Camelia — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Very nice choice for a great meal. Interior space is very hip, but somewhat smallish and reliant on patio seating (and this particular evening was chilly and windy). Nevertheless, the place was hopping.

Criticisms are small. We arrived on time for a 7:15 Saturday reservation, but there were no tables ready. We were taken to a 'waiting area' at the back that happened to be right next to the bathrooms. This should be rethought.

After about 15 minutes, we were brought a drink order; however, simultaneously we were told our table was ready, which required us to use both hands to carry each of our respective martini contraptions across the restaurant. We were seated indoors, though right in front of the always open double-door entrance. So far I would give low marks on this relatively thoughtless early service, but our spirits were high and we were undeterred.

Upon sitting, we sipped our ice cold Decibel Martinis, which were just superb. A charming waiter arrived quickly with menus and came back minutes later to answer questions. He seemed very knowledgeable.

In a word, the food was fantastic. Oysters on the half shell were perfectly balanced and delicate with likely the best mignonette and cocktail sauces we'd ever tasted. The Uni/Toro toast on homemade milkbread was delicious and sophisticated tasting of Japan, and the duck rillettes a real French delight. My only criticism of the meal service is nit picky-- a couple of times the runners arrived with a new dish just as we had taken the first bite of the dish just brought. Other than this, the service was attentive and superb. The sommelier (one of the owners?) was friendly and unpretentious, and recommended a bottle of Alsace Cremant that paired perfectly with most of our meal.

The rest of our meal included a wonderful abalone pot pie, an amazing seared Barracuda, savory grilled mushrooms, and a remarkably tender (and well-sized) beef cheek in a light but uber savory sauce. The chocolate dessert was delightful.

Overall, this restaurant was both familiar and unique for LA (the Japanese and French fusion combination). The cocktails were first rate, the wine experience excellent, and nearly every bite was both varied and delicious. I have knocked the service slightly, but acknowledge that our waiter and sommelier were excellent. Our waiter told us at the end of the evening that it was his first night! Needless to say, the overall experience was darn near worthy of a Michelin star. Even our neighboring table was festive, and we mutually shared some dishes with strangers.

Overall a fantastic evening and a wonderful and unique restaturant. Highly...

We made a reservation for 3 people at 7:00 PM on September 9th, as shown in the attached image. We arrived in high spirits, excited to celebrate my birthday at this restaurant. Initially, the valet and staff were polite, the whole restaurant looks wonderful at the exterior . However, when we reached the reception, the entire evening was ruined, and I left feeling deeply disappointed with the restaurant.

I believe there is a major issue with the seating arrangement policy. We arrived at the restaurant at approximately 6:39 PM and checked in. Since the outside temperature was a scorching 104°F, we politely requested to sit inside, and I had selected the "standard room" option when making the reservation. At the time, we saw an available booth inside, which could easily accommodate the three of us. However, the receptionist only gave us two options: either sit outside or at the bar, stating that all indoor seating was already taken.

When we asked why we couldn’t sit at the booth, the receptionist explained that seats are assigned based on the order of arrival for reservations. But we had arrived 20 minutes earlier than our 7:00 PM reservation time, and we had booked this table on OpenTable a week in advance. Furthermore, there were no other guests waiting to be seated at that time. The receptionist then told us that if we wanted to sit inside, we would have to wait until 9:00 PM, which was completely unacceptable, as it was two hours later than our reservation, and it did not match the "standard room" option I had chosen.

Despite repeatedly emphasizing that we had a 7:00 PM reservation, the receptionist still couldn’t offer us a table inside, and throughout the process, there was no apology or any expression of regret for the inconvenience.

In the end, we left the restaurant and chose another place to celebrate the birthday, as it was too hot to dine outdoors. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t get to experience the food, but I sincerely hope the restaurant will improve its seating policy.

I understand that this restaurant has just opened, and we sincerely hope they will adjust their reception policies and clarify the dining area selection when booking on OpenTable. This would help avoid confusion and ensure a more pleasant experience for...

We had a great dinner at Camellia this past Saturday. Located in the Arts District just east of DTLA, not only is the ambience great for a date or dinner with friends, but the pricing is extremely fair, you get a lot more bang for your buck here than other places, especially over in West LA. It is French and Asian fusion so not your traditional French restaurant. Most dishes have an Asian twist to classic French dishes. They don’t have a parking lot but offer valet for $16 however we were able to find a parking spot in the parking lot right across the street for $5 an hour. The other option will be street parking which is very hard to find in this part of town. We arrived at 6:50 PM for a 7 PM dinner but we weren’t seated till 7:15. That was the only issue we had in our dining experience. Our server was very polite and attentive the entire meal.

Not only is it Asian and French fusion, but most of the dishes are more bistro style so much more casual, and less involved than a traditional French restaurant. They have a fairly large menu with all sorts of great options, sadly the dish I was most excited to try, the softshell crab, was out of stock , the night we dined. We decided to start the meal off with a Black Sesame Parker House Rolls and thought it was an interesting take on the classic Parker House roll. I have never had a black sesame version before, but really enjoyed it, especially with the salted French butter. Next came the Tuna Sashimi, and this was extremely fresh and light and a great end of summer dish. For our entrées, we chose the Croque Madame, which I thought was fabulous, especially with the amber yolk egg on top, and the Dry Aged Burger, which was truly fantastic. I rarely order burgers at dinner restaurants so was very happy that I did this time and would highly recommended.

Overall, we were very impressed with the meal, the service, and especially the overall bill. We were expecting it to be a lot more expensive than it was so for that fact alone, I would highly recommend it and plan to be back in the...