L'Opera

We had our rehearsal dinner here (in the Cellar) and it was perfect! Summary: good for private dining; good food selection, quality and price; good customer service; fun Italian experience with a live Opera singer; and accommodating. Our biggest criteria when we searched Long Beach for a rehearsal dinner venue was to have a private area that could seat at least 40 people. We needed an intimate space where people could give toasts/speeches. We also did not want to just have a basic hotel/bland ballroom. We also wanted to show our guests a 20 minute slideshow created by the groom for our parents and family- so we needed a screen and music. I believe we looked into and inquired at probably more than 10 other venues (The Federal Bar, 555 Steakhouse, King's Fish House, 4th and Olive, Bo-Beau, Saint & Second, James Republic, La Traviata, Cafe Sevilla, etc). The private room was the hardest thing to find but L'Opera had it! They also helped us out with setting up a screen and projector. And their prices were extremely reasonable. We made our own custom pre-fix menu. I personally had a handmade beet linguine with crab pasta that I inhaled. I heard the filet and salmon dishes were also great. By the end of the night, we were surprised with an Opera singer who definitely made the night. I think our group was the last ones in the restaurant and we stayed past closing. Despite that, the staff was extremely nice about politely nudging us out. There was no rush whatsoever. I have only 2 critiques: 1) The projector - it was extremely small and took some fidgeting to set up but it eventually worked. I wish that went more smoothly but that's the gamble with technology and not necessarily anyone's fault. 2) The other event in La Scala- could not be helped and we knew going in this was a possibility. We had the Cellar which is adjacent to La Scala. The entrance to La Scala is the Cellar... so naturally, all of the La Scala guests were kind of walking through our rehearsal dinner. It really wasn't that big of an issue though because by the time we really started the speeches and toasts, they were leaving. It worked out. Overall, our rehearsal dinner was one of the best parts of our wedding weekend and I am so glad we finally found Justine at L'Opera. I would highly recommend L'Opera.

My husband and I had our rehearsal dinner at L’Opera. Not only is it one of our favorite restaurants, but it was also the perfect location for us following our rehearsal at another Long Beach venue and walking distance from the hotels. We had a lot of out of state guests, so location was important. We had about 50-60 people in the La Scala/Wine Cellar room downstairs. The room was gorgeous! For our purposes, I didn’t need to order any other flowers/decoration. The staff at L’Opera have always been wonderful every time we have had dinner there. They were equally so as we planned our event. Throughout the entire process, we mainly worked with Justine. She was extremely prompt in her communication with us and highly professional. All of our questions were answered clearly. She was more than happy to work with my husband on a custom menu, pricing, and made appropriate suggestions for food/beverages. This was important because we had many guests with food restrictions. Prior to booking I visited a couple times in person to take a look at the space, and the staff was happy to accommodate me at a busy time. The actual event was absolutely wonderful. The space provided a very intimate setting, which was a nice change during our busy, multi-day, and multi-cultural wedding. L’Opera provided a choice between round or rectangular tables, a printed menu, and there was a built-in bar/bartender in the room. The staff was highly professional and friendly to everyone. The food was great as usual. Our menu allowed guests to choose between a few appetizers, main dishes, and there was a gorgeous plate of desserts for each table to share. Everything was perfect and on time. It was truly a special part of our wedding we will never forget. Thank you so much!

We had a rehearsal dinner for 50. We reserved both the wine cellar and private dining room. Worked great to start in the wine cellar for cocktail hour then move into the private room for the dinner. Justine was great at answering all my questions and saying yes to anything I asked. There is no question that they wanted to make sure I was happy. Anything that I asked for the evening of, they handled. They were willing to accommodate all the special dietary requests that night (and there were several). Guests were mostly from out of town so this was within walking distance of the hotels and the bride and groom's friends loved that when we walked out of the restaurant at the end of the night there was an active night life scene they could enjoy. For decorations all I did was order costco garland to run down the center of the long tables and and a whole bunch of stemmed floating candle holders- it looked beautiful. Could not have asked for an easier evening that came off beautiful. We did do the higher end set menu with the filet mignon option, and the steak was perfect. Don't skimp on the food- just go with the high end, it will impress. This was a great way to kick off the wedding weekend.

We had our rehearsal dinner at L'Opera and it is a great restaurant! Justine was so helpful - she put together an incredible dinner for us and our family and friends. The food was delicious and the ambiance was beautiful. They even had an opera singer singing in the restaurant! Our guests had a wonderful time and we will definitely be going back! Whether it's for a special event or just a nice dinner, we definitely recommend L'Opera!