The Ordinarie Tavern — Restaurant in Long Beach

We ventured way back to the 17th century to a hidden American Tavern in downtown Long Beach. Venturing back to a place that delivered excellent hospitality, was welcoming and inviting for guest of all abilities, food that engulfed your senses and a cocktail and spirits list that captured the old soul you once had all in a time period setting. You may have to leave your horses back at home but your furry little pups, friends and family are welcome to embark on a journey to The Ordinare.

The date was April 13th 2022 before we stepped into a time capsule Tavern and instantly transported to a time between the 17th-18th century. This day I opted to leave my bright orange wheelchair at home and mosey around for the day. The Tavern was dimly lit to set the tone and transport you back in time. The sound from a live jazz band played in the background . You could still hear the sound of the bartender shaking cocktails and the distant chatter that filled the room as people talked, drank and dined. So many delectable smells tickeled at your senses almost as though it was luring you to take a peak at the food passing by. You almost get lost in thought as you looked around the Tavern at the pictures on the wall and your senses stimulated. One could easily forget what Era you were in. Marina would be our server for the evening that would guide us through the menu and take us on a food journey back in time.

We started our evening with a personalized suggestion from both Marina and The Ordinare. My partner and I split a small plate of the chicken pot pie bites and grilled chicken wings. For my first drink I opted for one of their featured drinks, a Ginny Schumaher and my partner enjoyed a stout from Common Space Brewing. Our food was hot , aesthetically pleasing to the eye and smelled delicious. I spooned out one of the chicken pot pie bites and coated it in the gravy from the bottom of its dish. Light flakey crust and a delicious pot pie filling had me wanting more. This dish truly was unique, flavorful, rich and made for a hearty meal. I have personally never had grilled chicken wings and now that I tasted them I simply can't get them out of my head. The wings were a dry rub with a delicious spicy kick but not over powering. They delivered the perfect balance of crispy skin and juicy meat, I can see why they are a personal favorite for Marina. Our starters paired so well with our drinks that evening and we were only just beginning. My main corse consisted of Mac and cheese and grilled asparagus from the starter menu and my partner opted for the French dip sandwich. This was not your mommas Mac n cheese. My Mac n cheese did not lack in the cheese department, was hot and topped off with goldfish crackers for that perfect crunch in each bite. For an extra cost you are able to top your dish off with bacon or short ribs but I chose to nibble off my partners french dip instead . If your like me no meal is complete without a delicious side vegetable and the asparagus exceeded my expectations. Maybe it was the pea mint puree that gave this dish and extra oomph but i couldn't get enough of it. A second personalized recommendation from The Ordinare definitely knocked our dinner out of the park with their short rib French dip. I have never had such a flavorful French dip, and it wasn't even fatty and plated excellent. Everything was phenomenal from start to finish.

To finish your night out I highly recommend taking time to also enjoy one of their signature cocktails. I was too stuffed to eat dessert so my Pick Me Up cocktail was a great substitute. It was not too sweet and just the perfect amount of bitter, which made for a refreshing end. I also would suggest trying the Widow's Kiss that packs a boozy punch. After such an amazing dinner ending the night with cocktails that yet again satisfied my senses with being aesthetically pleasing, smelled amazing and tasted great was a perfect way to bid farewell...

I am unfortunately leaving a review for the mishandling of our table by the General Manager of The Ordinaire during their Holiday pop up, The Miracle.

My hope is that ownership will investigate this interaction and properly equip their leaders with better language and polite customer service going forward.

While enjoying our meal and second drink, a woman came to our table asking for a red card that was placed there when we were seated. After handing it to her, she flips it around pointing to the time on it and says as though annoyed - “you’re past your time, we need you to close out your check there is another party that needs the table.”

Surprised at how quickly time flew by, we of course understood this policy but were puzzled by the rushed and rude abruptness of her delivery. We hadn’t realized we reached the time limit of our service and had not been advised by the staff either.

A few minutes go by and no check comes to the table but the woman returns. This time she appears frustrated and pushily states again - we need this table your time is up! To this I replied “By the way, we were waiting 20 minutes before even being served and don’t even have a check right now.” This feedback seemed to upset her and after a few exchanges of yes it did, no it didn’t - she looks me square in the eye and says “I am going to pull video footage then because I don’t believe you!” I could not believe she wanted to engage with me in this way.

Eventually the server came, apologizing for the mistreatment, to which we let her know it was not her fault.

As we are closing out the check, the woman reappears WITH video surveillance, sticks it in front of me and says - I checked and you actually weren’t served when you said you were!! It was outrageous that she pulled surveillance and showed me, a paying customer, who simply made a remark about not being served swiftly upon being seated.

I stared at her in disbelieve as I could not comprehend why she was so invested in attempting to disprove my feedback. Certainly I was being pranked because this was outrageous.

Was she trying to investigate a crime scene?

Solve a mystery?

Prove a robbery?

It was absolutely unacceptable mistreatment and I had to pick my jaw off the floor at how she responded.

There were many moments where she could have made it right, simply stating - “I do apologize if you were served a bit late into your seating, but we do need this table.” There were also many opportunities during service where it would have been appreciated if the server let us know our time was approaching an end or giving us a last call.

We let this woman know that we will not be dining at The Ordinaire ever again on behalf of her unkind approach. She then let ME know that she was NOT unkind, that she NEVER implied I was a liar and that she was the General Manager. Oh, and to have a...

Rude Bartenders.

We went on the evening of December 27th around 7pm'ish. The line wasn't too long and the wait wasn't horrible. The Line Host was very friendly (initially), when he was offering us the Mulled Wine and Buttered Rum for sale while we waited.

Once we were seated inside, we sat at the table and ordered drinks, shots and dinner which ramped up a $180 bill. Food is delicious--no complaints there. Cocktails are too sweet for my taste.

Around 9pm the place was looking pretty empty and the the bar seating had lots of vacant seats. We paid our bill and we asked our server if we could move to the bar. She said yes, and gave us a new time-card to end at 11:10pm.

My friend and I ordered a pair of espresso martinis at the bar and continued our evening with chatter, laughter and sipping on our cocktails.

Around 10:40pm, the place is pretty empty, but the bar seating is now full. Many empty tables in the restaurant. We're still sipping on our cocktails and a female server comes up to us, and tells us that our time is up and we need to vacate the seats. At that point I showed her our timecard that ends at 11:10pm. She goes back and relays this info to the bartending staff (I saw her do this--which indicates she was instructed to ask us to leave. She was only following directions so I don't hold anything against her). Once she relayed the info a VERY RUDE, WHITE, BEARDED MALE Bartender comes to us and tells us we have to leave, no matter what the time-card says. I asked, why, and he said, "we have a ton of people waiting outside, and I know you already sat at that table earlier". Which I then said, "Yes, I had dinner there and drinking more cocktails here. The entire place looks very empty and there are a lot of available tables."

Regardless, he was so loud and condescending the way he spoke to us (two single women). We left because we felt so embarrassed being berated in that form in front of everyone.

As we made our way towards the exit through the empty tables in the restaurant, only discover there wasn't a line outside, no one was waiting. So I still don't understand why were we treated in such a disrespectful manner.

My theory, these bartenders only want people sitting at the bar who are constantly ordering drinks after drinks after drinks. So a light drinker like me, who can enjoy a single cocktail in two hours is not welcome there.

As I was walking outside, I shared my disdain to the hosts in the front, and they both looked at me and said, "yeah that happens...hope you had fun".

Bad taste in my mouth, I will...