orso

brunch 05/09. we have been in anchorage less than a week, and after reading the reviews for orzo on this site, decided to try it.

so glad we did!

this restaurant will become one of our regular visits. nice ambiance - you can hear the kitchen, we enjoyed hearing the process - this is not hell's kitchen... it is a very civilized experience. smart casual was the general dress and feeling.

the food was well prepared andservicepunctual, but not hurried - even though the place was busy for mothers day. our server was friendly and well informed on the menu, but not intrusive.

our selections were: the cinnamon bun between us, eggs benedict and the seafood crepes, followed by molten chocolate cake and tiramisu. i would recommend the bellini with the crepes - the cream pesto sauce was a very good match of flavors.

we came away very satisfied with the food,serviceand ambiance. well worth the time.

absolutely amazing food, and theserviceis top notch! it’s pricey, but in the end it’s worth it. my wife and i had the chicken parmesan, whiskey flight, martini flight, calamari and a salad. everything was perfect. for a special occasion, when you need a date to go off without a hitch, you can count on orso!

excellentservicecalamari appetizer was very tender also the clam chowder was full flavored with small drop vegetables. the crabcakes was excellent the recommended rock fish platter would be highly recommended.

sometimes very rude customerserviceand inconsistent food quality. i really want to like this place so i keep giving it extra chances. i have honestly hoped that when i have had a bad experience there that it was just an anomaly but unfortunately i think the truth is the odds are similar to flipping a coin. sometimes the food is great, sometimes it’s bad. sometimes the customerserviceis okay but often it’s not (especially more recently). i’ve had errors made on my food orders and drinks; have had rude customerservice(feeling really rushed, food servers or bartenders with bad attitude that acted like they hated their jobs, recently a waitress that hung out at a couple tables flirting with groups of what appeared to be business men in their 50’s or 60’s - looked like she was flirting for tips while ignoring her other tables, have overheard foodservers gossiping or giving customers dirty looks from a distance (no joke), pretty unprofessional stuff for people working in people oriented careers). for the prices, the food should be consistently well prepared. the seafood dish i had most recently was very greasy (floating in butter). portions were very small which would have been okay if the fillets were good quality cuts but they were not. they would have been better suited for fish chowder chunks (seriously). why do i want to like this place? i’m not sure, maybe it’s the cozy atmosphere or the location, but it’s had a few chances too many. time to move on to a place that has consistently goodservicewith employees that are welcoming and pleasant and dependable quality and well prepared food. too many other food choices in anchorage to settle for this.

we had an excellent meal at orso! 5 stars in our book. the flavor combinations were interesting and delicious and theservicewas outstanding!

i'm not going to say i didn't like it. the food was better than good. nice wine and beer list too.servicewas the issue. we wanted to order small plates. starting with the caprese salad and moving on to other dishes. unfortunately the other dishes came first. our food was delivered by the manager so we explained that our salad had not been served yet. he went to check and let us know it was all rung in at the same time. he was nice about it, comped the salad with an apology. all of that was fine. the problem is after that our server completely ignored our table. no refills for water. she simply brought the bill and said thank you. it was odd because we weren't upset and we had planned to order more food. she simply shut down our experience.


-----15 mar, 2011-----

the appetizers are great. a large, unique select that is more like tapas than apps. the win list is impressive if short. a nice select of flights available and generous pours. we tried the fried ravioli, filet w polenta and the risotto crab cakes. theservicewas friendly and attentive. all together a great experience.

we like happy hour here! everday 3-6 and after 9pm are half priced apps and drink specials. we really liked the lamb sliders. the other apps were ok, nothing to write home about though.servicewas good, seating comfortable and a nice clean stylish atmosphere.

great food! i have to say that i grew up in anchorage and currently live in florida and i am on vacation for a week. i have had the best food since i've been here. i ordered the smoked salmon artichoke dip....fantastic! we had sparkling wine with pomegranate blueberry juice. the tiramisu for desert was nothing special though. i would say the inside decor needs some updating. they have a moroccan lantern hanging right next to a chandelier, it looks very weird! other than that theservicewas excellent.

stuck in the last century. orso has great reputation and the food andserviceis reliably good. my complaint is that i don't think they have changed the menu since they opened. even their specials aren't very special any more. and if you have special dietary needs, forget it. one friend received a gluten full sauce on top of her steak ordered off the gluten free menu, and don't even try to order vegan.

but if you only go once in a while, and like what you see on the menu, you can be sure of getting a delicious meal.

overhyped. orso has good food. i went in expecting a nice dinner, i was told it's one of the few places that takes reservations & people dress up for. there was no reason to dress up. next to me, people were wearing jeans and carhart jackets.

but the food was good and theservicewas great. i'd like it if they would update the decor and lighting. the server knew his wines and the food was spectacularly presented.

overall it's a good experience, but if you want a quiet romantic dinner, i'd look elsewhere. which is sad, because orso is in a great location.

great ambiance. i went there with my boyfriend for a romantic night out, theservicewas awesome. we did have to wait for a while to get a table but were able to sit at the bar and have drinks during the wait. the food was really good, we ordered a bizarre drink and the waitress/bartender was more than willing to accomodate. about $120 for drinks, appetizers, 2 entrees and dessert. i'd pay that much again for the experience.

orso. both food andservicekeep going downhill, what used to be a great place it is now mediocre. at lunch today only one person was running the entire bar area which madeserviceslow, ordered salmon and french fries and i got a small plate with the salmon and a large plate with the fries, horrible presentation, will not go back

couldn't believe we'd have to wait over 20 mins on a wednesday night. bottom line- make a reservation. theservicewas superb! they run a very good kitchen. my only complaint was they burned the bottom of our spinach & artichoke dip, and werent aware of it. but they kept our glasses full & bread on the table. i ordered the osso buco and it was very tasty. the au jus was delicious! a very large portion! the basalmic chop chop salad was also very good! $100 for two to eat after drinks, apps and tip. worth it compared to a lot of other places in downtown anchorage, that offer rudeserviceand okay food with high prices. i wouldn't take my small children there, but they definitely can accommodate them if needed. we will be back!

best deal on king crab dinner. you will not get a better priced king crab dinner anywhere else, its why i go! the last time i went it took way way to long to get our check and i'm not exaggerating here, from the time we ordered desert to the time we got it was 40 minutes...wtf mate right? its like they baked it 20 minutes after we ordered it. my other experiences have been positive, and we were sitting in the bar so maybe this caused us to get "forgotten". i would go here again because i'm happy with the quality of the food but hopefully theserviceis better next time.

great atmosphere/food so-so. had the mushroom ravioli and my dinner date had the white king salmon. we thought both were just okay.servicewas okay. the high note was the carrot cake -- it was delicious (but not big enough to split).