Very late to the game, but finally got to try Pepper Lunch after seeing all of their sizzling…read moreplates on my feed! We went here for OC Restaurant week and got the beef kimchi and salmon (+ kimchi) pepper rice. They were both so yummy but my favorite was definitely the beef kimchi. It was so fun to cook the meat and mix it all up. The food also came out super fast.

I honestly am very in the middle with Pepper Lunch. The meals are good when you're hungry or want…read moresomething different than typical fast food. If you cook, you can easily replicate these meals at home. The combo meal choices are primarily choosing a type of protein, a vegetable/garnish, and you get a scoop of rice with some extra fixings. You can also add more toppings for an additional charge. All the combos are served on a sizzling hot plate and your rice is going to have that burnt crispiness on the bottom. Your meal will come with some sort of sauce, especially the curry combos. On my last visit, I got the as-is Curry Hamburg, which is just ground beef that's like burger patty, but more dense. It came on the hot plate with steamed rice and corn. It was a decent meal, nothing too extravagant. The curry sauce was pretty good. The combo was about $16 including tax. It only kept me full for maybe about two hours and I was hungry again - and it's the same experience at other Pepper Lunch locations. I think the portions are likely just too small for me. But this location is clean and located inside the Irvine Spectrum, and very close to the Regal Theater that's just a minute walk away.

We decided to get a snack here while waiting for our table at din Tai fung. Both are located in the…read moreIrvine spectrum center. I'm from Sacramento so the Irvine spectrum center is comparable to the fountains at Roseville or the Palladio in Folsom in the sac area. We ordered popcorn chicken, french fries and drinks (mainly for the kids) and to get a snack since we were hungry. Inside has a few tables, which there were one or two other customers inside dining. Inside the space was pretty messy. It looks like the workers did not have time to clean since there were crumbs and bits of trash. I'm glad we didn't dine in. For the food, since it's made to order, we waited just over 15 minutes for the fried foods. It came out piping hot, which we didn't really get to enjoy since by then, our table at din Tai Fung was ready. So we brought it with us. The chicken was really good. It was seasoned well and they even gave us a seasoning packet to add more flavor to the popcorn chicken. I'll go back if I'm in this area and want boba and popcorn chicken.

J&G Fried Chicken is one of the better Taiwanese fried chicken spots in Irvine. The popcorn chicken…read morewas super crispy on the outside while still juicy inside, and the seasoning had that perfect savory Taiwanese flavor. The oyster mushrooms were also surprisingly good -- crispy, light, and addictive. The staff was friendly, service was quick, and the outdoor seating made it a nice casual place to hang out. Portions were solid for the price too. Definitely a great late-night snack spot if you're craving Taiwanese street food vibes. Will be coming back to try more items on the menu!

Excellent Mediterranean chain that has recently become my new staple for work lunch. I usually get…read morethe grilled chicken shawarma wrap - either the San Diego or Caesar Crunch depending on my mood. The wraps are comically large (in a good way) - literally as big as my forearm with proof below All the sauces are uniquely addicting and perfectly balanced. Every ingredient tastes fresh and well-seasoned. Service is always friendly and the shop is perfectly set up for a quick bite. Highly recommend TKS!

Low quality (very low...) fast food. Nothing more than that…read more Who knows what's in this stuff...lots of unknown chemical seasonings and grease/fats. Had the shawarma chicken & carved lamb beef w/ saffron rice and grilled veggies. Taste is not there with proteins and veggies & rice weak flavored. Yuk! Shared with friend and we both had stomach discomfort for hours afterwards. It's simple... If you like your body and enjoy good tasting food WITHOUT hours of uncomfortable stomach memories - pass on this kebab fast food.

Stopped into Wendy's today to try the $8 Biggie Bag, and it did not disappoint! The service was…read morefast and friendly, in a clean casual environment. I ordered the double stack $8 bag. The double stack comes with two tasty hamburger patties and cheese on a delicious bun, with mustard, ketchup, pickles, and onions. The fries were fresh and hot, just what I expected. This meal deal comes with 4 chicken nuggets, I opted for honey mustard sauce. A generous sized coke completes this combo. This is a real value for $8! I couldn't resist and ordered a classic chocolate Frosty, yum! If you like variety and great value, the Biggie Bag may be for you, too. Enjoy!

They need to Fix their system…read moreI cant redeem my darn points at the tablet have to go through cashier and their internet doesn't work

Great location with clean inside and outside seating…read more Service is exceptional. We had James helping us. He was very helpful and pleasant. The food was delicious and warm.

This place is OK. Definitely not the worst but not amazing either. 1 adult meal and 3 kids meals…read morecame out to about $40 ish dollars. Honestly, In N Out tastes better and costs less. Hamburgers was good, fries had no taste, definitely needs more seasoning/salt. Chicken tenders also had hardly any taste. This place was ok. I wouldnt personally go back because there are just better places to go.

I'm surprised I haven't given this Panda Express location a review…read more I stopped by here occasionally when I'm at the Irvine Spectrum. Came in here tonight after getting a burger for my husband next door. For base, I got chow mein with steamed vegetables and for entrees, tofu eggplant and chicken breast with green beans. Food was decent but greasy as usual. Service was non-existent as they are always so busy. 3.5/5

I recently visited Panda Express at the Irvine Spectrum Center and was shocked by how small the…read moreportions have become. I ordered a 3-Item Plate, and it honestly looked smaller than what a 1-Item Plate used to be. The portion sizes across the board were extremely disappointing. The Orange Chicken was mushy and soft instead of crispy and fresh. The Beef & Broccoli contained only three small pieces of beef with mostly broccoli. I also paid the additional $1.95 upgrade for the Cantonese BBQ Brisket, and the portion was so small it was hard to believe. To make matters worse, the brisket was dry and lacked flavor. Even the rice portion was noticeably smaller than what Panda Express used to serve. I understand that food costs have increased and prices have gone up, but charging more while serving a fraction of the food customers used to receive is not acceptable. Unfortunately, this experience left me feeling ripped off. There are plenty of restaurants offering better quality food, larger portions, and enough leftovers for a second meal. If Panda Express continues reducing portions while raising prices, they're going to lose loyal customers like me. Very disappointing experience.

Overall, I would give this a 3/5. The food had to be enhanced with Louisiana sauce and salt- after…read morethat- it was decent. The customer service was a 2/5. It took a while to get our food. I had the Louisiana shrimp étouffée, my husband had the catfish po' boy. I would order the catfish po' boy again but would not order the etouffee, it's a lot of sauce and a lot of pasta. Ambience was okay. Our total was $60+ including tip.

Food was great and staff was welcoming. we tried 3 items and here is how I would rate them…read more. Desert drink taste like a sweeter version of vitamin water which I like. 4.5/5 The cornbread which we got for free from the chef has a nice crunch to it which help battle the dryness and imo increase the flavor to it. 4/5 Gretchen's Jambalaya has this nice toasted bread which pairs well with stew and the stew itself has great flavor and will full you up. 4.5/5 I was craving southern food and this place hits the spot! Overall would rate this place 4.5/5 and would recommend other people to try this place!

The hat is a great classic greasy spoon for pastrami that originated in LA and has spread across…read morethe Southland. The restaurant in Lake Forest has plenty of seating in indoor and outdoor, and the staff are really nice. On this occasion I had Fries with pastrami and it was delicious! It is a little bit greasy, and I would've liked to have been able to order a smaller fries, because I ended up throwing away quite a bit of excess fries.

We love The Hat but not today. They were efficient processing the lunchtime crowd and always…read morecheerful but the food and service suffered. The Pastrami Dip was messy before we dug in. The generous portion of small size onion rings were barely warm. Not good at all. Normally, we would have gone back and asked for fresh ones but we eat so few, we let it go. Our drink order never made it on the ticket. We went back and were cheerfully assisted. Finally, the dining room needed attention. Normally, there's an amazing woman constantly cleaning up but neither she nor anyone else was present. There were several messy tables that needed cleaning. Urp. There's something magical about this location that was sorely missing today. The Hat's Pastrami Dips and onion rings are a rare treat but today felt like punishment. We will come back when we start Jonesing for pastrami but don't think it'll be anytime soon. Our arteries may thank us but we are bummed.