Opa Bar & Mezze — Restaurant in Brisbane City

I had gone to Opa Bar & Mezze with a group of friends for dinner. The restaurant had a very good atmosphere and all the staff were very friendly and attentive. When we had arrived, we were very promptly served. The night had started off on a very positive note. Food overall was very fresh and tasteful.

However, the reason for the 1 star review was because of the way they had explained to us about a dish that we had ordered – Opa Smash. It had come to our attention when the platter was served, that it was not the same as what was on the menu. We had discussed this with our waiter and it was then that we were told that they had ran out of honey bugs for the night and for that they had given us 2 extra prawns to make up for the missing bugs. We were quite shocked about the explanation as one we were not told of this when we had ordered the dish - and we would have probably ordered a different dish when told and two how does 2 additional prawns make up for 2 honey bugs that cost $39 alone if ordered separately on the menu? We had questioned this difference with the waiter and then was brought an additional 2x more prawns. We did not want to make a scene at the restaurant so we just accepted the additional prawns as we were there to celebrate a friend’s birthday. I think the waiter could tell that we were a bit upset about the situation and had told one of the mangers at the restaurant, who then proceeded to come to talk to us and had apologised for not informing about the difference before we ordered and had offered to provide a drink on the house. That was very nice of them to have done this and was really appreciated. However, it wasn’t till when we had checked the receipt when we had left after paying as they were closing, that they had charged us for the drink as well. Overall, the food and atmosphere of the restaurant was good but I do not think I will be coming back for a little while to the restaurant due to...

The food was delicious. You must have bread and dip. The calarami and octopus were also a must-try. The lamb shoulder was so tender it melted in your mouth.

The service at this restaurant has a lot of room for improvement. Once we settled in, at least half a dozen staff members walked past our table multiple times, but no one greeted us or offered any assistance for about 10 minutes. They didn’t even provide water. We ended up grabbing our own water bottle and serving ourselves.

We started with oysters, then had bread and dip, but again, many staff members passed our table without checking on us. It wasn’t until I asked that they swapped out the dirty plates with fresh plates.

By the time we were halfway through our mezze, our two glasses of the same wine were still missing. One eventually arrived, but the other was completely forgotten.

Out of all the staff members who walked past our table, only two seemed to be paying attention to us. I wish everyone was a bit more attentive.

We visited on a Thursday night, and the restaurant was about half full. It wasn’t too busy or noisy, but I can’t imagine what it’s like when it’s full house. There are five layers of tables, and the tables and chairs are very close together. I think they could do away with one less layer to give everyone more space and reduce the feeling of being crowded. I guess they want to maximise their profits by serving as many customers as possible.

I’ll definitely come back for the good food they serve, but I’ll...

We visited Opa for a Valentine’s dinner, and I want to start by saying that the food was excellent, and the staff—especially our server, Henry—was incredibly friendly.

However, the service system was completely disorganised. Our reservation was for 7:45 PM, but it turned out that 30+ other couples also had that slot. This resulted in a massive queue, and we weren’t seated until 8:10—almost 30 minutes of just standing and waiting to get inside.

Once seated, we waited another 15+ minutes before anyone even brought us water or a menu. In fact, the only reason we were eventually served was because another guest pointed out to a staff member that we had been overlooked. After placing our order, the first two courses arrived relatively quickly, but then we were left waiting—literally an hour—for our main course. To put that into perspective, our reservation was until 9:45, and we didn’t receive our main dish until around 9:30.

I’m generally patient when it comes to service delays, and can certainly understand how things can become difficult for a bust restaurant. But the long gaps between courses were excessive and made for a frustrating experience. It seems like the structure of this service system is based on bringing in large groups of people at the same time and serving them all together. If thats the system there needs to be more staff, at the capacity the restaurant was at last night it really just comes across as it being very poorly prepared and really...