75 Best Restaurants in Orange County 2016

Does any one have any negative impressions of Tangata or Din Tai Fung? I would like to have brunch down in the OC.

I know nothing about Tangata except that it’s inside the Bower’s Museum and that it’s part of the Patina group. It’s close to work, so I may try to get in there one of these days.

Love DTF. The only things I probably wouldn’t order again are the pork and crab XLB (pork are much better) and the fried pork chop. Not that it’s bad, but it’s not what it used do be. It’s now boneless, drier, and not as flavorful IMO. Our favorites are the pork XLB, shrimp and pork dumplings, wontons in spicy sauce, and the pork and shrimp shao mai. The spinach with garlic and green beans with garlic are also winners.

1 Like

I’d go to town on that orange beef.

I would put it in between Ma’s sesame-green onion bread (my family would always get extra of these to dip in the sour lamb soup)

DTF OC is just as good as SGV. I love the wontons and the XLB. Throw in some green beans or Chinese broccoli and I’m set.

1 Like

How long is the wait on the weekends these days? The last time I went ~3-4 months ago it wasn’t terrible - like 30-40 minutes around 11:30.

I honestly don’t know. We almost always sit at the bar. I’ve never had to wait more than 20-30 minutes there, and it’s usually less than 10 minutes. Having Laurence (sp?) the bartender recognize you in line and bring you drinks while you wait is a huge plus.

1 Like

Very strong. I’d like to meet Laurence but I doubt they want to seat my crazy 4 and 6 year olds at the bar. Does DTF have day care?

2 Likes

J Zhou should also be a strong consideration.

Is it odd to make peanut butter sandwiches with leftover sesame bread from Ma’s?

1 Like

Excellent point. We took our three kids recently for dinner on a weeknight. The wait was about 20 minutes, but that was pretty early.

We went on a Friday evening with our kids not too long ago. The wait was about an hour, but we checked in and did some shopping at South Coast. That was the best hour wait ever.

My wife would totally agree. Until I met her, most of my time at SCP was in a professional capacity. Not so anymore.

1 Like

LOL I gotta try that.

I can see that though, the sesame will enhance the peanut butter and vice versa.

Still crazy like Gideon

Hi Folks -

Does anyone know if any of these spots are close to Disney Ice? Or any suggestions. Looking for casual dining or take out.

Thanks!

Packing House (Adya and Urbaba) and Pour Vida are within walking distance.

1 Like

My son was coaching a hockey game there. This was a last minute request and they already left. But they’ll be there a few more times this season. These tips will help. Thanks!

1 Like

7 posts were split to a new topic: 75 Best Restaurants in Orange County (2017 edition)

I had lunch at Tangata with my 9-year old daughter. I ordered a tuna melt and it was delicious. The tuna melt had pickled cabbage. My daughter had the mac n cheese and that was delicious. I look forward to coming back and trying more items.

Thank you Rita!

vickie

And what the H— is Bella Cuba doing on this list??? It’s not even a very good or serious Latin restaurant, absolutely second- or third-rate – we’ve been there a few times and TRIED to like it, but to no avail!!! Poor service, lackluster food. We’ve had good Cuban food in New York and San Francisco and this is nowhere near even okay!

And Reunion, what a disappointment! We really tried to like it, but it was just okay at best. Was maybe a bit better in its earlier iteration as Canyon, but only a bit better, before the chef moved on to the thing at Roger’s Gardens, which was also a huge disappointment and also hugely expensive!