Opa

This review is going to look something like a complicated math equation or a bipolar rant.
I had driven up to Madison to spend the day with my mom for her birthday. She chose to eat Greek, a favorite of ours. As I researched restaurants in Madison, I was disappointed to find there are not many upper scale options available. However, Opa was listed in Madison Magazine as one of the «best new restaurants». Expectations were running high.
Let’s start on a manic note. The waitress was super sweet and efficient. I didn’t get her name, but she had short a-​symmetrical blond hair. She was, by far, the best thing about our evening at Opa. Thank you, lady!
Screw it. Let’s move straight to the depressive, in the true fashion of mood swings. The loudest talker EVER apparently cooks in the evenings here. Not only can you hear EVERYTHING he says very clearly, but it is loud enough to be distracting to your table conversation. On top of that he was cursing! Oh, yes. The eff word and beyond. Enough to ruin my night and possibly my mother’s birthday.
Let’s ride the middle of the road now. The atmosphere had it’s good and bad points. I loved the music selection and the volume was perfect for dinner (minus the cursing cook, of course). The lights were too bright for night dining, something the manager should adjust/​dim nightly. The red chairs that I sat in were extremely uncomfortable. No cushion in the middle, so the edge of the chair dug into your legs. We sat on the bench. No problems there!
Unfortunately I had to go to the bathroom while I was there. As I walk past the kitchen, I see the floor is covered in multiple layers of crumbs… everywhere! Not one pile, the whole floor. In addition, the mat outside the kitchen could not have been vacuumed in the past month. Ick. All of the the walls and doors back there were scuffed up badly. And the door to the ladies washroom seemed like it was going to fall to the floor at any second.
I could go on, trust me, but I haven’t even talked about the food yet! We order the Dolma. There were 5 pieces for $ 5 or $ 6. An amazing deal! They were pretty tasty too. Tangy, perfect texture, and sprinkled with yummy dried herbs.
Then we decided to try something new with the short ribs and something familiar with the Gyros Dinner. Opa gets positive reviews on the short ribs. They were pretty tender and the sauce they were drowned in was awesome. Dip your fries in there. :) It came with rice (a little overcooked and mushy) and a vegetable stir fry (salty). Nonetheless a good dish.
The gyro left a lot to be desired. I have had much better from a side of the road stand. The lamb was dry and lacked flavor. I would say there was about half the amount of lamb as you typically see on a gyro. I took a few bites that were all pita! Speaking of the pita… it was hard. Oh, and the tatziki sauce could use more salt. The dinner portion gyro comes with fries (pretty good) and a Greek salad (pretty sad) for twice the price. My advice: pay $ 6 and get the gyro sandwich, if you must.
Our lovely waitress was nice enough to bring us a chunk of carrot cake free of charge for my mom’s birthday. It appeared to be topped with cream cheese frosting individually. I am not a huge carrot cake fan, but this was awesome! So moist, you couldn’t believe it, and with the perfect amount of frosting. Apparently the owner (who cooks during the day) made it. Bravo!
There it is. Still I don’t know how to rate this restaurant. It has potential. I believe they would benefit from hiring someone with an eye for detail who strives for perfection. Or maybe they just want to be the cool place for college kids to come see a dj at night and trash their restaurant in the meantime?