Oya

Oya Restaurant & Lounge
777 9th Street, NWWashington, DC 20001
Cuisine: Asian Fusion

My second restaurant week event this season was Oya Restaurant near the Verizon Center (Gallery Place Metro). I had heard good things about Oya before, but I wasn't particularly expecting very much. I went with three friends and all four of us took advantage of the Restaurant Week menu. We had four different appetizers, but ended up being tempted by the same entree and two of the dessert options.

Menu:
Appetizers:
Me: Grilled Sirloin w/ celeriac puree (normal price $10)
Friends: Coconut Shrimp mango beignett (normal price $9)
Cream of Crab Soup (normal price $8)
Spicy Crunchy Salmon (not on normal menu)

Entrees: Chilean Sea Bass w/ miso, edmame, beurre monte and stuffed peppers (normal price $29)

Desserts: Me and One Friend: Chocolate, Chocolate & Chocolate - frozen chocolate mousse in a chocolate shell.
Other Friends: Banana Bread Pudding w/ rum raisin ice cream. (normal prices $8.50)

Sweet:
Decor: Oya had among the most interesting decorum I've seen in DC restaurants. The restaurant was decorated largely in whites, tans and other lighter colors with a bit of a neuvo zen/ying yang feel to it. The walls included one of those glass enclosed water falls and there were numerous half walls throughout the rather open set up. It gave the restaurant a unique feel upon entering.

Entree: We all had the same entree and I feel like each of us made the right decision. It's rare that you can find Chilean Sea Bass at Restaurant Week prices
and we each took advantage of it. The fish was very moist and it cut very easily with a fork (which is good b/c I didn't have a knife for a while). The fish had a slightly sweet flavor that fit very well with the texture of the fish and very much accented the fish's natural flavor. The reviews were favorable for the sea bass across the table. The stuffed peppers were a subtle addition to the meal. The peppers did not have overpowering flavor, but again a very good rice and chicken(?) stuffing with a bit of a creamy (but not cheesy) feel. It was a soft compliment to the sweeter fish.

Salmon Appetizer: I didn't get to taste it, but the friend who ordered it loved it and the friend who tasted it claimed "appetizer envy" (he had the soup).

Drinks: Because of a slight cold that I had, I wasn't able to partake in the drinks or the wine list, but both are quite impressive. The drinks are expensive, but very creative, unique and they use good ingredients (very important). I wish I could have tried them. The wine list was also quite impressive. They have a good variety of regions, types of wine and prices. They also sell wine by the bottle, glass and "tease" which is a 2 ounce glass. It's an interesting idea that would allow someone to taste a good variety of wines without getting too drunk.

Ambivalent:
Sirloin Appetizer: It was a pretty basic smaller cut of the sirloin that I'd assume they serve as the main course. The meat seemed to be a good cut, although cooked a little more than I would have liked. It had a slightly charred texture to the outsides of the meat and was in a very mild sauce that was similar to a hollandaise (thick, starchy, white). It had some good flavor, but not an overwhelminly flavorful dish. Compared to the entree, it was pedestrian.

Soup: Again, I didn't have it, but I didn't hear positive or negative reviews of the soup.

Desserts: I had a chance to try both desserts. My dessert was very good on the first bite, but by the last bite, left me a little unsatisfied. I think the frozen nature of the mousse was a little disappointing and as the bites went by, the taste got a little more watery. Perhaps it was a little too subtle for a chocolate dessert for my tastes, but it was definitely still good. The texture was quite smooth. My friend had a similar opinion of it.
While the carmelized banana was a nice addition, I didn't particularly find the banana bread pudding to be anything special either. I didn't like the rum raisin ice cream very much, but the carmel sauce saved that dish for me.

Bitter:
Shrimp Appetizer: I don't eat shrimp, but my friend said it was a little too greasy and bready for an appetizer.

Service: Perhaps it was because of restaurant week, but we didn't feel like we were being served. Our order was taken very quickly and we were ushered in and out of the place. Our entire dinner (which ended with a fairly large tab) took about an hour. Our server was not very friendly and barely said a word beyond "What would you like to drink?" and "Are you ready to order?" The only thing that took a long time was to process the payment of our check (the only thing that should go quickly in a fine dining establishment).

Set Up: While it wasn't the worst set up I've seen (see Michel Richard's Central), the tables were placed a bit too close together. There was very little space between us and the table behind us on one side, and it happened to be a corridor frequented by the servers. I could hear most of what the other table was saying (which is difficult because my cold was making it difficult to hear other people).

Recommendation:
Quality: ***
Value: $$$

Three to Three and a half stars. The entree, drink list and decor are THAT good! By the way, this is out of five folks. The question between the two numbers is whether the service is bad, or just our server.

Three $ value rating. It is a decent bargain if you're in the area. While our entree was $29 (a little pricey), it wasn't super expensive compared to some of the other possibilities and it was much better than some other $29 entrees out there. I wouldn't travel particularly long distances to try Oya, but if you're looking for something before an event at Verizon Center, it's a good bet for a decent price.