Good restaurants in the General Irvine Area

OMG!



Turner New Zealand closed!!! WTF? NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



How can this be? My head is going to explode. They had the best steak I have EVER eaten. It's a very strange feeling to know you will never eat something as good as that again.



:snake:
 
I just had a great dinner at <a href="http://www.onotria.com/">Onotria</a> in Costa Mesa. It is a California/Italian restaurant that serves great wine and epicurean food. I get so tired of all the chain restaurants you find in Irvine, this place is different in a good way. We started with the "Wild Boar Prosciutto, thinly sliced, with Pecorino Tartufato Cheese & drizzled with Chestnut Honey-Balsamic Vinegar"--simple presentation but delicious. For our main course my wife ordered the foie gras with risotto & mushrooms and I went for the "Lamb Shank, slowly braised with Anise & Curry in Passito Wine Sauce over creamy Eggplant." Service was good and prices were moderate. I only drank a glass of wine but their bottle and 1/2 bottle selections seemed numerous. If you are a foodie I think you will like this place.
 
Not sure if it's been mentioned previously, but places like Anjin and Gyu Kaku can be relatively pricey for Japanese BBQ.



A good place we like to go to Tsuruhashi in Westminster, off of Brookhurst. They have very good quality beef, and it isn't as expensive as Anjin. And save room for Lychee Ice Cream.



Korean BBQ all you can eat, check out Cham Soot Gol in Garden Grove off of Garden Grove Boulevard. $16.99, stuff yourself silly. No Calbi though, but it doesn't matter, everything will satisfy you all the same.
 
[quote author="Shooby" date=1214458831]Not sure if it's been mentioned previously, but places like Anjin and Gyu Kaku can be relatively pricey for Japanese BBQ.



A good place we like to go to Tsuruhashi in Westminster, off of Brookhurst. They have very good quality beef, and it isn't as expensive as Anjin. And save room for Lychee Ice Cream.



Korean BBQ all you can eat, check out Cham Soot Gol in Garden Grove off of Garden Grove Boulevard. $16.99, stuff yourself silly. No Calbi though, but it doesn't matter, everything will satisfy you all the same.</blockquote>


Tsuruhashi is in Fountain Valley. On a scale of 1-5 I'd probably give them a 2.5 to 3. The manager there runs a very tight crew and sends the 2 waitresses down the isle in military precision. Food is OK but I felt like I was dining in a rushed fast food environment. If you happen to be in the area, I'd suggest Kappa Honda or Shinsengumi instead.



I don't recommend Gyu-Kaku in Huntington Beach, the one in Torrance has better service.



For Japanese BBQ I'd recommend Tamaen in Lomita, San Sui Tei in Torrance, and Manpuku in Costa Mesa.

http://www.tamaen.com/

http://www.yamaya.us/sansuitei/

http://www.manpuku.us/



<img src="http://www.yamaya.us/images/0711-top_p_washu-gyu.jpg" alt="" />







If you're in Garden Grove, try Go Goo Ryeo for Korean BBQ -- it's not far from Cham Soot Gol.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/go-goo-ryeo-garden-grove

<img src="http://static.px.yelp.com/bphoto/FMke1VXgcmFGAu2CxLHgaQ/l" alt="" />



Go Goo Ryeo is in the back of a small shopping center, could be slightly difficult to find, just keep your eyes open. The place is more "classy" versus Cham Soot Gol is like a... cafeteria. That's not to say Cham Soot Gol is bad in any way, fine choice and a great deal I'd say!
 
Time has flown by so quick. I remember when this forum was a lot smaller. I started this thread a year ago and its nice to know that people are still contributing their favorite restaurants.
 
[quote author="IACRenter" date=1211115674]I just had a great dinner at <a href="http://www.onotria.com/">Onotria</a> in Costa Mesa. It is a California/Italian restaurant that serves great wine and epicurean food. I get so tired of all the chain restaurants you find in Irvine, this place is different in a good way. We started with the "Wild Boar Prosciutto, thinly sliced, with Pecorino Tartufato Cheese & drizzled with Chestnut Honey-Balsamic Vinegar"--simple presentation but delicious. For our main course my wife ordered the foie gras with risotto & mushrooms and I went for the "Lamb Shank, slowly braised with Anise & Curry in Passito Wine Sauce over creamy Eggplant." Service was good and prices were moderate. I only drank a glass of wine but their bottle and 1/2 bottle selections seemed numerous. If you are a foodie I think you will like this place.</blockquote>


I'm going here this saturday...but I couldn't find your wife's main course on here :( I wonder if their menu changes often to match with the season. How did you guys like the food...is it as good as it looks? :)
 
[quote author="kawakonohirukun" date=1216803670][quote author="IACRenter" date=1211115674]I just had a great dinner at <a href="http://www.onotria.com/">Onotria</a> in Costa Mesa. It is a California/Italian restaurant that serves great wine and epicurean food. I get so tired of all the chain restaurants you find in Irvine, this place is different in a good way. We started with the "Wild Boar Prosciutto, thinly sliced, with Pecorino Tartufato Cheese & drizzled with Chestnut Honey-Balsamic Vinegar"--simple presentation but delicious. For our main course my wife ordered the foie gras with risotto & mushrooms and I went for the "Lamb Shank, slowly braised with Anise & Curry in Passito Wine Sauce over creamy Eggplant." Service was good and prices were moderate. I only drank a glass of wine but their bottle and 1/2 bottle selections seemed numerous. If you are a foodie I think you will like this place.</blockquote>


I'm going here this saturday...but I couldn't find your wife's main course on here :( I wonder if their menu changes often to match with the season. How did you guys like the food...is it as good as it looks? :)</blockquote>


Onotria is fabulous! I always order to many apps and can barely eat an entree, because I like to try different things. I haven't ever found anything that I didn't like.
 
I just wanted to post this info for somebody who asked a while ago about some good hole-in-the-wall Persian food places:

there is one I went a couple of times to, Charlie Kebob at the Irvine Spectrum's food court. The food was really good, and the price-quality-size ratio was great. All entrees are around 10-13 bucks, so I really felt in this kind of economy places like this one would be ever-so-popular.
 
[quote author="BMP 309" date=1216807213][quote author="kawakonohirukun" date=1216803670][quote author="IACRenter" date=1211115674]I just had a great dinner at <a href="http://www.onotria.com/">Onotria</a> in Costa Mesa. It is a California/Italian restaurant that serves great wine and epicurean food. I get so tired of all the chain restaurants you find in Irvine, this place is different in a good way. We started with the "Wild Boar Prosciutto, thinly sliced, with Pecorino Tartufato Cheese & drizzled with Chestnut Honey-Balsamic Vinegar"--simple presentation but delicious. For our main course my wife ordered the foie gras with risotto & mushrooms and I went for the "Lamb Shank, slowly braised with Anise & Curry in Passito Wine Sauce over creamy Eggplant." Service was good and prices were moderate. I only drank a glass of wine but their bottle and 1/2 bottle selections seemed numerous. If you are a foodie I think you will like this place.</blockquote>


I'm going here this saturday...but I couldn't find your wife's main course on here :( I wonder if their menu changes often to match with the season. How did you guys like the food...is it as good as it looks? :)</blockquote>


Onotria is fabulous! I always order to many apps and can barely eat an entree, because I like to try different things. I haven't ever found anything that I didn't like.</blockquote>


Do they have good risotto? Haven't had good risotto since I last went to Pasadena.
 
[quote author="T!m" date=1208228011]I went to La Sirena in Laguna Beach this weekend. I saw that they opened one in the Orchard Hills Village Center. I haven't been to that one, but I love the one on Mermaid in Laguna. From looking online, it looks like the one in Irvine is bigger and nicer inside. Anyone been to both? Is the Irvine one just as good?</blockquote>


La Sirena in OH is excellent. The carnitas nachos are great, and their guacamole is great too. This is the first La Sirena I've tried.
 
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