origami bistro & bar opens softly today
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Just missing their mark by a few days, Origami Bistro & Bar officially arrived today at the corner of 3rd and Spring, filling a demand for premium sushi and steaks on the Historic Core dining scene.
Origami is the second installment for restaurateur Brian Lee who originated his Euro/Asian fusion bistro concept in the Santa Clarita Valley three years ago. Tapas plates, Kobe beef, rare delicacies and Latin sauces show off the restaurant’s unique appeal.
According to the general manager, Origami will maintain weekday hours until midnight, and a closing time of 2:00am Friday and Saturday nights. A bar/lounge component will carry the venue after the kitchen closes, hoping to lure a portion of the late “martini crowd” dominated on this side of town by Pete’s Cafe and 626 Reserve.
Thanks to reader Scott Mahoy for the tip!
Origami Bistro & Bar
257 S Spring Street (In the Douglas Building)
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-687-8606
origamibistro.com
Sun-Thurs: 11:00am - midnight
Sat & Fri: 11:00am - 2:00am
-origami bistro & bar aiming for july 25th opening
-first look: origami bistro & bar
Dining hall facing the Douglas Building’s interior courtyard
Sushi bar and main dining area
Traditional Asian influence
Lounge seating
Bar area
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16 comments
I guess the upside is it’s not a chain.
Website is pretty cheese though. Menu a bit dull and uninspired. I’ll try them once, but if it doesn’t blow my mind, doubt I will go back at those prices. (I’m wary of what constitutes a successful restaurant out Palmdale way anyhow.)
guest…you are so negative. Some of us are excited to see this area evolve, be it a chain or independent. It’s not like other world-class cities don’t have an El Torito (saw one in Istanbul, no joke), Chevy’s, TGIF (plenty in the heart of Chicago), Olive Garden, etc…
For every Maria’s Italian Kitchen, Panini, we get a Colori Kitchen or Tranquility Base. An exciting downtown area is made up of a mix of options.
Anyways…back to Origami. I’ve been to this place in Santa Clarita, awesome venue. Look forward to try it out. Do y’all know if they got their liquor license? I know that’s hard to come by in downtown apparently! (Panini Cafe is still waiting….)
Ditto on guest’s negativity. I wish he would get laid. Probably perk him/her up.
Any volunteers?
They have a liquor license, the full-bar style.
Had dinner at Origami tonight. Overall - GREAT PLACE! I couldn’t believe the place just opened today - there was a decent crowd, service was attentive and friendly, food was delicious and served quickly. My only complaint is the prices were a little high, but the quality of the food is also.
They’re getting off on the right foot. I’ll be back!
I hope this restaurant does well and helps drive foot traffic in the area. I’m sure Lot 44 will benefit as well. :)
I remember when that building housed a rarely busy, clunky-funky Eagleson’s Big and Tall men’s store. And just a bit farther west was the building containing a rundown store known as Giant Penny. The whole area back then gave off a thoroughly moribund and grime-covered vibe. A very disgraceful condition for the city of Angels, which had become about as suburban-rich, urban-poor as any city west of Detroit could possibly be.
Dedicated residents of LA should say “never again!”
Based on the interior photos of Origami, and the very nice looking interior court of the Douglas, that hopefully finally is happening and has happened.
Failure is not an option.
“…filling a demand…”? Seriously, there’s a for more sushi?! Really?!
Is Lot 44 still there? (Filling the demand for more coffee, Vero?) I tried that place three times, and it ranged from below-average to awful, and their prices were sky-high. It’s one thing to support your neighborhood, but another to just throw money away on a poorly run business.
I was there last night too. Stephen, I think that was you that I saw taking photos - I was at the sushi bar. I enjoyed the food and the place is cute. They had some rough patches, being opening night and all, but nothing major.
Went there last night for sushi and thought the food was very good to excellent. The fish was fresh, the servings were generous and the preparation was solid.
I hope this place does well.
Asian fusion is a tough sell in LA since we have some of the most authentic asian food in the country. Tapas are a tough sell in downtown, probably because they are AOC prices but not AOC quality.
If E3rd steak can have a crowd, this place should be able to do the same!
Tried going there for lunch today.
“Tried” being the operative word.
Was with a group of 5, we were seated and sat for 20 minutes. No acknowledgement, no menus….nothing. And it’s not like the busboys, host, or waitress never saw us. We kept trying to wave them down and they would just glance in our direction and scurry away. Gave it a fair shot, 20 minutes is MORE than fair, but had to walk out. A busboy saw us heading out, said something to the manager, who then went to go talk to the waitress.
What he should have done is talk to US, not the WAITRESS. Here’s the thing with these places: don’t they know the lunchtime crowd are mosty workers there on their lunch break? We have to get back to work, you know….
Anyways, I’ll wait a few weeks for them to get their act together and maybe try again.
Eat it!!! I was just there on this past friday. I plan on going again this week. The staff is really nice and YES! They do have their licence for the drinks!!!
Great start to a good location of an uprising part of downtown.
I was in good spirits to find out that a new up-scale restaurant had opened up within walking distance from the Reagan bldg. We scoped it out during the work week and even took a menu back to the office. A bit pricey for the usual lunch entrees but felt it was worth the try and then maybe for birthday celebrations in the near future. Arriving at 12pm, we were quickly seated. The waitress took our order and when I asked if the green tea was included, she said yes. The food came at a reasonable time and was quite tasty, we had the lunch specials: cod (14), teriyaki (9) chicken, and salmon (16). Tea was piping hot but I’ve had better. Everything was great until we were given our bill… I’m probably nitpicking but if the waitress tells you the tea is included they should not be charging you $2.00 per person at the end of the meal. We left a 10% tip only because the waitress tried to have the item removed but failed, or so she told us. The tip would have been bigger if she succeeded. I won’t return.
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