If you prefer a view make sure to ask to be seated outside, however it can definitely get a bit chilly so bring something warm to cover up. Lido Bottle Works aim is to local and sustainable ingredients while being able to pair it with their specialty craft beer, wine, and cocktails. If you’re a beer lover you will absolutely appreciate what they offer on tap because it’s an endless amount. Don’t shy away from their craft cocktails though, I’m not a vodka person whatsoever and my friend had tried their specialty which was a pink color and it was delicious.

We started off with their Burrata which came alongside crispy lavash bread, roasted squash, pomegranates, candied pistachios. This dish was nice and refreshing, however the flavors were really absent and kind of bland. This dish has a lot of potential as the quality of the ingredients are more definitely there, it just lacks flavor as all ingredients are light items. I also don’t remember seeing any pomegranates.

The next item were the smoked Jidori chicken wings and I have to say I honestly was really disappointed. Once again the flavors were extremely bland, there was no smokiness to it. It felt like the wings were boiled and then glazed really quick in the oven. There was no char, the sauce did not absorb into the wing, but worst of all was the chicken arrived lukewarm.

The last two dishes we ordered, first was the Iberico pork which is a type of black pig from Spain that is only fed Acorns. This dish was listed in the entrees while this should’ve been in the section of appetizers because it was only a few small slices. I understand the pricing of it due to the quality, just don’t list it with the larger dish portions. This is only about 4/5 bites at most and probably the best dish of all due to the foie gras puree, however once again this dish arrived lukewarm if anything.

The last and final dish we went with was the Steak Frites which is a hanger steak, with a side arugula salad, and crispy fries. Out of anything from the night, the fries were the only dish to arrive hot and fresh. The steak had good flavor paired with a blue cheese, however this was overcooked as I requested medium rare, and to my surprise, lukewarm once again. The fry seasoning was delicious, I could’ve had a large bowl of this, and the arugula salad  helped lighten everything.

Service was on point, we sat at the bar due to no seating available and our bartender was great and very attentive. I love the location where this restaurant is at and it has so much charm. They just really need to step up their menu if they expect to last in the long run. This review may be harsh but I don’t ever want to mislead anyone, especially for the amount they are charging. Expect to pay for parking meters, it can be a bit tight. If you decide to give Lido Bottle Works a try, let me know your experience, I truly hope it’s better than mine.

Restaurant – Lido Bottle Works
Location – 3408 Via Oporto Suite 103, Newport Beach, CA 92663
Contact – 949.529.2784
Website – http://lidobottleworks.com/
Cuisine – Wine Bar, American New

We came here on an extremely cold Tuesday night, the restaurant was fairly busy surprisingly. Our poor little hosts stand was outside as she greeted guests and walked them to their tables, poor thing was not even under a heat lamp. We were seated immediately and given our food and alcohol menu. A server came by to ask what type of beverages we wanted and immediately brought out bread and butter. The bread was delicious, very similar to brioche with a subtle hint of sweetness and a whipped sweet cream butter.

From there we decided to go with the Shrimp Ceviche & Vegetable empanadas for our appetizers. Our entrees we chose the El Churrasco which is their hanger steak, and the El Puerco Primo, which is their slow roasted osso buco pork. The first dishes to arrive were the appetizers of course, they placed a beautifully plated ceviche down which was served in a coconut shell on a bed of salt, as well as plantain chips.

Everything was fresh, the chips paired great together but the ceviche was nothing special, some blanched shrimp, light citrus, I don’t even remember tasting any ahi. Beautiful presentation but nothing special enough to mention.

The second dish arrived of three small vegetable empanadas served with a slaw and a banana habanero ketchup. This dish is fried so you can’t really go wrong with fried dough stuffed with goodies, I enjoyed this dish but once again nothing amazing. Finally, then the El Churrasco arrived, this was their hanger steak topped with a chimichurri sauce, served with rice, beans, sautéed onions, corn, and plantains.

The steak was good, however, we requested medium rare and the steak was probably a medium. The overall dish was good, plantains cooked perfectly, rice was nice and fluffy, beans flavorful, corn great with a kick. It was only the steak itself that set this dish back since it was overcooked.

The last dish of the night was their Puerco Primo which is the slow roasted osso buco style pork on a bone. The meat itself was cooked perfectly tender, with a nice slight crisp to it on some pieces as well. The greens were a bit too bitter for my friend, however, I did enjoy it. The garlic yucca mash was delicious, my friend who hates mashed potatoes really enjoyed this dish. The pork sat on the side of a pepper relish which did compliment the dish nicely, also served plantains on the side as well.

Overall the food was okay, I don’t really see myself going back any time soon with so many restaurants opening in Orange County, however, I will note that their ambiance itself is pretty amazing, and their wait staff was on point. Let me know your thoughts on Habana if you plan on giving it a try or if you’ve already been there as well.

Restaurant – Habana Restaurant
Location – 2930 Bristol Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Contact – 714.556.0176
Website – restauranthabana.com
Cuisine – Cuban, Latin, Ba

With the money he won, he put it towards opening The Playground along with investors. The good and bad of The Playground is they’re constantly updating their menu and dishes every day. One day you can have some amazing asparagus, and the next day it’s gone. Their menu is curated around seasonal items when they are at their peak.

Tonight we started off with their Brussel Sprouts Caesar, which was their rendition on a Caesar salad. The brussels sprouts were flash fried, topped with jalapenos, radish,  Cotija Cheese, and a Cornbread Crumble. The textures were perfect as the cornbread gave each bite an additional crisp, the jalapeno added a nice kick to the tangy creamy Caesar sauce as the radish helped refreshed the dish.

The next dish we went with was the kingdom Cheddar & Chive Spread. On a plate came potato croquettes with a caramelized onions, beneath a cheddar and chive spread. This was delicious, I loved the caramelized onions in this dish as the chives gave it a beautiful bite. Jason’s wife Hillary, is known for making the best hand made pastas from scratch so tonight they offered a Ricotta Cavatelli which we had to go with. This was served with a short rib ragu, a potato and cheese creamy sauce, and caramelized onions. The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente, the sauce was not overwhelming, and the braised short rib was cooked perfectly and so tender. I would always highly suggest a pasta dish here as once again it’s made from scratch, most places nowadays don’t do that and it’s such a difference. Uncle Lou’s Fried Chicken, perfectly fried, crisp, and juicy piece of chicken. This dish comes with two small thighs and two drumsticks. It’s you’re not into a tangy sauce, then please don’t order this dish, however for me, I absolutely love the tanginess, sweetness, spices, it’s a great chicken wing but strong due to the vinegar base.

The last entrée we went with was their signature Maple Glazed Pork Chop, which has been on their menu consistently since day one. This is a quadruple cut pork chop, so it’s absolutely ginormous! Sous vide, and finished off in a pan with butter, salt, and maple. The sear and finish on the crust is beautiful, the porkchop itself is extremely juicy and cooked absolutely perfect. I would highly suggest this dish, reminds me of a Christmas Ham done absolutely right.

Last but not least we went with their Crème fraiche Panna Cotta Tart. Since we had a few rich dishes, we went with a lighter dish to finish everything off. The crust on the panna cotta was light and airey, the panna cotta itself was so smooth. This was topped with a berry compote. The only thing for me was the dish needed a bit more sweetness to it since berries aren’t in season, they aren’t at their max flavor or ripeness. Overall we had a wonderful experience and most definitely will be back soon. Let me know if you give Playground a try!

Restaurant – Playground
Location – 220 East 4th Street #102, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Contact – 714.560.4444
Cuisine – American New, Tapas, Fusion

We ordered quite a few dishes so that we were able to try everything. Started off with their mini biscuits which were delicious and fluffy inside, with a nice slight crisp texture outside. The Miso maple butter to compliment this was good, but I felt the taste of it was too subtle, I would’ve suggested maybe a citrus compound butter to cut all of the richness in the foods they offered.

The Mexican Poutine fries arrived which as they explained are schmaltz fries, pollo asado(chicken marinated with Mexican flavors, and a jalapeno cheese wiz. I liked this dish, I love the fact they had double fried fresh cut French fries, however the only downfall was the dish was a bit too salty for me and I actually do eat saltier foods. The table tried to balance this out with ranch and ketchup which helped, good flavors just a bit too salty.

Matzo Ball Posole, which is a soup that had chicken/Matzo, a chili lime, crisp tortilla chips, and avocado. I enjoyed this soup, especially on a cold evening this hit the spot, the crispy tortilla chips gave a great texture, it really reminded me of a chicken tortilla soup with spices. We also tried the Deviled Eggs which offered a French toast scramble and candied bacon on top. Unfortunately before I could even take a bite someone spilled hot sauce on me and by the time I came back my party had happily enjoyed the eggs without me. My favorite dish of the night besides the fried chicken happened to be their border slaw. It had papaya, mango, jicama, coconut, chili, and pineapples. This slaw was very refreshing and flavorful with great textures, I would definitely come back here and order two of these to myself =), oink! The last two dishes we ordered was the Royale which had a savory breakfast chicken sausage, sunny side egg, smoked chicken, and on their English muffin. I love breakfast sausage but we all know how extremely fatty it is so this was a really  nice change up to have it with chicken and I actually enjoyed this dish, I would definitely order it again.

The English muffin was crispy on the outside, and really fluffy inside. Last but not last was the fried chicken, the chicken was absolutely delicious and very flavorful, I love their seasonings. It’s not oily at all, and extremely juicy. I’m usually a dark meat kind of girl but I happily ate up a breast by myself and I really didn’t even need to use their dipping sauces as it was flavorful enough on its way. Crispy outside, moist tender meat, and a non-oily piece of chicken, I am absolutely game! I did finish the meal with one of their home-made chocolate chip cookies which I have to actually say I was disappointed, the textures were on point, it felt as if they didn’t put vanilla, there was not much fragrance to the cookie itself.

Overall I’m really glad The Crack Shack opened out here locally to us. Hands down delicious fried chicken, make sure to order the border slaw to cut all of the fatty and richness of the rest of their foods. Let me know your experience compared to mine.

Restaurant – The Crack Shack

Location – 196 East 17^th Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92627

Contact – 949.383.5040

Website – www.crackshack.com

Cuisine – American New, Fried Chicken, Bar

Dominique continuously creates an extremely playful menu with such great creativity. He has a Frozen S’more on a stick, which is a Marshmallow layer outside torched to order with vanilla ice cream inside and a chocolate graham cracker. He really is always re-inventing himself, so once I heard he was finally open a location in Los Angeles I  had to jump on it. This time around, his bakery is downstairs, and his first ever restaurant is located upstairs. Very hip and modern location with fun vibrant colors, yet still subtle and elegant in ways. Our reservations were for 7:45pm, we arrived a little early and they seated us almost immediately. The staff I have to say has been trained very well, everyone was very friendly and knowledgeable of their offerings.

We started off the night with their 48 hour homemade sourdough & butter. The bread was nice, light, and fluffy as the flavor of the sourness to the bread was not overwhelming at all. The butter was so airey light and sprinkled with a little maldon salt. We all enjoyed this dish, would most definitely be paired very well with a charcuterie plate. The next item we ordered was the pull-apart sweet corn ‘elotes” milk bread. Milk bread is already a process to make; it is not heavy, but very rich in flavor. We did go with two bread dishes since hey, he’s a known baker. The bread was delicious, soft, with a light sweetness. Filled with a delicious corn puree and topped with I believe Cotija cheese on top. My friends and I all agreed we were in love with this bread!

Next dish we ordered was the Heirloom Tomato Carpaccio with Honeydew, aged balsamic, shallots, and mint. We decided we needed to order some vegetables and this dish was very light and refreshing. I would’ve combined those two but I’m happy Dominique has. We also ordered the oven roasted rainbow carrots. I didn’t care for the flavors of this dish very much, however the carrots were cooked perfectly. It was very overwhelming with so much citrus in the relish. We also got this baby eggplant, with port roasted figs on sour dough. This dish alone sounds very flavorful, however it was very bland. The flavor here was just extremely absent. From there we went with their take on clam chowder. This was a tortellini stuffed with clams, in the broth with bacon and potatoes.

The tortellini in my opinion was overwhelming, thick, and too hard. Mind you I do prefer my pastas served al dente as well. The broth in this was amazing though, we could not stop taking turns slurping this soup right now. Our last main course item was the half rotisserie chicken with garlic black rice stuffing and a chilled spicy scallion salad. This arrived our table and was so beautiful, the outside perfect crisp, while the inside  was still very moist and tender. They also served each person small individual shot glasses with chicken jus to dip the chicken in for more flavor. The scallion salad was great, however the black rice had too much of a floral taste to it for anyone to enjoy. Last but not least, he’s a baker right? So we had to finish with one dessert.

The dish we decided to go with was the “Traditions”, an almond sponge cake, with three types of milk, regular, evaporated, and banana milk. Inside of that was a spice bouquet, orange, and then you top it off with their crème fraiche. In my honest opinion, I thought all of the flavors were very underwhelming. The cake I understand was made to be a little dry to soak up the milks, but even with the almond cake, the almond accent was absent. Overall the restaurant is very fun, and again the service was just impeccable with such a friendly staff.

I most likely would not go out of my way to eat here as the pricing compared to some of the portions were a little high. I have quite a palette but the price tag does not match the food that they are offering. Since they are new, I’m sure they will work out there perks. Let me know if you decided to go and how your experience was compared to mine.

Restaurant – 189 by Dominique Ansel

Location – 189 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Contact – 323.602.0096

Website – https://dominiqueansella.com/

Cuisine – American New

I actually attempted to go here a few weeks ago only to be denied. Mind you I showed up at approximately 8:20pm and they don’t close until 10:00pm. Due to demands I was told they were turning away any further guest. I was also told had they agreed to let me write my name down on the list, I still would’ve been 40^th in line with my party of three! I couldn’t be upset, although I was a bit turned off since I had driven from Orange County but I understood. This time I found a loop hole, if you don’t want to wait you can make reservations, but it does come with a catch.

In order to make reservations, which by the way, they only accept during dinner time, you have to pay an additional $24.00 per person which will provide each person appetizers. For example if you reserve for a party of two, that’s an additional $44.00, plus what you’re paying for your meal, which would be the beef and rice bowls. Now if you don’t mind waiting and arriving early, then no worries, there’s an awesome Japanese Market next door with tons of goodies you can check out while one person waits in line and you can also alternate.

The first appetizer we were offered was this bite size crab amuse bouche and the flavors were balanced beautifully, still very bright but enough to give that satisfaction. The next item we had was a confit tomato, you would never guess looking at a little tomato how much flavor was put into this. I found this very appealing, the only off putting thing to me was the fragrance was a bit floral and I’m not a fan of floral items, however this balanced with the crab was refreshing and tender. The tomato bursted with so much flavor and was so soft upon my first bite.

Next they brought out a large platter that could’ve easily fed 4 people. I was amazed at the size and taken completely off guard. This was a salad beneath, however on top were pieces of bbq’d pork ribs, roasted chicken, roasted potatoes, mushrooms, Jidori soft boiled egg(this was extremely delicious) grapes, and roasted squash. We could not finish this dish, I was very surprised, the bbq ribs could’ve been a bit more tender, but the roasted chicken was cooked perfectly, also chicken thighs for you breast lovers.

For our order we went with the American slice Beef Don which is similar to thinner slices of roasted beef, on top of a bed of rice seasoned with a sweet soy glaze, some veggies, and a yogurt sauce. We opted to add the Jidori Raw Egg which adds that depth of richness, I know it’s raw and this probably sounds off putting to most, but trust me, I highly suggest adding this to your dish and mixing it into everything. The beef itself was very tender, not too much flavor but the sauces that accompanied it balanced it out.

The next dish was the Angus Rib Steak Don, which we also added the Jidori Egg to as well. I prefer my meat cooked medium rare and this was cooked so perfect, extremely tender, but still with a nice char. The rice came seasoned once again, and the egg added that rich taste since the steak wasn’t very fatty. I’m not sure if I would wait several hours for this, but it’s definitely worth trying. I’m very happy Red Rock decided to open a location in the U.S. I’m sure they will only be here to stay. Let me know if you give Red Rock a try and how your experience was, just remember to order Medium Rare, you won’t regret it!

Restaurant – Red Rock

Location – 2141 West 182^nd Street, Torrance, CA 90504

Contact – 424.329.3363

Website – http://www.redrock-kobebeef.com/en/

We started off ordering some of their house cocktails, they were great, generous on the alcohol, and very flavorful. Our server also brought by some delicious pretzel bread with Porsche molded butters and some Maldon Salt on the side to place over out bread. For our started we started off with the Hamachi Crudi which was served with shaved pieces of fennel, oranges, watermelon radish, cucumbers, smoked ginger, and a blood orange vinaigrette. The Hamachi(yellowtail fish) was nice and fresh, however the items served with this dish were a bit underwhelming and lacked in flavor. The blood orange acidity was not strong enough to counter balance the other flavors.

The approach was there but the execution did not follow through. For our Entrees we decided to family style share, and since we had a few cocktails and too much bread to soak up, we went with two entrees only. We chose the Wild King Salmon which was served alongside with Broccolini, Wild Mushrooms, a Shishito Pepper Puree, as well as a Miso Glaze. This dish was cooked perfect, the flavors were not overly strong because can be a bit pungent. Broccolini cooked very well with a nice bite, and the wild mushrooms paired the dish and sauces beautifully.

The highlight of this dish was the salmon was cooked so tender. A nice seared crisp on the outside, however the inside still very flakey and moist. This was my favorite dish of the night and something I would most definitely order again. The second dish of the night we went with the Kobe NY Strip which was served with baby potatoes, cauliflower, tomato confit, pickled onions, with a port reduction. Of course we ordered this to be cooked at medium rare as how I believe all steaks should be cooked. The dish was good, potatoes cooked nicely, tomato confit bursted with juices, pickled onions brightened the steaks flavor, and the port sauce offered a nice sweet tang. The steak I believe in my opinion was searched on each side a little too much.

The inside was cooked perfect but due to the outside over searing it did make the strip a little tough. If this was cooked a bit less this dish would’ve been done very beautifully. Lastly we did order two entrees for three girls to share also so we could order two desserts and not feel entirely guilty =).  We started off with the strawberry yogurt cream.

Whipped mascarpone, Rosemary-Strawberry Sauce, a Balsamic Reduction, with a Cognac Almond Ice Cream. This was beautifully made and delicious, the ice cream was homemade and delicious. They should really consider having scoops of ice cream as an option for their desserts as well.

The last dish we went with was their dulcey chocolate mousse. Served with caramel popcorn, cocoa streusels, white chocolate, a passionfruit sauce, and a salted macadamia sorbet. This was good, but very rich so I’m glad we had three girls to finish this dish. Overall this dish was nice and the flavors really complimented one another, but one to mention again is their salted macadamia sorbet. Flavors were so delicious and creamy. The only thing is their ice cream does melt a bit quick so that’s something they can fix. For being new in the industry, Restaurant 917 is doing a great job and I’m sure will be around for quite some time. I hope you give this place a chance and let me know your experience.

For starters we ordered the Wagyu Meatballs, served with a Marinara Sauce, as well as their grilled peach Salad. The Wagyu Meatballs were served with two slices of a charred sourdough. The meatball itself was very tender, the sauce was simple and light. Flavors were good but nothing extraordinary. The Grilled Peach salad was very light, this came with shaved fennel, oranges, arugula, goat cheese, caramelized walnuts, and a passion fruit dressing.

Once again this dish was simple and light, we had asked for light dressing and the kitchen followed through. To be honest I really didn’t taste the passion fruit dressing, however everything on this dish was very fresh. I think the dish could’ve been better had they had ripe peaches as these did not have much flavor to them. Also I did notice the dishes was a bit small, not to the size of tapas so we did order extra items to fill up.

For our main we went with the Braised Bone in Short Rib, Black Truffle Saffron Fettuccine, and The Scallops. I noticed they had garlic parmesan fries so that was a must order obviously =P. The braised short rib was cooked to perfect, fork tender, juicy, melt in your mouth texture. The butternut squash puree was very light, the flavor was nearly absent. Although the short rib was cooked perfect, the flavors weren’t prominent enough. The scallops were seared perfect with just the right amount of prosciutto wrapped around giving that salty bite. This was served with a roasted carrots, asparagus, a pea salsa verde, and Amarillo sauce. I really enjoyed this dish, however I would not advise this as a main course as there was a starch missing to this.

You will not get full off of this dish, if anything I would’ve suggested a larger portion with a starch at a higher price tag. The last dish is the dish we were looking forward to most was the Black Truffle Saffron Fettuccine. We looked at photos online and the image of it looked so promising, unfortunately this dish did not deliver. The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente, however the dish itself was extremely oily. The flavors of the saffron and black truffles were not there, they were completely lacking. I believe the chef had a very light hand as I mentioned all of the dishes were cooked perfectly, just the flavors were underwhelming.

The best dish of the night to be honest was the garlic parmesan fries. They were shoestring fries, cooked to a perfect crisp on the outside yet still having that light creamy potato texture inside. Generous amounts of garlic and parmesan added with a side of ketchup.

Blacksmiths is still fairly new, they have only been open a few months, however there is a lot of potential. With just the right tweaks this could become a very popular restaurant. Service I have to mention was great; servers were on top of everything, constantly refilling our waters, being very attentive and asking how dishes were and if we needed anything additional. If they can fix the menu by tweaking the flavors, then I would definitely return.

Let me know if you decide to try Blacksmiths and how your experience is.

Restaurant – Blacksmiths

Location – 117 Winston Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Contact – 213.628.3847

Website – www.blacksmithsla.com

The workers are friendly and the menu offers a wide variety of different items to select from. Valet parking is almost your only option, and by that it is really your best option at $6.00. Our server for the night John was very kind, there were moments where the water could’ve been filled up but overall he was friendly. We were given an option for a bread basket and I love carbs so of course I opted for the bread. It came with a ciabatta roll and some parmesan crisps with a side of butter that was whipped nicely.

We had originally planned to order a glass of wine each and go with their charcuterie board to start with, however after looking at their yelp photos we opted for the foie gras appetizer. I decided to go with their mandarin margarita and that was delicious, as my friend opted for a glass of cabernet which was very nice, it was one the server had suggested. The foie had just arrived and it was on top of a piece of toast, served with plums, a green oil, and aged balsamic.

You can’t really go wrong with foie gras however this piece was a little overcooked and the remaining oil/fat was not removed so the bread had soaked up too much of it, fortunately I still had some parmesan crisp to pair this with and it gave a nice texture and still went well. Four our entrees we went with the pork chop tomahawk, the duck, with a side of black truffle mashed potatoes and wild mushrooms in a cream sauce. I noticed out dishes were a little repetitive as both entrees had the green oil, as well as a balsamic glaze. I typically prefer chive oils and green oils and I love balsamic glazes, however after one dish it just becomes too much. The duck breast itself was prepared very nicely and still very moist, the duck leg itself was fairly dry so that was a disappointment. The pan seared gnocchi it came with was good but nothing memorable.

The next dish was the pork chop tomahawk, presentation was very beautiful it came topped with a chutney/relish. This dish also came served with a green oil and balsamic glaze. The dark meat near the bone was delicious; however the chop itself was a little overcooked so there was dry parts as well as the very moist parts of it. This chop itself has a lot of potential but I would highly suggest it be paired with other items. If you love pork chops as much as I do then I would suggest The Ranch Restaurant in Anaheim close to Disneyland, they also serve a very delicious bread basket that’s always been very memorable to me. Maybe I will review that restaurant next.

Last but not least, how can I not say it’s my friend’s birthday although it was a month ago to receive a complimentary dessert =P. We were brought out Crème Brulee with a Chocolate Cookie placed on top. I would say their Vanilla Bean Crème Brulee was the highlight of the night. It was very flavorful, creamy, soft, and silky. The flavors were all very prominent and this was served with some fresh berries which helped cut the sweetness of the sugar brittle on top, which I might as was also caramelized perfectly. The cookie was fairly dry and we could’ve done without, but their Crème Brulee is where it’s at and a must order.

Overall the food was not the greatest; I think they need to tweak a few things, however there is a lot of potential. I tend to notice some restaurants get comfortable where they’re at and forget that new restaurants open every day so the competition is out there. I would probably give their happy hour a try and most definitely order their crème brulee again. Let me know your thoughts if you’ve given The Winery a try or if you plan on it.

Restaurant – The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar

Location – 3131 West Coast Hwy, Newport Beach, CA 92663

Contact – 949.999.6622

Cuisine – Wine Bar, Steakhouse

Their food is very playful, yet still   sophisticated. They also offer a happy hour from 5:00pm, until 6:30pm with quite a few tasty dishes. I was able to order from their happy hour menu, however note sushi is not on there so that was order separately. Service was great as the staff was very friendly and accommodating, constantly checking up on us to see whether we needed anything else, a suggestion, as well as water.

We started off with their happy hour menu and ordered the assorted tempura, soft shell shrimp, and shitake mushroom frites. The first of the items to come out was the soft shell shrimp, a play on soft shell crab where the whole item is edible. The shrimp was cut in half, lightly coated in a batter and fried with a similar taste to salt and pepper shrimp. The shrimp itself was very tender, still being moist on the inside with a nice crisp on the outside. I would highly suggest this; also the shrimp head is still on and meant to be eaten as well if you dare, I have no problem and devoured the entire thing.

Next was our shitake mushroom frites, this is a play on French fries with less calories I’m assuming. The fries seemed as if they were blanched, then lightly baked and served with crème fraiche and chives. They place a wedge of lemon on the side and I think it’s great to squeeze it right over, this really makes the dish refreshing yet still wonderful. There wasn’t much of a crisp bite to this frite(fry), however the flavors were still delicious.

Our last item on the happy hour list was the assorted tempura which came with prawns, sweet potato, butternut squash, eggplant, and a sliced lotus. I love tempura items; however I usually can’t eat much because of the heavy batter and greasiness of it. Hamamori was really able to execute this well and it was not oily at all, the light batter was crunchy but not overwhelming. Served with a side of lemon which I did add to the dipping sauce was well as the grated daikon radish. For the sushi we went with Ikura, which is the large salmon egg.

I’m personally not a fan of Ikura but my mom is and mentioned that this was the freshest she’s ever had and really enjoyed it. The next item we went with was the seared wagyu beef with garlic, ponzu, and foie gras nigari. I wanted to try their take on modern sushi and everything was just perfect and melted in my mouth. The seared wagyu was cut perfect, the garlic surprisingly was not overwhelming, the ponzu added a nice refreshment that cut the richness that the foie gras offered. The next nigiri we ordered was the seared scallop with a miso ginger sauce & freshly shaved truffle. The scallop was delicious and rich, it was the perfect sear and as surprisingly how much sauce was on it, it did not mask the flavor of the scallop at all.

The freshly sliced truffle on top just finished the nigiri so well and added a perfect aroma. Last but not last we went with their toro nigiri(fatty tuna) which is the rich fatty part of the tuna fish. The flavor of the fish was so clean, very well cut, not too thin, but not overly thick where the flavors just melted in your mouth with a little hint of soy to dip with. The sushi rice was cooked perfectly and the proportions were just right. At this point I was quite full already, however I have many plans to go back to Hamamori to enjoy their dishes, every dish was memorable and once again the service was outstanding. They also do offer omakase menu’s which is a pre-set menu left up to the chef and typically dined at the sushi bar where he works directly with you. I would suggest having an early dinner here so you can walk it off and shop afterwards.

Restaurant – Hamamori
Location – 333 Bear Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 – 3rd Floor Crystal Court next to Nike/Oliver Peoples
Contact – 714.850.0880
Cuisine – Japanese, Sushi, Tapas