ORO Restaurant & Lounge

This has been on my go to list for awhile now. I'm a huge fan of tapas style restaurants even though they tend to break the bank, but I'm willing to pay for good quality tapas and that is exactly what ORO delivered.  The menu is large and full of amazing sounding dishes and as always I have a hard time deciding what to order.  I did go back and read some Yelp reviews to see what everyone else enjoyed, but lucky for me the owner was right there helping out the bar and I was able to get her opinion.  It's a husband and wife team running the show here and they do it right.  Cara the owner not only made great suggestions from the menu she really made us feel welcome.  

As most people have commented in their reviews the ambiance really sells this place.  My sister even mentioned it made her feel like she was dining in the restaurant from her honeymoon on a resort in St. Lucia, I think that says a lot.  All white leather seating a large loft space for dining upstairs, and the kitchen is open where you can see all the action.  

So what did I order it was pretty late so I only tried two dishes but don't worry I'll be back to tell you about more.  The charcuterie cheese board was very good they had a great selection of cheeses the meats were nothing really that special but everything tasted great.  The cheese board came with hot pita points and honey and was nicely plated.  Next up the fish tacos with wasabi guac right on ORO I wish you sold these off the street in a truck or at a drive-thru window.  I've had a lot of fish tacos in my time but I really thought these were executed well.  The tacos were breaded in a very light and fluffy coating not heavy at all, topped with some sort of corn relish, but I tell ya that wasabi guac was just the right amount of heat I know I'll be craving these again very soon.

Instead of grabbing a table I decided to dine at the bar (I do this a lot I just like talking to bartenders I guess LOL) .  I got to know Corey the "bartender" and he was a lot of fun to chat with and kept us entertained.  He shook up some delicious dirty martinis with some blue cheese stuffed olives my fave.  Only complaint is they didn't have my Titos vodka what!!!! I really do like my Titos but hopefully they'll get some in soon.  In case you need an excuse to drink on Tuesday nights, Corey and I have decided that from now on Tuesdays will be deemed "Tipsy Tuesdays".   it was a good way to try to convince me to have another round of drinks at least!

ORO until my next visit I will be dreaming about that make your own s'mores dessert that I saw on the menu.

I really liked Oro.  We sat at the bar and ordered dirty vodka martinis and a couple of tapas. The charcuterie plate was very good, with three different kinds of cheese, two meats, honey and toasted bread.  We also tried the fish tacos with wasabi guacomole. Amazing. There were only two of us and the portions were quite generous, so we didn't get to sample any other dishes, but the menu looked very interesting and I would like to go back soon and try more!  The bartender was very friendly and engaging, as were the owners who we had the opportunity to chat with while we were there. I will be back!

I travel frequently for business, meaning I eat solo a lot, and accordingly I usually sit at the bar.  I visited Oro on a quiet Monday night, and took a seat at the bar.  No one else was at the bar, and only one table in the restaurant was seated.  One of the three women behind the bar stared at me.  No "Hi, how are you" or "what can I get you?"... just a stare.  I asked to see a menu, and she provided two - one for drinks, one for wine.  A few minutes after I closed the menu she took my drink order, and I was able to ask again for a food menu.  I'd heard good things about the 3-bean cake, so I asked if that and the beef skewers would make for a filling meal (sometimes at tapas restaurants you need to order about 3 small plates to equal a meal) and she agreed, although I got the impression she thought that was a silly question.

I never saw her again.

Another waitress brought my cutlery, each of my dishes as it came out, a glass of water (after I finished eating, unfortunately), and eventually the dessert list and bill.

The 3-bean cake was very savoury and filling (big fan of the black bean puree it was served upon), and I did enjoy the beef skewers.  This place definitely caters to groups... the small plates are too big to have more than two, so you don't get much variety if you come alone.  The same went for the wine list; there was quite a selection but most were only available by the bottle, which is a bit ambitious for me on a Monday  night.

The only other note I'd want to make is that because it does have a unique menu of southern-influenced tapas, if you are on a carb-restricted diet, you should check the menu before arriving.. there are only a handful of dishes that don't include bread, rice or potato in some form.