This is our 1000-day anniversary! I know, it sounds silly, but it is another excuse for us to try out a fancy restaurant. First time I saw this restaurant, I really liked its intimacy. It is a very tiny restaurant, with pretty simple modern decor, and it is a Japanese Italian fusion restaurant, two of my favorite cuisines! I was very excited of trying this place!
O&W is located in downtown LA, on the 4th street, there are usually parking spots 2 blocks down on Los Angeles street, but that's where the neighborhood gets a little sketchy. They offer either a 6-course or 10-course tasting menu, and it changes according to what's seasonal. The whole table has to order the same thing, meaning either whole table of 6 course or whole table of 10 course. They also have something called "super omakase", which needs to be reserved 3 days in advance, and it is a 20-course tasting menu at the chef's counter. We chose to go with he 6-course, and with the amuse bouche and hors d'oeuvres, we ended up pretty full, so 10-course would have been too much food.
Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the menu, so can't remember exactly what everything is. But here's what I remember:
Amuse Bouche
Artichoke soup with caviar on top- very creamy
Hors d'oeuvre (I might have missed one......)
Brioche with cheese, served with butter and raddish - interesting idea serving it with raddish, very good butter
Bone Marrow - I would like a little more seasoning
Thinly sliced apple with pear sauce - very refreshing
Official courses
Beef Carpaccio - Very tasty, I like the fingerling potatoes chips that added a little crispiness to the dish.
Squash with pumpkin broth - It is good, but not my favorite dish.
Mushroom salad with arugula - I like the earthy taste of the mushroom, and it was balanced very well with the vinaigrette and pomegranate
Porridge with sea urchin - This surprised me! The menu says it's porridge, but it is more like a risotto to me. It looks very simple, but the taste of the sea urchin compliments really well with the porridge, and you can also tell there's a hint of lemon which works really well with the sea urchin.
Aged Duck with persimmon - Duck cooked perfectly, skin is crispy, and the persimmon gave it a little sweetness
Chocolate Napoleon, coffee ice cream - Perfect ending of the meal, I love the coffee crumble for the ice cream, and the napoleon was very chocolaty, yet not too sweet.
Overall, it is good. My favorite dish was definitely the sea urchin porridge, which was very unexpected. I don't know if it is the menu today or what, but I didn't really get the wow factor that I was anticipating from all the reviews I have read online. I like the food, but I wasn't blown away. Let's put it this way, we ordered the 6-course, and I wasn't sorry that we didn't go for the 10-course. This is the second time we were at a restaurant with a tasting menu that did not wow us. When I was looking at the food pictures online and the reviews online, I was expecting so much more. As I mentioned, the menu changes seasonally. Maybe I am just unlucky..... I don't know..... this particular menu might not be doing this restaurant justice, but shouldn't a place like this always be THAT good?
*Excuse my blurry pictures...... it is pretty dark in there..... :(
