OSA ROOFTOP
ADDRESS: 540 E Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91101
WEBSITE: https://osarooftop.com/
It’s been a really long time since I’ve had the opportunity to check out a rooftop bar, probably not since my time living in the DC area. So when my wife Cami sent me an Instagram post about a new one called Osa Rooftop that just opened up relatively recently over in Pasadena, we made plans to head over there to see how it was.
Osa uses OpenTable to book their reservations, and slots would book up pretty quickly, probably because everyone else were thinking the same as us. Located at the top of the AC Hotel on East Colorado Boulevard, Osa’s rooftop location faces north and offers a picturesque view of the San Gabriel Mountains. We wanted to experience sunset during our visit, so we made the reservation about one hour prior so that we could be seated and experience the glow of golden hour as the sun was setting.
There was a variety of different seating types that were laid out around the rooftop area, and your party size would influence which of those options you might be seated at. All of the two-tops were placed around the central tree planter, while traditional four-tops were also available as well. In addition to those options, there were also long-tables placed at the edge of the rooftop (the coolest tables in my opinion), where everyone sat facing outwards towards the mountains. Several lounge seating-style options were also located on one side of the area. Inside, there is a traditional U-shaped bar with seating, along with flat-screen TVs to catch any sports that might be on.
I’m not much of a drinker, so I was more curious to see how Osa’s food would turn out to be. In addition to their drink selection, the food occupied two pages on their menu, split up into categories of snacks, small plates, starters, and entrées. Truth be told, there was a lot of overlap between prices within those four categories of dishes (for example, some starters were as expensive as the entrées). Overall though, already plan for it to be pricey, since you’re definitely paying a premium for the ambiance.
Cami and I wanted to get a good sampling across a few of the items, so we elected to stick just to the snacks / small plates / starters to share. From the snacks, we got the Marinated Stuffed Olives and the Hand Pressed Tostones. From the small plates, we got the Wagyu and Pork Meatballs along with the Roasted Beets. To keep it a little healthy, we opted for the Caesar Salad from the starters.
One thing to note if you are trying to come here to enjoy sunset is whether you are okay with the sun shining down on you the entire time for your meal, or be looking into it, depending on where you’re seated. For us, the sun was mostly behind the hotel building, so it worked out that we could experience golden hour without needing to look directly into it.
Once the food started to come out of the kitchen, all the dishes practically came out at once. Five large plates quickly took over almost all of the space that we had at the table, so we had to get creative to move dishes around as we were eating through them. We started out with the Castelvetrano olives, stuffed with a mixture of ricotta cheese and Calabrian chiles. Even though it was a small bite, the chiles certainly packed a moderate amount of heat. I don’t go out of my way for olives, so I thought they were good, but not something that I’d probably order again.
Switching over to the tostones though, that actually ended up being in my top two dishes for the night. The fried, smashed plantains came served with bowls of guacamole and black beans for dipping. The guacamole was topped with pickled red onions, which were definitely a nice note of acid when you mixed it with the smoothness of the guacamole and fried texture of the tostones. The black beans were also surprisingly good in their own right, cooked with just the right level of saltiness and topped with some cotija cheese as well.
The wagyu and pork meatballs were probably my other favorite dish of the evening, served with a spicy vodka sauce and each topped with a pistachio pesto. The meat had really good flavor on its own, and I felt that the pesto, vodka sauce, and grated Parmesan on top definitely helped to complement each other in each bite. Cami is a big fan of beets, so trying out that dish, with the whipped goat cheese, hazelnut gremolata, and citrus zest definitely broadened my horizons and was something I ended up really enjoying. There was a nice play of sweet, savory, and earthy between the different ingredients.
For the Caesar salad, it was served with just the little gem lettuce leaves, not chopped up in a traditional salad form. All of the leaves had been tossed in a traditional Caesar dressing, topped with an absolute ton of grated Parmesan, along with a sprinkle of breadcrumbs and dried capers. It was certainly different than how I was accustomed to eating salad, but everything still tasted great. The breadcrumbs gave the slight crunch to the salad and substituted for the croutons very well.
Osa can certainly attribute some of its current popularity due to social media, as this place seemed absolutely packed while we were there, with a sizeable number of people waiting for their tables as we were leaving too. Although the only parking option at the hotel itself was valet, the Pasadena Playhouse parking lot that is right across South Madison Avenue is an easy walking option if you’re able to find a spot. Even though the food options had a good variety, the service being hit-or-miss at times and higher prices would keep me from considering Osa more frequently during nights out in the area.
Let’s now take a look at the Osa Rooftop Dish Spotlight. Asterisks (*) below mark my recommended dishes.
Marinated Stuffed Olives
Castelvetrano olives filled with a mixture of ricotta cheese and Calabrian chiles.
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** Caesar Salad **
Little gem lettuce leaves, Caesar dressing, Parmesan breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, dried capers.
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** Hand-Pressed Tostones **
Twice-fried plantains, served with guacamole and black bean dips.
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** Roasted Beets **
Beets served on top of whipped goat cheese, topped with hazelnut gremolata and citrus zest.
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** Wagyu and Pork Meatballs **
Served in a house-made vodka sauce, topped with pistachio pesto and grated Parmesan cheese.
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And finally, here are my rankings for Osa Rooftop:
Food: 4.5 / 5
All of the food that we tried was pretty enjoyable, with several dishes having a nice complement of flavors amongst their ingredients. The tostones and meatballs were probably my top two, with the roasted beets in a pretty close third. If that’s reflective of how their other dishes might be, I’d definitely be curious to see how those would taste.
Atmosphere: 5 / 5
As far as rooftop bars, the space was really nice and the layout was also pretty well-thought-out too. The different seating options provided a variety of experiences, and the décor elements of the plants and lighting also helped to embrace the outdoor feel of the space.
Service: 3.75 / 5
The service felt slightly underwhelming at times, with our waitress Kat disappearing for extended periods of time during our meal and not really stopping by to check how we were doing. The only thing that kept this ranking area afloat was the speed of the kitchen, which was cranking out the food at a good pace.
Price: 4 / 5
While the quality of the food was pretty good, the pricing was definitely reflective of the ambiance that you’re paying for. Pasadena in general doesn’t have a lot of rooftop bars, so Osa offers a nice experience if you’re ready for the higher price points.
Overall:
17.25 / 20
(86%)
Categories: California, Restaurants
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