Orsa & Winston, Los Angeles, 7/19/16

Orsa & Winston is a small restaurant that combines parts of Italian and Japanese cuisines in their food. It is named for the chef’s two dogs, which we and Frankie were able to meet at the end of the evening.  They serve a 6 course tasting as well as a la carte options. However with 48 hours advance notice they will fix you a “super omakase” tasting which is 20 plus courses served to you while you sit at the bar next to the kitchen. There were 4 stools available for this option but we were the only ones that night.  We went well over the 20 courses and they did offer us the option to quit, warning that we had another half dozen savories before they started sweets.  

In fact, the service could not have been more accommodating and friendly.  For example, I asked for  a couple ice cubes for my water and instead I got a bowl of ice with a spoon on a plate that was constantly refreshed throughout the evening. Chef Josef Centeno was in the kitchen and he creates the Super Omakase menu each time it’s ordered with what’s fresh and available.  Maxfield Schnee, general manager and beverage director helped us find an interesting array of wines to have with our tasting but also offers pairings that go with each course if you don’t want to buy bottles.  If you get the chance to go, do it – but go hungry.  It is a wonderful several hours of interesting combinations of flavors and textures and fun interactions!  As it includes so many things I’ll include my comments after the description of the course.  Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the meal!