Bear Flag Fish Co. - Newport Beach

7972 Pacific Coast Highway

Newport Beach, CA 92657

Hours: 11:00am to 8:00pm daily

I've been on a poke craze lately and am set out to find the best poke in OC. I heard that everyone loves Bear Flag's poke so I definitely wanted to go try it out. I ordered the $12.95 seafood plate which comes with your choice of fish and 2 sides. 

Ahi poke (4/5): I enjoyed the flavor and freshness off the ahi. 

Salmon poke (2/5): I usually love salmon, but it had a weird taste and made my stomach hurt. 

Rice (1/5): Overcooked and mushy. 

Vegetables (2/5): I like that they offer veggies as a side, but it was pretty bland. Healthy choice though. 

Overall I would give Bear Flag a 3/5. It's a little more expensive than other poke places, but the ahi was very fresh and flavorful. They do need to improve on the sides though and it would be nice if toppings were available. 

Panini Cafe - Irvine

3041 Michelson Drive

Irvine, CA 92612

Hours: 7:00am to 9:30pm daily

Panini Cafe is one of my favorite spots to grab lunch or dinner since it is delicious, affordable, and fills you up. 

Chicken Kabob (5/5): For just $10.95, you get a kabob full of juicy chicken, tomatoes, and onions next to a bed of basmati rice and a salad of your choice. My favorite is the Mediterranean salad as I love their balsamic dressing.

Filet Mignon Kabob (4/5): The filet is delicious, but at $19.95 it's definitely a little overpriced. 

Tiramisu (4/5): I'm picky when it comes to tiramisu, and the one here is pretty good.

Overall this place gets a 4.5/5 for me. Quality food for a very affordable price. The only thing I don't like is that they change the types of salad leaf constantly. 

Guppy House - Irvine

2730 Alton Parkway, Suite 101

Irvine, CA 92606

Hours: 11:00am to 1:00am daily

Guppy House is located in the Diamond Jamboree shopping center, and is my to-go spot for shaved ice and brick toast. Their food is pretty good too and I love that they're open late at night.

Pineapple Fried Rice (4/5): One of my favorite dishes here, must try. Served in a giant pineapple and has a lot of flavor.

Popcorn Chicken (3/5): This was just okay for me, wouldn't recommend ordering.

Beef Noodle Soup (3/5): Pretty tasty noodle soup to warm you up on a cold night.

Shaved Ice (4/5): The shaved ice is really good, since a regular serving is so huge I would recommend order their to-go size and sharing, plenty enough for 2-3 people.

Brick Toast (4/5): Butter coconut spread, that's all you need to know. Highly suggest adding green tea ice cream. 

Overall Guppy House gets a 3.5/5, the entrees are good for the most part, and the desserts are delicious! I do think it is slightly overpriced though. 

Andrea - Newport Coast

22701 S. Pelican Hill Road

Newport Coast, CA 92657

Hours: 12:00pm to 11:00pm daily

I'm usually not a fan of overpriced "fancy schmancy" restaurants, but I recently got the chance to dine at Andrea for a friend's birthday dinner. Located in Newport's luxurious resort Pelican Hill, Andrea has a quiet, old school atmosphere. It lacks the modern look of typical high end restaurants, giving it a more casual feel. 

Bread Basket (3/5): I normally don't write about the bread baskets, but I loved the rosemary bread included in theirs. However, the bread was served cold which was off-putting.

Grilled Octopus (3/5): This was good, but a little burnt and lost the chewiness octopus should have.

Braised Short Rib Caramelle (3/5): Tasty, tender pieces of wagyu beef wrapped in a ravioli type pasta. Yummy, but nothing special.

Risotto (2.5/5): It was entertaining watching them bring out a big hunk of cheese and make the dish in front of the table, but was way too heavy.

Braised Veal Cheek (3.5/5): Decided to go with this as it seemed like one of the most popular items on the menu. Delicious for the first couple of bites, but quickly became overwhelming due to the fattiness of the meat. I also did not like having the mashed potatoes served under the meat as they got stuck to every bite of meat. 

Overall I would give Andrea a 2.5/5. It was just what I expected, your typical overpriced, small-portioned fancy restaurant. The waiter was a little pushy on recommending multiple dishes per person, which I didn't think was appropriate since I was more than full off of my dish. The decor felt outdated compared to their other restaurant, the Coliseum, which is beautiful and has more affordable entrees. Nothing really stood out to me here, and I wouldn't come back unless someone else was paying for it. 

Bestia - Los Angeles

2121 East 7th Plaza

Los Angeles, CA 90021

Hours:  5:00pm to 11:00pm daily

Bestia is known as one of L.A.'s top Italian restaurants, so of course I had to go and see what the hype was all about. You will need to make reservations about 2 months in advance, or just show up right when it opens and luck out at the bar. It's located in a slightly sketchy area, and the parking is basically a small valet parking lot, so you will have to pay for parking or risk parking somewhere shady. 

Chicken Gizzards (2/5): I enjoy chicken gizzards yakitori style, so I ordered these to see how they compare, and the ones here are definitely liver-like in taste and texture which I didn't particularly enjoy.

Mussels & Clams (4/5): Spicy and delicious, but the seafood was small. $18

Cavatelli Alla Norcina (3.5/5): Not sure what everyone was raving about, but it just tasted like mushroom cream pasta. The pork in it was good and the pasta was perfectly al dente. Pricey at $29.

Pork Tomahawk (3.5/5): This was pretty good, maybe not $75 good though. It is pretty big so I would advise ordering it for 4+ people.

Ricotta Fritters w/ Huckleberry Ice Cream (2/5): Disappointing dessert, especially at $12.

Rainbow Sherbet (1/5): Very average taste, tiny scoop in a tiny cone for $5.

Overall I would give this place a 3.5/5. The food was good, but overpriced. Stay away from ordering any desserts here since they were unimpressive. I would recommend sitting outside or far away from the kitchen because it is extremely smokey inside, indicative of poor ventilation. It was a little hard to breathe in there at times. They also charge a 3% kitchen fee here, which I found to be a little ridiculous considering that I was watching the chefs prepare the food and they were all heavily sampling our plates. Customer service was good for the most part.

Las Brisas - Laguna Beach

361 Cliff Drive

Laguna Beach, CA 92651

Hours 8:00am to 10:00pm daily

I've always walked past Las Brisas whenever I went to Laguna Beach, but never tried it out due to hearing about how overpriced it was. One day, I got the opportunity to attend a birthday dinner here. After pouring through Yelp, I was hesitant about what to order since there were so many mixed reviews. 

Frutas Del Mar (3.5/5): I decided to go with the waiter's recommendation, but subbed the rice for pasta. Surprisingly, the dish was yummy and I enjoyed all of the seafood inside. However, it is definitely not worth $40.

Guacamole (4/5): It's hard to mess up guacamole, but wish the chips and salsa were complimentary since everything is so pricey.

Ceviche (3/5): Good, solid ceviche.

Mussels (3/5): Tasty, nothing special though.

New York Steak & Shrimp (3/5): Just your average steak and shrimp, mashed potatoes were bland.

Overall I would give Las Brisas a 3/5. The food was better than I expected, but definitely overpriced. I guess you have to keep in mind that you are also paying for the view when you come here. This is a great spot for a romantic sunset dinner or celebrating a birthday, but I wouldn't come back unless the prices were lowered.

Urban Seoul - Irvine

2750 Alton Parkway, Suite 131

Irvine, CA 92606

Hours 11:30am to 3:00 pm 

           5:00pm to 11:00pm daily

Urban Seoul is one of my favorite places to celebrate Taco Tuesday. Asian Fusion is not an easy flavor to get right, but this place does it well. My first time I ordered the pork belly tacos and loaded fries, since those seemed to be the most popular dishes. Since then, I have also tried the other taco flavors and most of the other appetizers and entrees as well. 

Pork Belly Tacos (3/5): If you like fatty meat, then this will be perfect for you. Comes with crispy and fatty pork belly pieces topped with their signature slaw. Compared to the other tacos, this was probably my least favorite.

Gogi Tacos (4.5/5): These are my absolute favorite here, the meat is nice and tender and the sweetness perfectly balances the spicy flavors. 

Spicy Pork Tacos (4/5): My second favorite taco, highly recommend for those who love spicy food.

Gogi Quesadilla (4/5): A simply, but really good dish. I love the kimchi sour cream that comes with it.

Loaded Fries (2/5): This was just okay for me, had too much going on and it wasn't anything memorable about it.

Bibimbap (1/5): For those who like to eat healthy, I guess this would be for you. Tasted very plain and the sauce didn't do much for the dish no matter how much I put on it. Basically like eating rice with bland vegetables on top.

Overall, Urban Seoul gets a 3.5/5 for me. The food and customer service used to be fantastic, but recently it has gone downhill. They raised their prices while lowering the quality of their customer service, which is sad but happens to a lot of places that become popular. I still occasionally come for their Taco Tuesday when I have random cravings for it, and it is cheaper at $1.75 per taco.