Old Vine Café

Reviews 3

TR

Trina D.

The food here is extraordinary. My date and I had each ordered from the tasting menu. I had the seasonal menu, while he ordered the traditional one. Seasonal Menu: First dish ~ Fresh Wild Seabass Ceviche on a Wonton Crisp with Sweet Soy & Micro Greens. Paired with a 2009 Kung Fu Girl Riesling, Washington State. The seabass ceviche was delicious with the microgreens and sweet soy sauce. The plating was beautiful, but I did not hesitate to dig in. Its a good thing I took a photo beforehand. The wonton gave it a nice crunch. The riesling rounded out the sweetness of the dish providing a dry note to the whole experience. I was very pleased with this dish. 4.5 stars. Second dish ~ Proscuitto Wrapped, Panko Crusted Fried Green Tomato & Fresh Sweet Creamed Corn, Garnished with Queso Fresco. Paired with a 2009 Tintero Moscato dAsti, Italy. This was absolutely AMAZING. I was blown away by the simplicity. yet complex arrangement of flavors and textures in this dish. The crunchiness of the panko with the soft, sweet corn brought a slight tear to my eye. I was in HEAVEN. The salty proscuitto paired with the sweet corn and Moscato dAsti made a little party in my mouth. By far my favorite dish of the night. 5 stars. Third dish ~ All Natural Quail on a bed of White Bean Puree with Spanish Chorizo, drizzled with a Strawberry Balsamic Reduction. Paired with a 2008 Castillo de Monjardin Tintico, Navarra Spain. This was delicious but I wasnt as enamored with it as the other two dishes. The wine was spicy which brought about an interesting addition to the quail and puree. Again it was good, but not my favorite. 3.5 stars. Final dish ~ Fresh Baked Oatmeal Raisin Cookie with House Made Vanilla Moscatel Ice Cream. Paired with a N.V. Adega de Favaios Moscatel do Douro, Portugal. This was a small bite but very indulgent nonetheless. The warm cookie with the ice cream when well with the moscatel wine. It was so GOOD. 4 stars. Traditional menu: First dish ~ Sautéed Sea Scallop on a nest of Crispy Fried Yucca finished with Tarragon Chardonnay Sauce. Paired with a 2006 Frogmore Creek Chardonnay, Tasmania. My date really enjoyed this. Im not a fan of scallops in general, possibly because Ive never had great scallops. But these were delicious! They were cooked perfectly with a beautiful caramelized sear. They were sweet and succulent. The dry chardonnay rounded out the sweetness of the scallops nicely. Very good. 4.5 stars. Second dish ~ Handmade Fettuccini Pomodoro garnished with Aged Pecorino Romano Cheese. Paired with a 2008 Castelvero Barbera, Piedmonte Italy. This fettuccini pomodoro was delicate and tender. It went well with the barbera wine. My date liked it but said it was just ok. 4 stars. Third dish ~ Four Ounces of All Natural Filet Mignon & Crispy Fried Onions with Bleu Des Basque Demi Cream Sauce. Paired with a 2008 Maipe Cabernet Sauvignon, Argentina. This was by far the best dish on the menu. The steak was so tender that with just a butter knife, it gave way so easily. The crispy onions were so good with the filet. The cabernet rounded out the dish nicely. 5 stars. Final dish ~ Grandmas Cheesecake, Wild Berry Puree. Paired with a NV Ferreira Ruby Port. A wonderful end to a great menu. The cheesecake was the perfect size to finish off the meal. It was slightly rich but paired with the puree and fresh fruit, it was delicious along with the port. 4 stars. We had a fantastic meal. Im amazed at the quality of the food, service, and ambiance. This is definitely one of the BEST restaurants, if not a best kept dining secret in the OC.

IA

Ian

Remarkable experience at the Old Vine Café. I recently made my first visit to this restaurant to have brunch with a couple of friends and we were all blown away! Ive had this bookmarked for far too long....should of came when I first found out about this café. The Old Vine Café is located at the Camp in Costa Mesa on Bristol and Baker. Parking is limited, so I recommend coming at a decent time or be prepared to circle the parking lot; however, there is valet parking available. Luckily for me, I found prime parking upfront. The restaurant is located towards of the back of the camp. Just look up and follow the signs. The restaurant is quite small but cozy, offering both indoor and patio seating. It had to be our lucky day because of the ease of finding parking and plus no wait to be seated! The atmosphere of the restaurant has a rustic contemporary feel to it. Some people say water is just water, but at the Old Vine there water is delicious and refreshing. Must of had 4-5 bottles of water. The Food: Just about everything on the menu looked appealing but heres what we finally decided to order: I went with the Pre-Fix Lunch Special: * Mushroom Bisque: * Reuben * Cheesecake Graham Cracker The mushroom bisque was very good and one of the best Ive ever had. The Reuben was served in four separate portions with their house-made horseradish. Typically I am not fan of horseradish but dipping the sandwich with it, made taste like heaven. Generally for dessert I do not prefer rich sweets but wow, the cheesecake was prepared wonderfully. The wild berry puree complimented the cheesecake quite nicely. Friends: * Open Faced (generous portion) - Friends highlights: potatoes were flavorful, big portion, cooked to perfection * Southern Brunch - Friends highlights: delicious flaky biscuit, fried-green tomato was interesting but tasty (first time having it) and also generous portions. The Old Vine Café is a winner! I highly recommend this restaurant if youre looking for quality comfort food with a twist. Service was exceptional, with servers constantly refilling our glasses and ensuring we had everything we needed to enjoy our time out. The food....WOW! I definitely need to come back during dinner time. Great place to eat with friends. have a romantic evening, or having a drink. They also offer 6 bottles of wine for $60.

HA

Hanae K

Ive been wanting to try this place ever since my friend posted a picture of their french toast on facebook. French toast is my favorite breakfast food. I had a brunch date with my ex coworker Saturday afternoon. I spent the night in Huntington Beach Friday night and she lived near Costa Mesa so we decided to meet at Old Vine Cafe :) Good luck finding parking on a busy day, I got lucky with mine. My friend was running late so I put my name down for two and got to relax outside under the shade for 45minutes (I was pretty exhausted because I went to Dinsneyland the night before). I love this plaza! Its covered in lots of green and all the stores looked hipster and artsy. Cute place to stroll around after breakfast/brunch/lunch. Theres a small hipster coffee shop nearby. FOOD: I was not in the mood for something sweet but I was determined to order the pumpkin spice pecan brioche french toast Ive been eyeballing on yelp for days. I didnt want to spend extra money on side order so I settled with a glass of tomato juice to satisfy my crave for something salty. Pumpkin french toast was great, probably best to share it with people as a dessert. It was denser than a regular french toast. My ex coworker ordered smoked salmon omelet. I am not a huge fan of smoked salmon but I tried her omelet anyways. She really loved it :) I was pretty satisfied with the meal but I dont think I will be driving almost an hour to try this place again. If Im in the area then I will keep this place in mind.