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Irvine's Best Restaurants

5/24/2018

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Hot Plates! 

Culinary superlatives from Irvine’s evolving restaurant scene ​
By Irvine City News staff
Irvine’s dining scene has improved significantly over recent years, with a much more diverse and authentic group of restaurants than in years past. Older chains and poorly performing restaurants have closed, to be replaced with new chef-driven concepts, food trucks remade as brick and mortar bistros, and local outposts of successful national and global restaurant groups.  

The changes reflect culinary trends, often fueled by social media and chef-driven television shows. Changing demographics, continued economic growth and more inspired leasing strategies by landlords are part of the story, too.  

Here are our selections for Irvine’s most superlative restaurants. While not intended to be encyclopedic, do let us know which favorites we’ve missed. 
 

Most Impressive New Spot  
The most ambitious new restaurant of recent years has to be Habana, the Cuban-themed hot spot in the Irvine Spectrum that debuted last December. There’s amazing coffee and pastries in the morning at the bakery, a Latin and lively bar scene with Mojitos, Sangrias, Rum Cocktails and other tasty treats, and delicious Cuban-inspired cuisine all in a gorgeous tropical environment. 
restauranthabana.com  
 

Top Spot to be a Regular 
It’s been two years since Angelina’s Pizzeria Napoletana debuted at Los Olivos Marketplace, and it’s quickly become a favorite for lovers of things Italian. Dine there regularly, and soon everybody will know your name, from Mickey at the bar and COO/sommelier Antonio to owners Filippo and Sho Fusco. Order Chef Jonah Amodt’s charred octopus, a bottle of Italian wine and a perfect Neapolitan-style pizza or two.  
angelinaspizzeria.com 
 

No. 1 New Casual Restaurant 
The owners of Sessions West Coast Deli came home to Woodbridge recently with the opening of their creative sandwich shop—they grew up in the Irvine village. The new anchor of the remodeled Woodbridge Village Center provides locals a taste of coastal casual cuisine with an artisanal edge that we’ve been missing.  
sessionswcd.com 
 

Family-Friendly Faves 
Sessions is also in the running for the best kids menu in town. Chicken strips are a staple of a family outing, and those at Sessions are top of the class. Plus, the prices are reasonable. Though TAPs Fish House and Brewery is more expensive, we love that the first course of the three-course meal comes out right away. But the best combo of a tasty and reasonably priced (considering the quality) kids menu is found at North Italia. Bonus points for it being a restaurant adults actually love. The grilled cheese ($6) and cheeseburger ($8) choices come with salad or potatoes, and spaghetti ($5) is like homemade. And all ages adore the zucca chips.  
northitaliarestaurant.com 
 

Leading Link in a Chain 
If you haven’t been to Houston’s in a while, it’s just as good as you remember, and just as hard to snag a table. The things that most chains get wrong, Houston’s has down to an art. Order a cocktail and a Hawaiian ribeye, and relax. You’ll be well taken care of.  
houstons.com/locations/irvine 
 

Irvine Legacy Award 
Irvine is one of the most inclusive cities in the country, but we don’t have as many female chefs as we should. The leader among them is Geeta Bansal, executive chef and co-owner of Clay Oven. For more than 30 years, the restaurant has featured gourmet Indian cuisine with cutting-edge offerings that include habanero pork vindaloo and the best swordfish in OC. Bansal is also a global culinary ambassador for Irvine, traveling the world and interviewing the greatest chefs in it for her influential blog, as well as magazines and websites.  
clayovenirvine.com 
 

Beautiful View—Outside 
It’s hard to argue with Hive & Honey, the rooftop lounge high atop the new Marriott Irvine Spectrum.  
marriott.com  
 

Beautiful View—Inside 
The interior design at North Italia is cool and contemporary, as is the attractive crowd dining there, like at the haute happy hour. 
northitaliarestaurant.com  
 

Best Billionaire’s Bistro 
Andrei’s is one of the select Irvine restaurants not paying rent to our largest landlord—or to anyone, for that matter. It helps to own the land, and the office towers on it. Opened by the Olenicoff family in the name of their son/brother, the profits go to charity. The stylish restaurant draws a corporate crowd on weekdays. But in-the-know locals realize that restaurants located away from retail centers are great choices, especially on weekends. Easy parking. Great cocktails. Upscale ambience.  
andreisrestaurant.com 
 

Tastiest Weekday Breakfast 
We can’t get enough of S’Wich, a culinary treasure of a cafe tucked into a center near Blizzard, Hoag and Kaiser. The chef/owners are the nicest, and the food—breakfast burrito, chilaquiles, vibrant fresh fruit plates, addictive house glazed bacon—is worth searching out on weekday mornings (closed on weekends, alas). Lunch is amazing as well. 
swichbistro.com  
 

Best Brunch 
There’s something a little bit decadent about a gigantic brunch buffet like the abundant one at TAPs Fish House and Brewery. Select from seafood on ice, omelets made to order, carnivorous carving stations, and delicious desserts, and much more. It’s the best splurge in town. 
tapsfishhouse.com  
 

Top Power Spot 
EATS Kitchen & Bar @ Hotel Irvine draws Irvine’s powerbrokers, civic and nonprofit leaders and tech industry leaders for breakfast and lunch confabs, while happy hour and later night action at Red Bar and Lounge draws a younger up-and-coming crowd. 
hotelirvine.com 
 

Irvine Image Award  
Irvine is diverse, safe, successful and educated, and at once global and local. The restaurant that best represents all these things is Meizhou Dongpo. Offering fine Sichuan cuisine in a gorgeous setting, the restaurant is also as accessible as any in the city. Its easy-to-understand menu is welcoming, as is the multi-lingual staff. That isn’t always the case with spots as authentic as this.  
 

Cool and Classic  
Sometimes we just want a taste of old school Irvine, with a menu that’s comfortable and classic, and a value, too. For those days we choose between Knowlwood and Lampost Pizza. For a few bucks more, you’ll find us reminiscing about the old days while eating at the bar at Gulliver’s.  
knowlwoodrestaurants.com 
lamppost-backstreet.com 
gulliversrestaurant.com 
 

Best Restaurant 2018  
Our standard for the top restaurant in town is that it can hold its own anywhere in the world, with cuisine and a dining experience that meets the high standards of connoisseurs, critics and fans. We believe that Ootoro Sushi is that restaurant. It would fare well against the best sushi restaurants in L.A. and Tokyo for quality of the fish and its perfect preparation and presentation. Yes, it's expensive. But best-in-its-class cuisine like this is worth it.  
ootorosushi.com 
 ​
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Sessions West Coast Deli

5/11/2018

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Summer is in sessions 

New gourmet sandwich shop is just what Woodbridge Village Center needed ​
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GOURMET SANDWICHES ARE ON THE MENU AT SESSIONS WEST COAST DELI, NOW OPEN IN WOODBRIDGE
Irvine has enjoyed a restaurant revolution (or at least evolution) in recent years, as successful culinary concepts from around the world have opened locally. In many cases the exciting new spots have replaced venerable chains that existed at the same spot: Denny’s, Marie Callender’s and others. Some nostalgic locals are sad to see the old favorites go. Others in Irvine and greater Orange County are excited to see more contemporary global choices and artisan eateries. 

Whether one is on the “old school Irvine is best” team, or among those yearning for something artisan and new, everyone should be excited about the opening of Sessions West Coast Deli at the Woodbridge Village Center. Sessions is a sandwich shop, but not a typical one.  

The vibe is coastal Orange County at its core. The first two Sessions are located at or near the beach in Newport and Huntington. So why Woodbridge for the third? Well, surfers have a saying: locals only. And Sessions is as local as an Irvine restaurant gets.

“I grew up in Irvine, Woodbridge to be exact, which is why we are opening here,” says Matt Meddock, who is owner/managing partner of the restaurant, along with Partner Beckham Thomas and Executive Chef/Partner Max Schlutz.  

“Opening in Woodbridge is a homecoming for me and my partner Beckham Thomas – we both grew up here and lived in Woodbridge until we were into our late teens, and my parents still live here today. We have such great memories of the center, and it’s great to see Sessions becoming part of the Woodbridge Community.” 

Sessions serves a wide variety of sandwiches and salads all day long. Everyone loves the chicken and donuts starter on the dinner menu. It includes some of the best chicken strips we’ve had recently, paired with delicious cinnamon donut holes. The veggie bahn mi is a knife and fork affair, with fantastic crispy and spicy Brussels sprouts a highlight. The kid’s menu is among the best in Irvine. We love Ruby’s—who doesn’t?--but Sessions will rocket to the top of our kid-friendly dining list.

The restaurant opens at 7 a.m. for breakfast. Morning choices include a selection of six breakfast burritos with names like The Warrior (filled with sharp cheddar, turmeric home fries, haute sauce and a choice of ham, bacon or sausage) and Epic Steak (carne asada, bacon, avocado, sharp cheddar, turmeric home fries, haute sauce and pico de gallo).  

The savory combos can be served in a bowl rather than a tortilla if you choose. For those who love the avocado toast trend, Sessions has three versions, along with three breakfast sandwiches on the menu. Wake & Bake is the standout favorite so far: a spicy combo of smoked bacon or spicy breakfast sausage with avocado, pepper jack cheese, jalapeno and an over easy fried egg, all on a poppy seed roll from OC Baking Co.  
​

The yolk spreads out upon the first bite, so this isn’t your choice if taking it to go and eat in the car. The burritos work better for that. 

In fact, we’d suggest enjoying the choices on the breakfast, lunch or dinner menu at the restaurant rather than to go, at least at this point. We’ve seen folks get stressed at the sometimes long wait for to-go items during the restaurant’s first weeks, as the kitchen gets used to the demands at dinner and other busy times. 

And the sandwiches are huge, messy works of art, anyway.  

Plus, it’s just such a pleasant place. Part of the experience at Sessions involves enjoying both the ambience of the new restaurant and its cool aesthetic, as well as the remodeled center it sits in. The original opened in 1979, and over the years it evolved into a family-friendly part of the community. Now, after a redesign said to be in the $30 million range, the center is enjoying a renaissance. 

The biggest change is the removal of a central two-story building, which opens up views of the lake from a variety of new vantage points, including Sessions outdoor patio.  

Sessions West Coast Deli is one of the most anticipated of the few new restaurants and cafes opening at the center. Others still upcoming include The Lost Bean, an organic/gourmet coffee shop, and The Pizza Press. 

Sessions opened just in the nick of time for those adults who spend time at the center waiting for kids, friends and family members to complete any number of classes—dance, art, yoga, music, math and English, computers and more—offered in the center. Having a safe haven from the throngs of kids and rowdy teens who have made the center their after school hideout is most welcome. Added bonus that one can keep an eye on the playground while enjoying an adult beverage: Sessions offers full barista service, along with a well-curated (if limited) selection of beer and wine. 

One needn’t be a Woodbridge resident to love the local touches at the restaurant. The owners have hired Woodbridge High School students to join the staff, and the service has been attentive and friendly.
 
 
Design elements decorating the restaurant include a large black and white photo taken from beneath one of the Woodbridge bridges.  
Those who really know the history of the Woodbridge center might recognize another work of art on the wall.

Locals had purchased and their families painted tiles back in the 1990s, and they were long part of the playground at the center. A plaque nearby read: “Dedicated to the children of Irvine for helping to build a better Woodbridge.” It was dated September 1991,
 Beckham’s father happened to walk by during the remodel, and saw that the tiles were being removed. He arranged to retrieve theirs. The tile sits proudly near the entrance to Sessions. The handprints in paint have faded with which the siblings decorated the tile is faded but still visible. On the wall below the words ”Committed to our Roots” is written. 

That’s about as Woodbridge as it gets, folks.  ​
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