Forget About Dinner - The Surprisingly Delicious Japanese Italian American Brunch at Orso & Winston [Thoughts + Pics]

I think the shrimp katsu sandwich may be better than the chicken here. Regardless, it is an outstanding restaurant.

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Thanks @PorkyBelly. :slight_smile: It was your reports on the rice dish that made me want to go in the first place. :wink:

Oh for the “Omakase Japanese breakfast,” while it sounds interesting, our server told us it’s just a series of smaller portions of existing dishes on the menu. So given that, we just tried most of the dishes over the course of a few visits. Maybe they’ll change it and serve new items not on the menu in the future?

Hopefully you like the Satsuki Rice Porridge; let me know if that’s similar to what you had, except in a bigger portion! :slight_smile:

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Tuna tonnato was a piece of poached? tuna with tuna sauce?

Hi @robert,

Their version was cooked (I think roasted) and then pureed with the sauce, so it was spreadable on the bread.

This looks and sounds great @Chowseeker1999! Did I read somewhere that some of the best Italian food in the world (outside Italy) can be found in japan? :thinking:

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What a fantastic report!

Thanks @TheCookie. :slight_smile: Hopefully you get a chance to try their brunch sometime. I think you’d like some of the dishes a lot. :wink:

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Thanks @RedDevil. If you get a chance and try the brunch, please report back.

In my book, some of the best ___________ in the world (outside its country of origin) can be found in Japan.

Things that can go in the __________ are things like Italian food, whisky, Argentine tango, and French food…

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Hi @TheCookie,

Oh and for that part of your question I defer to @J_L @ipsedixit and other ballers that have tried Italian in enough countries to evaluate. :wink:

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America

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Yep, it’s in our blood. Red sauce was the first thing I learned to cook (bacon & eggs don’t count)… and I was eight yrs old.

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Finally made it to brunch and had a great meal, thanks for the rec @Chowseeker1999.

canele de bordeaux
Outstanding. Thick, crisp, caramelized crust with a perfectly soft, vanilla-y center. Textbook.
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kouign amann with brown butter
This was okay, kind of dry, would skip next time and get more caneles.
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cured anchovy toast, calabrian chiles, sesame
Fantastic. Love this new trend of anchovy toast #fuckavocados
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peaches, creme fraiche, ao nori
Nicely grilled and charred peaches and well dressed salad.
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the ‘bear & winston’ - fried eggs, rosti potato, peads & barnetts bacon, yuzu kosho kick sauce
Star of the show was definitely the roati potato, crispy, crunchy, delicous.
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satsuki rice porridge - lobster, abalone, scallop, smoked fish, geoduck, shiitake, chowder, pecorino
Wow, just as good (maybe slightly less creamier) as the version I had at dinner. They were out of uni so they subbed lobster and geoduck. I didn’t complain. Fun fact, the seafood was so fresh if you placed your ear near the plate you’d hear this
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bang at friends & family for blueberry ice cream
Get this.
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And just when I thought it was safe to go back in the water…

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Hi @PorkyBelly,

Nice! Great report and so glad you liked Brunch. Wasn’t it just tasty? :slight_smile: Thanks for the reminder for the Satsuki Rice Porridge (I loved that dish) and glad to hear it’s pretty much the same as the great dinner version you were raving about before. :blush: (And this is a larger portion to enjoy, right?) :wink:

I need to go back for some more of that soon.

And LOL at the SFX when you listen closely to the plate! :grin:

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A very good but expensive lunch at $50/person before tip for 4 items.


persimmons, burrata, radicchio, pomegranate, hazelnut
This refreshing salad is lightly dressed with a sweet and sour vinaigrette. There’s a good mix of salinity and creaminess from burrata contrasting against the crunchy hazelnut, bitter raddicchio, and pops of sweetness from the pomegranate .


dashi broth, a5 wagyu beef, market vegetables, tofu, mushroom, nori, egg
The broth has excellent depth of flavor especially with some of the wagyu fat rendered. However I do wish the wagyu shavings are a touch thicker for a more enjoyable texture.


satsuki rice porridge, scallop, uni, smoked salmon roe, chowder, pecorino
The porridge texture is basically a cross between risotto and porridge. On the other hand, the pristine trio of smoked roes, seared scallop and uni are slightly overpowered by the richness of the porridge. I also noticed that the restaurant is now skimping on additional seafood while charging $38 a pop!


souffle pancake, lemon curd, whipped cream, raspberry, graham crumble
These pancakes aren’t the usual jiggly kind that have now become common. It’s more like a cross between cake and souffle but still very enjoyable nonetheless.

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Thanks @moonboy403 for the great report and pics!

We just went recently as well (I haven’t been able to write it up yet), but had the same experience as you with the Satsuki Rice Porridge (disappointing for the increased price and less seafood). Glad you liked the A5 Wagyu and Dashi Broth (and agree with you about their Beef slices). :slight_smile:

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Update:

It had been well over a year since our last visit to Orsa & Winston; we happened to be in the area and decided to drop in for Brunch.

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As we glanced over the menu we realized things had changed: They lost their Pastry Chef and there are no more of their hidden gem Pastries available any more. That was only a sign of things to come…

Grain Pancakes (Maple Syrup, Butter):

One of the highlights from Orsa & Winston’s Brunch menu previously, this was not as good as before: Still retaining some griddled crispness, but it wasn’t as deeply flavorful as before. But overall it was still a pretty solid, lightly nutty Grain Pancake.

Seared Okra (Tomato Ume Plum Sauce):

This was pretty good: A nice plate of Seared Okra, the Japanese Plum added a nice tartness that contrasted with the earthy, lightly viscous nature of Okra.

Chicken Katsu with Black Truffle (Tomato Ume Plum Sauce):

It was only after taking a bite that we realized that they used the same Tomato Ume Plum Sauce in this dish as the Okra. Oh well.

The Chicken Katsu (Cutlet) had a decent light crispiness to the battered exterior, with moist Chicken within, but the seasoning was rather basic and one note. The Black Truffle was barely fragrant.

5th Visit:

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Rocket Arugula & Castelfranco Salad (Apricot, Asiago, Tsukune Chicken Sausage, Oregano):

We liked the heartier, slightly bitter notes from this Salad, contrasted with the Dried Apricots. The Tsukune Chicken Sausage was disappointing: Only a small portion buried at the bottom that was rather basic and salty. :frowning:

Seafood Porridge (Satsuki Rice, Dashi, Yuzu, Parmesan Cheese):

Perhaps the biggest disappointment at the current Brunch menu at Orsa & Winston is the downfall of their Satsuki Rice Porridge:

They increased the price (now a whopping $38 (+ tax & tip) for Brunch), and they only serve it with 1.5 small slivers of Uni, and removed the Abalone! :cry: Previously, we had 4 tongues of Uni and there was actual Uni flavor in the Sauce.

The Scallops were overcooked (slightly), but most importantly, the whole thing was watered down (see pics):

This was way more watery (rather off-putting), and the overall flavors just tasted more muted and disparate. It was nowhere near as good as the previous incarnation we had a year ago. :frowning:

Pork Kakuni (Shoyu Egg, Koshihikari Rice, Fresh Ginger):

Even worse than the downfall of their Satsuki Rice Porridge is their Pork Kakuni Rice dish. The Japanese dish known as Buta no Kakuni is a long-stewed Pork dish, found with chunks of fatty & lean Pork cubes, with the better versions being so unctuous and tender and succulent from being cooked for so long. At Orsa & Winston it’s like pan-seared slivers of fatty Bacon! :frowning: The pork is like 80% Fat, terrible. It was also chewy and lacked any love from the great mom & pop Japanese Izakaya joints that make this soul food.

Even worse than that, the Koshihikari Rice they serve it with is all clumped and overcooked and slightly gummy. :sob: (Compare this to the brilliance of the rice at places like Wadatsumi and Tendon Tempura Carlos Junior - places far less “fancy”, little casual spots - they take pride in cooking fantastic Rice because they realize how important it is.)

At least their Shoyu Hanjuku Tamago (Soy Sauce Egg) was beautifully cooked.

At this point it seems like there’s been staff changes (beyond losing their Pastry Chef). The cooking is markedly worse, as if there’s no pride, and as if there are different people cooking these dishes. The current Seafood Porridge (Satsuku Rice Porridge) is the biggest tragedy, nowhere near as stunning or amazing as it used to be; now just watery and mediocre, and with an increased price to boot.

Orsa & Winston
122 W 4th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Tel: (213) 687-0300

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Too bad @Chowseeker1999. Did the place seem busy?

Hi @TheCookie,

Yah, it’s unfortunate. It was about 25% full on both of these last 2 visits, during prime time Brunch.

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