Ortolan

I went here with my brother, who wanted to do the tasting menu, however it all involved a lot of meat.
They went totally out of their way and did a completely vegetarian meal just for me. The chef came out almost every time I was served to explain what he had made — everything was delicious and felt special. The service was Exceptional and totally unpretentious. I loved it.

2009 1 Michelin star, 2008 1 Michelin star
dineLA dinner on Fri night a couple years ago
amuse boche: gazpacho soup in test tube with straw – good
Seared Scallop with Pumpkin Gnocchi, Fig and Raisin – really enjoyed this
Braised Short Ribs with Winter Vegetables and Pomme Soufflé – ribs a bit on the salty side, meat tender, having risotto helped
Chocolat Ganache with White Chocolate Ice Cream – more like a tart
bread – tried ciabatta & raisin walnut out of 4 options (wheat, french), good, but didn’t come by again for us to get more
rose champagne good
decaf coffee good
service OK
valet 5.50 + tip
liked the chandeliers, not sure about the drapes on 1 wall
women’s restroom: single room, hook on door, chair w/​low chandelier meant as shelf?
on s side of 3^rd, just w of Flores
Hmm…strange how a lot of places (restaurants & stores) that I like have bird themed names.
My pics

The restaurant doesn’t open if Chef Émé is not there. That is how dedicated they are with the quality of their food.
Spent a very special birthday dinner here with bf (man sure knows the way to my heart) and I was ready to be pampered like Marie Antoinette. The décor is stunning with plush seats and beautiful chandelier; as if one is dining in a mini version of Le Château de Versailles… I want my cake and eat it too.
We decided on the Spring Seduction tasting menu ($ 85 per person) and I was ready for some sweet nothings in my ear (scratch that, mouth).
The seduction began with two soft amuse bouché kisses:
Amuse Bouché 1: Warm eggplant caviar in an herb purée.
This was light, and fluffy; the herb purée blends well with eggplant flavor and caviar added a slight touch of flavor.
Amuse Bouché 2: Spicy tomato soup and Avocado soup.
I loved the flavor of both soup, but the tomato won me over because of the extra spank. I especially love the test tube presentation. Like an injection of love and passion.
Then on to the main course:
Course 1: Tomato purée, coulis, celery ravioli and yogurt sorbet.
Honestly after the duo of soups, I didn’t really want another liquid dish… like the tomato purée, but the ravioli added more substance to the dish.
Course 2: Seared scallop, English pea purée and lentil gnocchi. Bön Jour mon ami!
I heart this dish. It was visually cute and pleasing and tasted like a little bowl of heaven. The GIANT piece of scallop was tender, moist and the lentil gnocchi is a nice contrast to the scallop’s texture.
Course 3: Lobster spaghetti, morels, white asparagus cream and herb caviar.
What a creative presentation, the lobster concoction is wrapped in spaghetti noodles it looked like a single block placed on top of the white asparagus.
But the surprise is that the noodles unravel as you stick your fork in it.
Course 4: Cod, stuffed baby calamari, clams, capers with summer vegetables.
The flavor of this dish is light; the cod is complimented nicely with the sweet taste of summer vegetables; a good dish to have after the creamy lobster course.
Course 5: Braised short ribs, vegetables, Pomme soufflé, herb salad.
The last main course of the evening show cased a tender, slow cooked piece of short ribs. Hearty, warm and bold, the flavor was soaked in each bite of the beef. I also adored the little pomme pillows.
We were then given a break to digest the massive amounts of food we just had. And then they serve you the pre-​dessert palate cleanser: Lemon, tangerine sorbet. Tangy and refreshing, exactly what it does — cleared my palate for what else? Dessert! Oh it is also served in a cute, chilled dome.
Pretty.
Desert 1: Vanilla Honey Panna Cotta with Tangerine Caviar. J ‘adore! I loved the presentation of this dessert; it came in real caviar tin and looked almost like real caviar.
I loved the taste of the vanilla and honey mixed with the slight sweetness of tangerine. I loved the smooth silky texture of the panna cotta melting in my mouth. Loved everything about this dessert.
Desert 2: Chocolate ganache, feuillantine. This is the mother-​load of dark chocolate lover’s dream.
The chocolate ganache was rich, intense, and powerful. I can feel the dark cocoa rush working its magic through my bloodstream the moment I put a spoonful in my mouth. But because it is so rich, I can only take so much of it.
Post dinner, Chef Émé came out and greeted the guests and stopped by our table to chat for a bit about the dishes, and he signed the menu and wished me a happy birthday.
The bill came and it had the signature Ortolan birdy wax stamp!
Very polished, and Cute.

was gonna write the review but they are now closed. it would have been a 1-​star review.
just read holly w’s review — it pretty much sums up our entire experience.
or if you feel like it you can read it on my blog:

Food: Very Good
Drinks: Very Good (selection limited to French wines as of this review)
Service: Very Good
Ambiance: Semi-​Formal
Portions: Average
Facility Type: Fine Dining
Cuisine: Contemporary French
Price: Moderate-​High
Parking: Street Metered Parking or Valet
What I’ve tried (A la Carte):
Foie Gras Terrine ($ 25): Excellent. Melts in your mouth.
Crispy Langoustines ($ 24): Good
Scallop Soufflé ($ 23): Very Good
Vegetarian option (off menu, chef’s accomodation): Excellent
Filet of Nebraska Beef ($ 43): Very Good
Lobster Spaghetti ($ 55): Very Good
Seared Organic Farm Raised Chicken ($ 34): Very Good
Cod ($ 37): Excellent
Peach dessert w/​24kt flake on crisp ($ 12): Excellent. My favorite!
Coconut Bar ($ 12): Excellent
Strawberry Caviar ($ 12): Good. Stawberry/​vanilla panna cotta w/​tapioca pearls
Chocolate Soufflé ($ 12): Excellent
I didn’t have any issues with service like some other Unilocalers did. The Host and Hostess, Servers and Sommelier were all very attentive and knowledgeable.
I like both Ortolan and Melisse, but I like Ortolan a bit more.
4.75 Stars

Ortolan is the place where my BF took me for our first date & where we went back for our 1yr anniversary. It is a special place for both of us & I am actually excited to write the review!
Being a Michelin star restaurant, you already know that the restaurant will be well above average. The ambiance of Ortolan is amazing! I was dazzled by their classy & elegant décor with just dim enough lighting with beautiful crystal chandeliers. They have a small dining area that is very cozy and private with cream & gold furniture which reminds you that you are in for some fine dining.
French waiters & sommelier with strong accents give you their undivided attention and are very friendly & they recommended the best white wine we cannot forget.
Their amuse bouche is okay, but the fact that they come in little test tubes with thin straws makes it exciting! Dishes are brought out very slowly one by one like all the other Michelin star restaurants so prepare to have a long dinner! I liked their food but nothing screams out Amazing to make a lasting impression. Just don’t order the Scrambled Egg because we consider that our all time splurge that did not impress us in the slightest.
I would say I like Ortolan mainly because I thoroughly love the ambiance and service. They put details to everything from check to restrooms that you really do feel like a special guest! Also, they gave us the best macaroon towers on our anniversary that definitely made the night ;) Overall, the food is great, although not THE best, but that can go unnoticed with great wine and even better company!

If its not for that short rib I got, they would get close to a zero star. This michelin star place managed to ruin tour night out on the town/​fine dining experience all the way… I will break it down for ya!
— A crappy random music playing on the satellite radio? WTF? We sat through U2/​and other songs… didnt get us in the mood for a french dinner for sure! Uncheck!
— No bread for more than 30 minute, Until one of our vocally authoritative friend decided to call them up on it… Not cool. Uncheck.
— Mostly miss with few hit food (Read my fellow food bloggers review)
— A condescending over the top sommelier (remember STEPHEN ASPRINIO from Top Chef who was a pure a$$ with people. this guy would beat him to that!) who ruined the entire evening for our friend who very much wanted to try their wine pairing/​champagne cocktails/​sancerre win)
— he even took half of her champagne as she was drinking ouch!
so when we thought the worst is over, the waiter switched our checks, and brought some body else’s check to our table. (Oh jezzzzzz!!!).
Anyways, apparently it wasnt our night, so is Ortolan’s. I am sure some of you have good experience, but from what i saw, to pay the price we paid, and to get a mediocre (that is just me being nice) service we got — no good man! this place is just plain effed up! we will save our time and money and find some place nice, like bazar or melisse!

Ortolan
1. Beautiful
2. Delicious
3. Satisfying
4. Muscat Wine: Château d’Exindre
I would have to say Thank You to Rich at MDM for treating me, my boyfriend and co-​workers to this fabulous restaurant. We experienced Ortolan during restaurant week. I am not sure if the menu is always set but all the selections they provided were all worth trying. If I was able to live in my fairytown world, I would say one of each! Luckily I got the chance to dine with 8 other people and got to see all the selections prepared. If you have the chance to try the Halibit Ceviche, it was the best raw fish dish I ever tasted in a non-​Japanese restaurant. The chef really knows his favor combinations. It was thinly slices of Halibit with a sweet soy that I can’t seem to recreate at home with some type of sweet creamy sorbet on top. The sorbet threw me off slightly visually but the first bite, I spoke out, oh this is so good! The coldness of the sorbet with the fish was simply refreshing. Next I had the braised short rib on top of polenta. The portion of the braised short rib was a hearty portion. The short rib was tender, soft, flavorful and delicious. Also another dish I highly recommend. Lastly for dessert, I ordered a lemon curd with multiple of layers that included some type of sponge cake, curd, shorbet, heavy cream. It was good but what I was really jealous of my bf’s crème brûlée. It isn’t the typical crème brûlée with the burnt sugar on top. It was droplets of pear juice I believe. I do not remember. It is hard to describe but just order it. You will be one happy camper. Since, this was a business dinner, lots of wine was ordered. Since I am not a wine drinker, I got all excited when I heard we were drinking Muscat/​Muscato for dessert. This brand of Muscato was wonderfully sweet and crisp. This is how all Muscatos should taste like. 4 glasses later, I was one super duper happy lady.

I visited Ortolan the other night with my girlfriend to celebrate my friend’s 30^th birthday. We had trouble finding the place because it’s right in the middle of the block. We must’ve passed it a couple of times. It’s between King Rd. and Flores St. — your best bet is to try to find parking on either street.
We walked into the restaurant to join the rest of our party. The décor was elegant and tasteful. The lighting and candles definitely contributed to the overall mood. The actual size of the restaurant is pretty small, and so is the kitchen. We reserved a table for 10 and our party was seated in front of the kitchen. We ordered the Roast Rack of Lamb (my first time trying lamb). While we waited for our food, we enjoyed some nice red wine and Ciabatta and French bread. They brought out a pair of some kind of Purée soup served in a test tube with straws. The presentation was different, but interesting. One was served warm, and the other cold. I personally enjoyed the warm one more.
After an hour, our main courses were brought out of the kitchen. The Roast Rack of Lamb was served with Potato Gnocchi, Green Asparagus and Tomato Confit. It was delicious! My first bite of the lamb was juicy and tender — arguably the best piece of meat I have ever tasted.
I thoroughly enjoyed the ambiance and feeling of Ortolan. I thought the food was pretty good, but then again, this was my first fine dining French restaurant. The only downside to my experience here was the waiting time for our food. But that can go unnoticed with great wine and even better company!

They are generous, in term of food portion.
Unfortunately, I like fine dining for its food quality and the food quality at Ortolan is just not up-​to-​par with the price they are charging.
I’d recommend you to come here only if you are
1) looking for nice ambiance
AND 2) you got an expense account.
Personally, I won’t return.

I was excited to see Ortolan on this past Dine LA’s list of restaurants since I had exhausted all of the other restaurants. What better time to try this Michelin star restaurant for only $ 44?! The dinner menu also looked pretty promising. I had all the makings for what would’ve been a remarkable dining experience if only the food had lived up to its Michelin star rating.
The scallop appetizer was probably my favorite course of the evening. The pumpkin gnocchi had great texture and was a good complement to the scallop and fig and raisin sauce. I would have preferred my scallop more caramelized from the searing but overall it was a good dish. It just didn’t stand up to the other amazing scallop dishes that I’ve had from other Michelin star restaurants. The open ravioli with green vegetables and black truffle oil, on the other hand, was a big disappointment. The dish sounded really interesting on paper, but tasted like grass. The flavor from the vegetables was lacking and the foam and black truffle oil were no where in sight (or should i say taste) to lend a helping hand.
We did not fare much better with the entrees. I would have to say that the poached salmon with white butter, baby potato, and bacon was my favorite of the three. It was encrusted in a puff pastry of sorts which was an odd preparation IMO, but the flavors were decent. The braised short ribs with winter vegetables and pommes soufflé was a snooze fest, although the pommes soufflé was pretty good on its own. The tourte of duck with salisifis and reduction just… now that I didn’t get. Some other Unilocalers have described it as cat food in a pastry which seemed harsh when I first read it, but I’ll just leave it at that.
Now the desserts were much better. The vanilla honey panna cotta with tangerine caviar was delicious and whimsical as the tangerine «caviar» was served in a caviar can. The tangerine was fun to eat as they burst in your mouth and the panna cotta was beautifully smooth and creamy. The chocolat ganache with white chocolate ice cream was just as it sounds. Incredibly rich and decadent but really good as well. The passion fruit gelee with lemon emulsion felt like a punch in the face as I took my first bite because it was so concentrated in flavor and incredibly sour. I’m not sure why, but I couldn’t help but continue to take some more bites. I think if the concentration was toned down a bit, this would have been a remarkable dessert dish.
I’m really glad that the desserts ended strong to have ended our meal on a positive note. With that said, the appetizers and entrees were definitely disappointing and didn’t live up to its Michelin star rating. I’m glad to have tried Ortolan during Dine LA and to cross off another Michelin star restaurant off of my list at a bargain of only $ 44, but I would be reluctant to go back or recommend this restaurant to others. Not to mention that our sommelier forgot to bring out our wine pairing for our dessert course and when we finally flagged down our waiter to tell the sommelier, she didn’t even apologize or acknowledge the fact that they had forgot our pairing and we were practically done with our desserts. Not to mention she seemed a bit drunk and rough around the edges. Nevertheless, not the level of service one would expect from a Michelin star restaurant.

I was trying to catch up on all my overdue reviews for the past 4 months and was surprised to see all the recent negative reviews on this place. My review is based on my experience from December 10, 2009. At the time we received great service. Chef Christophe Eme even came out twice to check on us and chat with us for a bit. It seems like they just got really busy during the Dine LA week and maybe they weren’t prepared to handle the crowd. From my previous experience and my friends’ this place was never really crowded so perhaps they weren’t staffed for the rush.
My fiancée and I had the five course tasting menu. Everything was pretty good. My favorite was the Seared Scallop with Pumpkin Gnocchi, Fig and Raisin.
Based on recent reviews, I’m kind of scared to go back here. I wasn’t even aware of the 20% tip policy. I don’t think that’s right. I’m still giving a 4 star rating from my December 10 dining experience. I may need to update if and when I go back.

Disclaimer: I am not cheap when it comes to food. I’m very un-​girly in the sense that I would rather drop a benjamin on a good meal than a nice shirt. I also consider myself a generous tipper, averaging 20%+ for good service.
As another reviewer said, a MANDATORY TIP of 20% without any prior notice especially for just a party of 2 is WRONG. I enjoyed a relatively nice dinner and a nice buzz only to be rudely awakened to their mandatory tip. Uh, excuse me… how DARE you?! A tip is something that I choose to give to you for going above and beyond your normal line of duty. I was basically FORCED to pay our waitress 20% to bring out our food and pour us our wine… in other words, doing her job and nothing more. Maybe if the service was amazing, or if there was a blurb about a mandatory tip SOMEwhere on the menu, then I wouldn’t have felt SO indignant and outraged. But I guess it’s my bad for not coming on Unilocal and reading the warnings/​reviews first.
I’m sorry, any establishment that forces a mandatory tip should be boycotted. How was the food? Not worth coming back for. And the fact that they offer a wine «pairing» per course instead of per dish is incredibly distasteful at a high end restaurant.
FYI all: a mandatory tip is not legally forcible. so if you don’t like it, tell them to remove it, which is what I should’ve done:

I had only seen one photo of the inside of Ortolan before visiting it the other night for dinner (during dineLA restaurant week). The photo is on Unilocal and it showcases a formal light yellow/​beige-​looking room with mini chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and white tablecloths. It turns out that was only one of the several dining rooms in Ortolan.
There was also a very, very dark (elevated) dining room that sits to the left of the main (yellow/​beige) dining room. We sat here and it felt like one of those dinners on ABC’s The Bachelor where they are alone and very isolated for a romantic dinner in some castle’s dungeon. There was only a little bit of light from the small candle on the table; the menus were actually translucent (making them easy to read).
On the way to the restroom in the back, there was a bar as well as a few more booths, which actually looked a little more contemporary than the rest of Ortolan. In the very back, there was even a chef’s table (complete with fireplace). The layout was odd and there was not a nice flow when moving from room to room (it felt very disjointed). The other thing about the atmosphere was that it did not feel like there was a buzz or pulse that you sometimes get at really good places (it felt really subdued).
The only menu they offered us was the dineLA menu. Ortolan is typically a very expensive restaurant so I am not sure if what we had was a good reflection of the restaurant on a typical night.
The bread was an assortment including French bread, whole wheat, ciabatta, and raisin. I tried each bread and they were very ordinary and plain.
The amuse bouche was potato soup served in a test tube. The potato soup was very thick (a straw was provided; almost like a milkshake) and it was accented by a strong truffle taste. I was not a big fan of it. The soup kind of left an aftertaste.
I started with the scallop. As soon as it came out, the smell from it was wonderful and inviting. I am sure the presentations of all the food were nice, but it was so dark in there that it was hard to tell. The scallop was big and plump and was seared a nice golden brown. It was delicious and had a very moist center. What accompanied it was also tasty – some very good pumpkin gnocchi and chestnuts. There were also some grapes in it as well (kind of odd). The scallop was served in a savory broth.
I tried my friend’s beet salad. The beets were good; also good were the crisp apples and (more) grapes that came with it. There was a log of pink mozzarella. I think it may have been beet-​flavored mozzarella. Kind of an odd taste and a weird texture. My friend was not the biggest fan of it.
My friend did like her beef short rib (main course). I liked it too – tender with a good flavor. I had the salmon pastilla, which is basically a salmon version of a beef wellington (or salmon en croute). I’ve never had it. I’ve only seen it on television. It was very odd. It was basically salmon with lemon, a mushroom paste/​purée and red peppers. The salmon, mushrooms and red peppers were all wrapped in puff pastry. Since I am not at all familiar with the dish, I could not say it if was cooked properly, but for me, it was just too odd and I definitely would not get it again.
The salmon was served with kind of a fava bean purée (decent), some pan roasted baby potatoes (good though a touch bland), a really nice baby leek, and some very flavorful charred greens.
For dessert, I went with pear gelee with chestnut ice cream and a lemon emulsion (foam). It looked like a soup. The lemon emulsion was quite tart. However, the key was getting a little bit of everything (gelee, ice cream and emulsion) in each spoonful because it actually went well together. The sweetness of the ice cream and gelee offset the tartness of the emulsion. Even when taking all three ingredients at once, you could still identify each flavor. All of the textures were unique too.
I tried my friend’s chocolate tart, which was topped with a rich chocolate mousse and a crispy cookie/​wafer/​graham cracker thing. It was a pretty good dessert.
Service was good, friendly and very quick. We finished all the courses in about an hour. Service was included with the bill though there was just two of us.
I would be curious what Ortolan would be like on a regular night. But given the just okay dineLA experience and the less-​than-​stellar atmosphere, I am not sure I will be back for a regular dinner. Ortolan has a Michelin star, but I feel Sona and Providence (both have Michelin stars) are better options for the same type of food (and same price range).
Parking is available by valet or on the street. Ortolan is located very close to Joan’s on Third. The Beverly Center is also near.

It’s hard to imagine what I got myself and a few foodie friends into when I decided to hold our dinner at Ortolan. I am happy to say that it was a lovely dining experience with many surprises.
I had received mixed reviews from people that I know. For the most part it was always…“Don’t go there for the duck.” I love duck and I like duck cooked with French techniques. Again, it was the many replies «Just don’t order the duck.» Guess what my friends? The Tourte of Duck was amazing! I’m glad I didn’t take your advice. We’re still friends, right?
It was the first time I dined at Ortolan. From what I read, Chef Christophe Eme is extraordinary with a long history cultivating his French cuisine techniques in his native France. So I knew I was in good hands of a great chef. Also, the restaurant received a 1 Michelin Star in 2009. So it was fuel for fire to not take my friends advice, because of the Michelin rating. After all, I knew that Michelin Guides and their ratings are a big deal in France and the rest of the world. Their restaurant «Inspectors» as they call them ought to know something about French cuisine since Michelin is a French company. Well, the Inspectors were right on the money about Ortolan.
About the restaurant:
The beautiful décor and romantic ambiance reminded me of my trip to Paris, France a few months ago. It’s breathtaking. The front of the restaurant is a place to be seen and as you walk towards the middle it’s semi-​private booths and subdued candle lighting. The back room however is the «piece de resistance.» A private dining room for eight people, black curtains, a private mini-​bar and lounger, and a roaring fireplace. Surprisingly, we got the backroom and I never asked for this privilege. (Thank you Ortolan!)
The Service:
At Ortolan, the service was top-​notched. The minute I walked in, the Maitre D was quite attentive and showed me to the table. The wait staff were exceptionally consistent with the water, the bread, the customer service, and especially the timing of each course to the table (this is the one thing that I always pay attention to). It was also the first time I’ve experienced a server chasing us to the valet to tell us that she was going to adjust our checks. We told her «No» because it was correct. She and the rest of the staff deserved the best. (Need I say more.)
The Cuisine:
The food was remarkable and we had a bargain of a price to dine on DineLA prices to have the exceptional cuisine at Ortolan. I had mentioned earlier that I love duck and I like duck cooked with French techniques. The Tourte of Duck was amazing. The duck meat and pâté was encrusted in a pastry dough. The duck and the jus was full flavored neither one of the two over powered each other. The pastry was delicate, chewy, and crisp at the same time. The earthiness of the black mushrooms balanced the dish, I love this duck.
I also liked the first course open ravioli with green vegetables with lots of green beans, brussel sprouts. The spinach ravioli was quite tasty engulfed with a frothy black truffle oil. I like the combinations of ingredients in this dish.
Dessert was the most creative and «coolest» to look at and taste. The chocolate torte was truly decadent. The Vanilla Honey Panna Cotta was served like «caviar» in caviar tins. It’s amazing how molecular gastronomy can fool the eyes and the palate. The tangerine caviar added just the right amount of sweetness to the delectable panna cotta.
In all, I would definitely go back to Ortolan again and bring more friends. I am so curious to know what else the Chef has up his sleeve.

My friends and I (eight of us in the group) went here for a DineLA dinner last week. I’d read a lot of the reviews posted prior to mid-​January (when we’d booked the reservations) and everything looked all good and I was excited to go. Wish I’d read the reviews from people «enjoying» their DineLA experiences more recently. I was really disappointed with our meal there.
To repeat what many others are saying — the service was just awful. I think the staff did resent us quite a bit for not ordering anything off the drink menu besides a single sparkling water. None of us had napkins at our placesettings, and it wasnt till after we were served bread, and after we called [flagged down] the waitress back over to our table, that they were given to us.
The highlite of the nite were the appetizers. The scallop i had was humungous and perfectly cooked, the squash gnocchi really delicious.
The presentation of the entrée food was so-​so, it didnt look anything like I thought it would based on the menu descriptions — here i certainly wish i’d read the latest Unilocal reviews so i could have stayed away from the catfood/​duck/​chicken pot pie dish — and the waitress who explained our plates to us must have been real new to her job because she didnt know what she was talking about, couldnt describe how the dishes were prepared. It seemed like she didnt quite have the script memorized. pretty awkward. eg – «and here we have for you miss the chef’s duck dish. a bed of pâté… uh. yes. and for you the delicious short ribs. uh, with vegetables.»
granted there were eight of us, but the dishes all came out at different times. most of my other co-​diners had the salmon (just like the duck, wrapped in puff pastry). underwhelming.
dessert was only okay — the chocolate one is pretty rich and very one-​note. the pannacotta was okay. and they’d subbed the last option for a passionfruit sorbet, which i didnt try.
When it came to paying the bill, another sore spot on the nite. Each of us were paying $ 60 even (relatively uncomplicated for such a large table) and a few of us had cash. The waitress took one look at the short stack of credit cards and said [exasperated] «ladies this is going to take me a half an hour to process all these cards. just so you know. you’ll be waiting here a half an hour.» some of us reach for our wallets… «but it’s fine. really. it’s fine. you’ll just have to wait. it’s fine.» worst attitude ever.
i won’t be going back.
michelin ppl — please take back that star.

I basically agreed with what other Unilocalers mentioned about the level of services that they provided. They do seem short staffed because of dineLA week. We also received our food when some guests in our party left for restroom. The food should be served when everybody is seated for fine dining establishment. But for a busy dineLA week, it is acceptable to my expectation. Our host, Joe, did follow up with us and refills our drinks and asked us how we liked our food and answered our questions towards our meal. The check in desk staffs were very accommodating and friendly, we got seated early to our request.
Bottom line: 1 more Michelin 1* restaurant off on my list.
Bread: Cabatta, Whole Wheat, Traditional French, and Walnut Raisin. My favorites are walnut raisin and French. However, I wish their butter were home-​made, its too cold and rigid, hard to spread. They do seem stingy to refill on breads but we still received what we asked for.
Amuse Bouche: Tomato Basil Soup in a Test Tube. The aroma of basil was filled in my mouth while I was drinking the soup. Interesting drinking experience!
First Course: Seared Scallop with Pumpkin Gnocchi, Fig and Raisin: This is the better option compare to the Open Ravioli unless you don’t like seafood. Plump, Juicy Scallop was cooked to perfection and the sauce was very creamy. The presentation of this dish was very good too. The only letdown was there were some sands in my scallop.
Second Course: I tried all three of them, my favorite is the braised short rib, but the portion is small! (you only get 1 rib).The beef was very tender and full of juices. I finished mine in seconds! My friend’s Salmon was very cute to look at it. It looks like the French Version of California/​Salmon roll. Our least favorite is the duck. If you don’t like pop tart style of food, don’t order it.
Dessert: Disappointed. Chocolate tart was TOO SWEET. Passion fruit Gelee were TOO SOUR! They really need to improve their dessert! They did not clean our table between our main course and desserts too (bad).
Overall, I was pretty satisfied. I think it is a good idea to add tips and inform us ahead of the time. However, I think 20% is too much. 15% is more adequate for service at this level.

I can’t believe this place is a Michelin-​rated restaurant — like my friend said, Arco-​rated is more like it. The place itself is not as large as I thought it would be — it was quite elegant. The menus were also printed on gorgeous paper. However, if you want to go somewhere for service, do not go here. We were largely ignored and had to ask for bread and more water. They even forgot to give us our amuse bouche! After we saw several other tables get what looked like red liquid in a test tube, we asked one of the busboys, who had no idea. So then we flagged down a server, and she said we were supposed to have gotten one. Blah. So we finally got what turned out to be tomato soup at the very end of our meal, after our dessert. She was very apologetic, but I must say that their lack of attention to detail was very disappointing.
The food was good but not great. Expect French-​like portions, meaning they are very small. It made me wonder if they scaled down the portion sizes for Dine LA because I can’t imagine paying $ 34 for Braised Short Ribs and only getting one! The time in between all our dishes took forever as well — we were there two hours total. The trick of making ppl wait in between dishes in the hopes that they will get full did not work. They also seem to like to use a lot of foam in their food. We ordered:
–Bread — A guy comes around with a tray of bread, but the bread was not very good at all. He said they ran out of french and ciabatta and only had different types of browns. Later, he found a couple of slices of ciabatta, but turns out the organic wheat had more flavor.
–Open Ravioli — This came with lots of greens. Thank goodness I love veggies now bc I would have hated this years ago. It came in a creamy sauce with a square of pasta on top… hence the «open» part. Yummy.
–Seared Scallop — Not the best my friend has had but she said it tasted better as she ate it. It was tender and flavorful — it came with pumpkin gnocchi and pears. Yum!
–Braised Short Ribs — More like short rib (singular, not plural). It was very tender and not too salty, but the overall dish reminded me of an upscale potroast.
–Tourte of Duck — This was a puff pastry with some unidentifiable part of the duck inside. It wasn’t foie gras — it was more like ground up duck meat. Since no one bothered to explain to what it was, I just assumed it was ground duck. It was good but very small.
–Vanilla Honey Panna Cotta — I don’t know why I always get Panna Cotta when it’s so easy to make. This had a nice and creamy vanilla flavor but what I really dug was the caviar can it came in. I wanted to take it home with me (see pic). The fake caviar was interesting — it looked like little caviar eggs but tasted slightly like orange gelatin. Very cool.
–Prickly Pear Gelee — This came in a bowl covered with a lemon sauce. Underneath were globs of the gelee (reddish colored) and chestnut ice cream. It was interesting but forgettable.
I knew in advance that they would add a 20% gratuity to the bill for those ordering from the Dine LA prix fixe menu, regardless of how small your table was. I definitely did not like that as I did not think the service should warrant 20%. I’m sure I could have contested it since tip is not mandatory and no restaurant can force you to leave a tip that you don’t want to leave, but we left it anyways. Bah. Maybe Ortolan couldn’t handle all the business they got from Dine LA (according to other reviews, the restaurant normally sounds dead, but when we went, it was quite crowded). They surely had enough servers, so I don’t know why we were never waited on. Was it bc we didn’t order any wine or Perrier? Also, no one explained what was in our meal or put a napkin on our lap — the kind of service I’ve received at other fine dining restaurants. While most of the servers (females dressed in what looked like suits) were nice enough, the problem was that they never came around to check up on us. What made the experience all the more disappointing was that I had wanted to eat here for a very long time. At least now I know and will never come back… neither should you!

Elaborate, but without being snobby? That is quite a handful for a man (Chef Christopher Eme) that had worked with some of the legends in the world of French cuisine. Having worked under Philippe Braun and Michel Rostang, it will be a treat to get a tasting of these innovative small dishes for $ 6 – 10 in most items on the menu.
Some of the dishes that I shared with The Minty that night were:
One of the first we have ordered was the Burrata Cheese. I actually enjoyed this little treat. It has a nice little balsamic reduction to bring up the nice little flavor to the burrata cheese that I don’t come across too often. The tomato and eggplant accompanies it gave it a pretty good touch. This item I noticed also is part of their newly formed $ 45 Sunday brunch. So to get a snippet of it makes me wondered what else is in store for us.
The Braised short ribs was the most anticipated item of the night for me because it was widely raved by my cohorts who had frequented the place before and told me it was out of this world. I liked the tenderness of the rib and the stuffed potato that accompanies it. I wondered if this would have been better left as part of the main course, but I like to be teased just for a bite of this savory dish. The short ribs would be a better main course than a bite size tapas dish.
The next dish to arrive was the Crispy Langoustines that is in a shot of Minestrone soup. The immature nature of me thought it was a espresso shot, then a deep sip revealed a nice little simple texture of light soup. Upon digging further was a crispy nugget of a lobster (Langoustines). I thought the soup was nice and simple, but to get a little nugget of the Langoustines was a pleasant surprise.
The next three courses reflect some of Chef Eme’s expression of his Haute cuisine while not being too pretentious. The first dish up was a scallop that was plated with a clam and some chorizo mixed in with a small batch of paella. I find this dish to be one of his more accomplished dish of the night. The sauce that comes with the scallop and clam was a nice mixture to raise the flavor profile.
The organic chicken in a consommé was a bizarre choice that we had ordered. I think it didn’t have the same bold flavor that ribs or the scallops had. What made it a confusing for me was that the consommé is a soup made from from grounded meat. To add a whole chicken on top of it was a nice interpretation from the chef which I did enjoyed it and the Shitake mushroom did become a completed dish with the consommé with a little help from the organic chicken.
The Cuttlefish with the truffle also did displayed plenty of the flair that Chef Eme have on its dishes. Beautifully presented dish with sophisticated flavors, but without being overly done in with too many ingredients. It was simple and yet refined. One of my favorite dish of the night.
Truthfully, we would have been happy to end our tapas night right there, but we were talked into ordering a quiche because of a big kudos from our dining mates from the next table. The Quiche had a nice touch of truffle in it, but we could have ended it a little sooner.
While we waited for dessert, we noticed a nice little garden hanging on the wall along the dining tables next to the bar. It seemed to be homegrown organic herbs that will be used in the kitchen.
The highlight of the night was to see two beautifully decorated and delicious desserts presented to us. My dining companion had a honey parfait that had kumquat, lemon cream and a scrumptious chestnut ice cream. I had a taste of the ice cream and it was something I wish I can find in my local market.
My part of the dessert was a panna cotta encased in a caviar can. The pearls on top of of the panna cotta looked like pearls or caviar, but it’s a form of a tapioca pearls nicely decorated a very creamy panna cotta. If there was one dessert that I can live without, it’s the panna cotta (sorry chocolate souflee, next time!).
Overall, I thought the service was professional and on its game. I have a very favorable impressions on how the tapas were being treated with some resemblance of a Haute French cuisine. It does give me some inklings on what are being offered here as I will definitely try out their 8 course tasting menu. Their best are supposedly not in the tapas, so you will be wanting to come back to try their main menu courses.
As in for the depression era themed «lower priced» menu items, it’s worth checking out a few dishes and hang out at their bar for some smooth mixology cocktail drinks.

What’s not to love about the gorgeous space that is Ortolan and the equally wonderful (and gorgeous) owner Chef Christophe Émé?
I’ve been fortunate enough to have dinner here more than once (on someone’s else’s dime, which, admittedly, makes it all the better) but this review is strictly for the new bar menu offerings.
Times are tough and let’s face it, these days many of us are a little less inclined to indulge ourselves with a $ 200 meal at a Michelin star restaurant like Ortolan, but that doesn’t mean fine dining is out the window. Émé understands this and has started serving a delectable menu of French inspired tapas in the phenomenally sexy space that is the bar (complete with a growing green wall of herbs for the kitchen) and fireplace lounge.
Small plates range from $ 6 for burrata stuffed pastry cigars to $ 14 for a melt in your mouth short rib served with roasted baby organic veg. Truly Delicious. Other faves on the bar menu include the risotto served with baby scallops, roasted tomato and a subtle emulsion foam, the scallop served paella style with a clam, squid ink and more delicious risotto scented with saffron, the bacon quiche with black truffle and micro greens and the langostine consommé, all worth the price of admission. Mouth watering flavors aside, the presentation is impeccable and nothing short of perfection on a plate.
Sweet tooth after all that deliciousness? Not to worry. The full menu is available at the bar if you’re so inclined, including the chocolate soufflé served with fresh cream and house made dark chocolate gelato that’s good enough to make a grown man cry.
Couldn’t imagine a better place to lose yourself for a few hours. With some good company, a few of these dishes and a couple of Ortolan’s signature cocktails, like the blood orange martini, which almost (almost) rivals the French wine list, you’ve got yourself the perfect evening.
And while you’re there, don’t miss a visit to the little girl’s (or boy’s) room where you’ll find well appointed loos, complete with sparkling chandeliers and etched glass mirrors that read ‘Mademoiselle, vous etes trés elégante’ and ‘Monsieur, vous etes magnifique’, respectively. Gotta love the French, because after I wash my hands and get ready to strut back out the door, that’s exactly what I want to hear. ;)