Restaurant O Italian & French Cuisine 260 South Broadway, Coos Bay, OR 97420

"My wife and I finally decided to give this place a try. We've heard mixed reviews about the restaurant, and were apprehensive about the high costs, but our curiosity got the best of us and we decided to give it a try for the new year. The decor is okay. It's sort of a sterile look and didn't stand out as an upscale interior. The dining room was mostly empty with one other couple. I'd describe it simply as "uneventful." But hey, I'm here for the food! One quick mention of the service - it was great. We were attended to by what appeared to be the only waiter, and she was very polite. She attended to us very well and answered all of our questions with no hesitation. I couldn't have asked for better service. We ordered a cheese plate as an appetizer. But first, we were given an amuse-boucher, which composed of a halved cherry tomato drizzled in balsamic vinegar, paired a gazpacho shooter, garnished with a sprig of basil. An excellent start to our dinner! Our cheese plate came next. It was plated excellently, on a cut round of wood, and priced just as well. Various cheeses, meats, nuts, crackers, and some strawberries circled a tiny bowl of quick pickled veggies and another containing red pepper infused honey. If you end up at this restaurant and purchase nothing else, this plate is worth the inexpensive indulgence. We also ordered bread and olive oil. It was a very small serving of bread (see in the background of the cheese plate image), and nothing to write home about. There was an overwhelmingly large amount of balsalmic vinegar on the bottom that was sort of a surprise with the last piece of bread. The bowl was too dark for us to know that there was vinegar in it, and I wish it were served in a white bowl instead for this fact alone. Black or red pepper on top would have been a good gesture as well. Then our entrees came. My wife ordered the spiced crispy pork belly, and she was very unimpressed as it had very little flavor. I ordered some sort of fish (I believe steelhead or salmon), which was presented on top of "jasmine" rice. Did I upload a photo of either entrees for this review? No. The plating for both entrees was bland and unappetizing, but let me describe what mine looked like; a piece of grilled fish on rice with grey sauce. And that's exactly how it tasted like. Not only did it have no flavor, but I could have gone to 7 Devils Waterfront Alehouse and gotten a much better fish entree with a better atmosphere and a smaller bill. This was one of the worst fish entrees I've ever had in my life, like someone in the kitchen just gave up. It was disappointing to say the least, and made us wonder how someone would have thought this was acceptable for the price. To end the meal, we opted for the churros with cacao chocolate sauce, and were not impressed. The churro had a weird consistency to it, as though it was not fried, and the whole dessert was simply not appetizing. I recommend frozen churros from the grocery store instead. We ended up paying around $130 for the both of us, mind you this included some mixed drinks that were pretty good, but overshadowed by our disappointing entrees. I've been to restaurants in the same price range (and higher), but this place pales in comparison to all of them. I've had much better food with a more welcoming atmosphere at a fraction of the price. We told a pair of our friends about our dinner and they said that they had the same experience - great appetizers with extremely disappointing entrees. It's as though one person who puts together the entrees simply doesn't realize they're working at what's supposed to be an upscale restaurant. It completely broke the experience. As we were leaving, we noticed that a large group of people came in and appeared to have ordered mostly pasta. If we go back again, that's the route we're going to take, especially since it's more moderately priced and harder to screw up. In all, I would not recommend Restaurant O. Whoever is putting these entrees together needs some help."

"While the service, like others said, wasn’t 100% our server was still friendly and was plenty attentive enough. The food was great, the halibut and pork belly were good as well as the parm fries. the basil lemon drop drink is so good i could drink 100 of them!! and the tiramisu and creme brûlée desserts were also very good. would recommend to anyone for sure! wonderful food for a great price in coos bay!"

"We had a wonderful food experience at Restaurant O! The pairings were spot on perfect. We started with drinks and oysters lemon air. Different from what we are used to but marvelous. The ribeye with the jasmine rice was the best I have ever had. The vegetables with it were still firm with a slight crispness without being under done. Usually I add salt to vegetables and a steak sauce to the meat, I added NOTHING! My wife had the lobster risotto and I almost wish I had gotten it too. Both dishes were soooooo good! We actually had room for dessert. I had the chocolate mousse bar with coconut sorbet (made in house) and it had 3 fresh raspberries on top.....I hate raspberries with a passion that burns like 1000 suns....it was.....the best! The pairing of mousse with the raspberries was incredibly good. My wife had the three creme broulee. Another masterpiece by the chef and his crew. The waitresses and bartender were warm and friendly. We chatted with them throughout the dinner and had a great evening. Unbelievably good! Prices in my opinion were reasonable but not cheap. You get more than you pay for at Restaurant O. Already planning on coming back to Coosbay and trying the 9 course pairing with the wine suggestions for anniversary next year."

"I do not often share critical reviews, however, in this case I have to. I saw so many good reviews and photos and we were so excited to have our anniversary dinner here. We were very disappointed by the food. It lacked flavor and seasoning in pretty much everything we had and in the case of the wild prawns... they tasted like dirt. We will not ever eat here again. Do not be fooled by the photos I included. I will say, the one bright spot was the cocktails, they were fresh and really delicious!"

"We are currently on travel, and travel non stop so we have eaten at many restaurants - From small towns to major cities. This restaurant was exceptional and such a gem to find on the coast of Oregon. Our prawn appetizer and French onion soup were exceptional. The warm foccacia bread with oil was light, fluffy, and flavorful. The main courses were delicious, complex and very fairly priced. They had an open kitchen we could look into and our kids loved watching the chefs preparing our food. Our waitress was amazing; fit to work in a top tier restaurant in NYC. She recommended plates for us, recommend drinks (which were also superb), and brought out toys and fun games for our kids to entertain themselves. Dessert was a treat and the perfect ending. We could not believe how unbelievably fair the pricing was, We have spent more at very low quality establishments. Please tip the staff knowing what a great deal you are getting here! My husband keeps talking about this place which means it has left a lasting impact and we hope this review motivates more visitors passing through to visit this place and tell others! Happy eating!"