Irvine/Tustin Restaurant Recommendations
Hi friends, and a sunny Southern California welcome! Every Friday, you’ll receive bright and fresh California Cuisine recipes to inspire you, no matter where you live in the world.
If you are new, I’m so glad you found your way here. I have a short tour of the newsletter and what you can expect to enjoy, so be sure to check that out. And if you want to know more about what you receive as a subscriber, either free or paid, read more about it here.
*** Later today (Friday), join me and Jenn Sharp LIVE as we make Shrimp Tempura Tacos with Jalapeno-Lime Crema and Jenn’s Drunken Monk cocktail! We start at 4 pm Pacific, 7 pm Eastern US. The link to join is here. ***
Farewell to June
It’s hard to believe we are already saying goodbye to June! It’s been a month of frozen sweet treats, including strawberry hibiscus sorbet, blueberry kiwi paletas, mango sorbet with chamoy ripple, pineapple creamsicles, Tom Kha ice cream, strawberry rose pistachio pops, and frozen dalgona coffee. Which one was your favorite?
To finish out this month: Southern California restaurant recommendations!
Whether you’re traveling to Southern California or you live here and are looking for somewhere new to eat, there’s no doubt that online restaurant review sites are handy. However, there’s nothing like getting a recommendation from someone local.
So, today I’m sharing some special restaurants in the Irvine/Tustin area of Orange County, California that I think you’ll love. These two cities border each other and the restaurants are perfect places to visit if you are flying into or out of John Wayne Airport (so much nicer than LAX!), visiting your favorite student at University of California Irvine, or doing some power shopping at either Irvine Spectrum Mall or Tustin Market Place.
A few caveats:
These are recent visits. I’ve eaten at these restaurants many times over the years; however, the reviews reflect what I ate and experienced within the last two months so everything is current. I paid for my meals, nothing was comped.
Links provided are for your convenience. I do not receive any compensation or payment for including them. I thought you would appreciate not having to google everything, lol.
All the photos are mine and were taken on my iPhone. I have not pulled them from the web or anywhere else, so what you see is what you get.
Let’s get to it!
Restaurant Recommendations
The first two restaurants are upscale dining establishments, perfect for date night, girls’/guys’ night out, or a special meal with friends.
Habana
What do you get when you combine 1940s Cuba with California cool? Tropical and relaxed with a little bit of glam! Habana features traditional Cuban food and hospitality.
I love that they greet you at the door with a complimentary glass of bubbly rosé!
Once inside, you’d never guess the restaurant is located on the fringes of the Irvine Spectrum mall. We were introduced to this restaurant by our friends Dan and Julie. Looking at the sparkly mercury glass mirrors, plush leather booths, iron candelabra chandeliers, and servers in jaunty straw boater hats, I felt like I’d stepped off a Douglas DC-3 and landed in prerevolutionary Havana. The ambiance is a mood.
A nice way to start the meal is with bocaditos, croquetas, and empanadas of all sorts. The Taste of Habana sampler is a great introduction. We’ve also enjoyed the mariscos fritos (fried calamari, conch, and shrimp) and the refreshing Mojito salad (pictured above).
Entrees span the gamut: seafood, chicken, pork, and several beef options. Do you like beef? I’d recommend the El Churrasco (pictured above). It includes grilled skirt steak with chimichurri, plantains, rice, black beans, plus an ear of corn slathered with chili lime butter. Yummmm.
If you are celebrating a special occasion (or just love dessert), be sure to order the El Pastelito, a rich chocolate mini cake garnished with candied cherries wrapped in gold leaf. It’s beautiful and decadent!
As you might expect, there are many tropical cocktails to choose from. I order a mojito every time (call me a creature of habit), but I’ve got my eye on the Daiquiri frappe guava for my next visit.
For menu and other locations, visit Habana.
Houston’s
American classics prepared from scratch in an upscale, clubby atmosphere. What’s even better than the great food? The excellent and attentive service.
I love that you can request a hot washcloth for your hands before or after your meal!
Houston’s is part of a larger restaurant group, with locations in several states. I’ve only been to the one in Irvine, and it is one of my favorite places to eat with friends Lisa and John. They introduced us to this gem a few years ago.
The cool dark interior, deep leather booths, and jazzy music all contribute to the Mad Men-ish vibes. Call me old-fashioned, but I think it’s great that the restaurant has Dining Guidelines and Attire Standards. No tank tops, flip flops, hats, or athletic wear, please. No cell phone calls, and children must be kept calm and quiet, just like in the 1950s, lol.
One of the most exceptional starters on their menu and one I highly recommend if it’s in season: grilled California artichokes (photo above). Smoky, salty, buttery, and tender, these giant beauties are served with a lip-smacking rémoulade. On my most recent visit, I made a meal of them, along with ciabatta cheese toast (photo above). Other delicious starters include the house-smoked salmon with chef’s dressing and the kale salad with peanut vinaigrette.
While the rotisserie chicken with apricot glaze and the French Dip au jus are both wonderful, my favorite entree is the pan-seared ahi with mango avocado salad. It’s so delicious that I’m making my version of it in an upcoming newsletter! Stay tuned.
The wine list here keeps it local by featuring mainly California wines. The bar will make cocktails to order. Even though Cosmopolitans (photo above) are not on the menu, they can be ordered and taste fantastic.
The service here is exceptional. Everyone is friendly, but not overly so. Empty plates are whisked away by any server who passes your table. Glasses are refilled. If your cocktail sits longer than 10-ish minutes on your table, the server automatically brings you a frosty cocktail glass and transfers your drink into it, keeping your cocktail cold! Such a lovely touch.
For menu and other locations, visit Houston’s.
These last two restaurants are casual dining places that are family-friendly, bright, and airy. They are located in large shopping complexes next to big-box retailers.
JA Jiaozi
Authentic jiaozi, or Beijing-style Chinese dumplings, are handmade to order! And so addicting! Dumplings form the core of the meals here, accompanied by a variety of hot and cold dishes. Service is friendly and fast.
I love that you can watch the cooks assemble dumplings through the big picture window that looks into the kitchen (and that the cooks can see diners enjoy the dumplings)!
This restaurant is part of a restaurant group that operates upscale establishments in China and the Michelin-starred Bistro Na in Los Angeles. My husband discovered this place when it was newly opened in 2018, and we have eaten here regularly since then! The atmosphere is minimalist with concrete floors and wood tables, but things are kept cheery with whimsical details like dumpling murals and celadon blue dishware.
There are so many good things on the menu, but the selection can be intimidating, especially if you aren’t as familiar with dumplings. In addition to choosing different fillings, you also choose how you want them cooked: steamed or pan-fried. We have ordered every flavor of dumpling on the menu, and they are all delicious if that’s any help, lol. Some of our favorites are the scallop and shrimp dumplings, and the Angus beef with onion dumplings (pictured above).
We love to round out our meals with veggie chow mein (pictured above), beef brisket with quail eggs, stir-fried green beans with XO sauce, or sweet and sour fish filets (pictured above).
To view the menu, visit JA Jiaozi.
Pacific Catch
Very California, very Pacific Rim, and very delicious! The seafood-centric menu changes seasonally, but the choices are always varied, bright, and fresh. Service is prompt and casually friendly.
I love that the restaurant is dedicated to sustainably sourced seafood!
Pacific Catch is a chain with 15 locations, all in California, but I’ve only eaten at the one in Tustin. Our friends Lee and Sue introduced us to the restaurant, and we love coming here with them. I order something different every time and have never been disappointed!
The decor and the menu both reflect coastal influences from the U.S. West Coast to Pacific islands to seaside towns of Mexico. The ambiance is bright and airy with warm woods, tropical plants, and rattan.
There are a variety of appetizers, called “share plates.” I’ve enjoyed the Hawaiian pork belly sliders, ahi poke, and Baja shrimp ceviche. The pupu platter is a nice sampler if you can’t decide.
For main entrees, my favorites are the West Coast grilled salmon bowl, crispy cod taco platter, and the lobster roll. On my most recent visit, I tried a new addition to the menu, Chilean sea bass salad (photo above). It was the most perfectly cooked fish I’ve had in a restaurant in a long time. If you order fish regularly, you know that it frequently arrives at the table just a touch overcooked and bordering on dry. Not here. These fish skewers were tender and luscious!
Cocktails are really fun and reflect the coastal vibe. I got the newly added Shark Fin (pictured above), a combination of vodka, honey-guava syrup, lemon juice, and prosecco. My goodness, it was good. And in case you are wondering, no, I don’t always order a pink cocktail. It just looks that way from this newsletter, lol! There is also a choice of zero-proof (no alcohol) cocktails.
For the menu and other locations, visit Pacific Catch.
Coming in July
What’s around the corner? You know I love a good series, so it’s Salads and Sips for 2, all month long. Beautiful, fresh, California-inspired meal salads paired with summer drinkies to enjoy as you watch the sunset. You are going to love these!
Here’s a sneak peek at some of the recipe testing that’s been happening:
Enjoyed this newsletter? Please share it far and wide, up and down, and across the sea!
Tell Me
Do you have a favorite restaurant in Southern California? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
See you next Friday for Salads and Sips!
What fun you must have had dining out and tasting all the good food and drinks!
yum!