place and it's management. Who knows me knows me. Can't lie. This place could be good if they were respectful and smart, but.
All in all, Opus was pretty disappointing given it's history and hype. Sounds like they've changed chefs and it's better than at its worst, but not back to it's glory days.
I gave 2 stars because of the expectations I had going into a chef's tasting menu and paying a pretty penny. Also, ending with a craptastic dessert is a sure way to leave folks unhappy.
Courses (5):
- Ahi tuna tartar with Szechuan pepper oil and avacado
THIS was the highlight of the meal. Very good, I never thought to pair avacado with the Szechuan hot oil, but it works! We had high hopes at this point.
- Arugula salad with baked chevre and apple
Meh. Nothing special at all. It was kinda what you'd expect at a chain place trying to be fancy.
- Grilled white fish over something-or-other.
Again, nothing that good. The fish was cooked well, but I've had this a million times (and better!).
- Slow cooked short ribs over polenta.
This was pretty good and very filling. The juice mixed with the polenta was nice. This one knocked most people out of the dinner.
- Sweet avacodo parfait with fresh fruit.
A somewhat valiant attempt and ending the night with a twist. The waiter was so excited to ask us what the green stuff was in the dessert (like we wouldn't know). We should have known that meant they were catering to a less exotic crowd. Our whole table shouted "Avacado! (duh!)" and he was sad. *Sigh.*
Also, the fruit was NOT ripe at all, so the strawberries were more like onions in texture. Ick.
So, all in all, a bust and an expensive bust at that. At least the drinks were good (though $10 a pop).
Damn! I got drunk here last night.
Not eating anything the entire day, then plomping myself on the bar and ordering a chimay blue(9% alc), jacking my friend's lychee martini(damn that was good), drinking a glass of my friend's wine, then drinking about 5 different wines with the food will do that to you I guess.
Oh the food. I love the food. This was my second time here and also my second time getting the four course tasting menu. I'm not gonna go through each thing like all you food snobs(mainly cuz my memory sucks). I'll just say it was mighty tasty. I would consider the flavor of the food here BOLD. BOLDLY tastY!! har har...snore.
ok...damn i suck at writing reviews.
Oh, every time I come here I'm shocked by the value of the meal. 40 bucks for the four course(thats more like five or six courses). I think I whispered into the ear of el jorge about 4 times about the...value(i was about to write something very homosexual just now but decided against it, you should be feeling very lucky).
Ok so yeah, I love this place. Ive never had issues with the service, in fact, i thought it was exemplary(ooh big word for me) each time I went.
I think i'm about ready to end this review now.
BANG!!
I work just around the block from Opus so I've known about it for a long time (since it was called Atlas). A few months ago, I decided to try it out for lunch and it was great. It had been about 3 weeks since I went and I was craving their panini. So I went for lunch today...
It wasn't bad but it wasn't good either. They changed their menu. I guess they're trying to save a buck (aren't we all). Gone are their shoestring garlic fries, gourmet salad, even the water is missing the cucumber that used to make it special. Oh and they raised their prices too.
Oh well, I guess I gotta go back to my other lunch regulars....Denny's anyone?
Opus is definitely generating reviews and buzz, and it has good reason, too.
The space is modern, sleek, dark and intimate. It's definitely got all the elements of trendy spot but I find that most hip and happening' places don't generate quality dishes from the kitchen -- Opus is a deviation from that trend.
From start to finish, service was immaculate and extremely attentive. Viktor, our waiter, was constantly moving around but was always there to refill the wine glass or fold the napkins when someone left for the restroom. However, this superb service was not demonstrated only by our waiter but by everyone we encountered during our visit. Chef Centeno even came out several times during the course of the meal to explain the dishes.
We all opted to try the spontaneous tasting menu, which is priced at $10 a course, with a 4 course minimum. The price is unchallenged and worth every dollar.
Amuse: sugar snap pea soup with wheat crackers and a hint of lemon?
It was served in a tall shot-glass. It was refreshingly cool and smooth but I felt that there was a lot of green onion in it and it created a lot of bite and rough texture. The wheat crackers sank to the bottom and I didn't have a chance to sample it.
1: diced hamachi with celery sorbet and white soy vinaigrette
The buttery cubes of hamachi were absolutely delicious and the portion is generous. The vinaigrette gives it a nice salty coating without overdoing the flavor. The celery sorbet is exactly what you'd expect celery ice cream to taste like. It was icy and yet the taste of celery was very strong. It was a nice and neutral but I don't know if it added to the overall dish for me.
2: breakfast in an egg (coddled egg yolk, cream of wheat, bacon, sherry creme fresh, topped with honey)
I loved the sweetness of the honey but once it was all mixed together, I couldn't really make it out. The egg yolk flavor was strong and tangy. A lot of the egg stuck to the shell so I had to scrape at it. The bacon came out very well in the dish; it was crispy and I could catch hints of it.
3: carrots with elderflower cream and soy salt
I believe we were served three varieties of carrots and they were all done so wonderfully. The cream bubbled and suited the flavorful carrots very well. This was one of my favorites.
4: aji with heirloom tomatoes OR hazelnut soup ??
Our table of four was given two plates of aji and two bowls of soup. The soup was lukewarm and I couldn't really taste the nuttiness in the soup. It was topped with delicious pork rinds that had a small crunch to it. The aji (horse mackerel) was sprinkled with seeds and not too memorable in my book.
5: lamb with garbanzo beans and baby beets
The lamb was nicely seared and the insides were quite tender. However, the beans were a dry addition to the dish. There was too much and they were too dry. On the other hand, the beets were utterly delicious. In addition, I felt that there was a generous portion of lamb for all.
6: coconut tapioca with gaufre and strawberries
The tapioca was refreshing and was sweet with the strawberry liquid. The gaufre was deliciously crispy and the strawberries, fresh.
Note that we each had the four course and the additional courses were compliments of the chef.
I would dine here again in a heartbeat.
Atmosphere: 4.5 stars. The place was dimly lit and very sexy. We had a party of 25 and got this grand table in the center of the restaurant. One thing I thought was odd was that between the hours of 7pm-10pm the restaurant had very little patrons. For three hours I saw about 2 or 3 other tables that were occupied. I don't know, maybe it was an off night.
Food: 2.5 stars. We had to order fixed price menu for $65/person. A few of our guests were vegetarians and the restaurant was good about adjusting the menu. Honestly the restaurant served WAY too much food. I think there was about 8 courses...And NO DESSERT!! Do you really need 2 different courses of fish??? Personally I'd rather have just ordered my own dish.
Service:4 stars. For a party of 25 they did very well and kept a keen eye on all of us.
All in all it was a very nice place, Since I don't live in LA I don't think I'll be returning. However, if you want to go to a nice date place before Korean Clubbing...check out Opus.
Now that's what I'm talking about. 5-star food for less than 5-star prices. I'm not saying it's cheap, but I am saying for the amount you pay you would not expect to get such a great dining experience.
Let's take this to scale:
Ambiance - A
Dark enough to be sexy, roomy enough to be non-shi shi and vibey enough to feel like you're in a Manhattan restaurant but without the attitude that goes hand-in-hand with it.
Hostess - A
Pleasant and accomodating. We were initially directed to a table located right by the "private room". However the only thing that separated the private room and that table was a see through half-wall. Did I mention the private party had music blasting at the time? Not really the 5-year wedding anniversary experience we had hoped for an the hostess relocated us immediately.
Chef - B
Going purely on his presentation...he came out to deliver the first of the entrees from my "spontaneous tasting menu" selection without introducing himself. It wasn't until his 2nd sentence of describing the dish that he said "Oh, BTW, I'm the chef." Hi, chef. Oh well, if that's the only thing I have to ding a restaurant with then so be it.
Food - A+
Everything except the chocolate, ancho-garlic dip was simply awesome. My three-course tasting menu included:
- salmon with a pesto/wasabi sauce that melted in your mouth. I can taste it just thinking of it.
- a white New Zealand fish called bemboudi (sp?) that was equally as good
- veal cheek which I liked immensely, but didn't love but that's probably only because I'm not a veal chick. Tender and flavorful.
Their bread was insanely yummy (who takes home bread? we did!) - some type of wheat bread with macadamia nuts. We shared a trio of dips for appetizers: a mole type, chipotle type and salt cod to go along with the pita chips. I highly recommend the salt cod - it had a texture of potato salad and went really well with the pita. The amouse was a pumpkin popper - just like a jalapeno popper but kinda liqeur-ish middle for the pumpkin sauce. I'm blanking out as to what my husband had (he ordered off the menu), but I recall him loving whatever he ordered. I also liked the pomegranate martini that started off the meal. All that for around $100.
Bar - A
Going purely on looks because we didn't have drinks at the bar: looks great for happy hour or even a date.
Parking - D
When we first stepped out of the restaurant and asked the parking attendant how much valet was we received a "$15" response. Then when we actually got our car, which took WAY too long for being the only people in queue, we were charged only $5. How does that work? And for those who think that you've hit the "Wiltern parking secret jack pot", think again. They watch you like a hawk as far as wear you are going and coming from and they *will* charge you the full $15 if they think you're a concert goer.
---
We'll definitely go back. Heck, I'd go back by myself just to try another tasting menu selection. Next time I'm going with the 6-course, which I had originally wanted but if the other person(s) in your party opts for the regular menu - they have you change your tasting menu to the 3-course so that serving times are equal.
Dying to try this place out, I offered to take my friend here for her birthday dinner.
Let me start off by saying that everyone I encountered at Opus was friendly and great - from the lady who first took my reservation to the guy who cleared the plates away at the end of dinner.
We started with a glass of Lambrusco and the whipped feta cheese and poblano dip to accompany our yummy breads.
Then, our 6-course tasting began:
The amuse bouche was the celery root puree, taro(?) and something panna cotta with pistachios (I SO wish I paid better attention to each course explanation). This was very very good. Made me want to stick my pinky finger in the glass and give it a swirl to finish off every last bit.
Next came a a ceviche of sea bass, accompanied by a skewer of fried baby snapper in a caraway sauce. We had brought a bottle of red with us and it was great when the waiter gave us a complimentary white wine pairing. The ceviche was good - nothing to wow over but I loved the snapper tempura and the sauce.
Next was the famous soft-boiled egg with cream of wheat(?), bacon and honey on top. I've read other reviewers complain that the egg was overcooked but ours came out PERFECT. I was very curious about the whole honey thing - I'm not a big fan of sweet stuff - but it all seemed to balance out in this dish. And the crunchy bacon bits. yummy
Then came the asparagus soup with oxtail ravioli. It was pure essence d'asparagus. Topped with asparagus foam. Really fresh and yummy.
Then came a seared new Zealand snapper with fava beans and a gooseberry gastrique. The fish was really good, but I didn't like the gooseberry sauce - it was just way too sweet.
The next dish was a shocker for me. The tiniest little rack of rabbit, served with rabbit loins wrapped in pancetta, and on the side was a dish of peas with shredded/braised rabbit in curry. Shocking because I'm year of the rabbit and I'd avoided eating rabbit all my life.....I know. It's childish. Even MORE shocking because I took a bite and fell in love. Sure, anything wrapped in bacon is great but this was sooooo guuuuuuuud. I wasn't too fond of the curried peas thing tho.....
Then came a rack of baby lamb served over lentils and stewed cherry tomatoes, served by Josef himself :) First time having lentils and I like em! I think I would have enjoyed this more if I wasn't getting so full
Next we were served a bit of blue cheese on a thin crisp of bread and finally, a bit of chocolate cake with creme fraiche. Our waiter forgot the birthday candle (which I specifically requested earlier that day) but I let him live anyway.
I had a great first time at Opus and definitely looking forward to trying everything else Josef has to offer!
=======
Update 5/16/07
Finally tried The Baco last night. Fried pork belly and short rib carnitas served with a "pico de gallo" and some yummy sauce spread on a flatbread. Very very very delicious! If noone was around, I would have rolled that puppy up and eaten the whole thing by hand.
Had a nice bottle of sparkling shiraz too.
Our server Travis rocked.
Our night at Opus began even before we slid into one of the sleek, freestanding booths lining the kitchen wall. It actually started with a 2004 Santa Barbara Winery Zinfandel, which we procured from our wine cooler for the momentous occasion that was my birthday.
The four of us had settled on the famed four-course spontaneous tasting menu ($10 each course), which has had the foodie community buzzing for months. It is said that every meal comes with extras, which often makes for an additional three or four courses beyond what you actually pay for. In our case, the elusive myth proved true and our grand total came to six courses.
The food was some of the most innovative I've seen yet in LA, though I would be hard-pressed to pin it to a genre (New American melting pot, if I had to). Among the four of us, our favorites were the coddled egg and carrots with elderflower cream. It's rare to find eggs on a high-end menu (Manresa being the most memorable) and Opus' was a melody of sweet honey, tart sherry and salty bacon that danced on our tongues. The carrots were the surprise of the evening and were a welcomed intermission to the heavier proteins in the rest of our meal.
Amuse Bouche: Sugar snap pea soup with mint, green onions, and cream of wheat crackers. I thought that the ingredients in the amuse would have made for a robust combination, but the soup was actually a refreshing palate cleanser for the start of our meal.
Course 1: Diced hamachi in a white soy vinaigrette with celery sorbet. The most surprising part of this dish was its portion, which could classify as a tapas dish meant for sharing. Nothing too exciting about this dish except for the exceptionally strong taste of celery which permeated the sorbet.
Course 2: "Breakfast in an egg." Coddled egg yolk, cream of wheat, applewood-smoked bacon, sherry creme fraiche, topped with honey
Course 3: Carrots with elderflower cream and soy salt.
--Brief introduction and appearance by Chef Josef Centeno, who had been looming near our table all night--
Course 4: Aji with heirloom tomatoes or hazelnut soup. Aji is a Spanish mackerel, which is imparted with a milder flavor than saba. The dish was good and the flavors were expected. The hazelnut soup was peppered by what deceptively looked like croutons, but were actually pork rinds.
Course 5: Lamb with fresh garbanzo beans and baby beets. The medium rare cook on the lamb left the meat fragrant and tender when it met our mouths. We all agreed that the dish could have used fewer garbanzo beans and more sauce or beets to balance out the dryness.
Course 6: Coconut tapioca with gaufre and strawberries. And when we thought we couldn't eat another bite, Chef Centeno delighted us with a dessert that was light as a cloud.
Service throughout the night was all-around stellar and when asked for a wine recommendation, our waiter enthusiastically suggested a 2005 German Bex Riesling priced at $40. His choice was spot on as the taste of crisp apples whetted our appetites for the meal to come. We also saved $20 on the corkage fee since you're allowed one bottle from home for each that you purchase.
I only regret not having discovered Opus for myself before it got onto the culinary radar.
OPUS - defined (per http://dictionary.com)
1. a musical composition.
2. one of the compositions of a composer, usually numbered according to the order of publication.
3. a literary work or composition, as a book: Have you read her latest opus? Abbreviation: op.
The Chef at OPUS Josef is a young, intense, creative freak!!!! His OPUS is composing amazing food that I can say brought me the best dining experience of the year following my Scotch event last week. (I held the Scotch event in the bar salon - a night space for an event)...
The food pushes the boundries and redresses classics - or re-invents Josef's own...
If you review websites - some people can't hang with this ... to them I say "take your f'ing beet and goat cheese salad and your steak and potato's back to sizzler" ... this is for a higher purpose. (I love Sizzler when I travel - don't get me wrong - I dig the salad bar when I'm not out for a special experience).
EAT - this is an adventure....
BE open minded and try something new (for God's Sake!!)
SMILE life is too short.
ME LIKEY
- MUSIC - the night I was there, a great piano player was playing readdress versions of radiohead, LCD soundsystem and Pink Floyd.
- DESIGN - the space is huge - and the staff is small - they take good care of you. My waitress was very intelligent and smoking cute.
- CORKAGE - as a member of LearnAboutWine - there is no corkage charge!!! But you need to show your membership card. Corkage fees are reasonable otherwise.
DISLIKEY
- PARKING - just VALET - and thank god its there....
BONUS
- Lets say your going to the WILTERN to see a concert. You go to OPUS prior (valet is $20 with the show - a steal - trust me) You eat, you drink - you walk 50 feet to the concert!!!! One of LA's best nights out - TRUST ME.
But eat there on a dark night at the WILTERN for the best experience - because busy nights test the small staff and your expectations should adjust.... it will keep you happy and lovely.
Don't be an ass and order the wrong food and the wrong restaurants people... and don't expect nacho cheese when your in France... Holly Crap! Seems rediculous I know - but I have my reasons.
First of all this place is walking distance from my apartment! How cool is that? I actually was a big fan before I moved to K-town so it was like an awesome bonus to be able to walk here.
Anyway....................I've only ever had the tasting menus here...and the dips. I know things have changed somewhat in the last several months and I'm not sure if they still have all the dips on the menu. There used to be I think 5 dips and you could choose three and I loved that. The dips are all incredible. I must say the first time I went to Opus as last year and the evening was spectacular. Everything was so incredible. The last couple of times I've gone it's been very very good but it's never quite been as out-of-this-world as the first time. Now maybe this is just cocaine-syndrome on my part and nothing's different. But I'm pretty sure it's not the same.
The 3 dips we had last year were orgasmic. Every bite me and my girlfriend were moaning and rolling our eyes. It was embarrassing but who cared? We were in culinary heaven and we were eating DIPS!
Back then you could get a 3 course tasting menu for $30 --which is insane...the amount of food we got and the way it blew us away was worth so much more than $30 it was unbelievable! But nowadays there is a minimum of 4 courses at $10 a pop. Which is still great. But I think we got 4 courses that first night for $30 to be honest.
The last couple of times I went for dinner they remembered me and brought me and my date a comp glass of Cava...which was so classy and sweet I loved it! And it impressed my dates too! Josef the chef came out with a dish this last time and introduced himself and said 'you've been here many times' --again, classy, smart, sweet.
I love Josef's signature dishes: the breakfast in a cup, his pea soup with roasted John Dory or his corn soup with pork belly...
I am a fan of this place to be sure. The service is always top notch and once the maitre D even went to the corner store to buy my date cigarettes.
The only problem with Opus is that it is never full enough! The last time we went for dinner (on a Wednesday night) it was us and one other couple. It was so depressing. All these employees to pay, a HUGE space to rent, the electric, water...that's all I could think about!
I don't want OPUS to go out of business so please GO TONIGHT AND HAVE THE TASTING MENU, HAVE SOME CAVA, A SIGNATURE COCKTAIL OR TWO (THEY ARE AWESOME)...and prepare to be impressed. You will not regret it!!!
UPDATE 2/14/07
my friends and i dropped in sunday evening to partake in the opus 3 course tasting menu w/ wine parings; what was offered as a 3 course meal on the menu turned into an 8 course delight!!
the amuse bouche was a panna cotta dish that combined both sweet and saltiness. the combo worked well and woke up my taste buds. a light prosecco was served with the amuse.
the second course was a chilled hamachi sashimi drizzled with a sweet ponzu-like sauce and topped with bacon, on the side was a fried red snapper lollipop. the bacon was a nice touch on top of the hamachi and the red snapper was pretty good.
the third course was a brown chicken egg shell that was filled with egg, creme fraiche and bacon. dude, egg, creme and bacon....need i say that this course was YUMMY!?!? this course was paired with an italian white wine...sorry my memory is fuzzy.
the fourth course was a dungeness crab salad that my friends all enjoyed. since i am allergic to crab, they accomodated my needs with a zesty beet salad.
the fifth course was a creamy soup. the base was cream with hazelnut, grapes, apples and shrimp. the soup was tasty, albeit i think they could have done without the apple. this dish came paired with a spanish white....sorry should've taken notes.
the sixth course was a pan fried john dory over a bed of tubers and i think beets. the fish was mighty tasting and i really enjoyed the tubers. the wine paring was an albarino.
my favorite dish was the seventh course. it was presented as young milk fed chicken which is only available for a month or two out of the year. i guess its the veal of the poultry world?? the chicken was baked and was amazingly moist and tender and was extremely flavorful. to add to the succulence, the chicken sat atop sweatbread (from around the veal heart) croutons and veggies. i can say i LOVED this dish. the wine paring was an italian red that was very light....as always, i need to take notes.
the final course was a chocloate cake topped with almonds and a light cream. this was a great top off to the meal and wine was similar to a muscato.
__________________________________________________ _
I really cannot say enough about Opus! The place is amazing; not only is the food spectacularly prepared by Chef Centeno but the staff and the owner are all FABULOUS people.
I celebrated my "XX" birthday at Opus this weekend and indulged in great food, drinks and company.
This is how the evening laid out:
3 bottles of Prosecco to get all warm and fuzzy
amuse bouche - this was delicious, however, I do apologize as I do not remember what it was.
'04 La Scolca Gavi de Gavi - very light and crisp wine, helped cleanse my palette (after the damn shots of Patron).
French Onion puree soup - quite rich, but tasty.
Baby Romaine salad - I did not partake in this, but those in my party that had it devoured the salad.
Albarino (forgot the vintner)
Seared Albacore - ok, I was getting buzzed at this point but recall the albacore was quite tasty.
'98 Modavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
'00 Turley Old Vine Zinfandel - delicious wines, I have been sitting on both for many a years waiting for the date of doom (birthday)
Braised Short Ribs - I literally demolished the short ribs. No knife necessary, Just dug right in with my fork and the meat pulled apart with all but the slightest pressure. Delish!
'05 Saracco Moscato d'Asti - 3 words : sparkling sugar bomb
Katherine P was so sweet to take me here for my bday dinner! I LOVED it. Was scared it would be this over-hyped pretentious frou frou nothing of a meal, but it was absolutely DELISH dahling~
Check out her review below. I hafta add though, we were literally SUCKING the bacon-y custard goodness out of those egg shells. The servers around us were having a ball watchin us do that.
Are you people for serious?!!!! I wasn't going to bother writing a review because I seriously just wanted to forget about the horrible evening I wasted at Opus. BUT, since everyone is delusional I felt I needed to come forward with the truth about Opus, it blows. No respectable restaurant should run out of 5 of their 10 entree items! They were out of 3 of their 7 desserts...no chocolate! Say what?! Maybe it was a bad day but for $85 a person I want options people. What I did order was fine, I guess, but its so over priced for what you get that you leave feeling cheated. Go a few miles down Wilshire to Porter House Bistro and you won't waste an evening or your paycheck.
PS I will say that the bar was pretty cool, and they had some tasty drinks. So drink and skip the dinner and you will have a fine time.
i normally give places a few shots but this place has been the worst place i've been to even for "asian service"
in ktown your used to yelling for your food and crappy service..but this place has a whole new level of sucking.
Combination of crappy food and crappier service...their main ingredient is salt. I don't know how a place like this survives in ktown. Drive a little further and get great american food or great korean food...
This is my favorite restaurant in LA - and for someone as indecisive and food-loving as I am, that's sayin' a lot. Chef Josef changes his menu almost weekly, but honestly I've never gotten anything but the 3/4-course tasting menu - which yes, always turns into something more like 6-8 - and every course is always delightfully inventive. Opus is an experience of fine dining in a cool but can-be-casual spot for totally affordable prices.
I also love: the indoor smoking patio, the beer list (trois pistoles is the best beer I've maybe ever had), and...the Tuesday night bacos! They are the only *other* thing I've gotten to eat there - $10 for a super tasty global taco.
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