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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“Duck carnitas” (basically duck confit) was superbly executed but bland to my tastes and not at all Mexican. If you told me it was Polish I would have believed you. It was also expensive, pushing close to $100.
Octopus huarache was good. Better than El Huarache Azteca, which I’m souring on.
Lobster al Pastor was a dud.
Guacamole was fine.
I can’t remember what the ceviche tasted like. Fine I guess.
we ordered tostada, tetela, crab quesadilla, and pescado. All were superb.
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I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve made a reservation at Damian and then cancelled a few days out because I just couldn’t get psyched for it. Now I’ve finally made it and I actually came away having a really great meal. I don’t know if I should have slept on it this long or not, but I’m glad I finally got there and will return.
Salsas
These come out in a group of three and are all pretty good. The red one was my favorite, but absolutely destroyed my tongue with spiciness.
Guacamole
Loved the herbs that just get thrown on top here–tarragon in a guac is something I didn’t realize I had been missing.
Ceviche
Bright and satisfying chunks of fish.
Salmon Tostada
This was fantastic–one of the best bites I’ve had in months. The chicatana ants are blended into the aioli and it was spectacular. I’d return just to get another shot at this.
Aguachile Griego
It wouldn’t quite be right to just call it a tomato salad, because there was more going on here, with the dressing, but it was essentially a (good) tomato salad.
Tamal de Elote
This was a banger. Reminded me of the tamal at Broken Spanish it was that good.
Tlayuda
Another well composed dish and at this point I was totally bought in on Damian.
Lobster Al Passtor
Not very big, but quite good. I really liked the pineapple butter bringing through even more sweetness.
Duck Carnitas
They’ve “borrowed” this prep from their New York restaurants and wow it was impressive. The skin of the duck was crispy, the meat tender and juicy, and the tortillas soft and warm. This was the second dish I’d return just to get again.
Flan
Yeah always get dessert.
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Agree 100%.
Damian was fairly lackluster when it first opened but has really become one of our best restaurants, IMHO.
It fills the Broken Spanish void as well as one could hope for.
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ok, fine…i’ll give it another shot. i went right after it opened and was unimpressed. but (almost) everyone deserves a second chance.
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had no idea they had fried chicken, anybody try it?
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Seats here are so coveted that even with a reservation, you may still have to wait a bit for your table.
da fuk? do these writes actually go the restaurant?
availability for today, Friday 4/5 at 3pm
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I will say the last time I went, we had to wait 30+ minutes with a reservation and then I had a mediocre meal and wanted to cry. Taco Maria can’t come back soon enough
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We’ve liked it more and more every visit. As per usual, we liked most dishes tonight but weren’t sold on the main dish — swordfish poc chuc — even though it seemed objectively high quality. Really delicious dishes were the calamar and heirloom beans. The palo santo and tamarind agua frescas were great too.
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That’s funny.
I had that Palo Santo aqua fresca at Ditroit the other day - top-tier drink.
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