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The wait is over: Otium is finally open for dinner. The long-awaited arrival of evening service comes after an extended build out and three weeks of testing the waters with lunch service only.
Officially launched on Tuesday, the dinner menu is quite a bit more upscale than lunch, substituting kale and quinoa salad or bucatini with egg with dishes like foie gras with funnel cake and lobster with truffle and yam veloute. The inspiration from the 100-year-old olive trees in the adjacent plaza is present in the use of wood fire in dishes like the donabe smoked hiramasa pastrami served with beet, potato, rye, and deconstructed Thousand Island; it's sure to become one of the restaurant's signature dishes.
As for the menu itself, the undulating design seems to hint at the leisurely flow of the meal (Otium is a Latin word that emphasizes a time and pace for leisurely activities), tying together the highly eclectic dishes that range from falafel to sea urchin with lardo. Given that art is an inherent part of the restaurant, being that it sits adjacent to The Broad and has a Damien Hirst mural gracing its wall, it makes sense that even the menu itself was designed with a keen eye for aestheticism.
A tight, Julian Cox-crafted cocktail list that's been whittled down to six excellent drinks from the original list of 20 is equally eclectic. Chef Hollingsworth wanted to push Bunker Hill's predilection for standard martinis to include classics with innovative twists. This translates to drinks that range from unfiltered sake and vodka with yuzu, green chili, ginger, and Japanese cucumber to a proprietary rum blend with roasted banana and lime olio saccarum.
Check out the full menu below, and get a taste for yourself during Otium's newly launched dinner hours, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and 6 to 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.