Othello's in Bricktown

[metro]

Well me and my party ate there early last week before Thanksgiving to test out the new restaurant. Much to my surprise Bricktown was fairly hopping on a Wednesday night and there wasn't a Hornets game either. We walked into a nearly empty Othello's and had to wait a few minutes before being seated. Once we were seated our waitress came by with menu's but hesitated with our drink orders. Our guests from California attempted to order a bottle of wine. The waitress seemed very loopy and didn't want to be there and didn't have a knowledge of the wines. After picking several selections (about 4 or 5) each time we were told they were out of that until the chef came out (appreciated) and tried to help them select a bottle that they had in stock. One was finally agreed upon. It wasn't quite what they were looking for but it was okay. We then ordered our food. It took a unnecessary long time before our food was out for an empty restaurant. We each ordered something different, I had the Chicken Parmesean (sp?). It was good and the sauce was great. It came with a side of angel hair pasta and marinara in a little cup or bowl (it was just okay at best) although the chicken parm was average nothing different than (Zio's or elsewhere). I think the rest of my party would agree that the food was good and average, nothing that was amazing and you had to come back for it that we ordered at least. I hope this incident was a fluke and the kinks will be worked out.

Since then, one of the owners (inferno911) has PM'd me as he seemed sincerely concerned (appreciated). He advised me it was a fluke like any opening of a restaurant although nothing other than an apology was offered to rectify. I hope this longtime local restaurant makes it although I hate to see it leave it's Norman roots and have a sole location in Bricktown. It was an embarrasing time for me having guests from out of state get subpar service.

[Martin]

five of my friends and i went to othello's in bricktown this evening. we, too, were rather disappointed.

for an appetizer, we ordered the parimasano cubes which were really great, imo. the taste of the parmesan cheese paired well with the breading.

for an entree, i ordered the ribeye delmonico (this name doesn't make sense to me... i always thought that delmonico was a large porterhouse cut... no points off there, though) and it was adequate. i ordered the steak medium rare and it was cooked exactly how i wanted it. however, i felt that the quality of the beef wasn't as good as i would've liked. it wasn't bad... but it wasn't great, either.

the entree came with parmesan garlic mashed potatoes and a salad. The potatoes weren't bad, but not spectacular. It went well with the beef, though. I was anxious to try othello's take on caesar salad... unfortunately mine never made it to the table.

one of my friends received the wrong entree and when the waiter was informed of this, he tried to defend his mistake on a technicality. bad form there. even though the restaurant wasn't extremely busy, we were rarely waited on and our drinks were consistently empty. we didn't receive bread until we were nearly finished with our entrees. i didn't miss my salad until after the entree had come out. when the waiter finally trapsed by when i was nearly halfway finished with my steak, i pointed out that i never received it. instead of offering something to actually make up for it, the best he could offer was to box up a salad for me to take home.

even after the multiple mistakes and poor service, the waiter didn't forget to add his mandatory 18% gratuity for our party of six. needless to say, i politely had him remove it from our bills. all-in-all, the food wasn't bad and i would like to try some of the other menu items. what was extremely lacking, however, was the service.

evidently the kinks previously experienced at this restaurant have not been ironed out. -M

[johnnyboyokc]

i will tell you coming from norman you sit down thinking you should order a pasta dish however the pizza is unbelievable...........trust me.........you think nice dinner however pizza will make a nice dinner coming from unbelievable

[metro]

johnnyboyokc, not sure if you know but the Bricktown location doesn't serve their famous pizza.

[Jack Wonder]

Wow! Hearing these luke-warm comments will definitely keep me away from Othello's until spring or summer...

[fsusurfer]

Wow! Hearing these luke-warm comments will definitely keep me away from Othello's until spring or summer...

If it lasts that long.....

[Jack Wonder]

^ ...then I just WON'T.

It must be a cursed location!

[metro]

I'm surprised the owner (inferno911) hasn't been on here lately. When the restaurant first opened he was on here promoting his restaurant like crazy.

[johnnyboyokc]

no pizza? what? did not know

[inferno_911]

I'm surprised the owner (inferno911) hasn't been on here lately. When the restaurant first opened he was on here promoting his restaurant like crazy.

This is my first time on the site in a long time but if you have any other comments, send them my way, we are still working on making adjustments (improvements). Business is doing well and we have alot of regulars, so we must be doing something right. I have a different menu comming out the first part of January, now that we have been able to clear up some of the building issues that we were having.

[inferno_911]

no pizza? what? did not know

I will state for everyone, the reason that we can not have pizza at this location is simple...Our pizza oven will not fit in the kitchen. If there was anyway that I could have pizza, I would.

[metro]

inferno911, any word yet if you will be opening that pizzeria or anything else in Bricktown as once thought?

[inferno_911]

No word right now. Until I find out what is going to happen with all the property that is going to be sold, I am not going to make any further comitments.

I agree with everyone about the diversity of the restaurants in Bricktown and would love to open something with flare, but as it stands Othello's needs some serious work before any new places come. I can honestly say that it is getting better each week but quality workers are rather hard to find for me right now.

Anyone out there know anyone who really cares about their job without having to be babysat at all times???

[metro]

well i hope you're able to open a pizza by the slice store soon.

[Ginkasa]

I went there a couple of days ago. My overall thought was, "Why go here when I could go to Zio's just across the way?"

The first thing I disliked about it was the appearance. It didn't look bad necessarily, it just... It looked like it was trying to be a "nice" restaurant, but then there were paper napkins instead of cloth, banners for beer. It just meshed.

The waiter I had was slightly below par. He was a little slow at things, which was odd considering the place was DEAD. I think there only people there beyond my girlfriend and I were a small group of men. Our waiter was a little slow at everything. Not "I'm just getting up and leaving if I don't see him soon" slow, but definitely not as fast as I would like.

THe biggest fault, though, the one that cemented my decision to not come back, was that there was a little bit of grime on my side plate. There is no reason for that to happen at all, but especially when there was as little business as there was.

The food I can't really comment on. I didn't particularly enjoy my dish, but I think it might be more because I thought to try something new, and just didn't like it...

Anyway, as I said, I saw no reason to go there over Zio's if I want Italian in Bricktown.

[metro]

Yeah, that seems to be the trend in reviews, and they've been open long enough to get the kinks out but seems like they haven't. Hate to see another local restaurant go under for not doing their proper homework. Thanks for doing the restaurant review though, can't believe no one else ate out this week, especially during the Big 12 Tournaments.

[Martin]

what's frustrating to me is that othello's bricktown could be a good and unique restaurant if it just ironed out these kinks. -M

[Prunepicker]

what's frustrating to me is that othello's bricktown could be a good and unique restaurant if it just ironed out these kinks. -M

There are several things that gripe me about our "Good" restaurants. I'm not including diners or fast food. Here are a few.

I can't stand:

to be called 'guys'.

Having the specials of the day or non menu items quoted at the speed of light then turning to leave before they're finished. I do enjoy calling, it's almost always a girl, back to ask what the specials are.

Hearing, "how does everything taste?" If something doesn't taste good or isn't right you'll hear about it. I don't go to a restaurant to converse with the staff.

Sticking a plate in front of me and expecting me to put it down or pass it. They're paid to do their job. I really believe nobody teaches the staff nowadays.

When I'm ordering and ask how the "fill in blank" is and having the waiter/ess say "I don't eat that".

Unclean flatware and settings.

Insincerity. Theeenk cue. Have uh nice dayeee. Barf. Why can't they say thank you for dining at ...

There are other things. Good grief. The wife and I think every "Good" restaurant owner should visit the 21 Club for tips on how to operate.

One other thing. Turn off your phone and men, remove your hats.

ARRRRRRRG!
Prunepicker

[inferno_911]

I went there a couple of days ago. My overall thought was, "Why go here when I could go to Zio's just across the way?"

The first thing I disliked about it was the appearance. It didn't look bad necessarily, it just... It looked like it was trying to be a "nice" restaurant, but then there were paper napkins instead of cloth, banners for beer. It just meshed.

The waiter I had was slightly below par. He was a little slow at things, which was odd considering the place was DEAD. I think there only people there beyond my girlfriend and I were a small group of men. Our waiter was a little slow at everything. Not "I'm just getting up and leaving if I don't see him soon" slow, but definitely not as fast as I would like.

THe biggest fault, though, the one that cemented my decision to not come back, was that there was a little bit of grime on my side plate. There is no reason for that to happen at all, but especially when there was as little business as there was.

The food I can't really comment on. I didn't particularly enjoy my dish, but I think it might be more because I thought to try something new, and just didn't like it...

Anyway, as I said, I saw no reason to go there over Zio's if I want Italian in Bricktown.

I will state for the record that we have been doing very well and have a lot of glowing reviews and regulars...

As our policy has always been, if you order something and it is not right, as stated in the menu, we do not charge for the item.

Now...I am not disputing anything said but I would like to clear up a few items.

We do not use paper napkins or beer banner UNLESS the Big 12 tournament is in town! We were asked as a sponser by Budweiser to hang these promotional items and out of respect for the company we did so. Our napkins are on all other occasions are white linen. As for the amount of people in the restaurant, we have 3 seperate dining rooms, one of which hosted the Big 12 Athletic Directors and Nike Corporate offices all week (about 60 people)...so there were probably a few more people when what you thought.

The plate issue is absolutely inexcusable and is embarrsing to all!!! We do remove most of our dishes from the oven at 450 degrees, so if you had a baked dish this could have been the case. I do not know what you had, but I appreciate your graciousness of just saying the dish wasn't your cup of tea. If you would like, I would be more than happy to have you come back and I will buy your meals for you. PM me if interested.

[Martin]

i'll back you up on the napkins, inferno... the two times i've been to othello's bricktown, there have been linen napkins. -M

[metro]

well inferno911, I was the first one (or one of them) to complain about the restaurant and you didn't seem to care at that time to rectify the situation. If you're wanting to rectify past bad experiences, I'm willing to let you and repost the outcome!

[Easy180]

well inferno911, I was the first one (or one of them) to complain about the restaurant and you didn't seem to care at that time to rectify the situation. If you're wanting to rectify past bad experiences, I'm willing to let you and repost the outcome!

Shooting for a free meal metro??

Some on here take their food reviews a little too seriously

[metro]

well that wasn't my original intention Easy180, believe me I'd rather of had a great experience the first time with my out of state guests from California. If Inferno911 wan'ts to rectify the situation months later, I'll let him.

[inferno_911]

well inferno911, I was the first one (or one of them) to complain about the restaurant and you didn't seem to care at that time to rectify the situation. If you're wanting to rectify past bad experiences, I'm willing to let you and repost the outcome!

I am sorry you feel that way, but it is in no way true...

Immediately after reading your post I sent you a message requesting your address so that I could send you passes or GC's but I received no answer. I figured that after your horrifying experience you were probably very angry and vowed not to return and this is where I left it.

[metro]

I want to clarify that what inferno911 said is not completely accurate. I notified him and he did fairly quickly PM me with the following message. No where did it mention asking for my address or gift cards (that must have been someone else who complained on this thread). I replied back to you stating my situation, etc. and NEVER heard back from you just to clarify. If you're going to call me out, get your facts straight, I have record of all our PM's. I tried to solve it quietly with you the first time and never asked for my money back, gift cards, etc. I basically let it go. Now that you brought up recently that you want to rectify bad experiences of people on this forum, I mentioned you're welcome to do so if you want. (not expecting it or requesting it, simply mentioned I'm open minded for you to change my mind on Othello's, I think that is fair enough). In your PM below you will see you did ask "what you would like?" in which I did answer in my PM to you that was unanswered. If you take that as "i asked for your address so I can give you gift cards", that's stretching the truth but whatever, I'll give you that as an attempt to rectify . Ball's in your court!

inferno_911
Member Join Date: Oct 2006
Total Posts: 24

Othello's is a joke

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Metro,

May I please ask why your experience was so horrible. I would really like to know what you would like.

We have had a couple of rocky nights...had a couple of people quit because they felt that they were working to hard : ( but most reviews have been very positive.

I want to make it a place that everyone can enjoy so please give me some feedback, instead of calling the restaurant a joke in a public forum.

Thanks.

Here was my response back to you that went unanswered. In my opinion I don't think I was that harsh and I sounded reasonable and willing to talk with you about the situation.

metro
Power Poster Join Date: Nov 2004
Total Posts: 3,394

Re: Othello's is a joke

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Sorry if you found my thoughts offensive but please understand that I have the right to my opinion based upon my experience and am not required to follow a certain procedure. I paid for a service, not the other way around. I have been a member of this site for several years and you can read many of my restaurant reviews, most often positive feedback you will find.

Out of courtesy I will answer your questions as you seem genuinely concerned about my experience. To start not only did it take awhile to get seated in a nearly empty place, but our waitress was slow getting around to us and seemed like she'd rather be somewhere else.

We also ordered a bottle of wine (after we found out our first 5 or 6 selections were out). Finally the chef (or someone in a chef's coat came out to help us with the wine selection). That was appreciated although the recommended wine was not quite what we were looking for. Each person in our party ordered something different. Several of us had to keep reordering because several of our selections of food were out as well. The food was good I'll give you that but not anything special compared to anywhere else (Zio's, etc).

I hope these are fluke's and are kinks that are being worked out but our guests that were with us from California were not impressed and it was an embarrassing experience for myself and my fiance.