Overall agree with your assessment. Very enjoyable space, excellent staff, very good food but not blown away.
Maybe just me but couldn’t detect much smoke on the Surf clam. Excellent sauce. Ceviche is what you would expect—very good clean flavors but nothing really sets it apart. Gordita with king crab was nice.
Dry aged stripe bass. This was excellently prepared. Skin super crispy. Honestly enjoyed the fish on its own.
Prob the best qpr on menu, loved the crispy shrimp shells.
Did the fish come with all those, pardon the phrase, fixins? When I was there the duck carnitas didn’t (no onions/cilantro), and it definitely affected the dish.
And overall, I totally agree. Service great, enjoy being in the space, but the food is underseasoned and doesn’t pop.
Disappointing given the meals I’ve had at Cosme, Pujol, even Atla.
Fish does come with all those fixings. We didn’t find underseasoning to be an issue for our meal.
Wife mention she enjoyed some things at Holbox better…which says a lot about Damian and where it needs to go. Maybe take more risks.
Agree with your conclusion. It was too expensive and had too distinguished a pedigree for what we got. Also, we were seriously disappointed by the tortillas. They bordered on stale. I can’t remember if they are house-made and if they are, they need to reformulate.
I might be a crazy person, but I also found the periodic burning of Palo Santo to be obtrusive not to mention absurd.
It’s not a vegan restaurant in Ojai…
Peony: I like the food in Damian much more this time than our first visit. I feel overall the dishes have more flavors than last time. The ceviche was very sharp and bright and quite tasty. The tuna tartare and clam were both rich in flavors. I didn’t notice much change in the grilled fish. However, the chayote that came with the fish was very appetizing and added so much more flavor than the fish alone. Overall, the ingredients are good quality and prepared decently. The flavors have improved. I look forward to seeing more improvement of the dishes. Right now, I just feel the flavors are not quite there yet, if I compare it with Holbox, which we recently visited, and which I much prefer.
Warrior: I think this restaurant is not very good and has little promise. Exhibit number one is the celery root dish, which is bizarrely listed as a main course. It consists primarily of pickled, mandoline-sliced celery root. Why someone thought that would make the foundation of a good dish, I don’t understand. Exhibit number two is the overcooked fish. I rest my case.
Always helps to know the chef.
“I’d like some of the rest of the world with my truffles, please.”
l think he showed him how to dry age their fish…
That’s the head Butcher at The Joint, I’m guessing they are supplying them. They sell to Rustic Canyon as well (i saw him pop up in Chef Andy Dubrava’s Instagram as well)
Liwei Liao’s business is on the upswing!
The Joint is amazing, and what Liwei is doing there is insanity. The best fish in LA in my opinion.
He is a mad scientist, creating the most pristine fish for restaurants and home cooks to be able to acquire!
Another dinner at Damian last Saturday - it was excellent.
Smoked clams with cucumbers, ceviche, tuna tartare, blue shrimp gordita were all excellent. Flavors, textures, and sauces were all on point. Service was very good, the main server could have been a bit more attentive to make it perfect. I love they use JRxRB wine glasses. Domaine Huet Le Mont Moelleux 2005 was a nice treat for desert and really enjoyed how minimally sweet Banana Flan was. The atmosphere inside is lovely as well, with music loud but not uncomfortable for a normal conversation.
Had a very good dinner at Damian last night. I agree with @hppzz didnt get any smokiness from the clam but otherwise was a delicious appetizer. Tlayuda was also very good. Duck was the best dish of the night, perfectly cooked paired well with the pineapple butter/tortillas really enjoyed this dish. The tortillas were definitely kind of pedestrian, which was surprising but I guess others have reported the same thing.
Service was pleasant but the waitress seemed very busy and aside from taking our orders was basically non-existent. The dining area in the patio is very lovely.
Overall you could definitely do worse for restaurants but I would agree that it’s not in the upper tier of my favs in the city. It’s really surprising that it’s owned by Olvera since there is nothing really adventurous on the menu, the menu feels very safe and the food def pales in comparison to pujol. Did a bang bang with super tortas df
five stars
Hard to reconcile that overheated rave with reports here.
She could have cut some of the uninformative blather to describe the food in more detail.
Warrior: we went again tonight due to kodo having fake reservations on resy.
Outstanding presentation
Good service
Very good wine list
Good atmosphere
Many dishes show creativity
Just doesn’t taste that great. Like the chef is a photographer as opposed to a foodie. But good ingredient quality and execution.
Peony: I like the friendly atmosphere of this restaurant a lot. I feel the food were prepared/cooked well but the flavors were not very exciting or tasty in general. However, the dessert really blew my mind away today and I was excited to see that they have the potential to achieve amazing dishes like this! I look forward to seeing more growth and improvement on the flavors in the future!
Might have to go check it out again I enjoyed Damian quite a bit but this review is glowing!
