This modern and orderly restaurant in the Cultural District of Los Angelos, comprises of 34 seats and boosts a small and delicate asthetic. Named after the chef’s two dogs, Orsa and Winston mixes Japanese and European cuisines together to create a delicious backdrop.
The chef offers a five course tasting menu, but you can also order a la carte.
A dinner here might start with a sashimi course like the hokkaido scallop crudo with a lemon cucumber aguachile garnished with some calamansi vinagrette. The soft and sweet raw scallop will melt in your mouth, and paired with the aguachile, it is an utter delight. Not only that, the chef prepared some small round crackers to give the dish a crunch. (Rating: 4)
For the next course, roasted honeynut squash is paired with seasonal cherry tomatoes and caschews. To put some saltyness in the dish, the chef also prepared a dollop of caviar on the side. This inventive dish allows the sweet honey-flavored squash to be paired with the slightly sour tomatoes, as well as the caviar to give it some salty flair. (Rating: 4.5)
About this time, you might expect several complements from the chef througout this point of dining. This specific plate featured a Japanese shishito pepper soup
with a sweet peach on top. Eating a spoon with the peppers and the peach is very satisfying since the sweet and the peppery contrast with each other.
For the third course, we were given a bowl of satsuki rice with salmon, trout roe, and abalone. This porridge-like course was by far my favorite course because of how they added parmesan cream to give it that rich and savory taste along with that delectable seafood. (Rating: 5) The chef also prepared a bread course consisting of sweet corn-bread with aged olive oil.
Our main course came next. Duck breast with carrot ume and cauliflower was presented to us, although I have to say that the portion was smaller than I thought, but the duck tasted very tender and juicy. The sauces around the duck also overpowered the flavor of the duck meat, so the main course wasn’t as good as I had expected. (Rating: 3.5) Paired with the duck is ANOTHER complement featuring grilled razor clams with lime emulsion.
The desert came last, with Italian sourced yogurt along with summer berries and nuts such as figs and sunflower seeds. As I am not a big fan of yogurt, I wasn’t extremely excited, but it was edible. On the other hand, my mother said that it was the best yogurt she had ever eaten. (Rating: 3.5 but mom says 5)
Lastly, the chef prepared some lavender and grapefruit shaved ice that was one of the best shaved ice that I have ever eaten because of its refreshing and minty taste.
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