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Costa Mesa's Best Restaurants that are most frequently booked by customers of Vaca Costa Mesa
Vaca Costa Mesa Tripadvisor Reviews
Latest Reviews On Tripadvisor
23 Reviews
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$350.00, only to get food poising!
My son, daughter-in-law, and I dined at Vaca on October the 9th. We all shared an order Raba De Toro (oxtail), Canellone de Pollo Ahumado, the bikini sandwiches, a three cheese plate and then an order of the Seafood Pealla (de Mariscos). Everything tasted fine. The service was only OK, as the waiter never didn’t remember to order one of the other dishes that we ordered. With the tip, the bill was close to $350.00. Unfortunately, all three of us became quite ill starting around 2:00 in the morning. This continued well into the next morning. The next day I called the restaurant and spoke with their manager Brandon. He asked that i give him 24 to 48 hours to investigate what might have happened. Several days later he called and left a message on my voicemail. I returned that phone call and was simply told we looked at everything and we can't find anything that could have caused you to become ill, “We're very sorry”. I asked him if he thought that it was extremely odd that all three of us who shared all of the same dishes would become so ill from eating there. He said well we followed all of our protocols and there's nothing else I can do for you except to apologize. I truly expected that a restaurant of this caliber would offer more than a simple, wrote apology. I explained that it would be very difficult for us in good conscience to return to their restaurant, and he glibly said “do what you want to do”. Enough said, I can tell you that we won't return.
Be the first to ReplyNice dinner spot for couples
Had dinner here last night with my hubby. He said this is owned by a Top Chef and serves spanish cuisine which i have been craving for. We were promptly seated in the patio at the back even if we didn’t have reservations. Below are the food we ordered: Drink Sangria Rosa - 4/5 Pulpo - 4/5 flavorful but a little dry. They should’ve added more olive oil. Gambas- 5/5 very good with the right spice Vieras a la plancha (scallops) - 5/5 scallops was cooked well and taste was like thai curry Seafood Paella - 3/5 it was okey. I’ve tasted better. The Paella at Telerefic in Palo Alto is the best Ive tried here in California. The seafood was well cooked though. Churros con chocolate 3/3- i was looking forward to this. But the churros was overcooked so it was so hard and it was thickly coated in sugar which we had to scrape off. Spanish churros don’t have sugar coating. At least the chocolate tasted like the spanish chocolate that is not too sweet. Our server miguel was very amiable and checked on us regularly. The ambience was also nice. Parking is in the lot across Vaca and can be validated at the restaurant or you can do valet for $10.
Be the first to ReplyVery Good but not Outstanding Tapas
My brother in law and I went to try this place, which is notorious for being booked, even mid week. We walked in at 6:30 and luckily found a table for two in the outside area in front of the restaurant. This was the perfect place since we were not blasted by the noise inside. We came to try the tapas. I suspect that the meat is excellent at this place, but we wanted variety, and I craved tapas with a good glass of wine. We had several tapas, each of them large or small enough to share, the carne crudo, gambas a la plancha, pulpo al la Gallego, patatas bravas, and a mixed cheese and jamon platter. The best was the carne crudo, a small stack of raw meat with egg salad on top. Next was the gambas, shrimp in a sauce that probably had vinegar in it, not the typical butter and herb sauce. The other tapas were not as exciting, especially the Fermin jamon, which was dry (I should have ordered a smaller portion and gone for the Cinco Jotas). The toasted bread that comes with each plate has a funny taste, which I could not identify. Vaca buys into the common misinterpretation of tapas outside of Spain. In Spanish bars, the tapas (or pintxos in Basque country) are right in front of you in a vitrine, and they are small and super affordable. They are also served within a minute, once you alert the person behind the bar. The entire setting encourages spontaneity and promotes socializing. Outside Spain, tapas are glorified mini dishes that are served with fanfare and cost a fortune, especially at Vaca. The wine list, when it comes to glasses and not entire bottles, is utterly unimpressive. We had a tempranillo, presumably from Rioja, a crianza and a reserva, but there was no further information in the wine list. Decent, but not outstanding wine. All in all, a nice experience, but this is a far cry from a Michelin star (even a one star) restaurant. Nothing here was super exciting, and so, the search for a decent tapas place in O.C. goes on.
Be the first to ReplyHmmm...want to waste your money? Come on down!
Wow! I mean, wow. How disappointing can a restaurant be? Forget the location and expectations for an amazing dining experience. I've cooked better steaks from Stater Bros and Vons hundreds of times since 2012 when we moved to 3400 Avenue of the Arts until today. Wow. Don't bother. Stay home and cook your own food.
Be the first to ReplyWe’ll Worth the Trip
We stayed at the Westin across from the restaurant with no feeling either way about the restaurant. We were seated and ordered a few tapas along with the meat paella. We were not disappointed. Each dish was amazing.
Be the first to ReplyDisappointed
I love this place but today 11/20 I came in at 9:30 pm and the valet guy was just rude asf, he said he didn’t wanna deal with me and to go park the car myself
Be the first to ReplyNot good
They knew we were going to the theater. After 1 hour and 15 minutes, we still didn’t have our entrees. Had to leave. Not a good experience.
Be the first to ReplyGood tapas bar
We came to the restaurant from a recommendation of friends. We enjoyed the excellent service from the staff, and their knowledge of the menu and wines. We ordered a variety of tapas that were well prepared, and the meat paella, which was a little over cooked and burnt at the bottom. It wasn’t particularly excellent. The tomato bread was a unique presentation with the bread and tomato sauce presented separately, and you have to add the sauce which is different than at Spanish restaurants, where they usually come already prepared. The prices are high relative to the food provided but overall it was a good experience with good but small type of presentations.
Be the first to ReplyWant to come back
Great service. Great menu. Everything was great. The chicken with duck liver was my favorite but seems like you can't go wrong
Be the first to ReplyMust Try
Classy, hip, creative, delicious and close to my house... Vaca, I love you. I wanted to take my cousin to an amazing dinner and Vaca did not disappoint. We love love love to eat so nothing was off limits on the menu... Tip: everything is shareable... Hence being called "tapas" Entrees can also be shared between 3-4. Depending on how big your appetite is. Walking in my first impression was, wow... The bar, the decor and the display of delicious meats had my eyes glowing. We were politely greeted and sat quickly. Reservations are a must. I am sure that the wait was at least about an hour to 2... Maybe even longer. If you do choose to go and there is a wait, South Coast is right across the way. So it may be a win/win. To start: Dranks: - Lam Bruto - Pretty good and strong! - Vaca Tonic - Very very pleased with their signature drink. Tapas: - Maiz: Corn with cheese, green onions and so damn tasty! - Bruselas: Brussels sprouts, chorizo and yummy goodness - Hueso Al Horno: BONE MARROW! Scrape it off the bone and put it on the amazing bread, perfection! - Rabo de Toro: OXTAIL, delicious. This may have been my favorite. I wish I had it all to myself. Entrees: - Seafood Paella - HUGE SERVING and very, very delicious. Comparable to when I went to Seville, Spain and Portugal. - Prime Hanger Steak - cooked to perfect medium rare I can't wait to come back in and try other mouth watering concoctions.
Be the first to ReplyGreat Tapas
A ver y happening place with great tapas. If you love Paella this is the place for you. Although it is very busy and you are seated in close proximity it is amazing the noice level is completely tolerable.
Be the first to ReplySpain in the OC
First time visiting Vaca and it did not disappoint. Service was excellent. Bartender recommended drinks and tapas. Everything was on point. Highly recommend Vaca to everyone!
Be the first to ReplyA magical birthday celebration to remember!
I had called in advance to ascertain the parking situation and the $8 valet parking was a great help as we found our way into the restaurant via the red carpet and the rest of the dinner was simply magic. I asked for non-alcoholic drinks and was recommended an interesting pineapple/orange/gingery drink called "sunskirt" which I really enjoyed, and then we also shared the bikini sandwich where the manchego cheese tasted really incredible and of course the Iberian ham was also very meaty inside between the buttery bread slices that actually reminded me of grilled cheese, and the warm octopus with fingerling potatoes were certainly of a very high caliber of cooking and yet the potatoes came off as somehow dry and flaky, and -the Valenciana paella apparently does take anywhere from 20-45 minutes to arrive as they are made on order but upon arrival everything inside the pan from the chorizo sausage pieces bursting with great flavor and the large succulent shrimps to the moist rice with a great tomato base and the perfectly portioned saffron aioli really made a memorable Spanish meal. As we were celebrating two April birthdays during this dinner, we were astonished when we received two surprise desserts of a warm almond cake topped with a smooth vanilla ice cream. We had also ordered a tarta de queso, or basque cheesecake, where the cheesecake component had a deliciously mild and yet creamy texture that allowed the true taste to linger on my tastebuds and was topped with a caramel drizzle and a sweet and nutty caramel ice cream. I truly appreciated the staff who continously worked to pick pieces of fallen food crumbs off of our table as this allowed us to truly savor the dishes before us and enjoy the meal to its fullest -- truly a Michelin quality dining experience from start to finish. We will definitely be returning and would like to highlight our incredible experience from our first visit for Amar & the Vaca team to know that they are doing such great work!!
Be the first to ReplyExpensive small sized tapas, good service
Small and expensive tapas of inconsistent quality (ctopus is good, calamares average for instance, the chorizo is literally a few slices)
Service is good.
Wine prices are through the roof.
We ended up paying 80 USD per person for 1 drink and
Spanish Tapas
Costa Mesa has a lot of the better restaurants in OC and around SCP in particular, there are many. I have my usual stand-bys (Mastro’s, Cap Grille), but wanted to try Amar Santana’s place (Top Chef, season 13 runner up) and something walking distance to Segerstrom Hall. The food here is solid; actually, quite good and much better than AnQi. They have $8 valet (no onsite parking, but there’s a nearby structure). Food is Spanish w paella, tapas and a fairly yummy cocktail list. Full-on COVID safety measures are in place at this restaurant.
Be the first to ReplyVaca rocks!
Went just for lunch but each dish we had blew our socks off. Everything we had was so delicious and the service was impeccable. The menu is full of awesome dishes so we can't wait to go back for dinner again, and again!
Be the first to ReplyAlmost Post pandemic meal
We have been shut down for so long in California, we just needed to get out. Vaca delivered. Our indoor table was delayed due to scheduling error( not good). We sat at the bar and ordered some awesome drinks . ,We chilled at the bar for 15 minutes before asking what was up, only to be informed there were no indoor tables, clearly people were hanging out longer than pre covid. We did take a table outside with heaters. Not our request but it was fine. We had the octopus, thinly slice and was good. We then had the faux gras, Brussels sprouts and skirt steak. All we fantastic. A heads up, the drinks were fantastic and strong. Would come here just for the drinks. The kitchen is doing a great job. Table service was attentive and friendly. Kudos to Vaca.
Be the first to ReplyGood just not Great
I must say I am slightly disappointed with Vaca. We have been to Spain a LOT and the level of food quality vs prices was not even close to what you get in spain.
The iberico ham was VERY disappointing for the price and quality.
However the Foie gras was exceptional and made the meal.
Drinks are high price and just not that good.
Service was excellent.
Oxtail was also quite good not world class but still very tasty.
Good meal just below where I thought it would be
Great tapas and over all meal.
Went here for a birthday, so our party ordered most of the tapas. Not one was disappointing , all were very delicious. The steaks all came out cook to perfection. Definitely a restaurant to try. We will be back.
Be the first to ReplyTapas on the patio
Ate there on the patio. Six different Tapas for two of us (as recommended). Among them: Relleno (peppers, Aguacate (Avocado), Vieiras (scallops), kale salad, Albondigas (lamb) and calamari. All excellent (calamari least favorite, Aguacate best.) Enjoyed a white Spanish wine with same. Service excellent. Bit on the expensive side though.
Highly recommended.
Good choices on tapas. Well
Good choices on tapas. Well executed. Service is fast. Food is well presented. One short coming is that prices are high. The paella isn’t my best but in the upper $30s range for a moderate size one. Passable paella only. Wine prices are sky high. That makes the $30 corkage almost seem ok.
Be the first to ReplyMy experience at Vaca
Chef Amar Santana culinary skills are second to none, his cuisine is very Inovative and well executed.
His dishes are always on point and bursting with flavor, the nice part of this restaurant is a very well equipped bar and a real and experienced bartenders, they serve dry aged prime steaks and beef, absolutely delicious and cooked the way you can enjoy your steak. This restaurant is very busy therefore reservation is a must. Never had any issues here.
Disappointing
We have walked by Vaca many times, going to and from Segerstrom and South Coast. Finally, we decided to splurge on dinner. We were sorry we did. We sat in the patio -- cold even with the heaters. Unremarkable setting and ambiance. We ordered three tapas -- recommended by our server. Of the three, the bikini sandwich was very good; the other two were very ordinary. The paella Valenciana was $46 of not-so-great paella. To sum up: A high price for mediocre food in an ordinary space. There are many nearby restaurants that will give you a better all-around experience.
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