Opera

I don’t remember what made me think of Opera today, but I did have my undergrad celebration dinner there in 2005 and it was just wonderful. I’m sorry to learn that they’re gone. :(

I have always walked past Opera and never stopped in. The whole time I thought it was some fancy Italian joint doing battle with the guys next across the street. Turns out its some kind of asian american fusion project, a successful one at that. Service was courteous and the waiter was very patient with my intentionally difficult and know-​it-​all of a friend.

I had to review it to get it on my list of the departures from the south loop.
Basically the food was not that memorable. I ate there a few times, and can’t really say the experiences were that memorable. Probably why they closed down…

After a long, long awaited visit to Opera, I can safely feel comfortable typing in a public setting that this restaurant lives up to all the hype and greatly exceeded my expectations.
First of all, the interior is incredible. It is a dark, mellow funhouse filled with mirrors and shapes and sparkles, so cool. We were seated at the front of the restaurant near the bar, and I seriously couldn’t wait to excuse myself for the restroom in order to explore the layout some more. Also the furniture is comfortable. Also our waiter was awesome.
Oh! The food is delicious too. We absolutely splurged and ordered a huge assortment of vegan items from the ultra veg-​friendly menu:
For appetizers we ordered the Malaysian Flat Bread and Shiitake Mushroom Wontons. The Flat Bread was a buttery and delicate rotti bread covered in an insanely delicious coconut tofu curry. The wontons were the greatest things I have ever tasted, ever. They were earthy and fried and served with a salad with a sweet, ughhhh so good dressing. The food and presentation blew me away, I seriously could have stopped here.
But we didn’t! We also ordered the Orange tofu and Kung Pao tofu. The Kung Pao was the only thing that didn’t entirely blow me away, mostly because I was expecting a sweet pea-​nutty sauce and instead received a really fascinating BBQ or southern-​cooking kind of dish. The Orange Tofu came with a ton of fresh, crisp veggies and the sauce was super sweet but not-​too-​sweet — it was awesome.
Finally, the Hainanese Kaipong. Imagine the world’s most inspired, incredible fried rice wrapped up in a lotus leaf with — with lychees! Best dish ever.
This is the kind of meal I want to go back and take out on a weekly basis, but I don’t want to ruin the sincere magic I felt eating in the restaurant. It’s a serious dilemma for me. Does this become a constant favorite or a gem for special occasions? To be announced. In the mean time, get over there!

So I never wanted to ever go back to Opera, but some dear friends invited us, and we duly attended.
You’ll notice I bumped the review up a star, because this time, our service wasn’t so dreadful. It was downright attentive, in fact. So. (Although, a normal dinner took 2.5 hours, and though we lingered, eh? That’s kind of a lot.)
But you know what? The food just isn’t good here. I stand by my earlier assessment; the food just isn’t good. The menu is totally different, and still I’m indifferent towards it. I had a salad, which was terrible. Badly dressed, and more inedible strips of veg than lettuce. Strange. The mushroom wontons were downright awful-​tasting. My firecracker chicken was ok, but the herby sludge covering each piece was gross, and needed to be scraped off. And my husband’s chicken tasted like mint gum. So yeah, that’s gross too.
The only really good thing I ate were the tempura green beans, and frankly, if that’s all you can do well, YOU’D do well to keep skipping Opera.

I was VERY much looking forward to dining here, and left sorely disappointed.
First, the food. The food just, all across the board, seemed like it had been sitting under a semi-​functioning heat lamp all night. The calamari was lackluster, and not very crispy for being advertised as such. The soup, while good, was not warm. As well, my boyfriend and I both ordered the special soup– and were only brought one bowl with no explanation. Our waitress later came over and explained they were out of the soup special. We had the beef and the chicken, and, again, both were quite lukewarm. And the crème brûlée dessert was, again, chilly. The drinks we had, while fine, were in one instance not the one we ordered.
The second star is for our waitress, who, while seemingly quite busy being the only one there, was genuine in hoping we enjoyed the food. Unfortunately, we both did not. I would not recommend this restaurant.
EDITED: The morning after review– my jacket smells like I went to a greasy Chinese takeout dive and gorged on eggrolls and fried rice. Gross.

At a company party I happened to receive a giftcard to «Opera». Stupidly, I thought it meant the actual opera. You know, like where the fat lady sings. Anyway, I found out it was a restuarant, and pardon me, but I was pleasantly surprised ha!
We started with a soup I found to be lackluster and split a spicy shrimp app (cherry bomb I think). The appetizer was… well. the (cherry) bomb. So lame, but I just couldn’t resist. For the main course I had an orange tofu dish and a spicy beef dish but the name unfortunately escapes both of us. We both really enjoyed our choices. Oh, and he had a vodka martini garnished with spicy cream cheese stuffed olives. Interesting. Great stuff.
The décor was great. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The chairs all being different and eclectic was a great touch I thought. The service was awesome too — everyone was very friendly.
I was, however, super bummed about the prix fixe menu. I had read all these reviews about it and decided it was definitely in my future. Nowhere did it say in anyone’s Unilocal reviews or on the Opera website that this was only available on Sundays and Tuesdays. I went on a Monday. Nuts!
So I spent a few more dineros than I was expecting. It was a great dining experience overall and now I’m wiser should I choose to return. Which I believe that spicy shrimp is definitely worth returning for!

I’m making an attempt to revive my reviews after a long hiatus at the suggestion of a friend. Went here last night with two grade school friend. Sat outside on a slightly sticky August night — would highly recommend the outdoor patio although the décor inside is fun and over the top in standard Kleiner fashion.
Since it was a Tuesday, we decided to do the $ 24.95 3 course pre-​fixe special. Note: They ask the entire table to participate, which wasn’t a problem for us, but you may want to know that before you go. It’s a very good deal considering some entrees are $ 22 – 26 alone.
Drinks — friend got a pomajito — not really ask minty and muddled as she’d like. My peach frozen martini was really sweet and seemingly lacking alcohol. Although it was refreshing on a muggy night, it’s not typically what I look for in a martini… I should have caught the «frozen» description and ordered something else.
We each got different apps: lobster spring rolls, shrimp dumplings, and lettuce wraps. All were good but the shrimp dumplings were my favorite (like pot stickers). For mains we got beef with broccoli, scallops, and the pine cone sea bass (names for the shape it takes when scored and cooked — sans pine cone flavor for those who might be confused… I was!). I am not a shitake fan, so my scallops were orders without and were delicious. Of all the entrees, the scallops were my favorite, followed by the sea bass and beef w broccoli.
Dessert was lava cake with cherry ice cream and a white chocolate panna cotta for the friends, pineapple upside down cake for me. Both the chocolate cake and pineapple upside down cake were a little dry.
Our server was great and gave us ample time for chit chatting and catching up (it’s been a while). He was very personable, described the menu items well, and made good recommendations. However, if I was in more of a hurry, the service pace may have been a problem. All in all, I will definitely visit Opera again when I find myself in the south loop!

Went a few weeks ago with a Group-​on to try the Prix Fixe menu. Was told that both of us would need to order Prix Fixe so we ended up with quite a lot of food, which allowed us to try a number of dishes.
The Beijing Five Spiced pork ribs started out excellent but as the ribs got smaller they were more over-​cooked. For an entrée I tried the grilled Arctic Char which was a savory fish with an nice coconut curry sauce. The eggplant was too tough and mushrooms were not my favorite. The Crisp Orange Beef has a nice citrus flavor but was not as crispy as hoped. The pickled lotus root was an interesting companion to the dish.

Friday nights…$ 15 special for two cocktails and an appetizer.
Opera tends to cook it food on the spicy side, they even have a STAR next to some of their foods that will make you sweat. The atmosphere is great, my wife and I really like the eccentric décor. The noise level was moderate, loved the background music, and talking to each other wasn’t a problem.
The value of the food, I would say is slightly overpriced, even for Chicago standards. The service was excellent and perfectly paced. Our server knew how the dishes were prepared and gave us great recommendations based on our desire to have mild spiciness.
We would go back, I’m already craving the orange beef.

This was the worst place I’ve dined at in terms of service and value.
Our waiter was totally full of himself and we would have to flag him over several times and wait forever to order food, request a fork, or request a beverage refill. Their drinks are not worth it, as they can’t even get carbonated soda drinks to taste right…
The food was okay, but seriously, I could pay one-​third of their price for orange chicken near my house… AND get double the helping WITH way more flavor. I was expecting to fine dine and be impressed by fancy chinese food, but all that was fancy was the décor and layout of the restaurant…
The meals come with rice, and the waiter tried to give us one small plate, with about 1 cup of white rice for 4+ people to share. Was he REALLY SERIOUS? We asked for more rice and he seemed disturbed to give us each more than what he thought was an adequate portion.
Also, the waiter convinced someone is our party of 6 to order the «duck special» that was not on their menu, but was the best of the house, and what «the restaurant was known for»…our friend obliged to his hard sell and did not like the meal at all… worse yet, it cost twice as much as other entrees… the poor duck, cooked 3 different ways, was left in its platters… hardly untouched… Our waiter boxed up the duck with an attitude after being told that it was not enjoyed at all… Our friend did tell the waiter to take it away and that he did not want it, so the duck was left at the table for the waiter upon our exit.
I would not go here for a nice dining experience. I would rather go somewhere that has nice décor AND great food. This place has below average food, and the whole point of going to a restaurant is to eat good food… not to look at the pretty design on the walls and ceiling.
We were so disappointed to have taken four of our friends to this restaurant, especially with two of them being from out of town!

Perhaps I expected too much…
I’ve lived a block away from Opera for almost 2 years now. I can see it out my window. Always wanted to go but it was just too pricey. Enter Groupon. I was so excited.
We dined on a Saturday night. Early — I believe we had 6 PM reservations (I made them three days before and for 2 of us my options were 6 or 9. I can’t wait until 9 to eat…). We arrived to a completely empty restaurant. Fine, it was early. But it never seemed to fill up. There were 3 employees idling by the host stand the entire evening.
The food was fine. I enjoyed what I ate (apps of calamari and wings were especially good, entrée of firecracker chicken was very spicy but still flavorful). And my drink (vodka with lime and lemongrass) was tasty. Service was mostly fine (only exception being that it took 20 minutes to get our check)…
But I couldn’t help but feel completely underwhelmed. I’ve had similar meals just as good, if not better, for a quarter of the price. Our final bill for two entrees (only one of which was large enough for leftovers), two apps and 2 drinks ended up being over $ 100 with tax and tip. Thank goodness for that $ 50 groupon, but my wallet still hurt after.
I would come back, I enjoyed it… but only if someone else is paying!

I had high expectations when I went here, and for the most part they were met. Service was good, by a gentleman in a puffy shirt, and the décor is excellent. Not as steampunk 20,000 Leagues under the Sea as sister restaurant Red Light, but still nice to look at.
I will say that if you are vegan, and you stray from the veg menu, make sure you ask before you order. We got something that had meat in it, and that wasn’t mentioned in the description.
Food was decent. Loved the kung pao tofu. got something else served in a leaf that was okay. I also got a mango soda that was not as sweet as I’d have liked, but I’m a big sweet tooth. Overall I prefer Red Light so far, but I think I need to try a few more things on the menu here first.
Next time I go, I want to get one of the private nooks on the side. They looked neat.
Parking took longer than I expected to find, so leave some extra time.

Pretty amazing, if I must say. Great location and divine décor but at the end of the day, it really gets down to the food.
Really loved the flavors of the 5 spice rib app and duck confit eggroll! was pretty spectacular. Note to chef: I LOVE the Mongolian beef… so I probably will only order that from now on. Portion was plentiful and really great flavor. Had the Peking duck on a prior visit and devoured it caveman style! So tender and succulent.
Service was decent and really honest about not knowing the differences between the wines on the list but I guess I would take an honest answer over a game of charades. Dessert? Ginger Crème Brulee, hello heaven? Ginger Pama Martini. Divine. Oh and Vegan and Vegetarians, they have you covered, quite well I might add!
I would definitely suggest this for a group outing or a dining a deux. Love it!

Honestly I think that my favorite thing about this place was the décor. I want to shut the restaurant down and make it my own personal loft.
Anyway, our food was good, though nothing remarkable. I had the orange tofu, it had a good flavor but needed a little something. I tried my husbands Ma Pow Tofu, which was also good — quite spicy! We did really enjoy the coconut chocolate crème brûlée though. I would have licked the plate clean, but thought it might be bad form. The first wine I ordered was fairly tasteless (a GMS), I’m not sure why they would even keep it on the list, but the second wine (a Pinot Noir) a bit better.
The service was ok, I felt like our waiter was constantly frustrated with us for one reason or another (ie we didn’t konw what we wanted order for drinks 15 seconds after se sat down). The place was mostly empty on a Saturday night.
It’s worth checking out, but I’m not sure it was everything I ever hoped for and more.

I had to wait a couple of days before posting this review because my initial gut reaction would have been too critical. However, I feel like there are very redeeming characteristics of this place, and after careful thought — I’ve placed this restaurant in the «A-​OK» rank. If you’re bored of reading by now, here’s something to sum it up:
Go to 65 Asian Kitchen and ask for similar dishes which they will give to you in styrofoam containers. Put them on nice plates. Voila… you have the Opera lunchbox special for about half the cost.
I do, however, want to offer more of an objective review on this place:
Location: 4 out of 5
Easily accessible by public transportation. If you’re taking the El, get off at the Roosevelt stop and walk towards Wabash. Go south about a block. If you’re driving on LSD or 90/​94, get off at Roosevelt and go south on Wabash. Six of us walked from work at Jackson and Clark and it took about 25 — 30 minutes each way. Not a bad idea if you have an afternoon to kill because it’s the quiet season in the office.
Décor: 4 out of 5
As others have alluded to, the building was once used in the film industry, and remnants of its history are still around. Overall, I would describe the décor as being a controlled whimsy. There ARE bright colors that bombard you. The ducts are painted to look like wood. There are vintage pictures of movie stars. Would I have preferred more muted colors? Absolutely, yes. But for what the restaurant is trying to do, it’s perfectly in line, and I must give credit where it is due. Not sure if this is where I should put it, but upon being seated, ask for a table that’s further away from the first set of windows, as that area is drafty.
Service: 2 out of 5
You must take this with a grain of salt, as after lunch I asked a co-​worker if service was faster for dinner, and he attested that indeed, it was. It was a Monday at 11:30 or so, and when all was said and done, the lunch time crowd that I saw was no more than 12 — 15 people. As the host and two others were playing all positions of entertaining everyone (Taking orders, seating, explaining the menu, getting drinks, etc.) I understand a little delay, but what we experienced, I thought — was a little on the slow side. Don’t get me wrong — the man was friendly and helpful, but the speed at which he worked was underwhelming. There were nice touches, of course. The hot tea was presented in a wooden box in neat rows, and we were allowed to pick which one (s) we wanted on the spot. Again, my main gripe was with time. Towards the end of lunch, what appeared to be some type of manager appeared, and that alleviated wait times.
Quantity of food: 4 out of 5
I can’t complain about the amount of food we got for the fixed price lunch menu. I started off with a duck wonton soup, went to a shrimp dish with veggie fried rice, and ended with a mini crème brûlée. This ties into my allusion earlier to 65 Asian Kitchen, as that place also serves you great quantities of food.
Quality of food: 3 out of 5
This category is what gave me pause before writing, because none of the food I had was particularly bad, per se. Instead, I just expected a bit more creativity, a bit more inspiration, and as ye old man from Ratatouille said, a bit more… perrrsppeccctive. The duck wonton soup fine. The wonton itself was meaty enough, and there were vermicelli noodles as well as «regular» ones in the broth floating around with a few vegetables. My co-​workers who had the same soup complained that the broth was too bland, but to me, it was perfect because if you really taste the broth, and I mean REALLY taste it, it’s actually naturally flavored with whatever else they simmered in it. The kungpao shrimp that I had was the weakest link in the meal. Oversauced would be the one word I would use to describe it. Forget 65 Asian Kitchen on this front, because any Chinese takeout place could slap the same dish together. The high point of my meal was the mini crème brûlée with specks of vanilla bean. Absolutely no complaints there. Again, it’s not that the food at Opera was bad, it just wasn’t anything memorable.
Pricing: 3 out of 5
Double edged sword. By trendy standards, 15 bucks for a fixed price lunch menu is a steal. By logical standards, 15 bucks for Chinese takeout with the added benefit of a crème brûlée is excessive. Go into the experience with one attitude or the other, and you’ll come out at opposite ends of the happiness spectrum.
Other notes:
The umbrella that comprises of Opera, Marche, Gioco, and Red Lantern are doing a deal right now where if you buy 100 dollars in gift certificates, you get 50 $ free. Not a bad deal, in my opinion. And as you’re paying for the experience anyway, or for someone else to have the experience, it makes a decent present.
Overall: 3 out of 5.

YYYYYUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMM … i think my review should end here… but i think i’ll throw more in: P
1) Five Spice Scented Duck Confit Eggroll– Mandarin Orange Chili Sauce, Truffle Oil, Lychee Herb Salad (doesn’t taste as dynamic as it sounds but still really good)
2)Crisp Ahi Tuna «Zuke” — Sesame-​Panko Crust, Mandarin Orange, Fennel, Red Onion Salad, Strawberry Chili Marmalade (that latter part… wow … and the tuna– perfectly seared!)
3) Black Tiger Prawn Singapore Noodles– Prawns, Jonah Crab, Chinese Sausage, Egg, Peanuts, Madras Curry (pleasant surprise– the noodles were TINY so they blended really well w/​the rest of the ingredients and didn’t overpower the dish)
4) Opera’s Peking Duck Service– Three Presentations (and by 3 presentations they really mean 3 separate dishes!!! GET THIS!!! let me just say… duck in cherry sauce … with tons of cherries … and i’m not talkin about no maraschinos…)
–Grand Finale–
5) Opera Cake– Five-​Spice Scented Jaconde Layers, Callebaut Bittersweet Chocolate, Vanilla Butter Cream, Gianduja Feuillentine Layer, Brulee Bananas, & Roasted Banana Five-​Spice Ice Cream… why’d we get this? b/​c there’s a lot of words in there… it was … the cake itself was pretty good, very clean flavors that go together well, we were expecting something creamier but this was more crisp… the ice cream was … interesting… checkmark on tasting 5-​spice ice cream: P
If you want something creamier, the Tao of Chocolate looks orgasmic ;)

We got to Opera pretty late (10:45 p.m.), so I was happy that they’re open late. They recommend making reservations, as it’s a popular place in the theater district. The décor is pretty cool and artsy-​unusual, and the service was friendly and prompt.
I also love that they have a separate vegan menu, however small it may be, and however confusing (it’s not separated into traditional groupings of appetizer-​entrée-​dessert, so make sure to ask what’s what).
Now onto the food. The morel mushroom wontons were pretty good but nothing spectacular. Morels are delicate, so I wasn’t sure that deep frying them in batter was the best cooking treatment. The portion size was kind of small considering the price ($ 9).
My Mapo tofu was also decent, but nothing special. The portion size was much larger, even though the price was only $ 8, so I’m not sure how they set prices. The flavors were a strange mix of sweet and spicy, but I found the dish became boring after ten or fifteen bites.
There were two other vegans in my group and one of them was greatly disappointed by her «vegetable rice noodle stir fry» which she found to be overly sweet with low quality noodles. I tried her dish and concurred — it was almost sugary, rather than savory. Finally, the last vegan in the group enjoyed her «spring vegetable muushu.»
So while I must give the restaurant kudos for having a vegan menu, and having hip décor and nice service, I was not impressed by the food. Quite honestly, I probably won’t go back here unless I’m desperate. It just doesn’t merit a second visit.

Sun, Tues = prix fixe menu for $ 28.50. Definitely worth checking out! I’m a little disappointed with the Singapore noodles, though. I only ordered them per the suggestion of our waitress, but I’ve had much better Singapore noodles at non-​fusion Chinese restaurants. The noodles were a little too wet and too curry-​fied than what I’m used to. I should’ve stuck to my instinct and gotten the sweet and sour chicken because it had lychees in it! Oh well. The fire shrimp appetizer was HUGE. It tasted almost like Panda’s orange chicken, but spicy. And shrimp.
Anyway, for dessert — I have to say that my friend’s jasmine tea crème brûlée was amazing! It reminded me of food in Shanghai or Seoul, so I just loved it. Also, the coconut sorbet was delicious and refreshing.
Our waitress was friendly and helpful. Service overall was very good… everyone was very attentive. The interior is super cute, too. They have the absolute cutest chairs and lamps.
Oh, and valet is $ 10. Not bad, but, I swear, if you circle around long enough, you can find a meter somewhere.

I went here for the 1^st time last weekend for my buddy’s birthday, and we were treated like absolute royalty. It was almost awkward when you consider that the 10 of us guys would be happy having window pickle races at the nearest Burger King.
They put us in our own room for 10. I LOVE the décor… over sized colorful lamps and mirrors everywhere. You can’t forget about the drapes and the pictures of Jack «the Joker» Nicholson in the bathroom. Normally I tend to think that «loud» décor can lead to overpriced and overrated (cough – Sushi Samba Rio), but Opera left my in awe.
On to the food!!! We shared a bunch of Golden Shrimp appetizers as well as the Sticky Ribs. I have never had ribs that sweet, tangy, and tasty before. The shrimp packed a punch of spice but had a subtle finish that didn’t leave your mouth burning. I highly recommend both.
Since we had a huge group, they offered family style dinner for $ 45, $ 55, or $ 75. We passed on this option (which I am glad we did) and decided to order off the menu. I had firecracker shrimp that lived up to its’ name. I love spice, and this was right up my alley. My favorite thing I tried was the duck presentation, which was duck 3 ways. One was a pad Thai duck, and the 2^nd one I tried was duck under a slice of pineapple with Hawaiian influence. It was fabulously seasoned, and the flavors were very clean and did not take away from the taste and texture of a good piece of duck.
Our group left full and extremely happy. I would recommend Opera for a fun night out with friends or an experience to definitely have you suburban parents check out (and pay for, as it can be a bit pricey). I was here on a Saturday, and while they did have some nifty little nooks/​private rooms, this place was mainly one large room, which can create a heck of a lot of noise that can shatter the intimacy factor.