Lots of interesting vendors with interesting things. Hardly any places to sit and eat, but very…read morespacious at the same time. Things are not cheap, so expect to pay a little extra compared to what you would find outside of the market.

We LOVE coming to 626 OC!!! We look forward to it all year. Great food choices. Some were better…read morethan others (I have edited my food post after a further review). Thumbs up to Cafe 949 (great lobster and garlic noodles) and MJ's Bellychon Basket for excellent lechon, Daddy's Catch for great dusted fries and lemonade, Molly Kitchen for grilled octopus, HGG Tanghulu for interesting sugar glazed fruits on a stick. Thumbs sideways for New England Seafood for lack of flavored oysters, and Bonanza Bakery and Cafe for creepy realistic animal shaped mousse cakes. Thumbs down for Kanto Filipino Street Food for chewy (not in a good way) fried chicken skin (old and rubbery probably leftovers from the previous day) and lack luster flavorless lechon. Overall 626 is an experience too good to pass up even though some foods are a disappointment. Atmosphere here is great, service is excellent! Just be choosy when making your selections. There were more to tastes we wanted to try, but our bellies and take home bag was stuffed.

Pizza Studio was OK... but I think it's advertising overhypes and for those reasons I have to take…read morea few points off the pizza scale. The GOOD: I'll definitely shoutout the staff for being professional and friendly. I had pretty good customer service at their stand in Anime Expo Chibi. The ambiance was calm and they had upbeat music playing. I ordered the Kyoto style personal pizza w/ Grilled Eel. It came with spinach, Japanese pepper and tomato. Each veggie tasted fresh, I especially liked the mild Japanese pepper. The BAD: A personal pizza was $22 dollars each, which is quite ridiculous given how skinny the crust was when I received it. Pizza Studio only had a couple of customers and I'm not shocked as to why, it's definitely an "emergency only" type of spot. It's cool that they fuse Japanese and Italian food (they have neat selections), but given the quality of my meal this is a bit more gimicky. The eel on my pizza had too much salt and had a generic BBQ chicken taste. The advertising was also lame. The menu had mozzarella and tomato sauce as seemingly "special toppings". The advertising team was trying to find more ways to charge I guess. I'm sorry, but those "toppings" are hallmarks of a pizza so I shouldn't be thankful for having them on mine when they're a given.

I had the opportunity to experience Gyudon Restaurant at the Irvine Lunar New Year festival at the…read moreGreat Park and was very glad I chose this spot. I ordered a Gyudon beef bowl and it was one of the best I have tried in a while. Yoshinoya is a risky hit or miss whenever I am craving and need a quick fix of gyudon beef bowl but this place is on my list now. I cook this dish exactly like this and It was so good I had to go home and make it for dinner. A+ on the flavor and execution.

We brought our dog to Great Park in Irvine and was lucky enough to attend the annual Illuminate…read moreChristmas Party that we didn't know is happening. We chanced upon this Gyudon Place run by a nice owner Chris . His Beef Bowl which he said was made from scratch was really great and it'd only $12 add a side dish of cucumber salad for $2 and it hoes well with the whole meal! I asked Chris if he has a permanent restaurant in place but unfortunately he just attends functions such as this. Hopefully we can chance upon him in other parks celebration. It was a real treat for us. Thanks again Chris for your wonderful cooking!

** this is from several months ago** t'was sitting in my drafts for a bit,…read more... Several beer pitchers in @ HACHI (just next door-shout out to them)-- for a celebration of a breakup, the end of midterms, or simply the triumph of continuing to exist (in THIS economy?? were all needing to praise ourselves for simply surviving) -- we found ourselves drawn, like moths to a fluorescently lit flame, to Halal Guys. Now listen. The food? Solid. Reliable. The kind of food that understands you are not here for nuance. You are here because life has punched you in the throat and you require a plate of rice, chicken, gyro meat, and mysterious white sauce to spiritually stabilize. I used to go to the OG one in NYC when i was getting punched in the throat there too. (PUNCHED IN THE THROAT BY ACADEMIA, FIGURATIVELY, y'all haver crazy imaginations outthere). BUT it;s the people... It's always the people... The staff. My siblings in falafel... it was 10 PM. You could feel the collective energy of "we have been serving drunk people since sunset and you are the 437th group tonight explaining your breakup story while pointing at the menu." Not judging, just warmth and the quiet aura of people who have seen things. Who have witnessed humanity at its lowest point: ordering extra hot sauce and then immediately regretting it. JC looked in my soul and I think he understood,,, everything. AND JESS! (my fairy wielding a spoon scooping the heavenly meat and talking to me like a therapist??) And they fed us. Efficiently. Respectfully. Would I return? hell ya i would. only to see if Jess and JC remembers me. JK the food is always reliable. y'all stay away from the hot saucres,

Overall (1/5) This was easily my worst Halal Guys experience…read moreand honestly left me really disappointed. I came craving something familiar and left feeling like I wasted both time and money. First Impressions (1/5) When I walked in, there was only one person working, handling the fryer, the register, and assembling plates. I genuinely felt bad for her, especially considering the steady line forming. What We Got (2/5) I ordered a regular plate, which is what I usually get at Halal Guys. Nothing customized or complicated, just the standard order I have had many times before at other locations. Taste and Quality (0/5) The food was shockingly bad. The rice was raw and crunchy, which was hard to believe at first. The meat pieces were tiny and very chewy, and the pita bread was extremely soggy. On top of that, it was only around 4 pm and the usual spinning meat and grill were not even on, despite the line picking up. Service (2/5) The worker was clearly trying her best, but one person running everything in a busy location is not realistic. She was constantly running back and forth between the fryer and the line, which made the whole operation feel chaotic and slow. Space and Atmosphere (3/5) The space itself was fine and what you would expect from Halal Guys. Clean enough, but nothing stood out positively enough to offset the food experience. Was It Worth It (0/5) Not at all. As someone who is pretty frugal and almost always finishes their meals, I could not finish this plate. It genuinely felt like a waste of $18. Final Thoughts This location does not seem to be held to the same standards as other Halal Guys in the area. This experience was disappointing from start to finish.

Part of the 626 Night Market event at the OC Fairgrounds, Lobsterdamus finds its niche in serving…read moreup grilled lobsters for the seafood fans. THE FOOD ELABORATION. - Lobster Nest (Whole - $42): Delicious, tender, mesquite-grilled lobster with a side of clarified butter for dipping. The claw meat was so plump and juicy! This sits on a bed of al dente garlic noodles; not my favorite, but it had its moment of garlicky punch. THE VIBE EVOCATION. Fair vibes. They have a pretty big outdoor set up for grilling, frying, and boiling. The menu is selective, but displaying each dish is helpful to see what you'll be getting. THE PARKING AFFAIR. Arrive early to get a parking spot close to the entrance. How early is early? About 15-20 min before the 4PM opening. Parking is $12. THE RETURN QUANDARY. Yep, the lobster was great!

The lobster fries were so delicious but next time could you guys have to go boxes for people who…read morecan't finish eating them. The service was really fast. I was at the 626 fair so there was no ambience but the music was fun to listen to.

Best corn dog ever... here's why:…read more I've been coming here since high school, so this place has been around for a long time and it's still one of my favorite quick stops in Newport. Look at the pictures. This corn dog comes out perfectly golden brown with that deep fried batter all the way around. When you bite into it the outside has that crisp crunch, but the inside is soft and fluffy like fresh cornmeal batter should be. The hot dog in the middle is juicy and cooked just right, and the whole thing is big too, not one of those skinny little ones you get at other places. If you want to dress it up, they've got a little condiment station where you can load it up however you want. Ketchup, relish, mustard, onions, jalapeños, different spices, all that kind of stuff. What I also like about this place is they've got everything. hot dogs, funnel cakes, banana splits, all the classic snack stand stuff. Perfect spot when you're walking around Newport and want something quick that actually tastes great. If you're in Newport Beach and craving a real old school corn dog, this place is hard to beat.

I stopped by Jane's Corndog Stand last night and unfortunately had a pretty disappointing…read moreexperience. My group and I walked in and spent about 2 minutes looking over the menu, trying to decide what to order. Without any warning or polite notice, an employee abruptly shouted "we are closed" at us and told us to leave. The tone came off as rude and unwelcoming, especially since no one had mentioned they were closing when we first walked in. I completely understand businesses needing to close at a certain time, but a simple and courteous heads-up would have made a big difference. The interaction left a negative impression, and I hope they can improve how they communicate with customers in the future.

This place has great tacos!!! Very good horchata as well and jamaica when they have it. The service…read moreis also very good too! I'd come here and support any day over some corporate given restaurant. 100/10

Estos tacos son legit.... the molcajete salsa is really…read moregood. The service is great and they are fast.

No bueno. My cousin Yelped this taco place after a Korean Spa adventure. It has a 4.3 * rating with…read morealmost 400 reviewers, why not?!??! It makes my stomach worse than the food we ate here to leave a bad review on a small business - especially a food truck. Which by the way some of the best food I have had has been from food trucks. It's seems there is more love into the food they serve. The location was not too bad, accessible with decent street parking. Clean & simple setup - canopies, folding tables & stools. The stools look questionable but were sturdier than they look. Nice CLEAN salsa bar. Oh they were not stingy on the napkins - a bonus for me! The cashier was not that personable. My friend's daughter ordered. She asked for sour cream on her quesadilla. He laughed sarcastically & said no sour cream. My tacos had bland dry bits of meat. My cousin & her friend's burritos were too hot.

Delicious street tacos that are very reasonable. We ordered the carne, pastor and lengua tacos and…read morethey were fantastic. I especially appreciated the salsa bar that was full of toppings and both mild & spicy salsa. They also have tables available which was a nice touch. This truck is clean and a great spot for late night tacos.

The cutest little mom & pop food stand. I've drove past this place all the time and I pointed it…read moreout to my bf one day. To my surprise, he told me he used to stop by here all the time when he was in high school. We agreed we'd go try it if we were ever in the area and today was that day. We both got their Chicago dog and shared a large chili cheese fries. I'm a huge chili cheese fries lover and their fry to chili ration is perfect! I've gone to a few places where they don't add enough chili so this was the perfect amount. This was my first time trying a Chicago dog and it was honestly delicious. Perfect amount of savory and sourness. I also ordered their Thai tea and usually I get no boba but forgot to mention that when I ordered. I still drank it though and their boba pearl was actually nice and chewy. Their Thai tea isn't too milky which is how I prefer my Thai tea because I love the bitterness of the tea. They have a small drive thru you can order from or you can park and walk up to their ordering window on the opposite side of the drive thru. We decided to sit and enjoy our order since the sun was beginning to set. Also do y'all see those prices?! Definitely a good stop and affordable. I also believe it's Cambodian owned! All in all, it's definitely a cute spot to stop by if you're ever in the area and I'd definitely come back to try something different!

Food is amazing just like I'm back home in Chicago. Highly…read morerecommend the Chicago Dog and Italian Beef 10/10

Hands down some of the best tacos in OC! This spot was recommended by my sister, and now I totally…read moreunderstand why. The tacos are incredibly flavorful, fresh, and very reasonably priced. My go-to order is the chicken, cabeza, and tripas -- protein style. The meats are always well-seasoned and cooked perfectly. What really takes it to the next level is loading them up with their cucumber salad, grilled onions, and fresh cilantro. The combination is simple but so good. Everything tastes fresh and authentic. If you're looking for delicious tacos without breaking the bank, this place is definitely worth checking out. I'll definitely be back!

Came here because of a friend and honestly was concerned that I would get sick but nope! The food…read moreis solid and the line gets long! You find this taco stand in Bolsa. They set up at 6pm but the line starts forming by already! They have al pastor on a spit, carne asada, lengua, the whole shabang! The tacos were only $2 when I came but menu said $2.50. They run promos and tell you day of so that was it for us. Their burritos are hefty with a generous portion of meat and the condiments on the side were great. Salsas can be hot so you've been warned. This place takes cash, zelle, venmo.