Super cute and is definitely a 'Newport vibe'. Service was great- thanks Kacy! You honestly go for…read morethe vibes, atmosphere and beachy aesthetics. The drink menu is honestly overpriced, but again, you go for the vibes. Worth it to go and watch the sunset!

Nice rooftop bar at the Lido House…read more I did not spend a lot of time here because I got here late, but plenty of seating and they had some nice fire pit seating. Drinks were spot on too.

Always a great experience here! My server Marco was incredible and sweet. The atmosphere is always…read moreupbeat and pleasant, honestly no complaints. Food is top notch, from appetizers to main course and to dessert! Highly recommend.

We had a great experience at Joey Newport Beach…read more First, the aesthetic of the restaurant is really cool. Loved the vibe and seating options. Beautiful. Great people watching. Fun. It was very crowded on a Sunday night around 6:00pm. We made reservations but arrived a little early so elected for a drink at the bar. Right in cue we spotted two stools open up so grabbed them. I didn't catch our bartenders name but she was very friendly and attentive. They all seamed happy and friendly. We ordered two Tito's dirty martinis and she served them properly. Super cold and to the rim. Perfect start. We loved sitting at the bar so cancelled our table reservation and ordered food. I ordered the Truffle Udon Carbonara* egg yolk, bacon, dashi truffle cream sauce. $27. So tasty. I would order again and again. My husband ordered skewer chicken with spicy rice. He loved it. We thought the restaurant was great. Easy to find parking or you can valet if you prefer, friendly staff and delicious food. We will make it a point at come back next time we are in town.

Such a wonderful lunch experience. The food was delicious, and the service truly stood out. Jay…read moremade our son's occasion extra special and was incredibly attentive in accommodating his gluten-free needs. Easily some of the best service we've had thankful for such a memorable afternoon.

I'm in love with the firecracker sushi roll. That is a 10/10 sushi roll NO JOKE. You MUST order it…read more Everything else was pretty average on the menu. The service was very slow, despite the resturaunt being nearly empty on a Saturday night. For the price point, everything was mid-tier, other than the firecracker roll..it was just so insanely good. The desserts were delicious tbh. The dubai chocolate mousse is soooooo good. Ambiance is great! They don't call it "View" for nothing.

If you have not been to CDM speakeasy basement AND are a fan of food cocktails and good service you…read moreare missing out. There is no place in Orange County that you will have the cocktails and service that you get from Brandon. It is a privilege to drink his creations and passion for hospitality. I do not say this lightly. It is why the phrase "a hidden gem" was forged. In my case not to use lightly. The food is great and overshadowed by the ambiance and comfort and complexity of his creative drinks. Manager always coming in to check also a plus on the restaurant overalll service.

After receiving a recommendation to visit quite some time ago, we finally made it out to CDM for a…read morebirthday weekend and were, unfortunately, really disappointed. It wasn't terrible, and we didn't leave thinking the food was awful, but for what the experience seems like it should have been it was not great. The signature cocktails are really nothing special and cost a lot. I personally had the Blood Orange Sour and might as well have just made my own whiskey sour at home and saved $17. We reserved a table outside and the atmosphere was nice and seats were comfortable. We're not sure if it was because we were sat in the far corner or they were understaffed, but the service was very slow, and even getting our card back after we paid took at least 10 minutes. Finally, the food was fine, aside from one of the salmon entrees coming out VERY rare. The restaurant ended up comping this dish for us. If you're looking for a nice night out with great food and drinks, there are plenty of more satisfying options for m Orange County that will be far better, and also cost you less than CDM.

We had a great experience at A +O restaurant | Bar located in the Balboa Bay Club…read more We enjoy stopping at A + O while visiting NPB. Although it is located in a resort, it is definitely a locals spot. Everyone appeared to know each other from the area. Very friendly. We arrived around 11:00 am for Brunch and to watch the final day of The Masters. It was a rainy morning so we elected to sit at the bar. We typically enjoy sitting outside on the patio at the tables or the fire pits, if you still at the bar, you still have a nice view of the boats lined up in the harbor. Tia was the bartender when we arrived. She was very attentive and professional. Tia explained brunch was already over which we were a little bummed but she said she could still do a couple of breakfast boards. Neither looked like what we were interested in eating so we elected to go for lunch. We ordered Bloody Marys and they were delicious. We started with the Chef's Seasonal Burrata - Pistachio pesto, roasted beets, pomegranate, lemon olive oil, fresh herbs, grilled house made focaccia. This was very refreshing and tasty. It is also GF and Veg. I ordered the A+O Burger - Brioche bun, butter lettuce, 1000 island, farmhouse cheddar, caramelized onion, pickles, fries. I ordered it Medium and unfortunately the burger was cooked well done. It had great flavor but it was a little dry since not cooked to order. The fries were delicious, hot and crispy. My husband ordered the Pork Belly Sliders - Pork belly, butterleaf lettuce, roma tomatoes, fresh sliced pickles, spicy aioli, Kings Hawaiian slider bun. He said they were delicious. Tia left and Joe took over. Joe was amazing. Very attentive and friendly. Joe went out of his way to grab a drink I requested that was not available at the bar and brought it out for me. Very nice! The bar was crowded and Joe took care of everyone with ease while giving everyone attention. Cameron also came in shift and was very friendly as well. The service was excellent and we liked the food. If they had cooked my burger to requested temp it would have been perfect. We will be back!

TLDR; Pretty sure this spot used to a pretty crappy brunch buffet spot. Decided to come and see…read morewhat the new spot is like. Advertised live dj on sundays when we made reservations and there was no live music. Food is overall bland as hell, steak was chewy and dry and unsalted it seems. Chicken and waffles board was probably the worst chicken and waffles I've had, and all the sides that came with it seemed random as hell. We were excited to try a newish brunch spot out and to get a bottle of champagne for mimosas. Little did we know, that the mimosa would be the best part of the meal. This spot replaced a super crappy brunch buffet, that was one of the saddest buffets I've ever been to. Saw that they opened a new concept and saw that they advertised live DJs on sundays for brunch. So we decided to try it. We sat down and ordered the chicken and waffles platter and steak and salad plate. The chicken and waffle plate was really not that good, not a single item on the platter was good. Waffles, you can tell they tried to make it fancy, but just tasted weird and dry. The syrup, looks like they make in house also, not sweet enough and bland. The chicken was the least bland item out of everything, but it's not worth it at all. The steak was one of the chewiest, dry steaks I've had in a while also under seasoned, maybe even no salt. The chicken platter also had random items on it, that made no sense. Random sprigs of rosemary, marshmallow amongst other items. Nothing seemed to gel and it looked like they were just trying to fill the space with easy things. The mimosas that came with the chicken and waffles platter was the star of our meal. Honestly, I'd say it's hard to make food taste this bland and whatevers. With what they are charging, the steak shouldn't be dry and chewy, let alone not seasoned. Everything was under seasoned like we were in a cardiatric ward in the hospital. You can make better food following any recipe on YouTube. 2 stars for the mimosa and the server was very friendly, service wasn't anything to write home about though. Not busy at all, and a lot of workers just standing around. We didn't get checked on much throughout the meal. Oh and the valet was free at least.

Absolutamente Delicioso!!! I rarely give 5 stars, but this…read morelittle gem most certainly deserves them all. The food is exquisite and a nice change from the usual Mexican fare. It's influenced by the San Cabos area of Mexico. So, it's what we're familiar with, only with a lovely twist. I ordered the chicken enchiladas Suiza, and my son got the taco trio. It was some of the BEST Mexican food we'd ever had. Another plus is that it's not on Balboa Island's main drag. So, parking and traffic aren't as much of a hassle. It's also very close to the water. The atmosphere is pleasant, and so is the staff. We couldn't have had a nicer experience. I highly recommend it.

Le sigh (sorry, my elder emo coming out). Todos Sandos was a 3 star/"OK" stop on a recent trip to…read moreSoCal. Located just down the street from the Balboa Ferry, it's an easy walk. Nice looking spot with plenty of outdoor seating. All the staff we interacted with were very friendly. So why just 3 stars? The food was just eh. If I had more hours in California I would have made up for the lackluster food by making a trip to HB's Tacos Los Cholos. I had the recommended Enchiladas Suizas. When my plate came out I knew immediately it would be just ok. The enchiladas didn't even look saucy. The refried beans looked (and tasted) like canned beans. The rice was very boring. The tinga chicken, somehow, was dry. My wife had the tostada salad. It was like $26 because of the $10 add on of steak. $26 for the most gringo thing on the menu. Best part of it was the steak, the rest will be repressed from my memory. A friend had the taco trio. $19 for 3 tacos and no sides. That's pretty steep. He didn't even finish the 3 tacos. He had the short rib, al pastor and carnitas. None of them looked very good. I had a pinch of his short rib meat. It tasted like grandma's Sunday pot roast. And just like the tinga chicken it was also dry. My wife's strawberry marg was quite good. The beer menu was very basic. Gotta step it up. When the free chips and salsa, and add on steak are the highlights of the dinner you know that the place needs help.

I loved the food, and the service was okay. However, the music was far too loud--it felt like it…read morewas on full blast. The waiter had trouble hearing us, and we could barely hear each other without raising our voices.

Lost Wallet. $15. Jack Daniels , skrewball peanut butter whiskey, lemon , Gifford Orgeat, mint -…read morevery good. Not overly peanut flavor. I would get again Black walnut old fashioned $13. Was ok but pretty normal old fashioned for me. Not a fan. Coastal halibut $29. Rice, creamy Parmesan, spinach, broccolini and roasted Carrots. - rice was very creamy and delicious. Fish was cooked perfectly Fish tacos were salmon. We're very good. $21 Joshua Smith as our server and very personable and a good server. For the area not a bad price for the quality.

What a hidden treasure You really walk into another place…read moreThrough the tunnel you are transported to Havana Furnished with a variety of furniture just fits Homey and fresh. Relaxed The staff are warm and welcoming. Gladly explaining the menu and make suggestions. The ingredients are fresh and a delicious blend of flavors You can taste the layers Lovely mid of savory and sweet all together without the spice Items are beautifully plated and presented

Second time we've tried this place and the SECOND location we have tried...food is mid at best and…read moreso overpriced. The drinks are very weak and the service is slow. If you want a snooty Orange County "influencer" vibe spot, then sure but this doesn't offer much more. The food is far from authentic and the noise level is through the roof. They sat us at the wrong table from our party, we ordered our drinks first and bc they sat us at the wrong table we were the last to get our drinks. They try to up charge something at every turn they visit your table and it's just a poor experience. Hard pass on this place. UPDATE: So the experience got exponentially worse. It was my friend's birthday and I was trying to make sure none of these issues were brought to the table but the MANAGER decided to go to each person, one by one, at my table, to assess their expierence. At first (we racked up like $400 billion at minimum) I asked for the salad (that the server messed up) to be comped and our two drinks ( that were served extremely late regardless of us being there very early to meet our group) and she then came back round and was all "sorry I'm not comping the salad" excuse me??? You can't come a Cesar salary that YOU messed up. I would pass on this place by any means!! What a garbage experience. We pride $60 for an app, side, and 2 beers.

What a great find. I had not eaten at this place before, but it came highly recommended from a…read morefriend of mine so I thought hey I'm going to check this out. I am so glad I did, especially since it was happy hour. The place definitely has a great vibe to it. Plenty of seating throughout the restaurant. I recommend sitting at the bar as that's where all the action happens. You definitely want to make sure you get there for happy hour and Taco Tuesday especially, $10 Margaritas $4 tacos and these are not cheap tacos. These are like serious tacos that will fill you up. Their salsa is great, not super spicy and makes great for munching while you're talking with friends. The margaritas are definitely strong, which is nice, as some places tend to water them down for happy hour. I would say that this is a great choice to go check out and have a taco or two or three or four. I had the carne asada, the carnitas, and the pastor, every single one of them was perfect and the salsa that they came with was out of this world. Bottom line? This is a great place for Taco Tuesday as well as just a hangout and have a drink after work. Whenever I am in Costa Mesa. I am definitely coming here again.

This was a huge disappointment on Mothers Day. We made reservations for 4 and asked for a basic…read moredetached table. When we arrived, we were shocked to see they were going to squeeze us into someone else's table filled with people that could not comfortably seat four additional people next to them . Horrified we requested what we originally booked and they said NOTHING accept they were REALLY BUSY and pointed us to the outdoor fire pits with no proper chairs or seating just a firepit to put a child to sit in front of. At this point zero management came to address this and zero servers as we asked for one . We were completely ignored . We were so hungry we just sat down desperate and starving. There was no omlette bar. (I was told on the phone there was an omlette bar before booking ) No sauces to go with any food. Dried up scrambled eggs and just a few dishes to choose from this 'buffet'. The ONLY salad dressings they had (2) were super sweet (no ranch) nothing . No flavor . Their non meat dishes were just one horrible dried up bean and grain pattie obviously frozen out of a box even an animal would never eat . It was that bad . Their 'replacement ' for almost zero dishes was a pancake ststion obviously to cut costs even more . The food was horrible . When you anticipate a special Mother's Day brunch that is horribly overpriced and get this in return its so disappointing and apalling .We were prepared to walk out after our bad news of no proper seating and terrible start but by then obviously we couldn't just go to another brunch on Mother's Day . Plus our other two guests were parking with a child so we were stuck. This was our only option or nothing. Its unbelievabke how am estsblishment can treat people like this especially on a soecial day like Mother's Day amd can command their pricing with no proper and safe seating for 4 with safe and healthy distancing with a fire pit as a SEAT. No apologies , no manager , nothing . just a terrible high bill, very little options and poor food quality . At best we should get a refund as this was false advertising and did not get a table for up to 4 . What an awful Mother's Day Brunch . We go out to eat EVERYWHERE around here but can't believe sonething like this can exist . So sad . This part of the day was ruined .

My partner and I came here after dinner on Valentine's Day, and I absolutely loved this little…read morespot. She had told me about it before and really wanted to take me, so I was excited to finally check it out. It's a very small place, so I'd definitely recommend making a reservation online. That worked perfectly for us we were able to get in right away without any wait. Even though it's cozy, it doesn't feel cramped at all. The atmosphere is warm and inviting, and the drinks were wonderful. The staff really stood out to me. They were attentive, kind, and professional throughout the night. At one point, a patron started to get a bit too tipsy, and the staff handled it with such care and respect while making sure everyone else didn't feel awkward in the situation. It was clear they genuinely care about their guests' experience. Overall, such a great spot and we will definitely come back.

Tried the speakeasy cocktail lounge inside Dick's Church because we saw it on Resy and honestly, it…read morewas a huge disappointment. The atmosphere could have been cool, but every 5 minutes the bright hallway light blasted through the western-style swinging door and completely ruined the dark speakeasy vibe. The drinks were tiny and overpriced. We ordered two Old Fashioneds and the giant ice cubes took up almost the entire glass. Larger than a normal square ice cube- a little taller. But it seriously felt like they split one drink into two. Barely a shot in each glass, and the cocktails themselves were just so-so. Very syrup-y flavor. Definitely not "bespoke" or unique the was the server was upselling us. Service started good but when he got busy it went downhill. And by busy he got (1) 5 top.....He was excited about explaining the menu but then never once came back to check on us. When we finally flagged him down and asked for the check, he just dropped the handheld payment terminal on the table, walked away, grabbed it when we finished paying, and said absolutely nothing... no "thank you," no "have a great night," nothing. And this was after we still tipped 20%. Definitely not worth the money, service, or atmosphere. We won't be back.