Opal Restaurant

The worst restaurant of all time. Restaurant is old and dirty. The food is terrible. It was a waste of money even though we got good deal from living social or groupon.

This place is a dump. You’d think with such a prime location the owner would take some pride in their business. Sadly not so. The furniture is literally falling apart, with big tears and rips in what were once nice club chairs. The tables are wobbly and look like they haven’t been cleaned in a while. The paint on the walls is flaking away, and I was a little afraid to sit back on the banquet seats because they were dark with stains from who knows what. The food tasted and looked like it is microwaved products from Costco — I had the edamame (I figured it was safe) which was cooked/​microwaved for too long and my friend had chips and salsa as well as the «calamari». The chips actually werent that bad; the salsa tasted just like a jar of Pace (which I actually I like but I expect a restaurant to make their own). The calamari was pretty much tasteless rubber bands.
The place is very dark inside, at least in the back section behind the bar, but that may be deliberate. The service, once the second waitress arrived, was pretty good. She paid attention to people’s needs and was pretty consistent in making rounds. But I still won’t go back there. They should close up for a few months, strip out all the old ratty furnishings, give it a thorough cleaning, and remodel it. They could have a massively cool place in a great location, but oh well.

This is a very late review. I have not been there since my last visit in December. I thought that I posted my review but for some reason it was not submitted.anyways. DO NOT GO THERE!!! We were standing by our table talking to other people and a girl who is, hopefully not anymore, a server there simply moved us somewhere else not even asking if it is okay. When we went to the bar to order food we were told to return to our table to do so. We did and we waited around 20 minutes for the same waitress. She took our order for nachos and did not come back to us for at last 30 minutes. When she finally showed up she just asked us if we wanted fries because she did not remeber. After we corrected her she did not bring the nachos for another 30 – 40 minutes. Finally we got it. I order a drink when she brought the food. I did not get it till the very end of the evening. After another 20 – 30 minutes she came back and asked me if I would like to pay… I said yes, because it did not seem likely business is appreciated there. She brought my receipt, I waited another 15 – 20 minutes and decided to pay at the bar. She found me there, I gave her my card right away, she took it and never came back… I started liking for her… She said that she put it on another table where I was standing by durning the night… She just left my card at a random spot!!! I was waiting for it at the bar! Thank God nobody stole it! I decided that since I got no service I am not going to tip her. And I know how to tip. My husband is a bartender so I can appreciate servers. I wrote on the rceipt «I am sorry» and paid only for my nachos. She had guts to approached me and tell me how upset she was. And when I told her why I did that, she told me… quoting… «I would appreciate if you would not come back» … Well… I AM NOT GOING TO. The worst place I have ever been to… The service is disrespectful and does not appreciate the business. It would be, uch different if she would say that she is sorry for the delay and everything when she handed me the bill. I would tip her because things happen. She did not and she was rude to me. NEVER AGAIN!!!

Parking was easy. Staff was friendly. The place is OLD and really needs repairs and tlc. That turned me off.
Cracked tile nearly tripped me in the front/​lower room.
The bathroom is gross.
I decided not to eat there because I was afraid of what the kitchen might look like.
Salsa dancing on Friday night is pretty decent but be prepared to bump into a lot of people because of the traffic pattern to get to the bar.
I’ll go back to dance but I still refuse to eat there.

Bartender Eric smh…

Just nothing good to say about this stinky place. Both the customers and the staff are ghetto.

Probably the worst place to eat or drink in Denver. Bartenders and cheap hh is nice but it’s not nearly enough to counter balance the rest of the negatives in this place. Food wait time is ridiculous, the smell in this place is atrocious, BEWARE OF THE RESTROOMS! Plenty of health code and city code violations, toilets overflowing onto tile floors, cracked and broken dinner plates, and the so called sushi… What a joke! The list goes on and on! Don’t waste your time on this place, much nicer (and safer) places to get decent food and drinks. 1 star is honestly 1 too many stars to give this place.

Wow. I don’t quite know where to start. I guess the first thing would be that this place is the PERFECT spot for Bar Rescue.
First, naming the place Opal suggests absolutely nothing. The happy hour consists of sushi, Corona, and basically bar-​food appetizers. The music playing (the one time I was there) was house/​electronic in the room I was sitting in with heavy undertones of rap playing in another area about ten feet behind me. Completely open space. Just a terrible loop playing on top of one another.
Second, to order nachos w/​no beans should be easy. You make your regular nachos, just don’t put any beans on it. Too hard. 15 minutes for the first round to come by and get sent back and 15 minutes for the second round to come. Chips were horribly stale. Pico was seemly fresh but non-​existent, as was the sour cream and guac.
Third, the place looks like sh*t. Walls, windows, chairs, tables. I mean BAD. Like worse than that sh*tty couch you see sitting by the road with a «free» sign on it bad.
Overall we went for the sushi happy hour and decided not to stay for it. We both had to be at work the next day and I was already scared enough about food poisoning. (honestly, you let FOH get that bad what does BOH look like?) The only positive was that our server seemed like a nice guy. Kind of flamboyant, but nice. Only next time, don’t bring me another beer without asking if I want one and please come by with an explanation as to why your second try at horrible nachos is taking so long.

Thank your fish gods because I no longer live in Denver! Otherwise you would be competing for the fresh oyster selection!
HAVE YO’SELF A HAPPY HOUR!
Beers, MARGARITAS, OYSTERS and Sushi– GET IT !!!
Be prepared to have sexy music in your ears and a group of salsa dancers all around… Erik? Can you hear me?!? KJ??? My lad and lady?!!
I could have any kind of perverted conversation here without feeling terrible about myself-​in fact, i felt that my endeavors in the debauchery realm were satisfied and my artistic eye soothed with live paintings birthed before my own eyes…
Sure– you may rack up a bill worth a pair of leather boots BUT you will leave with several stories worth sharing and a tummy full of squishy fishies.

I came here for the first time for kizomba lessons and for salsa dancing. What a great group of people! Everyone was having a great time. I loved the music and the laid back vibe.
I do wish the music would get louder and the lighting would get dimmer to enhance the dancing experience.
The bartenders were very charming and the drinks were cheap. I’m definitely going back

I’ll start this review with one word: wow. My fiancée of 6 years (and counting!) and I came to Opal «Sushi“on a Sunday night, hoping for a relaxing meal consisting of Coors Light and Fish and Chips. We were pleasantly surprised to find that «sushi» is actually a traditional dining ritual buried deep within ancient Japanese culture. I’ll have you know beforehand that this place comes fully loaded with two pool tables, 12 TVs, and a full sized fish pool. Unprepared for this ancient Japanese ritual, my fiancée and I unfortunately forgot to come equipped with proper bathing attire (unbelievable, I know). Thankfully, the staff was so kind as to allow us to use the fish pool completely naked, where we were allowed to actually catch our «sushi» fish by hand, on sight. I went for a healthy salmon and a yellowtail, while my fiancée dove straight for the shrimp tempura laying docile at the bottom of the pool. The fish were relatively easy to catch because most of them were asleep, laying comfortably on their backs at the surface of the water, ready for the taking. Keep in mind, folks, «sushi» is an old practice, and the food is a delicacy, so it took around 30 minutes for the chef to actually prepare the food. Luckily, the wonderfully friendly staff kept us entertained the whole way through. The pleasant African-​American-​Asian (?) waiter took our drink orders promptly. My fiancée and I both ordered Coors Lights to start off, but the ever-​so-​accommodating server instead invited us to play an old Chinese drinking game, colloquially known as «socky.» It consists (depending on the region) of heating «sushi» alcohol until it boils, at which point you pour into pretend tea cups and drink as if you were in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. It was a great way to warm up after the cool dip in the fish pool. The «sushi,» once finally served, was more than satisfactory and very fresh! This comes as no surprise because, as our charming ethnic server explained, they keep the fish pool properly sanitized with a daily dose of chlorine. The «sushi» was served with a tasteful side salad of Japanese-​style guacamole and thinly sliced «ginger fish.» The Japanese-​style guacamole, seasoned with a healthy spoonful of what I can only assume was sriracha hot sauce, packed quite the spicy punch! The server made great conversation, recommending to my fiancée and I a niche snack from his homeland, known as «wasabi peas,» as he called it. The bluesy disco soundtrack was a perfect audio accompaniment to an exiting, exotic, and invigorating foreign food experience. Two thumbs up! After this outing, my fiancée and I will be sure to try more ancient Asian dining rituals and traditions. Next stop: Panda Express!

Very disappointed in my visit to «Opal». I asked the server for a drink menu and he replied vaguely that they don’t have one, only some drink called «saki». Then, after a long pause, the server reluctantly stated that there was a «full bar,» implying some sort of «bar standard.» Not even halfway through my meal and I was astounded by the poor quality of the rolls. We started with a round of «hand rolls.» They were bland and the seaweed was hard to chew through. All the ingredients tasted like they came from no less than the local supermarket. We were next served two «rolls» containing what appeared to be King Soopers cocktail shrimp wrapped in warm, mealy, Chinese-​takeout-​esque rice. When the «shrimp tempura» roll was served, the crunchiest part of the roll was the cucumber. The rolls were wrapped so loosely that the «fried cocktail shrimp» actually fell out of the roll, leaving a gaping hole in the flabby shell of what once was rather inappropriately labelled a «sushi roll.» The only redeeming factor of the experience was the excellent choice in music. There was a good range of house to down tempo mellow electronic music, all following a cohesive jazzy theme. I might add as well that the potency of the wasabi was on par. The server made great conversation about crackers and wasabi. Would come back for that.

I’m honestly shocked to find the reviews here. An elite Unilocalers entire review was: «What the hell happened to this place.» a statement, not even a question. Lol.
But anyway, this place is fun, affordable and delicious… We lived off of 6^th and Broadway for years and this was and still is our sport. I think it’s just been targeted by the powers at be, truly unfair reviews.

Opal seems to be getting a rash of unfavorable reviews, which may or may not be fair. The reality is that their happy hour is really pretty good. Big Kirin beers for $ 3 bucks and 2 for 1 on a variety of sushi make it a great place to do some eating and drinking either after work or late night. The bartender, KJ, is cool as the come, and remembered my name after one visit. The sushi tasted fresh and was well prepared. All in all, A-​OK.

What a toilet. this place is so fowl, I hope I didn’t catch anything while eating there. I heard it was bad. But this bad! Unreal. Never again.

What the hell happened to this place.

Very disappointed in this restaurant. Several years ago, this place used to offer amazing sushi. Currently, it is a very run-​down, unkept place with outdated décor, unclean counters, and a menu that lacks imagination. Fish was not fresh and rice was not appetizing. I would never recommend anyone to come to this place for sushi.

Smelt like an ashtray, bartender was super awkward. I tried to cancel my order after waiting 20 min for two rolls (we were the only customers) he said they were almost done. But we waited another 15 and only got half out order. It was disgusting we didn’t even eat half. He said he felt bad but did nothing. Save yourself unless it’s for the coronas

While I am famously patient with servers, a person’s natural reaction to bad service is a certain level of irritation. However, sometimes its so bad you just have to laugh.
I’ve been to Opal many times. Their happy hour is generous, and the service is consistently competent if not spectacular. On this particular night, we sat down in a nearly empty restaurant. There were two other tables in our server’s section, and they were clearly friends of hers. I don’t mind a server catching up with friends; its a social job. However, after walking past us no less than six times, she disappeared behind the bar and literally putzed around (not making drinks), and STILL didn’t greet us or bring us menus. She made eye contact with us multiple times, and just couldn’t be bothered. After 15 minutes of this, we got up and left. When she passed us on our way out the door, she sneered «sorry,» and let us go; I think I would have offered us a free appetizer, or at least a real apology and attempt to keep us in the building. Bigger, rather lumbering girl with black hair. I might try Opal again, but not if she’s there.

I usually come here on a weekly basis. Great happy hour, however, this past experience was not the best! One of the worst! The server was inattentive and when I closed out she mentioned that somebody in my party did not tip her! Coming from someone who is in the restaurant industry, you do not tell guests that they failed to tip! Very big turn off! I will come back when I know my regular server is here. No longer will I be served by ally!

This is my go-​to place for me and several of my friends when we want to meet up for happy hour. They have great prices on Corona and also Saki. The happy hour sushi is a pretty good deal as well but I usually order full rolls instead of the happy hour specials. The atmosphere is a little dark but that is the point since it’s more of a lounge setting. The male server Christian is amazing and always has a great attitude. I have eaten the sushi here multiple times and have never had bad food or gotten sick from it. Not sure what the other reviews on here are talking about. I have been going here for years and my friends and I will keep going as long as it’s open!

Gross. Gross. Gross. I don’t like the vibe. I had to return my sushi because it was THAT BAD. I felt like everyone was on drugs and the place was dirty. Just stay away! Oh and my waitress didn’t know how to open a bottle of wine so I had to open my own haaaaaaa.

I’ve gone to this place numerous times for the early happy hour. They have great happy hour prices (I mean come on you can’t beat $ 1.50 Coronas).
The food is meh, I have ordered the happy hour sushi, it was ok but I have my doubts it’s very fresh. I won’t eat it again. Also, the bathrooms aren’t the cleanest and they need to update the seating and tables in the bar area, they are old and tore up. Dive bar fo sho!
1^st UPDATE: Ok I was surprised when I went in to find the bar and restaurant has been remolded. No more torn seating and jenky tables. The bathrooms are soon to be remolded, I’ve been told by the staff.
2^nd UPDATE: Be sure to check your receipt against your credit card statement. I found out they have been adding additional tip to my credit card on at least 3 occasions. Ummm can someone say ILLEGAL? Pay in cash only. I’ve lowered my rating due to this.

Here’s a one star review updated for 2014. Do not go here ever! Listen to the Unilocal reviews. The service was atrocious. A group of us went to Opal for a salsa dancing night. After awhile on the dance floor I went to to the bar to order three waters, one for myself, and two for my friends. I waited several minutes which wasn’t surprising because the place was so busy. The bartender working, a fairly tall male, six footish with short blonde hair, did not even acknowledge me until I made eye contact several times he attended to the neighboring patrons at the bar, even the ones who arrived after me. He said, «Let me guess you want water? «I confirmed with a yes and put up three fingers to indicate I wanted three waters for my friends and he simply nodded his head side to side rolling his eyes and went on with whatever else he was doing and completely ignored me after that. He completely blew me off. I had no idea why either. Another employee who was also waiting tables and occasionally bartending approached me and stated that there was a «water station» down by where the salsa dancing was. So I went down to the «water station» after explaining to him the unacceptable «service» I got from the first bartender whose name I believe is, Eric actually but I’m not one hundred percent sure. I went down to the water station and the pitchers were all empty so I reapproached «Eric» at the bar explained to him very nicely that he was disrespectful and when someone requests waters he should do his job and honor the request and that he had no right to blow off a customer like that. He questioned me saying things like, «are you trying to tell me how to bartend?» I told him, «No I’m trying to tell you how to be a nice person and you’re a bartender and you need to do job and you have no reason to treat me the way you’re treating me.» He then complained that all people want on salsa nights is water and how much he hates salsa nights and I explained that salsa dancing breaks a sweat and sometimes all people want is some water and maybe if they received real service from the bartender that they may come back and order a drink or leave a tip. The individual then ended the conversation and walked away to «serve» other customers at the bar. I went back to my group, explained what happened and one of my friends went up to Eric, ordered a water and he actually complied without problems or attitude. Completely unacceptable. Of course there was no manager on duty (or at least that was what I was told when I asked a third bartender) I’d say to the management of Opal that this man should be fired but after seeing all of the other poor reviews, especially pertaining to the poor service that this place should not even be in business. It seems there’s a culture of this poor service at Opal. This place has received poor reviews for years and years now. It’s a miracle they’re still in business. I’m sure glad we didn’t eat the food there because it did not appear to be appetizing at all, not like we would have ever gotten service anyways. Many of the Unilocal reviewers also note poor food and a hilarious menu full of spelling errors.
And yes to confirm what other reviewers have been saying, the décor and the restrooms are absolutely horrid. The men’s bathroom is even missing a urinal and appears to have been heavily vandalized. The City and County of Denver, please shut these jerks down and never issue them another food license.
Whoever put this venue down as an acceptable salsa location should really consider somewhere else. The restaurant and some of its employees evidently do not approve of the extra business.

A friend and I went into Opal on a Sunday evening for sushi. At first we weren’t sure if they were open as the place was empty but that could have been due to the snow. We were seated in a dark corner in the not most comfortable chairs. However, the service was great. Our server was very attentive and friendly and treated us great even though we had a Groupon. The sushi was really good too. We went out on a limb and tried some stuff we hadn’t had before, try the Broadway Roll. The wine selection left a little to be desired but at least they had some!

Really if you are even thinking of going; stop. Don’t let the supposed happy hours fool you. The sake is 2 – 1 but you get half of the regular sake size. The place needs major work – parts of the wall are literally coming off. But for the fact that the people I was with wanted to eat, I would never consider buying sushi from this place. If their basic restaurant is in such disrepair, you can only imagine what is going on with the fish and sushi.
Needless to say, they did order some nigiri and the one I tried was both tasteless and flat. The texture was all wrong. I think I have has better at Costco.
But hey – with such bad food, the service must have been decent, right? Wrong. The server was seemingly bored and irritated that he has to serve us at all.
The bottom line is simple: I will not recommend nor elect to ever go to this place again. Dirty, broken and bad across the board. The fact that they have stayed open at all is a testament to how much people will stand in order to get a cheap drink. Avoid!!!