My Lovely Dining Companion and I are going down to Anaheim this afternoon–staying near Knotts, and have tickets there tomorrow.
We will be free after 6ish tonight, and I’m playing around with going to Garden Grove to Hanoi Corner on Bolsa–I’ve also got a tip to try the newly opened Strongwater for a beautifully themed nautical drink.
I eat everything but shellfish, and am a casual drinker. He dislikes seafood in general, and is a teetotaler. We are looking for inexpensive to moderately priced restaurants. Knott’s tips are also welcome!
The gates open at 9:30. The longest wait is at ghost rider. If you want to ride ghost rider go there first right at open. I’m at Knott’s right now and the wait is 150 minutes.
I would skip Ms Knotts fried chicken bc there are always waits, it’s outside the park albeit 5 minute walk, the chicken is eh and you’ll end up spending 90 minutes there.
For moderately priced restaurants I suggest Zait and Zataar or Olive Tree. Both are on Brookhurst ~10 minutes away. Great Middle Eastern. Zait n Zataar for chicken schwarma and falafel. Olive Tree for stews and lamb. There are some threads on FTC you can check. Sorry on my phone and couldn’t link.
If you are ramen fans, Kitakata and Ramen & Tsukemen TAO are both a hop, skip and a jump away. My current favorite is Ramen & Tsukemen TAO because their miso ramen and thick noodles are an obsession of mine. Both are most excellent.
For Vietnamese, in nearby Garden Grove and Westminster are Ben Ngu and Ngu Binh for central Vietnamese delights. @Chowseeker1999 and @JeetKuneBao are both fans of bun bo hue while I can’t eat enough of their banh bot loc la…they are a childhood favorite. There’s banh cuon at Ban Cuon Luu Luyen. And the rolls at Brodard are great, too…I had some a couple of weeks ago. If you want something different, the hu tieu at Hu Tieu Thanh Xuan is super delicious…I’m partial to the dry chewy (dai) noodles. There’s a Boiling Crab on Brookhurst…and in the same plaza is a Banh Mi Che Cali where you can pick up some bread to help sop up the sauce beforehand.
KBBQ is also close by, but with 3 teenaged kids…we stick to the AYCE because they eat like animals. So I can’t offer a suggestion better than Cham Soot Gol, but they do offer Thrifty ice cream as part of their set-up.
Across the street from Knott’s is The Cauldron. It’s a witchy bar owned by former Knott’s employees. The drinks are fun and there are some tasty snacks and food available. I’ve been a couple times and have enjoyed it. @js76wisco also provided some solid recs!