www.omburestaurants.com
\n615 Saint George Square Court
\nWinston-Salem, NC 27103
\n(336) 293-4346<\/p>\n
RJ checking in from mildly warm North Carolina. \u00a0Matt & Dan have graciously allowed me to not only help with the overall design of the site, but chip in here and there with some of the fine dining in the mid-Atlantic area. \u00a0I’ll have to apologize up-front for the lack of pictures in this review, as I was on a blind date, and didn’t quite think it’d be appropriate to whip out my phone and start snapping pics.<\/p>\n
Just so you’re aware, I’ve spent the last 13 years in the food-service industry, most of that in catering, and the last 5 years have been spent in a very high-end operation. \u00a0It takes quite a bit to impress me.<\/p>\n
OMBU is a new addition to the Winston-Salem area. \u00a0It’s located off the western end of Hanes Mall Boulevard (an extremely overdeveloped tract of land). \u00a0Just getting to the place isn’t difficult, but certainly isn’t a walk in the park either. \u00a0The restaurant sits in one of those newer office\/shopping complex things that seem to be the rage here in NC. \u00a0In fact, OMBU is the only tenant of the building. \u00a0Near as I can tell, it’s been open since the Fall of 2009.<\/p>\n
Atmosphere<\/strong><\/p>\n As soon as you walk in, you’re immediately hit with the tones. \u00a0Hardwood floors, a fair amount of glass, and a lot of “earth tones”. \u00a0There’s also a decent amount of metal sculpture and accent on the walls. \u00a0The restaurant itself was dimly lit, which certainly lends to a more intimate atmosphere. \u00a0The “waiting” room is not richly appointed, however. \u00a0A few small stools (and I had to really sink down to sit) were really about the only thing in there. \u00a0As you walk back to the dining area, there is a glass display wall of wine which partitions off the cocktail area. \u00a0A nice touch, as it doesn’t allow the sound to filter out from the bar area. \u00a0However, I have to raise a complaint to the overall traffic flow to the back of the restaurant – it wasn’t very conducive at all. \u00a0It might have been because of the large party that was seated there (I believe it was 16).<\/p>\n Staff<\/strong><\/p>\n The staff impressed me. \u00a0Immediately, the hostesses greeted me, and offered me the opportunity to wait for the rest of my party at the bar. \u00a0They didn’t hover when I declined. \u00a0They spoke clearly and with smiles on their faces.<\/p>\n Once we were seated, Kip came over and introduced himself. \u00a0He didn’t hover either. \u00a0In my opinion, he was the definition of a great server. \u00a0Engaging and witty, as well as knowledgeable about the dishes on the menu. \u00a0When it came to wine selection, he certainly had a strong working knowledge. \u00a0We opted with a Sienna from Sonoma.<\/p>\n Food\/Menu<\/strong><\/p>\n As the name suggests, OMBU trends towards the grilled fare. \u00a0Most of it is either beef or seafood. \u00a0One pork dish and one chicken dish that I recall from the menu. \u00a0There weren’t any “off menu” specials that night, so we were spared from having to grill Kip. \u00a0I opted for the sliced filet, Ken & his wife opted for the Porterhouse for 2, and Laura opted for Shrimp Tagliate.<\/p>\n Both of our steaks were cooked just a bit short of how we ordered them, but no harm done. \u00a0The shrimp that arrived in the other dish were ginormous, with a fair portion of them as well. \u00a0This place certainly didn’t skimp on the meats.<\/p>\n It was the sides that seemed to be lacking. \u00a0We opted to go without an appetizer or salad. \u00a0Looking around, others ordered salads, and they were served in martini glasses. \u00a0A fairly recent trend that the caterer I work for has been doing for years. \u00a0My filet was supposed to come with a portabella mushroom (which I loathe), so I substituted the risotto and a side of asparagus. \u00a0The “meals for 2” is only the main dish, so you must order your sides. \u00a0They ordered gruyerre mashed potatoes and asparagus as well. \u00a0There hardly seemed more than a few stalks for the three of us.<\/p>\n Overall, the main course was enjoyable. \u00a0The filet was lightly seasoned with what seemed to be a hickory-flavored rub.<\/p>\n We split a chocolate torte for dessert. \u00a0It was surprisingly light for a torte. \u00a0Usually, I expect something with more “meat” – more like a brownie. \u00a0Instead, it was a bit fluffy. \u00a0It was still rich, though. \u00a0Which is exactly what I expect for a torte.<\/p>\n Price<\/strong><\/p>\n This place isn’t cheap. \u00a0Most entrees are in the low 20’s, with a few creeping towards $40. \u00a0But given the level of service, the atmosphere, and the quality of the food, it’s certainly worth it. \u00a0Since I didn’t foot the bill (those who arranged this adventure did), I can’t complain.<\/p>\n Final Verdict<\/strong><\/p>\n While it’s out of the way for me to hit this place (it’s a good 45-50 minute drive from my house), it’s definitely a good place. \u00a0Just a bit out of my regular price range, but for a special occasion, it’s worth the money.<\/p>\n Food [rating:4] I have rare occasion to leave the confines of Greensboro for other cities in the Triad. When I do, eating out becomes a necessity. Thus I found myself in OMBU on a Saturday night with a work colleague, his wife, and a blind date. This wouldn’t have been my first choice for a restaurant on a blind date, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[129,7,159,26,207,6,206],"tags":[366,208,209,123,79],"class_list":["post-679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-americana","category-beef","category-classyjoint","category-enjoyable","category-expensive","category-seafood","category-winston-salem","tag-expensive","tag-filet","tag-porterhouse","tag-shrimp","tag-wine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/halfton.withbloodandthunder.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/halfton.withbloodandthunder.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/halfton.withbloodandthunder.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halfton.withbloodandthunder.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halfton.withbloodandthunder.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=679"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/halfton.withbloodandthunder.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":682,"href":"https:\/\/halfton.withbloodandthunder.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679\/revisions\/682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halfton.withbloodandthunder.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/halfton.withbloodandthunder.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halfton.withbloodandthunder.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halfton.withbloodandthunder.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nPrice [rating:3.5]
\nAtmosphere [rating:5]
\nOverall [rating:4.5]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"