Finally!! the Blu Orkid changed its operation!! The service is now spectacular, and matches the food decor and location. This place is right in the middle, literally, of all the main street bars and clubs. its the perfect place to grab dinner, a few drinks that are amazing happy hour prices. and now that theyre customer service is second to none, I would recommend that instead of heading out after dinner and drinks, you stay and enjoy the ambiance of this secret downtown ventura spot. Great food, Awesome Location, Beautiful decor, Spectacular service, and HOT girls....oh yeahhh. Mathew and Calvin are the best...ask for them
markeeee
This place is one of Ventura's best kept secrets. I got an invite from a friend to go here for dinner and I have to admit I was very impressed by the way it looks. the decor is very high class with a great drink and appetizer menu.
The staff was very professional and helpful and Mathew the manager on duty was awesome! I ordered the ahi and it was amazing. I would eat here again anytime I hope to see them grow and become one of ventura's hot spots.
Mr. Lacy,
My husband and I (John and Cynthia Cabalka) have been regulars to "My
Florist" and he new Blu Orkid-
But, Â we shall not partake of your establishment again.
The treatment of our group of 7 was bottom line embarrassing to say the least.
John and I have been there for all holidays- with family members.
Boulder Colorado, San Jose, San Diego, LA, Arroyo Grande, etc.
The service was slow as usual- but, this was one of the beauties of
the Blu Orkid.
We loved the sl ow, relaxed pace.
Our waitress was stressed- doing both bussing and serving, as she said.
But, the food again- was totally unacceptable.
I see that Jim Black has described in detail about our very unpleasant
experience.
I hope for your reputation- that you find upper management level who care-
Your servers do not care!!!!!
I have passed along my displeasure to all friends.
Sorry there was not more of an apology at the time of this fiasco.
Sincerely,
Cynthia Cabalka
JUST PLAIN BAD SERVICE
PROS:
The food was actually delicious. My omelet was fresh and delicious, my friend ordered the frittata (which was by no means a fritatta, but it tasted great). We also sampled a couple of the pastries which were lovely.
CONS:
Terrible, inattentive, unprofessional service. SLOW does not even begin to describe it. We waited 20 minutes (no exaggeration) for a cup of coffee and 2 glasses of water. (we had already ordered mimosas). Food took a LIFETIME to arrive. Waiter could care less about us, and when he did come back with our beverages (after we flagged down another waiter and our waiter looked up from the TV at the bar and remembered) he asked just shrugged and said 'we're short staffed'. Like EYEORE this guy was. Grumpy, slow, could not give a sh*t about his job. There was one large party in the restaurant who jokingly started waving down my friend and I and waving their empty glasses at us. When they asked for the owner (who I was told was upstairs by my server) he refused to come down to talk with them. Another couple came in, sat for 20 minutes, never being acknowledged, and got up and left. Not one employee noticed.
Its a real shame about this place because the location, ambiance, decor, and food were all really great. But on principle, I will never eat there again, and I will tell everyone I know not to bother. I also notice the owner doesn't respond to any of these comments-- so screw you, Blue Orkid. I hope you go out of business soon so someone who deserves to be successful can have a turn there.
We had a late breakfast here on Saturday and it was bad all around! Â The service was poor, the food was substandard and it took forever to arrive. Â After 40 min of waiting I asked where our order was. Â Not a big deal to ask as you get used to it if you want your beverage refilled. My bacon was both cold and burned quite an accomplishment. The egg in my frittata was dry and the crust was soggy. Â Our toast was lightly toasted on one side and still bread on the other offering a choice of sorts I suppose. Â If you are thinking of going to this place please think again.
Review Source:Had a large party of 20 reserved for a special occasion last month. Â You think they'd explain their policies on the phone to you, but no.
1. Â They can only take 5 orders at a time. Â So they went down the table 5 people at a time- took the order- put it in- and came back some time later to take another 5 orders- put those in- repeat. Â I've never heard of such a thing!! Â It took forever for the food to come! Â By the time the first set of 5 were done eating, the last 5 got their food. Â It was awful service! Â It was so awkward to have half the people eating and the other half waiting and waiting. You'd think they'd be smart enough to bring out the tough dishes first, and the easiest last, but no. Â The wait was the same for a hot plate as it was for a cold one! Â The kids even had to wait forever to get their food! Â Stupidity in the kitchen!! Â
2. If you want a fresh glass for a refill of soda, it costs you the same as if you ordered a separate soda! Â They have to use the dirty glass over and over. Â Petty and ridiculous! Â And the waiter acted like he was doing us a favor by refilling the sodas. Â
3. If you bring a celebration cake from outside there is a $4 plate charge per person. Â Yes, I said, $4 per person!! Â I've never been to a restaurant where they did this and to top it off, they sprang it on me when I had the cake out in front of the guests so there was no way for me to say no! Â I asked for a manager and there was no manager. Â I then asked for an acting manager and there was no acting manager. Â How does a business have no acting manager?? Â Something tells me the waiter made this whole thing up and wanted to pocket the money for this so called "plate charge" Â because when I quickly told him I will be making a formal complaint to the owner- he then spoke to the bartender who acted to waive the plate charge fees!
The food was awful! Â Do not order the chicken and dumplings- it's watery soup and disgusting! Â The steak salad comes out with an uncut fillet of cheap steak piled on top of the salad, so you have to slice it on top of greens. Â One of my guests had to get up from the table to go to the bar to ask for a stronger knife where the bartender ridiculed her use of the word "stronger" instead of "sharper"...what a rude jerk!! Â The sandwiches are all bread and too hard to hold. The rolls just crumble onto your plate when you take a bite like a dried up day old loaf!! Â One server for 20 people and the rest of the staff just stood around and gawked! Â And there was no one else in the restaurant that afternoon! Â Lazy and incompetent!
Time to pay the bill ($400), the absentee waiter comes over in a flash, of course! Â I felt very unwelcome and so did my guests. Â Party of 20 that will NEVER go back or recommend EVER!
Ok, I just don't get it. Â I keep giving this place the benefit of the doubt because it really has all the components to be a great place to meet, dine and enjoy. Â I also like it because it has a patio for the dogs....BUT, for some reason they refuse to provide decent service. Â Not only that, the last 3 times I have been there (you think I would learn), the wait staff that eventually managed to make their way out to the table spent a fair amount of time complaining about fellow employees and the manager. Â According to at least 4 separate wait persons, the manager refuses to schedule enough staff. Â Now, I don't know about that, nor should I... really. Â Why am I hearing about his? Â And, why in the world is this place always short of competent staff? Â Especially since they are not shy about the prices on the menu.
I was there today which is what prompted this review. Â When we did get someone to wait on us, he was so apathetic (until it came to the bill) that I wanted to ask for someone else to wait on us, but there wasn't anyone else!!!! Â Oh! And they got my food wrong....sigh.
This town is ripe for a decent place with a patio (dogs). Â Tutti's is closed and Cafe Nouveau serves only wine type drinks and doesn't open until 5. Â I think Aloha will eventually have an outdoor patio area....sometime in the future.
Ventura restaurateurs! Â What is up? Â Is it really this hard to combine decent service, good food and a patio?
The Blu Orkid is a tale of two truths. Â They have DELICIOUS food and drink specials (try the meatloaf sandwich and thank me later!). Â And they have HORRENDOUS service. Â So if you're in no rush and don't get worked up by terrible service, I suggest you try it if nothing else than for the good eats.
Review Source:This review is for our breakfast service. Â Nice restaurant. Â No waiting for a breakfast table during the week. Â As far as the breakfast food goes, this is no Allison's or Pete's, but the pastries and breads are great. Â Make sure you check out the bathroom decor! Â The fritatta is very good, and quite filling. Â Generous fruit serving. Â The omlette was good, kind of a build your own. Â The service was great. Â They have $2 mimosas every day! Â We'll keep coming back due to the good food, nice service, and no wait to be seated... Â extra star for that!
Review Source:I ended up in the Blu Orkid because a good friend had purchased a Groupon deal. Â Sadly, I now know why they are/were having to bottom feed for customers and offer meal deals. Â This place is horrid. Â Basically it "Lunchables" on a plate and not at all what is described on the over verbose menu prose. Â
Reading some other reviews, I think someone is lying a lot or having friends try to pump up the ratings. Â I cannot believe them at all.
1 - Your website is a lie. Â The menu shown is NOT the one handed to you after sitting and waiting 10 minutes. <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bluorkid.com%2F&s=014162033aa310bb15a63d415efbbceb5c91cedaf7e9cfc46d4811abdac14898" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.bluorkid.com/</a> Â
2 - Wipe the tables before your customers are seated. Â Ours had bird shit on it, and was only wiped after I asked for it to be so. Â What would the health department have to say about this?
3 - Proofread your menu. Â Baguette is misspelled consistently with "q" all over the menu. Â And, if you say you are going to serve Baguette, serve baguette! Â Olive bread, and sour dough squares are not Baguette.
4 - "Charcuterie (pron.: /rkutri/ or /rkutri/; French: [a.kyt.i], from chair 'flesh' and cuit 'cooked') is the branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products, such as bacon, ham, sausage, terrines, galantines, pâtés, and confit, primarily from pork."  - Wikipedia
Pressed lunch meat ham, cheap salami "style" lunch meat, block cheddar triangles and block jack cheese are not Charcuterie. Â They are Lunchables for kids. Â Shame for even calling it that. Â It should be called "cheap deli plate with sourdough bread squares". Â
5 - Your cheese plate was not a cheese plate, it was a picnic. Â Calling two tiny hard cheap Brie wedges with bread and fruit a cheese plate is another lie. Â Not even a second cheese flavor? Â How about 3? Â Oh, and again, olive bread...not a baguette. Â
6 - 40 minutes to bring out the cheese plate? Â I could have shopped, walked back and cut up the stuff myself in the time it took to bring it from the kitchen.
7 - Service. Â Well, if you wanna call it that. Â Not even a glass of water offered. Â Sad.
Overall, I think you get the picture. Â Another reason, Â Downtown Ventura is not the place to eat. Â
8 - Our table on the front patio was broken, the top almost took a dive off the pillar twice.
*Le Sigh.
One star....yes, one star for the semi-decent ambient music that was playing and the patio seating.
I'm giving 2 stars only because the bus boy was outstanding. Yes, 2 stars for the bus boy. Not for my rancid tasting yogurt or the hair my mom found on her plate, and not for the fact that they don't even have high chairs...so....a not so friendly, not so cleanly, not so tasty place to spend your time and money!
Our server was not the best. Besides the 50min wait for our food, she was rude, short and unprofessional. When the hair was presented to her, she didn't apologize or looked shocked at all, her only concern was "is it a big hair or a small one??" Don't apologize first or be slightly embarrassed, just ask the size, that's how you deal with this kind of situation, lady! Best part is, after she took the hairy plate away, she never came back to our table. We had to ask the manager for our bill, who didn't seem to be phased by our situation AT ALL.
THE ABSOLUTE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE IN VENTURA COUNTY. (besides the awesome busboy, alex)
Love this place! Â I usually go for the amazing breakfast & $4 large mimosas. Â Service can be slow but the food, drinks, location, and friendliness of staff make up for it!! Â Perfect for one-on-one dining & large groups. It wouldn't be busy every weekend if it wasn't good. Allow yourself some time to kick back & get a few drinks in before food. Oh and you can bring your dog!!
Review Source:As described from bartender Beau "there is nothing else like it". Â Whether it is Friday afternoon for Happy Hour's $4 Mimosas or Monday night for 50% off a bottle of wine for dinner, this is where I want to lounge for food and drinks. Â Everything on the menu is delicious from "Not your Mama's Meatloaf" to enjoying the dressing flavor of honey and balsamic with a Shepherd's Pie. Â They even gave us a complimentary sweet goody. Â There is also a secret behind the decor of Blue Orkid, but that is for you to come and find out. Â Check this place out if you aren't interested in standing in line for a pint or fighting a crowd for a Moscow's Mule.
Review Source:Our group of 6 bought groupons for a glass of wine and a brie plate. Â We were pleasantly surprised with a nice glass of wine and a generous plate of brie, nuts, bread, and grapes. Â We decided to take advantage of their 50% off bottles of wine and were served a nice Syrah for $17 - can't beat that! Â We ordered more appetizers and everything was good.
The service was prompt and friendly and we dined on the outdoor patio where they have club chairs sitting around a big coffee table. Â Very nice.
I like Blu Orkid mainly for the entertaining bartenders and service staff;   Ryan particularly is not only fun but also efficient.  The food, however leaves much to be desired, although their bakery is bomb....but what I cannot understand is WHY WOULD A RESTAURANT WHOSE MAIN DRAW IS LARGE MIMOSAS, RUN OUT OF CHAMPAGNE FOR ONE FULL WEEK BEFORE NEW YEAR'S???!!!!!! SERIOUSLY???? can't someone just go to Costco and pick up a few cases, this is not only poor business, its absolutely DUMB BUSINESS, as patrons will just go elsewhere to eat. (AS we did).... The food is not the draw here, owner/manager, its the mimosas, and sometimes, yes you stay for the food.  I had family here the week after xmas, and every day for four days we went in  mimosa and were told no champagne until New Year's Day....wtf????? not even for new year's eve?
Review Source:The atmosphere is nice and it seems like a cool place. However, I find it amazing that this place is still open. If the Blue Orkid actually has regulars they must have really low standards of service, because this place is a joke. The first time we tried this place we walked out because we didn't receive any service. Last night a bunch of friends wanted to go eat a late night dinner there, so we reluctantly meet them. We all ordered, the food came out spread over a 30 min period. Haha... I think the chef was cooking one item at a time and two of the items had to be sent back they were so gross. Do yourself a favor and steer clear of this restaurant. I would have asked for the manager but it was clear there was not one on duty. Soon enough it will close, maybe a real restauranteur will step in and open up something worth while.
Review Source:We love Blu Orkid. It is different, AND yes the service can be slow-but come on folks.....you are in downtown Ventura-hanging out right by the Pacific. Sit back-relax, and enjoy the company that surrounds you (not your cell phone reminding you of text messages, phone calls, twitter updates, FB updates)....shut it all off and laugh for a bit.
We were there last night with some friends from AZ-and really enjoyed ourselves despite the service that some call slow.
The breads are great-the food is fresh-the atmosphere is relaxing.
I do recommend this place - as it reminds us to just sit back, relax and enjoy each other. I guess that is why we go and will keep going back, as well as recommending it to people that we meet.
Food was good for the most part but this was the worst service I have experienced in years. I couldn't tell if it was only our table at first, but when another table got up and left due to waiting almost 30 minutes to even be asked for their order, they bolted.
I wouldn't go back, and certainly wouldn't recommend this place. Hopefully they figure out how to hire a waitstaff not just because they are attractive, but because they care about their job and do it well. There are better places out there with better food, better prices and not only an attentive waitstaff, but they may even be more attractive as well...
Save yourself the trouble and get the same experience at home: just make an omelet, only eat it after it has been sitting there a little too long, and ignore yourself for an hour...
Let's start off by saying that I don't write reviews for mediocrity. Â I write reviews when I hate something, or love something. Â This is the story of the latter.
My girlfriend recently got us the Groupon which is 2 glasses of wine and a brie cheese plate. Â Before we went there, we read the reviews on here to see what we were in store for. Â Overall, we were scared, ESPECIALLY because we were using a Groupon. Â We got the feeling we would be treated rudely due to the fact we wouldn't be formally dinning. Â I'm so glad to report we had an excellent experience.
We were greeted and served by Beau. Â Awesome guy. Â Very friendly and we got the impression he liked his job, which is hard to find in the waiter world. Â He knew facts about the wine, which I liked a lot, and was always around if we needed anything. Â Speaking of the wine, for house wine, they know how to pick! Â Usually house wine is mediocre, but here it was actually enjoyable, and this goes for the red and the white!
Now, on to the cheese plate. Â This was weird. Â The brie was good, the jalapeno jelly was good, the bread was good.....just not together. Â I find it very strange they serve raisin bread with brie. Â Had it been some sort of sourdough or french bread, it all would have worked. Â The contrast of the brie and the sweet raisins was just odd and uncomplimentary. Â The jalapeno jelly was AWESOME! Â That is basically my only compliant for the night, but then the bread story escalated VERY quickly because Beau gave us not one, but TWO loafs of bread to take home, just because! Â Now this was good bread! Â My sourdough was very tasty, and my girlfriend very much enjoyed her honey oat one.
Overall it was a great first impression, and we recently returned for some drinks with another couple and had a good time again, with a different waiter.
We have yet to really dive into their food, but I will update you when we do. Â For now, it's a great place to stop for drinks, with an interesting, yet nice environment. Â By the way, the bathrooms here are crazy. Â You'll know what I mean when you visit them. Â Definitely a conversation starter.
Alright, this concludes my thoughts, hopefully someone reads this!
love this atmosphere!! you can actually bring your dog there.... not much places can do that. food took a lil long, but it was great. I was there on a sat. their mimosa was only $2 before 2PM. the place looked very cozy, they got couch areas that looks like a backyard, lounge. and they got regular tables like a restaurant and a bar. def. a Fan
Review Source:I love the ambience here and have had a few meals here.
The baked goods are the big plus here, and the caprese salad excellent though it hard to screw it up if the ingredients are fresh and good quality, and they were.
Last visit I had a rather boring salad with grilled asparagus and vegetables that I would not order again. The waiter asked me if I wanted salt and pepper before I tasted it (How would I know?) Â and I didn't see much of him after the food was delivered. He was the bartender as well.
The meatloaf sandwich is off the charts yummy.
Went here last night for a friends birthday, I read reveiws before and was really nervous. Â We ended up having a great time. Â The place was pretty empty which is kinda good because we are a loud bunch. Â I had the macaroni and triple cheese and it was so good i almost ordered another. Â The other ladies were pleased with their food. Â Service was good he didnt bother us too much. Â I also got dessert and i was expecting my bill to be in the 30s and it was only $22! i was pleased! id go back
Review Source:Music 5 star. There was a great guy singing during our meal.
Decor 5 star.
Entrance/patio 0 star. Weird, they allow smokers to smoke at the entrance patio. One couple left who was waiting to be seated because it was so bad. Did I mention we had to wait even though the place was not full. Â So we sat in front of the man singing but that put us near one of the double doors that blocked the smoke from entering the building. Well, the staff kept opening them and people from different tables kept getting up to shut them.
Moscow Mules 5 stars
Food 3 stars.... the sliders were good but over priced. The cheese plate like every other reviewer said they had to substitute for missing cheeses.
Yes I would come back but stick with the Mules and sliders
If I could give this place negative stars, I would.
First off, THE WORST SERVICE EVER. It took 40 minutes (no, I'm not kidding) for them to bring us a menu. The place was super empty at 9pm on a Saturday and the servers would make eye contact with us, but would never acknowledge us. I guess from reading other reviews, this is a constant problem with Blu Orkid.
I had a Groupon. They liked that even less. If your business is going to commit to customers using groupons, don't be so mad about it. The groupon was for two glasses of wine and a brie cheese plate. The brie was OK, nothing to write home about, and the bread was dry and hard. We didn't touch our wine, the red wine was thick and bitter, so we ordered other drinks instead.
I had the butternut soup, which was ok. I ordered the cup, they gave me a bowl, and the menu described that the soups come with "a selection of our fresh breads form our bakery." Well, i never got it. And that was fine with me, I didn't want any more stale bread.
My friend had the chicken dumplings, which was way overpriced at $15 for what you get. The soup was watery with little pieces of carrots and chicken floating in it, but no dumplings, just this flaky pastry floating in the middle- definitely not what we expected. Oh, and when the server dropped off her soup, he said he would be right back with a spoon because he forgot one. Well she waited... and he never came back with a spoon. Something is definitely wrong with the service here. They whispered something to us, something along the lines of "sorry its taking so long..... the owner is at the bar..... and is causing complications..." Yes, we saw the servers, bartender and "owner" together talking to each other multiple times rather than putting in our drink order. You would think that the "owner" would want their servers to be more attentive to the customers...Not here.
The bill was bigger than expected, thanks to the overpriced drinks. There is also a fee per drink that they charge you for serving you the drinks. Yes, that is how the server explained the added on fee to our bill... Â
We won't be coming back, and I am contacting Groupon to get a refund. This was the worst dining experience I have ever had.
I was also charged the full bill amount on my card when there was also a $20 bill with the check and he knew of it. I said to put the rest on my card after the cash. If they do not solve this problem, I am contacting the BBB!
I had been to My Florist several times and while I liked what I had, the decor, etc...it just never stuck with me as the place I wanted to go when I thought about going downtown Ventura to get a bite or a drink. Â I have tried it recently and changed my mind for the better. In fact, I've been there twice on Fridays recently and enjoyed it immensely. The appetizers are half price from 4-7 and truly delicious. The service has been excellent. The bottles of wine are 50% off all night. Their wine list is excellent! I highly recommend the bruchetta (you get six pieces, 6 choices to pick from and at half price its $6.25 oh yeah!). They make their own bread..they have a bakery at the back door where you can purchase any number of yummy breads, and sweets.. delish! Â I can't wait to try it again :)
About 10 of us showed up there last Friday and enjoyed bottles and appetizers..the atmosphere is great.. the service is great.. I'm a fan!! Hooray!
I had 2 separate terrible dinners back when Blu Orkid was My Florist and I hadn't been back since. Â However, yesterday, after my grandpa's funeral all I could think about was breakfast and a mimosa. Â Or two. Â
Considering it was 11:30am on a Monday there weren't a lot of brunch options in downtown Ventura so... we took a chance.
The decor was basically the same as I remembered it, a few changes here and there. Â My honey and I sat down and I immediately ordered a mimosa ($2 every day until 2pm according to the menu). Â Our waitress must have read my mind because she looked right at me and asked, "Would you like a regular or a double?" Â
Double.
Damn, that giant mimosa hit the spot. Â We each ordered create-your-own omelets that came with a side of mixed fruits and a pastry. Â I had a (huge) chocolate croissant and he had a blueberry something. Â The food came out quickly and it all tasted great. Â I was feeling a lot better by the end of the meal.
When this place was My Florist, it was actually good.
The crab cakes appetizer was very good. Then everything went downhill. The food we ordered was not the food described in the menu. My husband got the chicken wrap and it came with lettuce instead of cabbage and had a surprise asparagus in the wrap. It was supposed to come with a salad, but instead came with fruit. I ordered the heirloom tomato and mozzarella caprese salad with a basalmic sauce. It came with one overripe, flavorless tomato and there was no balsamic on the plate at all...instead a pink vinigrette of some kind. We were SO DISAPPOINTED!
Next....the waiter came over to ask how the food was. My husband said, "Eh, okay..." And I shrugged and said, "Very disappointing." The waiter simply walked away. He never came back to refill our beverages and we didn't see him again until he brought the bill. We were shocked and incredulous.
So, when he left the bill, I said, "I have a question." He stopped to listen. I said, "When you asked us how the food was and we said 'okay' and 'disappoining', why did you just walk away?"
He pretended that he didn't hear me and then said he would let the chef know. Then he said he got flustered...which was it: you didn't hear me or you were flustered? I just said, "Okay, before we walked out of here and never came back, I just had to know why you walked away." He then offered us some dessert or wine. No thanks!! Then he said, "I don't like you guys.........to leave here with bad a feeling. I don't like you guys........to have experienced bad service."
By the way, that tomato and mozzarella salad was $12.....TWELVE dollars for one bad tomato, a couple slices of cheese, a splop of pesto and some lettuce. What a waste of money!!!
WE WON'T BE BACK and I am going to unlike them on Facebook.
lovely place. good vibes. great decor. friendly staff.
Food is yummy...had the Miso Meyer Salmon (ginger and grapefruit?)
and for dessert something I don't think was on their regular menu...some kind of custard/ice-cream and berries heaven..
*went here for a wedding. and I must say that everything was well put together. You can even have your own band play on their little stage. definitely a great place if you're looking on having a little event of your own.
Also, the music that the lounge plays...was excellent. Some Portishead was thrown in there. They had me at Glorybox. ;)
My hubby and I stopped here for a bite at the recommendation of our innkeeper on a recent getaway to Ventura.
The decor and chill vibe get 10 stars, but the bread and food was less than OK. Â I'm a bread snob and I love to make - and eat - fresh, warm, slightly doughy bread. Â So the bread basket's variety and visual appeal was disappointing to the taste buds. Â Most everything was dry and rather tasteless. The one good bread was a sweeter bread with rye in it.
We'd already had drinks at the B&B, so we passed on more alcohol. Most everyone else was taking advantage of happy hour.
The butternut squash soup I had was some of the best I've had, so I'd really like to go with at least a three star rating. And the fresh spring greens had a nice sweet balsamic vinegar dressing going on. The rye our turkey and brie sandwich came on was also above OK. But the turkey and brie overwhelmed me with oiliness.
So I'm back to waffling between 2 and 3. The service was good, and we were digging the chill tunes.
I think I'll stay with two because I left slightly disappointed.
Blu Orkid.
Very clever and modern, guys.
Annoying name aside, the Yelp definition of two stars - "Meh. Â I've experienced better," is right on target for this place.
I came here with my girlfriends for a girls night out (on a Tuesday night, because we're CRAY-ZAY like that). Â The place, which has an awesomely offbeat decor, was completely empty - SCORE, I thought. Â And while it was great to be able to be pretty much as loud as we wanted without having to worry if we were bothering anyone - the empty place should have served as a warning.
Their big promotion is "half off bottles of wine, every night." Â This is the entire reason we chose this place, because we are winos and that shit gets pricey. Â I picked up the wine list, which was underwhelming in terms of selection, and started scanning through. Â I saw they had Cakebread chardonnay, which would be a sweet score on a half-off deal! Â Just as I had mentally committed myself to powering through that entire, half-off bottle by myself, I looked over at the (pre-discount) price.
$96.00
NINETY-SIX DOLLARS.
FOUR DOLLARS LESS THAN A HUNDRED DOLLARS.
For those of you who don't know, Cakebread chardonnay usually runs between $55 - $60 a bottle in a restaurant setting. Â Now, this could have been some super-limited-edition stuff or something, I don't know because I didn't ask, and I didn't ask because I highly, highly doubted that possibility. Â So what this means is that Blu Orkid runs around town shouting "HALF-OFF WINE! Â HALF-OFF WINE!" Â And then you get there and they hope you don't know how to do basic math and won't figure out that they mark up their prices by about 80% or so versus other restaurants in town. Â Shady, Blu Orkid.
Anyway, we decided we would go with something more reasonable, and found a price we were willing to pay, even though it was a bit more than what we expected, given the 50%-off dreams swirling in our heads. Â It was a zinfandel, and while we were all fans of zinfandel, we would like a taste of it first please.
"We don't do wine tasting."
Um - okay. Â We don't want to do a tasting, we'd just like a tastER to see what we are buying here since we aren't familiar, and this is a completely reasonable request in pretty much any place that serves wine that doesn't come in a box.
"No, we don't do wine tasting, my boss is sitting right there and he would kill me."
Oooooooooooookay.
We bought the bottle anyway, and it was alright. Â Well, the first bottle was alright, the second bottle was pretty good, and the third bottle was great. Â Funny how that works, right? Â We decided to get a cheese board to go with our wine. Â We were thrilled over the cheese selections listed on the menu, which even had descriptions on them for convenience. Â Awesome! Â We'll take cheeses A, B, and C.
"Oh, we don't have any cheese A."
Okay...well...despite your lack of concern in saying this, and the fact that you were literally standing over the table while we were discussing which cheeses we would take, no big deal, I guess it happens. Â Make it B, C, and D.
Five minutes later:
"Yeah, we're out of cheese B too."
Yeah, you people need to learn how to do your ordering.
In the end, we did get a lovely cheese board, along with some bruschetta that wasn't too bad either. Â The ahi was weird...sweet, with pineapple or some business...I don't think I'd order it again, but it wasn't bad, per se. Â
Overall, my friends and I definitely plan on coming again, but the reason we will come again is because this place is SO EMPTY. Â And this time we will be prepared for strange, detached service and aware of their bizarre wine rules and inability to have what you want in stock. Â But we will definitely NOT be having the Cakebread chardonnay.
I never had a chance to visit My Florist, but thought Blu Orkid was a nice change of pace for other "lounge" type scenes in Ventura. Reminded me of Watermark minus some of the pretentiousness.
Came here on a Saturday afternoon, weather was beautiful and there were plenty of seats on either the front or side patio. Inside the decor is modern and it seemed like they did a good job on not making it "too" trendy.
Had a living social deal and got the two Moscow mules, Cheeseburger Sliders, and ordered an additional Spinach Artichoke dip. Presentation was very nice across the board. Moscow Mules were fantastic. The sliders weren't anything wild or exotic (although it was served with a sirarcha aioli/mayo that was good), meat was a little too well (over) done for my taste, but served with real cheddar on a great brioche style roll redeemed it to a decent slider status. Spin Dip was nothing to write home about as it could have used a little more cheese, but still acceptable especially when you add a spoon or two to your slider.
Service was a little slow, but since it wasn't too busy I didn't expect an army of servers / waitresses. It seemed like we just caught our server going on her break as we were leaving.
The main draw for my return would be the drinks and ambiance over the food, but wouldn't mind grabbing a quick cheap bite. I will definitely be coming back to get a beer and a shot for $7!
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