We made a reservation at Pioneer and really enjoyed this little spot! It's tucked inside a diner,…read moreso it can be a little hard to find at first, but it's just inside the back patio area with a cute wooden saloon-door entrance. The space is small, cozy, and intimate with just a few tables. Our waitress was super friendly and took the time to explain the menu and different options to us. - Guava Y Queso (4.5/5): I loved this! It was really unique with the cream cheese topping, but the combination worked so well. Definitely a fun spot for cocktails and something a little different!

This place is well hidden, but unfortunately the experience was ruined by how rude and dismissive…read morethe employees were. I asked about seating for two and was simply told to wait outside with no explanation. After 15 minutes, I asked for an update and was again given a vague, dismissive response. Why not give a yes or no answer to whether accommodations can be made? There were several parties waiting in the brightly lit hallway with no A/C, despite plenty of tables seemingly available. At one point, another party peeked inside and a young kid employee with an Afro came out and rudely waved his hands in a "what do you want" manner without saying a word. Two waiting parties immediately left, and we decided to do the same after witnessing that. Another party with a reservation waiting told us this happens regularly and that the staff can be rude. Whether that's their normal practice or not, it was enough to make me not want to give this place my money. We ended up going to two other bars nearby that the one party waiting there recommended and had a completely opposite experience, welcoming and respectful. Definitely disappointing and don't recommend wasting your time as there's so many other places to try.

From start to finish this place is did NOT disappoint.... After knocking on the door we were…read moregreeted by a smiling, friendly face. Then we were led through the door to walk into this fun and sassy bar. There was so much to look at and the vibe was on point. The bartenders were knowledgeable with all the different flavors of spirits and I picked a tasty drink (or 2). My overall experience was top notch!

Very cool spot it' has really nice decor. However all of the staff was great except one bartender…read morehe started off extremely rude and stayed consistent he was a lil taller works on Sunday night black hair thin guy . The spot is great just give the guy a pep talk that nobody has time for it . Go check it out

All the candles are soooo cool…read more The drinks are made with care and the well liquor is high quality. I recommend coming here if you want to experience a drink made by a mixologist. Beyond the mixology, the bar is very approachable and easy for just a regular drink as well. I ordered the vesper: gin and vodka martini with a twist. The good cocktails and super intimate vibe make for a great recipe. There are a couple high quality leather upholstered couches. Along with the couches there are a few high tops and a good amount of seats at the bar. The space would be very fun when crowded but I tend to prefer to have to have the bar to myself. Then I can spend time talking with the person behind the bar (I'm sure I can be very annoying) I was served by Karena. She was super knowledgeable and patient. I wanted to talk about different cocktails and really get the full experience. The whole visit exceeded my expectations. Beyond the drinks, service, and decor; this place is truly something special.

Cade, Max, and Karina- top notch bartenders in the OC…read more The BEST gin and tonic in the United States of America. Joe and Karen

We stopped by this bar after dinner one night. Love it! The decor all over is neat! They have an…read moreoutdoor area and more seating inside along with the bar. Seats are limited. There's a tree right in the middle inside. The decor is best described as eclectic. I love it! The drinks were great! My guava martini was delish! We also had the espresso martini and that delish! The service was great! Everyone was super nice! They are open late! We stayed until midnight which was closing time on Sunday but we would have definitely stayed later! We are definitely coming back!

What a great little trendy bar hidden away! After the OC Fair we felt like a little nightcap &…read morethrough Yelp found this little gem. The ambiance was so cool with lots of Asian inspired decorations, total eye candy. The line for the drinks was a little long but went pretty fast and we were lucky to score 2 seats inside almost immediately. If not, you can stand around or sit on other little tables on their outside patio. You can view the drinks through a QR code, a wall menu or above the bar. The drinks were really good with fun names, it was hard to decide which I'd make my first! A great place to visit and enjoy a good drink.

My husband and I came to Habana in Costa Mesa to celebrate our anniversary, and we had such a…read morelovely experience! We made a reservation ahead of time, and when we arrived, our table was decorated with rose petals and a cute anniversary card. Such a thoughtful little detail that made our celebration feel extra special! For food, I ordered my usual, the Ropa Vieja, and it's honestly a 10/10 every time! The meat is always packed with flavor, and their rice is literally my favorite! My husband ordered the New York steak, which was super buttery, tender, and seared to perfection. We also ordered a side of their Caribbean fries, and the dipping sauce was SO good! For drinks, my husband ordered El Cubanito, which was really good! I went with the Agua de Coco, which literally comes served in a coconut! I also ordered a shot of their Havana Club Añejo to go with it, and I loved the combination. Definitely something I would order again! Overall, such a wonderful experience! Between the delicious food, drinks, and the thoughtful anniversary setup, it made our evening feel even more special. Habana continues to be one of my favorite spots, and I would absolutely recommend it, especially for a date night or special occasion!

More parking than I thought on a weekend…read more Restaurant located at The LAB Anti-Mall in Costa Mesa. Tropical vibes and decor. Our server was initially prompt, but as the evening passed, we saw him less and less as the tables began to fill to the point we had to ask other waiters to refill our water. We ordered a bunch of entrees and sides to sample the menu. I ordered the Chef's Special which included a hanger steak, broccoli, and roasted potatoes, along with a side of the Chorizo Mac n Cheese. The consensus was that the food lacked seasoning. The sauces that were served with the dishes enhanced the flavor and added the needed seasoning. What I want to highlight is that they had cooked my steak just as I wanted (rare) and the broccoli was just how I liked it. Price is a bit steep, but you're paying for the aesthetic and atmosphere. Overall, while I'd be open to trying it again, it wouldn't be my first choice for Cuban food.

Definitely make a reservation here! I believe there are only like 4 booths!…read moreWe were able to secure a booth because someone missed their reservation. You will have to go through the main tikibar (Stowaway) and walk to a side door in the back. The theme is along the lines of Pinocchio. After you enter the side door, you will be transported and see a story book. You will walk through a whale's mouth to get to your booth. There is so much to look at all around so take your time admiring the decor while you drink. The tiki drinks are different from Stowaway and are delicious! It's definitely more intimate so you can talk to the bartenders. Though since it's all booths, you won't really see them make the drinks. Overall, fun spot - intimate if you want the tiki vibes in a quieter location

The Belly of the Beast - Pinocchio Speakeasy at Stowaway Tiki Bar, Tustin…read more The Belly of the Beast is a Pinocchio-themed speakeasy tucked inside Stowaway Tiki Bar in Tustin, and it's definitely a fun experience. You actually enter through the mouth of a whale, which immediately sets the tone. The decor and theming are really well done, with plenty of unique details that make the space feel immersive. The atmosphere is more intimate and private compared to the main tiki bar, which makes it a nice change of pace. The food menu is limited, but what we tried was good. The drinks were definitely the highlight. I had the Farewell Jimmy, Smoke the Monster Out, and Geppetto's Last Words--all three were great. Smooth, tropical, flavorful, and definitely potent. Service was okay, but nothing particularly stood out. Overall, The Belly of the Beast is a cool place to check out if you enjoy themed bars and unique experiences. For me, it's probably more of a one-time experience rather than somewhere I'd regularly return to. Still, the creativity, decor, and cocktails make it worth experiencing at least once.

We were just looking for some good delicious food and we found this place in a strip mall totally…read morehiding and would had never thought all the good food they had in there! They also have a little speakeasy area (seat there) and the ambiance over there was super cool and very intimate. Service is as great and the servers were very nice. We started with Sakura Sour - deliciously made! And short bottle of unfiltered sake- excellent. For food: Lemongrass dumplings: too good, don't miss it. Wagyu Bao: absolutely delicious Seared Hamachi: Hamachi was prepared to its perfection and the sauce was perfect. Just too much asparagus for me. Garlic Noodles: OMG - you cannot miss this out if you like noodles and garlic! Chicken Katsu: great dish but can be skipped. Lamb Chop: if you like yakitori style lamb, it is absolutely great. (I love lamb) Over all this place from service to ambiance to food execution was absolutely amazing. I highly recommended this place and I will be coming back to try other dishes!

This place has so many good reviews, my friend and I decided to try it. There was already a small…read moreline before they opened. We got seated pretty quickly once they opened and they ask you if you would like to sit in the main dining area or the oak room. The food was delicious, specifically their wagyu and unagi skewers. My problem was the service. In the whole hour we were there, our server checked in on us once to refill our water. We didn't get our unagi skewers until 30 mins after everything else. We thought he forget to place our order. We were gonna place more food orders but we didn't want to wait. Our server was busy helping all the tables in the main dining room. They seemed to have two other people working but only running food and bussing tables. I would imagine a place that charges so much for food would have better service.

Excellent bartender, great food, perfect speakeasy vibes. New fave spot in this area! Def will be…read moreback to try more drinks. I had the Twain and it was fantastic!

The Guild Club is a speakeasy located inside of Arc Restaurant Food & Libations on the northeast…read moreside of the OC Mix in Costa Mesa. The space is small, so I definitely recommend using Resy to make a reservation. After checking in with the host at Arc, you will be guided to the rear of the restaurant to small round room with a mirrored door and a beautiful chandelier overhead. Upon entering, you will walk through another small hallway with green light and wood framed mirrors on the wall. At this point, you have now entered the Guild Club. The centerpiece is an attractive granite topped bar that seats nine people. The back of the bar features a beautiful wood cabinet with intricate carvings. There is a small area across from the bar with two round tables, each with two high back cushy chairs. This area is more intimate, but the tables are small if you plan to eat and drink a lot. The walls, floor, and ceilings are dark with lots of woodwork, giving a warm cozy feel. There are a nice assortment of interesting lighting fixtures, and paintings on the walls. A few small ceiling areas are painted dark green and display gold astrological signs. At the end of the bar, there is a spiral staircase leading to an upstairs space that I believe is for display only, but it adds a touch of mystique. The Guild has its own small menu of exclusive cocktails and bites, but you can also order anything from the Arc menu. We started off with an order of shishito peppers which were probably some of the best we have ever had. The portion size is very generous, and they have some herbs, almond crumble, and squeezed lemon on top. Be warned that the cast iron skillets that a lot of their food is served in are extremely hot. For cocktails, I started with the Number One. It was a good balanced cocktail with noticeable cucumber flavor and some bitterness on the finish from the Pimms. She started with Einhorn Is Finkle. It had a great light sweetness with some grapefruit flavor and light bubbles. For my entrée, I had the crispy duck. This is actually a big ball of duck meat with a fried coating on the outside. The duck was very flavorful and nothing about the duck or fried shell was greasy or oily. The grated cheese paired well and the arugula added a nice freshness. This was a great dish that I would definitely order again. She ordered the chile relleno. Obviously, Arc is not a Mexican restaurant but this was surprisingly probably the best chile relleno we have ever had. It had a great pumpkin seed crust with a very flavorful succotash inside. The chili itself was huge and filled up the whole skillet. We would absolutely order this again. I was talking with our bartender JT about my recent new appreciation for mezcal if it's toned down and that none of the mezcal drinks on either cocktail menu really caught my eye. He suggested a Last Word with mezcal replacing the gin. I enjoyed it, but the mezcal was a little too prominent for my taste. For her second cocktail, she ordered The Girlfriend which has a humorous description of "changes daily". The current girlfriend when we were there was a twist on a blackberry margarita. This was surprisingly the best drink of the night, and was definitely the most complex margarita we have ever had. It had a light blackberry flavor, and I believe some of the other ingredients that JT mentioned were grapefruit, lime, cocoa, and cinnamon bitters. For dessert, we ordered the German chocolate cake. It was a huge slice of moist cake and was served with a large dollop of fresh cream. The cake wasn't overly sweet which was nice. We shared one last drink, the Liquid Courage as it sounded like a nice dessert cocktail. On my first sip, I tasted coffee which was unexpected. I asked about it, and apparently the drink menu does not list the Nola coffee liqueur that is in this drink. I'm not a fan of coffee, but at least this cocktail had more of a mocha flavor than a strong coffee flavor. I probably wouldn't have ordered it if the ingredient list was accurate, but I think coffee or mocha lovers would enjoy it more. Our bartender JT was pretty much running everything by himself with only a little outside help, and he was doing a great job. He was also very friendly and we enjoyed our conversations with him. The prices are a little on the high side, but the drinks were good, and the food was excellent with generous portion sizes. Our reservation was for 6:00pm and I would recommend visiting a little closer to sunset. There are some outside windows on the far wall and even though there are drapes, a little light still comes through. And if the door to the outside patio is opened, a lot of light comes in if the sun is up. The Guild Club is a great little speakeasy that I only recently discovered, and I would definitely recommend checking it out.

The food was great and the staff was very accommodating! I loved the whole campy vibe its so cute!…read moreI Just wish they had more food options

This place is located inside a gorgeous shopping center in Irvine…read more It's located inside, Bacchus Bar and Bistro. Which, was extremely crowded. They have tons of parking in this shopping center. They share it with TONS of other places. One of my BFFs saw this on an Instagram video and wanted to check it out. *They do take reservations When we came in we checked in with one of the waitresses. She said she would seat us in a minute. To be honest, she did forget about us. A waiter walked up to us and asked us what was going on (we were standing there for around 7 - 10 minutes) and we told him we had a reservation for the speakeasy. He immediately apologized and sat us. This camp themed speakeasy has a couple booths. It's on the smaller sides. Which, speakeasy's are usually small to begin with. I did not get the waitresses name, my friend and I were busy catching up. The waitress was nice, but not attentive. I will say service was a 2/5. However, the actual restaurant, cozy pine is located in, was packed because of the World Cup being on TV. So I definitely was not going to complain The food Our food order did come out extremely FAST. Faster than our drink orders. -the campfire guacamole -BBQ shoestring fries (had bbq seasoning all over them so it tasted like a BBQ potato chip) -Glamping plate (charcuterie board) -steak tacos (one without onion and cilantro -churro affogato Again, the food was VERY fast!! And to be honest it wasn't that bad. I'll say, speakeasy's usually shine in the drink department vs food. Drinks -Lycheed and Loaded Ketel One, lychee liqueur, lemon, elderflower. This was extremely delicious! If you don't like to taste your alcohol? Go with this. It was really refreshing. Hand this to me at a spa and I'd be the happiest gal in the world -Camp Anawanna $17 Graham cracker-infused bourbon, licor 43, chocolate, torched marshmallow (the waitress catches the marshmallow on fire at the table) This one was stronger and I didn't think it was overly sweet despite the ingredients I think they had a good selection, especially for a small speakeasy. I have been to better, so I don't think I'd return. Especially since the service was not that great. We still had a good time and recommend for every speakeasy lovers list.

This is our favorite bar to frequent! My wife and I have been to a few different tiki bars around…read moreOrange County, and Stowaway is easily our favorite. Let me break it down: Drinks: They have one of the best tiki menus around, with really cool tiki mugs and some of the most well-balanced cocktails I've had. What I really appreciate is the consistency, every time we come in, our drinks taste just as good as the last time. Our favorites are the Zombie and the Singapore Sling. Food: I absolutely love the Spam Musubi and their fries. They're great bar bites whether you're actually hungry and need something substantial or just want a little snack to go with your drinks. The vibe: The bartenders are always super friendly, attentive, and genuinely seem like they're having a good time doing what they do. That makes a huge difference and really adds to the experience. The only knock I can think of is that I wish the music was a little louder and more upbeat. I know tiki bars are designed for conversation, and I appreciate that, but sometimes the quieter atmosphere can make you a little sleepy. Overall, Stowaway is our go-to tiki bar in OC. Great drinks, good food, awesome bartenders, and a fun atmosphere. We'll definitely keep coming back.

First time at Stowaway last night, loved the tropical tiki vibe! Place was packed when we got there…read morearound 6 pm. FREE parking available right in front. The shareable small bites were incredible--the Poke Bombs were indeed da bomb (pun intended), and the Tempura-battered Spam Musubi served with a sweet teriyaki-esque glaze and sriracha-mayo is an absolute must-order. Both items were so good that we ended up ordering them again. The drinks were great -- Three Dots and a Dash, Smoking Rita and the Lava Flow instantly transported me right back to Hawaii. Huge shoutout to Michelle and David for providing such warm, friendly, and attentive service. We will definitely be back!