ORO — Restaurant in Raleigh

Service was fine, but food was disappointing.

A friend and I ventured to ORO as he had never been before, and I had only been once before. We ordered a variety of things, Brussel sprouts, truffle Mac and cheese, fall harvest risotto, short rib with a port wine reduction, and patatas bravas (papas bravas).

The first three things we had (in order listed), were decent. Not great by any means, but definitely edible. Everything was lacking seasoning, except the brussel sprouts. The fall harvest risotto didn’t really give me any fall harvest vibes. All it tasted of was saffron, basically a paella risotto minus any meat. It needed salt and pepper and something to bring the “fall” flavors. The first thing we received that was disappointing was the short rib. It arrived looking very unappetizing. The meat was very obviously fatty. Had no real color to it, no sauce, etc. It just sort of looked like braised meat that had been drained of all its liquid. We took a taste and both thought it was extremely bland. The port wine reduction was so non existent it didn’t really quite seem to need mentioning in the description of the item. There was also some sort of sweet potato/beet gratin, but all it tasted like was raw potato. It was tough to cut into. Photos below. We mentioned our disappointment to our waitress who asked us if we’d like to replace it with something else. So, we thought we’d try the “chili rubbed brisket” instead.

Meanwhile, the patatas bravas arrived. They’re essentially a Spanish home fry. The potatoes were completely unseasoned, and tasted and had the texture of parboiled potatoes that had been very briefly put into a skillet with some oil to get a slight color on them. There was no acid, pepper, salt, garlic, or really identifiable flavor in either the potatoes or the aioli. The aioli was just your typical mayonnaise-y sauce with a mild saffron flavor. It needed something to cut through the starchiness of the potatoes and the mouth coating fattiness you associate with mayonnaise itself. Patatas bravas I have had anywhere else have been much more flavorful and cooked so the outside of the potatoes had a crispy exterior, with a soft inside. These were just mushy potatoes. The potatoes needed to be cooked either longer in the pan to get a crispy outside, or put in a convection oven to crisp the outer layers of the flesh. We thought about sending them back, but didn’t want to seem unreasonable since we had already complained about the short rib.

The last course we received was the replacement for the short rib, the chili rubbed brisket. It looked a lot more appetizing than the short rib, but as soon as we took a bite we looked at each other and said “that’s cold…” when I say cold, I’m talking about nearly room temperature potato puree, meat, and sauce. Not sure if it had sat too long on the counter without a heat lamp overhead, or they put it on a chilled plate, but it was cold. So, sadly, we had to tell the waitress it was cold. She was very understanding and apologized, and brought us a to-go order of the brisket, but neither one of us wanted it. So, as we left the restaurant, we handed the unopened meal to an elderly homeless gentlemen on the corner. Hopefully he at least enjoyed it. For the prices, the portion sizes are too small and the food quality is just not anywhere close to where it should be. The basic rules of tasting things before sending them out doesn’t seem to be practiced here. If they are tasting before they send food out and they let these things slide, they need to find someone new for that position. If you can’t even salt a dish properly you shouldn’t be working in a restaurant kitchen charging $15-$30 per...

The restaurant is located downtown so parking could be difficult and you may have to pay to park.

We decided to come to Oro for restaurant week since the menu sounded really good. The restaurant intimate and has really nice decor. You have the option to sit downstairs on upstairs overlooking the first level. There was nice music playing in the background. I made reservations and was seated right away.

For my first course, I chose the sautéed shrimp. The shrimp was plated with cooked onions and topped with parsley. The shrimp were a nice size but not flavorful at all.

For my next course I got the mahi mahi with creamy grits and spicy mango salsa. The fish was also garnished with parsley. The grits and salsa were good but the mahi mahi was overcooked and dry. I was really hungry and did not want to wait for more food to be prepared so I tried to use the salsa and grits to disguise the dryness. My friend got sriracha sauce to help with the dryness of her fish.

When our waiter, Hunter, asked how the food was my friend and I both told him that the fish was dry & overcooked, and he asked if he could bring out something else. I told him that I would not be able to eat another entree because I was kind of full. He said that he would make it right. A few minutes later he asked if we liked champagne. My friend couldn't drink so I told him I wasn't going to drink by myself.

For dessert, I ordered the creme brûlée cheesecake. The cheesecake was not bad but I have had better. The crust tasted like there was a hint of cinnamon in it.

My friend got the warm cookies that was served with milk. She said that the cookies were hard. She told Hunter and he relied that he doesn't know what's going on in the kitchen & that they shouldn't be hard. She said that it was ok and that it happens.

The manager, Corey, came over later & asked how everything was and we both told him about the dry & overcooked fish and my friend explained that her cookies were hard. He took the leftover cookies and came back & said that he checked and the cookies were hard except for the peanut butter cookies, which my friend did not taste.

Corey ended up letting my friend order a different dessert from the menu. She said that it was better than the cookies.

Hunter then brought our bill but did not follow through with making it right like he said. He spoke to the manager, Corey, and he was told that there was nothing he could do. We feel like Hunter should not have offered make it right if he didn't have any plans to do so or didn't have permission. If you say that you are going to do something then you should follow through. The food was not the best but we did not send any of it back and just tried to enjoy it the best that we could.

Today I had a totally different experience than the last time that I was here and we were so disappointed. Unfortunately we will not...

This place is a gem. I dined here for the Downtown Raleigh Restaurant week in hopes or trying the limited menu items. Unfortunately the two entrees that we wanted to try, lamb shank and crawfish risotto, wasn't available. Nevertheless, that didn't stop me from wanting to try someone else.

Let me first say that the vibe is amazing here. When I walked in the ampere was filled with buzzing conversations, laughter, and the best music selection.

I was seated right next to the kitchen and I was able to observe the two chefs work hard to keep up with those back to back orders. I was recommended to try the crispy duck and I ordered the pear salad of the limited menu. My companion had the same salad and had they're mine set in the risotto and lamb shank however they were offered to get any other entree of the regular menu to substitute for the DTR week menu; the beef short ribs.

I'll start with the salad; it was the first bummer of the evening with the second being that the menu option wasn't available. It was large lettuce leaves that hasn't been sliced as well as a halved pear HARD in the center. As I was eating the salad I kept tasting and feeling what felt like grit/dirt however as I tossed the salad around I see that the toasted nut was charred and it was very bitter. This salad was not well thought out in my opinion.

My entree came out first and my companion's meal came out when I was almost finished with my meal, about 30-35 mins later.

The crispy duck with the scallion cakes were out of world! Very flavorful, crispy, crunchy, savoriness off the duck paired with sweet and tangy sauce were a delight! And the flaky, salty, greasiness (a good greasy) of the scallion cakes were the perfect trio.

I was able to taste the braised beef short ribs, just a taste. It was every bit of tender and comforting. If you're looking to smile and reminisce of Sunday dinner as a child then this is what you want to order.

To finish dinner we had the s'mores. We were brought a sectional plate with Graham cracker dust, marshmallows, a warmed chocolate sauce accompanied quartered strawberries, and the light a small cube of dry ice so that you may enjoy making your own s'mores at the table.

I docked a star for several reasonings: *The salad having a grittiness to it from the charred hazelnut and while writing this review, I looked over the menu and I realized the pear was supposed to be roasted NOT raw. I don't know how the chef missed that nor the server who brought the food to the table. I guess because the raw pear was covered in the hazelnut. *My entree was almost devoured before my companion's for arrived. *The menu items weren't available (we had a 730 reservation and wasn't told until after we put in the...