Otium - The Emperor's New Clothes

Able to briefly explain? Did Otium throw Craig Thornton out of the place?

Nothing like that, but just echoing more of B-Rod’s experience vs. JGold’s.

It may just be that J Gold doesn’t give as much of a fuck about service. He really focuses mainly on food. He’s pretty much always been that way hasn’t he? Even if he was sort of receiving somewhat poor service, he may have been less impacted by it, or just not taken the time to note it.

When I was there I saw Elizabeth Banks and the guy from fast n loud getting extra attention while our table got ignored.

Advice: (1) Be handsome. (2) Don’t be un-handsome.

Try my best. I did not pick the venue but it is just a cross the street from my office (BofA) tower so if nothing else convenient v

I am clearly in the wrong business.

B-Rod kicks Otium again after she knocks it down: Apparently Otium Has a Great Wine Program. Who Knew? - LA Weekly

Also, LOL to @PorkyBelly re: “fast n loud” comment.

1 Like

This two-tiered wine list only helps to cement that feeling: that the goodies are there, but they’re not for you.

This reminds me so much of the original Spago on Horn and Sunset, and a number of other places in town. It was two different places if you were a celebrity or a FOH (friend of house) vs. neither. My Dad was a FOP (friend of Puck) so we had no waits, amazing meals and sat where you could see all the action. My friends would complain bitterly of the double standard.

2 Likes

Ha! So true and I’m still riding on my Dad’s coat tails eating at the same places for the last 20 years.

So true. Loved Horn, but my grandfather was an investor and we were treated as both FOH and FOP. Knew people who had the same experience you describe; especially during the Bernard regime.

It reminds me a lot of reichl’s le cirque review.

Thanks for the memory. I recall reading that at the time. I ate once at Le Cirque, probably in the early 80’s. Ahhh, foie gras for the first time. Sitting in the smoking section. What a big boy, I wasn’t.

Here we go. Kind of strange. First its a nice space and a nice patio. Service was prompt. Too prompt. My guest and I ordered three dishes to share. At the waiters suggestion we ordered the Chimcurri. We also ordered the Hamachi and the Mussles with Chinese Sausage. Here is where is gets strange, No joke less than 45 seconds after ordering the Chimcurri, it arrived. It was like a joke. As if they had it left over and the waiter was trying to get rid of it before it cooled off. That said, it was very good. However, within 2 minutes of being served the first course, the Hamachi arrived. I felt like we were being punked. It too was quite good. We actually had time to finish the Hamachi when the Mussels arrived. A good 10 minutes after we sat down. This might have been the best dish. So - the food was good, but the pacing was the worst (in a fast way) I have ever had. Might go back and order one dish at a time or explain how we wanted to be paced, because the food is good and unusual. Its a well needed addition to Bunker Hill if they can get the timing together. Servers were very nice and knowledgeable. Anyway, that is my quick report.

3 Likes

Been twice for dinner.
Had no pacing issues at all.

Thanks for reporting back. It is rather suspect that the server upsells the chimichurri and then it arrives in under a minute. I wouldn’t think a restaurant would make extra and have leftover, but maybe someone else ordered it and changed their mind after the kitchen had already fired it. Maybe similar with the hamachi. Or could the kitchen be pre-par-preparing some of the more popular dishes during the lunch rush (how busy was it?) so they could be finished off quickly and served?

Isn’t chimichurri just a sauce?

1 Like

I have a bad feeling a lot of it is made ahead of time.

I would venture to guess that the server screwed up on an order or placed the order twice, and was trying to cover their ass, by being able to sell it off.

BRod’s review noted this:

"Walking through the kitchen is nice, it’s fun, but it has the downside of allowing you to see that those falafel balls are cooked far ahead of time rather than to order and are sitting out beside the fryer. The same is true of the funnel cakes. "

@Novelli yah I agree. Thinking on BRod’s review, our Funnel Cake was also cool / lukewarm (didn’t taste like it was fresh made out of the fryer). But it was tasty.

… which can be refrigerated.