Orso — Restaurant in Adelaide

Sunday Brunch was a disaster. 20 mins to get drinks and 25 mins to get a high chair. No table water top up. The food was very mediocre at best. My dish was fish of the day (Dory $38) and it was dreadful. The waiting staff conveniently forgot to mention it came literally swimming in a pool of oil. I am dead serious. So much oil that the server spilt it on the table putting the dish down. So I had a fish swimming in oil and my plate swimming in oil on the table. I would never have ordered oil soaked fish but the wait staff talked up the dish but did not mention it was "oil of the day" rather than "fish of the day". Who serves up fish literally floating in a pool of oil!!! A cardiac arrest waiting to happen. Stupid me, I should have sent it back. Others on the table had overcooked eggs... How does real chef let that stuff out of the kitchen? My advice to the owners of ORSO and in particular the chefs, is to visit Chianti on Hutt St to see how a real Italian restaurant is run and how real Italian food is prepared. ORSO is a nice place to look at, so by all means have a look but eat somewhere else like Chianti and get some real food service and immaculately prepared Italian food. No cardiac arrest fish there!! How could ORSO get it so wrong? This might be a multi-million restaurant (and it did cost that much) but it's a penny arcade when it comes to the food. But wait...one final thing...it gets worse folks...if you love eating food with one hand then ORSO is the place because you need the other hand to swat the swarms of flies attacking you from the open air concept they have going on there...EVERY door and window is open...a personal invitation to all the flies to come dine at ORSO with the humans after the flies having walked all over the local dog poo. The open air concept is nice to look at but when was the last time you opened all your doors and windows in your house on a hot day while you had big lunch gathering?? The stupidity of this concept is mind numbing. If you like very average food and have blowflies as pets, then ORSO is your restaurant. As for me and my household we will eat somewhere...

The atmosphere here was really lovely. The waiters were kind and provided great service. Unfortunately that's where the praise begins to end.

Both the steak and chicken were bland. The steak was supposed to be Wagyu, but had the taste and texture of a rump steak. It also came out to the table cold. Not to mention the crust on the steak was completely black and burnt, which created a bitter aftertaste in the mouth.

Overall I don't think the food is worth the price. Quite a few things were lacking flavor.

The cabbage dish that we had was a very unusual combination, it definitely wasn't an Italian dish and it seemed like it had more of an Asian influence? Which is odd given the rest of the menu. It had a Portuguese capsicum sauce and miso paste. Very non-Italian flavours, that just didn't go well together or with the other items served. It was a very confused and messy tasting dish overall. It was also incredibly difficult to cut and share between people on the table. It was a whole quarter of a cabbage, roasted and put in a dish without any thought for how it would be shared or eaten. We had to rip it apart with a fork and butter knife. Not a great dining experience.

The baby cosberg came out in whole chunks of lettuce (one baby lettuce cut in half and left attached to the stem). I know this is the latest trend for salad presentation, which I understood and didn't mind, but it did make sharing difficult. The dressing was fresh and light though, which I enjoyed. I found the dressing paired well with the Rosemary fried potatoes.

The Rosemary fried potatoes were fantastic and so was the flac bread with smoked chickpea puree. I think they were probably the best things on the menu and the only thing worth their price tag.

Unfortunately I don't think I would be returning here as it didn't meet the high standards that have been set by other reviews. We were definitely disappointed as we were all very excited for this...

My partner and I celebrated our anniversary here last night and were pleasantly surprised by the beautiful atmosphere that they have created within this space. It feels very classy and romantic with mood lighting and modern furnishing. Perfect for a date night or intimate dining experience. I recommend sitting at the Kitchen Bar, as being able to witness the chefs at work brought an element of entertainment to the experience, that we very much enjoyed!

Here is what we ordered;

Tomato and Caramelised Onion Tarts (Our Favourite). Perfectly balanced, well flavoured, light, fresh and a great starter.

Flatbread with Chickpea Purée (Least Favourite). Sadly, the combination of flavours within this dish created a rather unpleasant aftertaste. Additionally, the flatbread was a little too tough and hard to cut through. We did not finish this entree.

Wagyu Beef Tartare: Zesty, fresh, and rich in flavour. Well accompanied by crispy crostini.

Campanelle Pasta with Chicken and Marsala Ragu: The chicken was succulent and flavourful, however I think the pasta needed just a tad longer cooking time, as it was a little too firm and chewy for my liking.

Kiwami Wagyu: The meat was melt in your mouth soft! The Miso Butter was also a perfect accompaniment to the dish, adding a nice element of creamy-sweet-saltiness.

Rosemary Fried Potatoes: Very crispy on the outside, fluffy and soft on the inside. However, I think the potatoes either needed more salt, or even perhaps a toss in some vinegar to enhance the overall flavour, as without the sour cream element, they were rather bland.

The cocktails were delicious and we were offered a dessert liquor, on the house, to finish the evening!

Furthermore, the service from staff was welcoming, friendly, and fast!

Overall a great experience and would recommend to friends and family!...