Finally! A restaurant in LA in 2026 that was flawless. On this night, there weren’t any faults—and I always have something to say, anywhere in the world, let alone in Los Angeles. Orla, you certainly surprised me.
At the beginning, we were treated to a mini theatre show, with cocktail making table‑side. Mine was strong and definitely woke me up! It had a deep purple tinge and tasted as if I were drinking a fishbowl of 100‑percent martini. I sipped it slowly and enjoyed it with the food. This was my only drink, because these days I am a complete lightweight. I hardly drink large amounts in one sitting.
Orla’s menu is based around Mediterranean flavours. The kitchen makes their own pitta bread, each piece balloning into substantial hot pockets, served pleasingly warm. Tear a little with your hands and use it as a spoon to scoop up one of the meze dips—or, if you’re not feeling refined today, just dip it in messily and do what you want. The garlic and bean dip with the bread can easily ruin you for the courses that follow, as it is utterly irresistible. In the space of about five minutes, I had already eaten two and had no intention of stopping.
The restaurant works particularly well with sharing plates and meze, so take a combination to try different flavours and textures. The main courses wouldn’t be my go‑to, but there’s no reason I wouldn’t try them another time. From a chef’s perspective, absolutely everything had been seasoned perfectly and grilled or fried to the exact minute. The flavour was there, and so was the standard of quality—something I really wasn’t expecting. The prawns, wrapped beautifully in a crisp coating of kataifi and not an ounce overcooked, worked perfectly alongside the sauce and were delicious.
Our guest wasn’t eating raw fish, so the chef gently grilled the hamachi, which came out really well. The asparagus was grilled with no woody ends for me to discreetly chew for days before sending it back to the plate (embarrassing). And the rice was a masterclass in rice cookery. I will admit something to you: I am dismal at cooking rice. Don’t know why I said that—oh well, now you know.
We did revisit on a weekend evening to check consistency, but unfortunately everything we ordered the second time had been heavily handled with seasoning—salt. I had a feeling there was a different chef or staff on, as everything was far too salty. I’m not sure if a spice mix was used on top, but the saltiness was just too much. We told our server, who replied, “We will try to be more consistent.” Initially, I don’t think he liked the fact that we said it. Well, tough. This is important—not to be annoying, but to let them know so they can take it on board and improve.
I will come back, as it is a high‑quality restaurant—just try not to kill us softly with the sel.
