South County, Tell Us Where To Eat!

By Dave Lieberman Thu., Oct. 21 2010 at 10:00 AM

Categories: Local Eats

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Gentle readers, we are a large and diverse county. We have enclaves of ethnic wonder: Little Saigon and Santa Ana are just the start. The problem is that these places are, by and large, in the northern half of the county (and Irvine). As such, our coverage might be perceived to have a (slight) northern slant.

So tell us, South OC: what have you been eating and drinking that you think we should be eating and drinking? Given the demographics, South County should by rights be lined with wonderful, upscale eateries. Lake Forest is swiftly becoming the go-to place for food in South County, but what's there to eat in Aliso Viejo? San Clemente, where you at? San Juan Capistrano?

We want to celebrate all of OC, so hop on down to the comments and let us have it.

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I agree Nick's is a must if you have not been yet. Only place I can eat at several times a week but it is an addiction so be careful.
Vine In San Clemente Is 1 of the best in all of O.C. Expensive,sit in the bar,4-top by the fireplace! Also Med. Village on upper Del Mar,incredible food!!
Kotobuki in Laguna Hills for real sushi Mozambique in LB Dizz's As Is in LB Tabu in LB Opah has potential but their menu needs to be a bit more mainstreamed. Citrus at the new Renaissance Hotel in Aliso Viejo has great lamb chops
Nick's San Clemete Nick's Laguna Beach Nick's is awesome, not only do they have decent prices for the food they serve the service is fantastic and food is always fresh and creative. I've been to their location in San Clemente and Laguna Beach and highly recommend both for a date night, casual lunch or special engagement. If you want to go big $$ in Laguna you've got to try Tabu Grill. It's a winner too.
Some south OC picks would be: Cocina de Ricardo - Lake Forest Athena's Gyro - Mission Viejo Roman Cucina - Laguan Hills Watermarc - Laguna Beach Paul's Pantry - Mission Viejo
HAPA J's !!! San Clemente El Campeon SJC Than Binh El Toro
Sadly, not much to choose from, but here's a list of places I would recommend: Thai Bite - Aliso Viejo (second location just opened in Laguna Niguel) Kappo Hana - Laguna Hills Shabu Shabu USA - Mission Viejo Villa Roma - Laguna Hills Anyone try Anju Bistro in Laguna Niguel? I just discovered it a few days ago and it looks pretty interesting.
PizzaPort in San Clemente is known for its IPAs, so it would be worth the trip just for those. I have not personally been to Cismontane Brewing in RSM, so an advanced scouting report would be appreciated. The other micros/brewpubs in South OC didn't really do much for me.
I live in Aliso Viejo, and honestly, while I would LOVE to gloat in the fact that we do actually have great eateries... we don't have too many. if I want to eat somewhere awesome I always end up driving north. Usually Orange, Costa Mesa, or Newport. The places I do frequent in south OC are more out of convenience -- they are good enough, and they are close. This includes Tutto Fresco in RSM for a bowl of gnocchi with creamy pesto and great bread, and Skimmer's for a panini or giant salad. Strangely, I almost never go south, so although places like SJC and San Clemente are a stone's throw away, I feel like I might as well be in San Diego when I go there. It tooootally bums me out when I go eat at a mom-and-pop place and it�s empty, and then on the way home I see 30 people standing outside of Chili�s waiting for a table. :( I would love to hear about some awesome local places. I would like to try Nick's. I think Break of Dawn is overpriced hype.
Threadjack: Its in Central OC, but I hope someone reviews the waffle sandwich place that is going to open up in the old Dairy Treet restaurant across from Chapman College next to the Barber shop. I am going to date myself here, but does anyone remember Wafra in the UCI marketplace where Lee's and In N OUt are located? They did the same thing. End of Threadjack
Tabu Grill- Laguna Beach Dizz As Is- Laguna Beach Mollie's Country Kitchen-Laguna Niguel Stella's- Dana Point Hummingbird House- SJC Vine- San Clemente
Uoko in the shopping center where Captain Creams (which used to have awesome free hot dog lunches) resides has great traditional sushi done by old school Japanese chefs. I did a review on it on my blog once http://eatoc.blogspot.com/2005/05/uoko-sushi-nirvana-in-orange-county.html Tomo is no longer there, but Ken (don't let the name fool you as he is 100% Japanese) does a great job. There are a whole bunch of restaurants in this strip mall that I have always wanted to try, but don't know anything about. I think some have been reviewed before, but it would be great to get a fresh review on these places
Break of Dawn - Laguna Hills Bagels & Brew - Aliso Viejo Thai Bite - Aliso Viejo Berkeley Dog - Mission Viejo Ramos House - San Juan Capistrano Motif, St. Regis - Dana Point
Bon Jour Cafe - Dana Point Gemmells - Dana Point Nirvana Grill - Laguna and MV Sol del Sur - SJC Nicks - Laguna and San Clemente for a start...
uhhhh, have you been down there? There's not much talent south of Irvine center drive. Anything south county can do, regular OC can do better. Save your gas.
Great idea and a great effort to get reader involvement in a positive way!
Pizza e Vino in RSM. Nightmare to get to. Probably best pies in OC though.
Some places down South. They all seem similar though? Hanna's Restaurant RSM Infusion, Ladera Ranch Beachfire LR and SC Iva Lees SC Tannins SJC Opah AV
Surfin'Chicken- San Clemente (best chicken on planet) Urban Thai- Aliso Viejo Panini Cafe- Aliso Viejo Boards and Brew (San Clemente)