Ora Restaurant — Restaurant in Sydney

Since the First experience dinning at Ora, we had the opportunity to communicate with the GM of Ora Pascal who took the time and care to understand the issue and offered us a return dinner on the house.

We took Pascal's kind offer to celebrate our post wedding weekend last week, and it completely changed my initial view about Ora.

The moment we sat down, Pascal came to the table and greeted us and really spent the time to get to know us personally making us feel very welcomed.

He then made a few recommendations and I must say, the dishes were done to perfection, the scallops were flavourful and juicy, the tuna salad was incredibly refreshing, the sushi plank was buttery soft, the octopus was so tender, lastly the tooth fish was literally devine! I attached a few pictures in the review for reference.

It was a very busy night, but Pascal was very engaged with the guests throughout the venue. Although he was moving fast spaced, there was no sign of rushing or moment of ignorance, everything was so smooth and under control. Himself and the team were very knowledgeable and fully across the details of the dishes and the venues. Pascal checked in regularly to make sure everything is going well, and it wasn't just us but every other guests too.

To sum up, it was an incredible night, both my wife and I really enjoyed the night, and thank you Pascal for reaching out to us and offering us to come back, it was very kind of you. And for the care, the passion and the dedication you put in, I can't see Ora not thriving!

We will certainly come back again for our next celebration, and recommending Ora to our family and friends too - and as we chatted, first gift card ordered already!

Thanks again.

First experience - Interesting experience at Ora last night on a special occasion - food was all you can expect from a $100 dollar tasting manu pp, sushi was 'melt in your mouth' good, the service though was a bit of mix. Whilst the waitresses on the floor are quite friendly and engaging, the bartender was a bit of a weird encounter. When we had our drinks delivered, we had the coaster tossed on the table at us, initially I thought he was in a foul mood but may be it's just the way he is. Regardless though, it makes the service feel cold and somewhat disrespectful. We even tried to engage him a little by saying thank you, but there was no reply or any eye contact during that service. Would I recommend this place - if you just want a quick bite 'in and out' for some sushi, you can expect quality knife skill coming out of the masters behind the bench, but if you're after a more intimate experience, I suggest you...

WATCH YOUR CASH!

A fabulous night but an already over priced and expensive dinner ($400) was sadly tainted by being over-charged an extra $100. I split the payment between cash and card and requested they use the 260 cash then take the remainder off the card! However I realised the next morning I was out of pocket on my credit card by $100. I called the next day to question the fact and admittedly they acknowledged the fault but then also assumed it was part of a ´cash tip’ but certainly not with my authorisation nor did they check by asking at the time even as I clearly stipulated what the tip I intended to pay was ie 30 dollars only and therefore it was pocketed very quickly!

I requested the next day to be refunded into my credit card but was refused and furthermore I overheard the manager (yelling in the background) indirectly via a staff member on the phone that I needed to drive back and pick up the cash and that he had “no access to refunds”.

Day 3 and the issue was not attended to so I emailed via online enquiry page to request a written response however still no response.

So I called again the following day and was accused of “pestering for a measly 100bucks”! …and that he clearly didn’t need it at this time of the year!

We chatted and agreed it could have been an honest mistake on both parts but his staff member “had a different version of events” and moved to transfer blame onto me due to my inebriation at the end of the night! So clearly the customer is not always right!

I was then promised by Pasquale an apology email from himself with a credit to the value of my missing funds and again I am still yet to receive it.

I also gave him my credit card number and again, I am yet to receive any offering to better the situation and keep my business.

Day 14 today and nothing to date in my email inbox therefore am writing this review based on the poor level of interpersonal and conflict resolution skills and the self indulgent and entitled attitude of the Manager!

Sorry Pasquale but I will not be returning...

Real rating: 4.5 stars (deserves a round up to 5 stars) Chef Nobuyuki heads up the omakase dining experience, the theme changes every two months and we experienced the Spring Omakase menu running from August to the end of September. The environment is pleasant with top notch service team and a very welcoming and attention to detail Chef. I would come back to try the bistro next time around.

Overall Omakaze experience: 9/10

Dish 1: Hassan - 8/10 A combination starter with a mix of flavours from sweet to savoury that would kick start the omakaze experience. I felt that it lacked a little flavour punch but a good start nonetheless. Dish 2: Owan - 5/10 The concept is decent but my soup was too salty and fish was slightly overcooked. Dish 3: Otsukuri - 8/10 Good sashimi Dish 4: Yakimono - 9/10 Wood flavoured fish, the texture very similar to a cod but not as fatty. It was cooked perfectly and quite fancy. Dish 5: Nimono - 12/10 This was definitely the signature dish of the night. Absolutely amazing, very well balanced shabu shabu type dish that really bought out the qualities of the A5 wagyu beef. The soup base just elevated everything in there. This dish should be on Ora's main menu! Dish 6: Oshinogi - 10/10 You cannot fault this dish, the soba noodles, the tempura prawn, the dipping soba noodle soup, balanced and cooked perfectly. Dish 7: 8 peices of Nigiri - 10/10 First 2 peices was decent but last 6 peices, starting with the eel, were superb. You'll have to find out for yourself, in summary you don't need any dipping sauce, just eat it as it is given to you. Dish 8: Tomeowan - 5/10 The miso soup type courses seems to have an overwhelming saltiness to it. Wasn't something I enjoyed, it was more of a chaser than a course before the dessert. Dish 9: Desert - 8/10 Very good combination of an Asian desert. Ice cream, mochi and green tea felt very comforting at the end of an enjoyable...