l think he showed him how to dry age their fish…
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That’s the head Butcher at The Joint, I’m guessing they are supplying them. They sell to Rustic Canyon as well (i saw him pop up in Chef Andy Dubrava’s Instagram as well)
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Liwei Liao’s business is on the upswing!
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The Joint is amazing, and what Liwei is doing there is insanity. The best fish in LA in my opinion.
He is a mad scientist, creating the most pristine fish for restaurants and home cooks to be able to acquire!
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Another dinner at Damian last Saturday - it was excellent.
Smoked clams with cucumbers, ceviche, tuna tartare, blue shrimp gordita were all excellent. Flavors, textures, and sauces were all on point. Service was very good, the main server could have been a bit more attentive to make it perfect. I love they use JRxRB wine glasses. Domaine Huet Le Mont Moelleux 2005 was a nice treat for desert and really enjoyed how minimally sweet Banana Flan was. The atmosphere inside is lovely as well, with music loud but not uncomfortable for a normal conversation.
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Had a very good dinner at Damian last night. I agree with @hppzz didnt get any smokiness from the clam but otherwise was a delicious appetizer. Tlayuda was also very good. Duck was the best dish of the night, perfectly cooked paired well with the pineapple butter/tortillas really enjoyed this dish. The tortillas were definitely kind of pedestrian, which was surprising but I guess others have reported the same thing.
Service was pleasant but the waitress seemed very busy and aside from taking our orders was basically non-existent. The dining area in the patio is very lovely.
Overall you could definitely do worse for restaurants but I would agree that it’s not in the upper tier of my favs in the city. It’s really surprising that it’s owned by Olvera since there is nothing really adventurous on the menu, the menu feels very safe and the food def pales in comparison to pujol. Did a bang bang with super tortas df
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five stars
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Hard to reconcile that overheated rave with reports here.
She could have cut some of the uninformative blather to describe the food in more detail.
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Warrior: we went again tonight due to kodo having fake reservations on resy.
Outstanding presentation
Good service
Very good wine list
Good atmosphere
Many dishes show creativity
Just doesn’t taste that great. Like the chef is a photographer as opposed to a foodie. But good ingredient quality and execution.
Peony: I like the friendly atmosphere of this restaurant a lot. I feel the food were prepared/cooked well but the flavors were not very exciting or tasty in general. However, the dessert really blew my mind away today and I was excited to see that they have the potential to achieve amazing dishes like this! I look forward to seeing more growth and improvement on the flavors in the future!
Might have to go check it out again I enjoyed Damian quite a bit but this review is glowing!
Reads like he’s gone there many times.
We have dined at Damian half dozen times, and it was mostly excellent in terms of food quality, atmosphere (indoors), and service. There were occasional misses (such as overcooked fish) but mostly we enjoyed it every single time. The use of JR+RB wine glasses pushes it a notch above many similar quality restaurants.
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Warrior: every time I come here I am disappointed. The food is merely fine. Safe, uninspired. Today’s chilaquiles look amazing, but there are far better chilaquiles at grungier places in DTLA. And yet, we will keep going, because it’s a nice, relaxed space and the food is generally solid quality and healthy. 3.5 Warrior Points.
Peony: the food is pleasant for a weekend brunch. It’s not really elevated if you expect more for a serious dinner.
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I love Damian and think that some of their food is quite delicate, but I have only eaten there at dinner and indoors. Brunch outdoors is probably quite different.
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Yeah folks should go and decide for themselves. It’s quality food and visually attractive. We preferred Broken Spanish, but it closed, and we don’t have a better recommendation in the same genre.
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I’ve got a show Saturday night downtown so I’m considering dinner here or at Cafe Basque since I haven’t been to either yet. Responses to both seem a bit mixed so what say you FoodTalkers? (I’m leaning Cafe Basque at the moment).
have not been to Cafe Basque. Like Damian, but I tend to like their appetizers, seafood, and JRxRB glasses.
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basque
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Had another fabulous dinner at Damian. It seems less busy now than before, but everything we tried was delcious. Dry aged branzino ($68 !!!) was perfectly cooked with crispy skin and moist meat. Wish they kept smoked clam on the menu though. Service was super friendly and pacing was perfect.
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