Orla by Michael Mina — Restaurant in Santa Monica

I invited my parents down to Orla Santa Monica to celebrate my father’s 68th birthday. Sadly to say it wasn’t the experience we expected. My parents drove 2 hours in traffic and I, the same thinking this would be worth it all. I had spoke on the phone with the staff several times before the date of our reservation and not one member thought it would be a good idea to explain the parking situation. My elderly parents were lost in the back end of Santa Monica around the public parking area with the limited 1-2 hours parking. Thankfully I had called and asked and was one person finally told us that they were located in the Regent and there was Valet up front. But that wasn’t the worst part. Our waitress was just horrendous. She was not organized or clean and had her hair in a low sloppy ponytail with her hair hanging out all over the place. The other staff serving food (who were women) had their hair SLICK BACK in a TIGHT CLEAN BUN. Not her! She looked as though she rolled out of bed and wasn’t too pleased to greet us. Though her demeanor and attitude with everyone else was much more upbeat than compared to with us. She ignored our request twice for extra towels and napkins and eventually we had to go to the bar twice to ask for napkins. When I told them we had waited over an hour for napkins (and it wasn’t really busy) they didn’t even have the courtesy to apologize, they just brushed us off. She had also spilled some water on our table and at first we didn’t notice and sat our phones on there getting them all wet. But if that’s a mistake that’s okay, though she didn’t even bother to clean it up. We then said it was okay and to be patient and that she surely would but she never did. Other people who came in way after us were catered to before us and she just left us sitting and waiting to take our order last which delayed our time for valet. They also took over an hour to get the first round out. She mentioned the food was prepared for the day so I’m unsure why it took so long. Moreover she also completely skipped our middle course meal and it was then brought out AFTER our entrees. (I will say that thankfully they took the two skipped courses off the bill, gotta give them the little bit of credit they earned) moreover, when they would clear the table and take our utensils, they wouldn’t bring back a clean set of utensils for us to eat with so when a new plate was served, we had to take utensils off the table next to us. By the time they came to clear the table again I decided to just keep my utensils, cause I didn’t want to keep waiting on them I kept tying to give this woman the benefit of the doubt that maybe she had a bad day but compared to how the others were treated, we were constantly ignored and put last. I feel as though we had been HEAVILY DISCRIMINATED against. The water refills were very delayed and we only got ONE towards the END of our meal. In spite of all this, this bill was $312, and though I don’t want to tip her at all because she truly did not deserve it, I still left her a $70 tip. Because she put us last the entire evening, our valet went over the 3 hour time limit and they tried to charge me extra in the end. Thankfully my mother spoke up and the manger at least readjusted the valet. But he wasn’t part of Orla, he was more so in charge of the Regent itself. The food was okay, the atmosphere was nice, however, because of the service we had received, that took away from the entire experience and made us very sad, disappointed, hurt and feeling very unwelcome. I have rated this place as fairly as possible but don’t think I’ll...

My boyfriend reserved a table here (the Orla experience) for my birthday dinner, a bit of a milestone as it was my 25th. We were visiting from out of town and aren't the kind of people that usually go for fancy places, but it was a special occasion, and I appreciated that he found and reserved this place as a gift for me. Seeing the reviews, photos, and videos of this place on social media and otherwise, I had high expectations.

My boyfriend had mentioned that it was my birthday in the reservation and had requested a table with a view, but when we were seated it was in a table / booth with no access to ocean views - we were just looking at all the other tables in front of us. We asked them a couple of times if we could be moved, but "nothing was available".

The cocktails were... underwhelming. I think it's really hard to mess up an espresso martini, but it tasted like the espresso shot itself wasn't extracted right (way too bitter), and there was very little to the flavor profile besides coffee and vodka. My boyfriend got the Santorini Sun which was equally unimpressive. He had wanted the Forvidden Fruit initially, but they ran out of ingredients for the drink (which was also kinda... surprising, considering we were there towards the beginning of dinner service). At the price point, I sincerely expected more.

The food itself was fine, definitely a lot of quantity, but as another reviewer said, the mains were also underwhelming. Lamb that was way too gamey and tough to chew, and the branzino was also just alright. I'd have loved to feel more of the chef's heritage be reflected in the quality and complexity of the flavors in the food of the experience, with maybe an explanation of the elements of Egyptian cuisine and how it shows up in the experience. But alas, it felt like food at a more upscale Mediterranean joint.

They were nice enough to provide a little bowl of raspberry shaved ice (or a sorbet?) with pistachios as a birthday treat, but it was very, very tart and not the easiest to eat. The lemon dessert was also just fine.

The service was quick, but it felt like towards the end we were being ignored, almost. The couple next to us had also ordered the Orla experience, and our server was much more attentive to them, and even offered them tea at the end. It was a Sunday night, they didn't appear to be that busy, so I don't really understand why we couldn't have been attended to in the same way.

Both of us are pretty disappointed, but my boyfriend is especially upset because he had wanted to do something memorable for me, and had picked Orla after a ton of research. All in all, I don't think this place is worth it - unless you're fine with mediocre food + drinks, service that leaves more to be desired, and for some reason, weirdly wobbly tables, at a price point of...

We were a party of 10 celebrating a birthday on June 14th. We were really looking forward to celebrating a special evening at this restaurant, especially given the beautiful ambiance. Unfortunately, the service we received didn’t live up to expectations—particularly given the premium price point.

At the beginning of our dinner, our server asked if there were any allergies at the table—something that was had already noted several times in our reservation. After we reiterated our allergies, the server responded with, “Are you allergic to anything else, like a work ethic?” While we understand that humor is subjective, the comment felt inappropriate and unprofessional—especially as a group of young, respectful, and accomplished women simply trying to enjoy a celebratory evening.

Things continued to miss the mark from there. Our very simple drink orders (vodka soda and tequila soda) were mixed up. When we tried to correct the mistake and began to explain what we’d like instead, the server walked away mid-sentence before one of our guests could even finish speaking. It felt unnecessarily dismissive. The drinks were only corrected after I flagged down a manager.

We also appreciated the kind gesture of offering a complimentary glass of champagne for the birthday guest—only to later notice that it had actually been charged on our bill. While it was eventually corrected after I pointed it out, it was another frustrating oversight.

On top of that, even after asking about allergies and clearly stating that one of our guests had a dairy allergy, her dish still arrived with dairy. This was not only careless but further emphasized the lack of attention to detail.

We remained courteous and understanding throughout, but the overall service felt inattentive and lacking the professionalism you’d expect from a restaurant in this price range. The setting is undeniably lovely, but unfortunately, the experience didn’t match it. As much as I wanted to love this place, I would not recommend it—nor would I revisit.

To make matters worse, a follow-up email was sent about our disappointing visit and we never received any response, which only added to the sense that guest experience and feedback aren’t a...