Opal Lounge - Denver

There seems to be no manager on site, and it appears the staff either dislikes the owner or simply does not care about their work. Each week our experience worsened; during the first visit we waited an hour for our food, the server got our order wrong, and treated us terribly. The second visit was even worse, as the portion was laughably small. We didn’t say anything just because the food tasted so bad that we didn’t want to eat more of it. Last night was our third and final visit to the new Opal. My boyfriend ordered the ribeye, while I opted for the filet since the ribeye had been inedible during our last visit. An hour later, our usually flustered and obnoxious server dropped our meals in front of us—overcooked, dry pieces of meat that resembled hockey pucks. We were one of only two tables in the restaurant and had ordered our steaks rare, which should be just under medium rare. Everyone can have an off night, but what happened next is the reason we will NEVER return to this restaurant. We rarely send food back; in nearly three years in Denver, I’ve only done it twice. When we cut into our steaks, they were blackened and stringy from being overcooked. When I pointed this out to our server, he responded, "So what do you want me to do about it?" He begrudgingly took my plate back to the alleged chef after a dramatic display of annoyance. My boyfriend, who was starving, said he would just eat the bad food despite it being terrible. The server informed us that the "chef" refused to cook anything else. What??? So I sat there without food like a child being punished—how ridiculous is that? It’s frustrating to be treated this way as regular customers who typically order multiple rounds of drinks and spend around $100 each week. After three strikes, we’re out. It’s no wonder the place was nearly empty; I suspect they’re just trying to get rid of the leftover food. If I had to guess, I would say Opal will either close entirely after the holidays or shift to being just a bar without food. Either way, I recommend going to Dazzle or heading down to South Broadway, where the restaurants are thriving. I’d steer clear of Opal until they get it together, or more likely, close down for good. NEVER AGAIN.

We ended up ordering double of each happy hour item, along with a few additional sushi dishes. Since we had a variety of rolls, we didn’t realize how much extra sushi was actually brought to us. When the check arrived, instead of the $50 bill we expected, we were shocked to see it was $100. It turns out Opal's "two for one" means you receive double the portion for every happy hour item you order. We found this to be quite misleading, especially since the menu did not clarify that each order would equal double the food. We brought our concerns to the manager, who was rather dismissive, stating that they have been offering "two for one" meals for eight years, so he wouldn’t accommodate us. This left us feeling quite frustrated. Our experience was further soured by poor service. Despite it being a slow Sunday night, we struggled with absent menus, a bartender who seemed overwhelmed and checked on us only every 15 minutes, and had to remind the staff about our missing appetizers multiple times. In summary, while the food was tasty, the service was lacking, and the "two for one" deal was quite misleading.

I had a fantastic experience during happy hour at Opal. They offer unbeatable $1 Coronas, 2-for-1 hot sake, $4 martinis, and several sushi options featuring 2-for-1 deals. Make sure to ask for Daphne; she always ensures our drinks are refilled promptly, and we never have to wait long for our food. However, there is one staff member who was not good, but I can't recall his name.