I stumbled upon L'Opera accidentally, and based on my experience it's a mystery to me how this place isn't booked all of the time, (or maybe it is, and I just got lucky??) I'd been going crazy looking for a nice wedding luncheon venue that met ...the following criteria: accommodating to small groups (there were only 25 of us); didn't require us to buy out the restaurant, or a portion thereof; was open for lunch, (most of the establishments I had my eye on were only open for dinner); available on a month's notice.
Apparently, that was a tall order because I kept coming up empty and was about to give up when I came across L'Opera. Turns out, though technically only open for dinner, the restaurant takes group reservations for lunch. As a result, my small party of 25 pretty much had the restaurant to ourselves. (There was another party in the cellar downstairs, though if we hadn't been told about it in advance, we never would have known.)
Both the staff and the food are superb. Justine was really easy to work with leading up to the event, and the waitstaff took really good care of us on our special day. Our guests all commented on how good the food was, and our cake exceeded my expectations. I'll admit I was a bit nervous commissioning them to make our cake. I mean, I pretty much just sent them an inspiration picture and indicated my flavor preference. There was no cake tasting, no flipping through a portfolio of what they've made in the past. I just trusted them, and they totally delivered. It's been months since we were married, and I kid you not, on more than one occasion my husband has wanted to dig into our cake in the freezer ahead of our anniversary. It was that good!
Excellent service, delicious food, beautiful venue, and great location in Long Beach. Whether you're planning a small wedding like mine, or a 100+ person event, do yourself a favor and book L'Opera!