As far as I can tell there isn’t a dedicated Irvine thread yet? Since my brother recently moved there from North Carolina I’m probably going to be eating there more often. A mutual friend who lives in the area has recommended the following spots to meet up. Any suggestions on what to choose?
I really enjoy A&J Restaurant. I’ve eaten at the Rockville, MD and Annandale, VA locations, but haven’t gotten around to the Irvine one, yet. I should really try to round out the hat trick:
Irvine is huge. Going from UCI to Jeffrey and 5 could take 30 mins. Do you know what area he is moving to?
Since all the initial choices were Asian I’ll stick with the theme mostly
Irvine
J Zhou is better than Capital Seafood and Tim Ho Wan although hearing THW is better now
A&J traditional old school Taiwanese
Marble Steakhouse for KBBQ
Yoo’s Place
Tustin (north of Irvine off the 5)
Seven Grams
Manaoo Thai
Taco Mesita
HiroNori Ramen
Tanakaya udon and soba
There are 2 plazas with good options in that area.
Culver and 5
All the Kei concepts : Nep, Sup and hand roll bar
Baekjong Kbbq
Santouka ramen
Prime meat market has excellent raw meats to cook at home. We go to the OG location in Buena Park.
Zion Market new clean big grocery store with some decent food court options. Pelicana chicken in the same plaza.
You’ll be relatively close to the Tustin options I listed and the Jeffrey Walnut area which has many Chinese options like A&J.
Tim Ho Wan has vastly improved and has HK quality dim sum in an upscale setting.
Yue Yan, the restaurant rebrand of Jiang Nan since the owners have changed, is good but on the pricey side.
Sup Noodle Bar is probably the best choice for pho in Irvine and is pretty casual (keeping those kids in mind). There’s usually a wait but you can hop on the Yelp waitlist before you get there. They offer unlimited refills on the pho noodles but it’s a challenge flagging your server down.
NEP Cafe is also popular and they have a kid’s meal.
HiroNori has two locations in Irvine. The one off Sand Canyon is more casual as you order at the counter and they have outdoor seating. The one on Michelson received a Michelin Bib Gourmand and has a larger indoor seating area.
Northern Cafe is pretty reliable - there are two in Irvine.
If you go to Tustin, Seven Grams and Manaao Thai are great. Both are very popular. Manaao doesn’t take reservations so there always seems to be a wait.
Irvine is big but not that bad if you’re not in a rush hour. The reason there’s probably no dedicated Irvine thread is because I’d say that Irvine isn’t a food destination, with perhaps the dim sum as an exception due to the continuing apparent decline of SGV dim sum. Solid options for residents, but the stuff worth talking about is in the surroundings.
Tustin is pretty convenient to Culver/Irvine:
Second Seven Grams as pretty good, a pretty good variant of the Din Tai Fung copycats. Can be a line so maybe not as great with a big group unless you’re early.
Also second Tanakaya is another solid choice. The casual Japanese in that section of Tustin is actually pretty solid.
Reminder that Oliboli is in Old Town Tustin, though it probably won’t have the space for a large party so better to pick up and enjoy elsewhere.
Sichuan Impressian and Min Chef are also in Tustin. Sichuan Impression is pretty good for that area. I really like Min Chef for Northern/Beijing home-style Chinese and have mentioned it on the board before so I’m biased.
Within Irvine itself, the following come to mind in addition to what’s above:
I like Everyday Eatery for a nice sandwich/cafe (but they close their kitchen at 2:30). They’re in the same plaza as the Sand Canyon HiroNori so plenty of outdoor seating. Note that the plaza is often very busy at lunch times and has nowhere near the parking to support peak hours. Though dinner at HiroNori is probably fine.
Also like Rougamo for the Chinese hamburgers. I’ve had some other things and generally pretty solid.
If you like ramen, Yakamoz might be a decent option. Small restaurant though so seating ain’t great.
For Korean soups, I think Seoul Haus is solid, though the options in that part of Irvine might be just as good.
It’s going to be pickup for a large group (it’s out of a ghost kitchen), but Shimamoto Noodle has restarted Ramen operations in Irvine near John Wayne airport.
Another Irvine comment, they’re pretty close to the only 2 Japanese markets in Irvine, Mitsuwa Irvine and Tokyo Central Irvine. They are bewilderingly right next to each other but that’s a relatively neat benefit to enjoy (for however long that goes because I can’t believe 2 similar markets right next to each other makes much business sense).
If they’re coming from North Carolina, then Malatang might be interesting to check out if they didn’t have any exposure in NC. I don’t think its actually good in Irvine but the kids might love it (my few stops in or walking by have always seen it with a big younger crowd). Irvine also has a lot of Boba shop selections, one of the few bright spots (I guess) for the city.
If they’re willing to drive further, Costa Mesa and then Garden Grove/Fountain Valley/Westminster are nice options. Costa Mesa lots of casual Japanese options. And Garden Grove/Fountain Valley/Westminster for the amazing Vietnamese. And sometimes not as far as you’d think on the freeway (if you’re avoiding rush hour).
No one’s mentioned the obvious, but if they haven’t spent much time in Irvine/that part of OC, they should check out South Coast Plaza and the Irvine Spectrum. I don’t know that there’s much worth in the Spectrum but it will be fun. SCP has Paradise Dynasty, Vox Kitchen (also by Kei), a Din Tai Fung, a Ramen Nagi, a Mian, and maybe Terrace by Mix Mix? Obviously not super close/convenient to that part of Irvine but worth considering for out-of-towners perhaps.
Quick update but Min Chef in Tustin has closed. A report from social media sounds like they’re taking a break with no current plans to reopen elsewhere. Last day was end of August. Google and Yelp both reflect the closed status.
