This nondescript sushi restaurant is a favorite of both dining critics and superlative sushi fans. Here, the chef prepares two omakase options: a traditional version for $110 to $160; and Jun’s style for $70, a five-course fusion menu with a combination of hot and cold dishes. At lunch, a premium omakase sushi with soup is just $31, which may make it one of the best — and most affordable — omakases in Orange County.

Listed as one of the best pizzas in America by the Washington Post, the pies at Fuoco Pizzeria Napoletana emerge from a nearly 1,000-degree wood-burning oven built in Naples by Stefano Ferrara. Three generations of pizzaiolos continue churning out classic margherita pizzas and the Fuoco pie, which is topped with mozzarella, prosciutto crudo, arugula, and shaved Parmigiano, and drizzled with truffle oil. A mozzarella bar is stocked weekly with cheese imported from Caserta, Italy.

This Michelin-anointed halal restaurant combines the flavors of India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan with a modern Californian twist. The tender boneless chicken karahi is served with tomatoes and shishito peppers, and the butter chicken with dried fenugreek is one of the restaurant’s more popular dishes. The pani puri with tamarind water, mint, onion, and potato arrives on a mini cart and is intended to be taken as a shooter.

As one of the first restaurants in Anaheim’s Little Arabia District, Kareem’s has become a go-to for authentic Middle Eastern food. Owner Kareem Hawari’s closely held family falafel recipe is so popular that the Hawaris started selling it wholesale to grocery stores and other restaurants. The babaganoush, grape leaves, and hummus are staples not to miss, but Kareem’s newer menu items — vegetarian wraps, falafel burgers, and feta fries — also offer a modern Mediterranean vibe without sacrificing traditional flavor.

The family-owned Los Alamitos landmark founded by Stan Ratman and his wife Shirley Ratman is known for its deli food and stocked bakery case that has black-and-white cookies, pastries such as custard-filled eclairs, chocolate chip Danishes, and rugelach. The family-sized portions allow diners to nosh on several dishes at once. Rotund matzo balls are served in Shirley’s chicken soup and rye bread pastrami sandwiches remain a Katella favorite. The vibe is family-friendly with a multi-generational crowd in the dining room, which was remodeled in 2022. The bakery section has illuminated cases filled with slices of layer cakes, cookies, and glistening fruit tarts, baskets filled with bagels, and a smattering of deli items available for takeaway.

At Rodeo 39 Public Market in Stanton, the bustling food hall houses some of the county’s most sought after southeast Asian bites. Beef shank-laden pho from Phoholic, savory Vietnamese crepes at Banh Xeo Boys, and Kra-Z-Kai’s Laotian-style barbecue. At Shootz, reimagined Hawaiian classics include a kimchi butter katsu chicken sandwich stuffed with mac salad and the honey coconut shrimp musubi. 

Korean comfort food served in large portions is what Yigah is known for in Orange County. Both the Garden Grove restaurant and its sister location in Irvine at Diamond Jamboree shopping center serve steamy galbi tang, beef short rib soup, as well as the bossam meal with boiled pork belly, napa cabbage, and spicy pickled radish.

Santa Ana’s Tacos Manuel truck, open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., serves corn tortilla street tacos with carnitas, chorizo, carne asada, al pastor, and chicken. Most regulars opt for the offals, such as cabeza and tripas (tripe) served with grilled onions, jalapenos, and cilantro. The truck also makes quesadillas, tortas, and burritos, but the huaraches topped with beans, lettuce, sour cream, and meat are the most popular.

Sushi chef Gino Choi prepares an intricate omakase for 10 diners at his namesake downtown Santa Ana restaurant. (Choi is also a self-taught carpenter who built the sushi counter, entryway, and partitions himself.) Standout dishes include a creamy Hokkaido uni udon garnished with winter black truffles from Spain; Gino’s version of tamago, flavored with shellfish; and a yuzu foam topped with slow-cooked black cod bedded alongside green plum marinated roasted tomatoes.

The hearty portions of Phởholic’s hot beefy pho keep Vietnamese grandparents and social media influencers returning to its original location in Westminster. Owners Gordon and Cathy Pham have opened two more locations, one at South Coast Plaza and another at Rodeo 39 in Stanton. Pham’s parents run the kitchen where the family’s decades-old recipe requires the broth to simmer for 14 hours. Regulars opt for the beef shank and oxtail pho on the holic side of the menu, but beginners can start with the steak and brisket version.

This is one of Orange County’s busiest dim sum restaurants. The original Garden Grove location opened in 1990 and serves an extensive Chinese food menu including whole fried fish, braised sea cucumbers, and house-special lobster. For diners seeking dim sum on a non-weekend day, Seafood Cove #2, the two-story sister location in Westminster is your destination. It serves Seafood Cove’s signature dishes (clams with basil sauce, honey walnut shrimp, and Peking duck) in addition to daily dim sum from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

This timeless restaurant offers a wide array of Vietnamese specialties, starting with 13 types of spring rolls — including the popular grilled shrimp paste with lettuce, carrots, daikon, mint, cilantro, and cucumber wrapped in rice paper. The menu continues with traditional Vietnamese noodle soups, sandwiches, and a whole lot more.

Nep Cafe is a brunch sensation. At the French Vietnamese all-day cafe, run by the massively successful restaurant group Kei Concepts, the kitchen pays “homage to the traditional Vietnamese morning routine.” The menu includes TikTok-worthy coffee drinks topped with salted egg yolk and delicate dishes like a sous vide egg kicked up with hints of truffle. Nep’s second location in Irvine opened in the same plaza as Kei Concepts’ other popular Vietnamese/Peruvian restaurant, Sup Noodle Bar. 

Chef Ross Pangilinan’s sister restaurant to the award-winning, but now-closed Mix Mix Kitchen + Bar is best known for its open-air patio and the chef’s large raviolo. The hand-rolled pasta is stuffed with a cheese-herb filling and a whole egg yolk. Other popular items include an albacore crostini on a crispy corn tostada and brioche french toast for brunch.

This modern French-Californian restaurant from chef Tony Esnault and Yassmin Sarmadi is ripe for celebratory meals. The three-course lunch and four-to-six-course dinner prix fixe menus change often. One week it’s French black truffles, another evening it’s a Norouz dinner with recipes by Shamsi Katebi, prepared by Esnault and his kitchen team. Its plush banquets and round tables overlook the bar and open kitchen. A sunlit patio is typically booked with private events on the weekends and a pricey but impeccable afternoon tea service is available on Saturdays. The surprisingly satisfying non-alcoholic cocktails, like the Cadillac margarita with blood orange and lime, are also worth stopping in for.     

Chefs Nick Weber and Ross Pangilinan’s modern California-French bistro is situated in South Coast Plaza, where fried chicken bites topped with caviar fit perfectly with the glitzy atmosphere. Standout starters include crispy duck “spliffs” and escargot ebelskivers. Populaire’s laid-back decor with black-and-white photos of Johnny Cash and Ramones album covers are offset by dusty pink floral wallpaper and pastel blue walls. The look echoes the food: refined with a touch of rock-and-roll.  

The omakase-only Hana re is a 10-seat sushi-ya helmed by Atsushi Yokoyama. Located in an industrial storage crate at the Lab in Costa Mesa, the Michelin star counter feels like a hidden gem, even though its stellar fish preparations are no secret anymore. Yokoyama and one server, who also assists with wine pairings, put out an omakase experience that includes bite sized crab perched atop eel tempura, scallops enveloped in gelee, welk shellfish with celery root, caviar and shiso. An uni hand roll is brushed with  Reservations can be made via text at (714) 545-2800 for the $250 omakase.

The gluten-free, organic, and vegan cafe serves breakfast options all day. The blue-colored spirulina chia pudding with fresh fruit and the tacos made with house-made corn tortillas, cauliflower scramble, pico de gallo, and cashew lime crema are snackable any time of day. For vegan beginners, the cafe serves acai bowls with cacao nibs, an extensive menu of made-to-order juices and smoothies blended with homemade coconut milk, and a kid-friendly organic mixed berry waffle with cashew cream and maple syrup.

The strip mall butcher shop and deli serves pastrami sandwiches layered with beef cured in-house on rye bread. The rotating specials board includes fish and chips, and Cuban and porchetta sandwiches. The smash burger made with beef ground in-house and the pastrami with coleslaw remain the favorites for regulars.

Probiotics rule at Fermentation Farm — thanks to nearly a dozen different on-tap kombucha flavors, and food options like a French onion soup with raw cheese and a kraut-filled grilled cheese sandwich. Visit on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. when a farmers market featuring produce from Rosewood Farms and Sunny Cal Farms pops up in the restaurant’s parking lot. Monthly classes include an intro to bone broth and fermentation techniques like kombucha brewing.

Find a casual, hodgepodge menu at at the Blind Pig, which overlooks the Rancho Santa Margarita Lake. On the menu is gruyere-topped French onion soup and chicken karaage. The extensive whiskey selection pairs well with heartier dishes, like the wild boar albondigas, bacon cheddar cheeseburger, or braised beef shank tacos.

This cozy, red-boothed hideout on Pacific Coast Highway is known for its Rat Pack atmosphere. The classic martini reigns at the bar and the chicken pot pie is only available on Fridays, but locals love the steaks, the confited Mary’s organic chicken, and pan-seared Niman Ranch pork chops. Put simply: the restaurant is old-school done right. River Jetty Restaurant Group also operates A Restaurant’s sister locales CDM Restaurant, A Crystal Cove, and A Market, which are go-to hot spots in Newport Beach. 

The splurge-worthy Sushi II is located in Mariner’s Point in Newport Beach and offers three hyper-seasonal omakase experiences. Named after distinct Japanese pottery — Bizen, Oribe, and Karatsu — the menus range from $150 to $275 per person. At lunch, chirashi starts at $35 and omakase is $120. Order the omakase paired with sake to experience master chef Susumu Ii’s washoku training to the fullest. The takeout offerings such as the deluxe chirashi ($48) and a classic Japanese cherry blossom chirashi for $27 are exquisitely packaged for impressive meals on the go. 

Chef Richard Mead is a long-standing figure in the Orange County dining scene. At the Farmhouse at Roger’s Gardens, the chef showcases the best that the season has to offer from the region’s many producers, which means ever-changing takes on dishes like sea scallops, as well as shrimp and mussels served in a tomato-Pernod broth with a polenta cake made from blue corn sourced from the Tehachapi Heritage Grain Project.

The fire engine red building with white trim and green-striped awning is a landmark on the Newport peninsula. Since 1951, the Crab Cooker has served seafood classics including oysters, Dungeness crab, Alaskan crab claws, clam chowder, and anything offered in the fish market.

At this Laguna Beach restaurant, Top Chef alum Amar Santana serves “progressive American” food. Since it opened in 2011, Broadway combines Santana’s East Coast roots with West Coast produce. A popular side dishe inspired by Chinese takeout combines a sweet and sour sauce with Brussels sprouts and Chinese sausage.

Laguna Beach locals love this place for its white tablecloths, award-winning wine program, and stellar steaks. The vibrant red beet ravioli stuffed with cheese is a striking starter, while the monkey bread dessert is a comforting finish to any meal. Former Anaheim Ducks hockey player and six-time Olympian Teemu Selanne is one of the restaurant’s owners, so be on the lookout for Orange County A-listers. In November 2023, Rebekah Eastman joined the kitchen as the executive pastry chef: Eastman revamped the menu and opened the adjacent bakery by Selanne with baguette sandwiches, sticky buns, browned butter chocolate chip cookies, and bang pies stuffed with seasonal fruit. 

San Juan Capistrano’s award-winning pitmaster Daniel Castillo takes barbecue to the next level with wood-smoked brisket, sausages, turkeys, ribs, chickens, and more. First-timers load up on the brisket and ribs, while regulars order pork belly banh mi sandwiches, brisket tacos prepared with La Palma tortillas, and creamy banana pudding layered with pound cake and vanilla wafer cookies. Get the charred broccoli with cheesy mornay sauce if its on the menu.