Decided to give this place a try tonight. Came here around 6pm for dinner... just missed "hoppy hour" but oh well, I get off work at 5:30 and couldn't make it. There was just a 10 minute wait for a party of 2, not too shabby. They text you when your table is ready so that's convenient. I ordered chicken sliders and a mint julep. Sliders were not good... at all. The meal comes with two mini-sliders with a small fried piece of chicken on a biscuit, one pickle slice and another garnish, i forgot what it was. The fries were also really salty and soggy. The mint julep was so strong I choked on my first drink. This really is a place for serious drinkers so prepare to be greeted with a strong alcohol smell as soon as you walk into the place. Anyways, we sat outside. Good thing they have plenty of heaters outside, it was very cozy and the service was great. I already expected the food to not be that great after reading Yelp reviews, but now I can first hand confirm that this is true. I think we will come back if we want to blow a bunch of money on strong booze. Otherwise I'll stick to the usual Chick-Fil-A #1 combo to satisfy my hunger. read more

If you are vegetarian not a welcoming place. They had a tasty portobelo mushroom burger, no longer on the menu. The grilled veggies are niot grilled ,very oily and bland. Very small portion, in a cup. For the same price you get a big portion of yummy mushrooms with herbs at Rusty Pelican which is definitely in a different league. Fries are bland too and come with Heinz ketchup yikes. Waiters inexperienced, pricey menu for the quality. Beer is decent and some of the wines.Loud music. read more

In reality, this updated review would be more like a 3.5. The service at the bar is still great, whiskey is still great, beer is still great so all good there. The only negative is that with all the menu changes, the Mac & Cheese is now terrible. Yes, they added bacon to it, and I guess Fritos(?), but the sauce is totally different and dare I say, completely bland. I have never sent anything back at Eureka, but I took about 4 bites from different sections of my bowl (no more cast iron), to make sure I was tasting what I thought, and yep. So. Bland. Not even the bacon could save it. They were understanding and took it off my bill, so that was really nice. Otherwise, it was still a lovely evening of beer and sports. It just isn't really encouraging if this is a sign of their new items. The mac & cheese was pretty good already; if it ain't broke, why fix it? Next time I'll probably order the breakfast burrito, which has been consistently good (and looked the same). read more

Enjoyed the evening at VIP opening. Great food and ambiance. Very nice patio with fire and water features ..nice outdoor dining. Great bar lots of beers. Close to UCI...shopping center has lots of new great stores. read more

With so many different options now available in this plaza, my standards are pretty high when it comes to grabbing a bite and a beer in this area. My friends and I had just finished a hike and wanted a place to wind down with a beer. I've had their burgers at other locations and quite frankly, they have the best food at Coachella, so I suggested we hit this one up in Irvine. Glad to see that the quality and service here is top notch, no different than what I've encountered at their other locations. I ordered the Fresno fig burger and truffle fries - not sure if it was the buzz from the beer or the appetite from the hike, but I absolutely demolished my meal. My friensd and I watched some basketball on the TVs, took our time with our beers and soaked in the ambiance - we never felt rushed to leave (as we have felt at other neighboring establishments in the area during peak times). I really wish this place was here when I used to go to school across the street many moons ago. Will definitely be back. read more

I've been there few time and everytime food, drink, and service was absolutely great. Never had any problem.. we will go there again and I highly recommend their Bon Morrow Burger read more

Great ambiance, very friendly and attentive servers, good happy hour menu, but underwhelmed with the burgers which is what the waitress tried to sell us on. My friend and I split the truffle cheese fries which are delicious. I ordered the egg jalapeno burger and I asked for medium but it was clearly medium rare. The table next to me had the same issue and asked the waiter to take the food back. It wasn't a huge deal to me, but if I ask for medium, it should more or less be medium. I might come back again time for drinks during happy hour but I probably won't be having another burger here anytime soon read more

After my first, lukewarm review, I was told by many folks: Eureka is a burger place! You should try their burgers before judging them. Okay, sure. I'll try the Eureka burgers. Although, I was remiss to not ask, if a restaurant is known for a particular item, and they clearly focus on that one item, why do they have all the other crap? Streamlining the menu might help keep their customers happier...in any case, I tried the fig burger, and my boyfriend tried the cowboy burger. I ordered mine medium rare and I got it well done! This is does shout out "Burger expert!" I appreciate that they tried to be creative with their flavors and condiments, but how a customer wants a burger cooked is really just the basics. Oh well. Seeing a lovely lit-up bar setup, we ordered some drinks to wash down the taste of our tragically mediocre burgers. Deciding the "signature drinks" were too expensive, we tried some of our own basic varieties. Each time, the waitress returned to say "They can't make that." I tried to ask why, so that I can stop ordering drinks that couldn't be made there, but she didn't know. After the third attempt, she came back and said "Oh, it's because we only serve American liquors." Why didn't she tell us this after the first time we ordered "off-menu"?? But alas, something was still amiss! I asked, "What about the tequila?" which they clearly had on some over-priced signature drink. She faltered a bit at that. It is immaterial, in any case, since one of the drinks I ordered only required whiskey and lime juice. They don't have lime juice?? It left us baffled and also thirsty, so we booked it out of there for the sanctuary of Costa Mesa. I get it: you do whiskey and beers. And that's great! I love whiskey and beers. So do your burgers and whiskey and beers in an all-American glory. But then actually do it. Learn how to cook burgers. Learn what's in your bar. If I sound irritated it's because I really wanted to like this place, and the latest attitude of "Excuse your lack of patriotism!" is a bit much. Best of luck, Eureka. read more

Decent beer and burger joint. I would stop there. My boyfriend has the blue cheese burger which was delicious. We also had the clam steamers and they were gritty. Management was nice enough to take them off the bill. I ordered the fried chicken sliders and they were extremely dry topped with a bit of tomato jam (dash of ketchup). read more

I came here once before and had ordered the salmon and Mac and cheese, which tasted terrible, and I remember the salmon being really good so I thought I'd come back and give it another try. I ordered the Kale Salad and my brother had the Chicken Wings as an appetizer. The salad wasn't bad but it could have been better, it was lacking flavor maybe more dressing was needed. The wings were mediocre at best nothing special just your average hot wings. Portion wise they were both really big though. I ordered the salmon again and as I was eating it I kept wondering why I liked it so much last time or if maybe the quality of the food had went down. It was definitely tasty, but the quality just didn't match the price at all or the portion for that matter. The service was not bad, nothing memorable though. Our server was a nice guy. The ambience here is what makes me want to keep trying this place again. Overall I think that it just isn't the right place for the UCI shopping center maybe. If they want to keep the quality of the food like this they should lower the prices so more people can show up or just make higher quality food. read more

i really so wanted to like this place, since my better half has had good experiences at the huntington beach location...got our drinks after out appetizer came, and they had run out of the beer my hubby wanted so he was without a drink for even longer. made a note to tell the server, manager came over and apologized, didn't seem very sincere, or it didn't feel sincere to us. food was okay, shishito peepers should have been roasted a bit more, while fish tacos were good they seemed dry. one good thing was they had fresh jalapenos....services was lacking was much as they wanted to make it nice, really fell short. and the steamers came with toasted french rolls...should've been sourdough. and we are being bombarded by loud yells and screams from coupla tables downs. served them too much moscow mules i think. not a great place to come if you want to relax after a long week....now that patron is howling like a wolf...sigh. read more

So I've practically been here couple of times. Last night we came back here again because it was the only place that was open late and were still serving food. Overall, I've liked this place the first time We've tried it. I usually prefer to sit outside the patio area, it has a great late night feel ambiance with the open fireplace and those lights. The couple of times I've gone here I just ordered drinks but last night I was actually hungry and ordered from the "Hoppy hour" I got the chicken sliders while Lucas got the riblets (idk the full name) and fish tacos. We just decided to share and ordered Moscow mule for our drinks. It was great that the server knew us...(made us feel like we're regulars) that's when you know you've been going to a certain place a little bit too much. Haha I have to say I was not disappointed with the food. It was all delicious & it's even better that it's on "hoppy hour" I don't usually like pork... but the riblets were fantastic! It has a little bit of kick in it that made it even more savory. Love love the Mahi Mahi tacos. These were our go to when we had no idea what to order at first. The chicken sliders were okay for me but since we were both hungry, we just thought everything was bomb af. LOL! That's a given tho. I would want to try the full menu, maybe if we decided to go on a daytime. I wouldn't mind coming back again for "hoppy hour" even if it's just a quick stop for a drink or two :) read more

UPDATE: I came here a couple more times since then and burgers were alright. BUT their shrimp tacos are DELICIOUS! I got them during happy hour so it was $6 for 2 giant tacos and I replaced the chipotle sauce with avocado one and it tasted amazing!! Highly recommend to get these! The waiters were very attentive so that's a plus but it was weird because initially we had 2 of them coming up and checking up on us whether we were ready to make an order. read more

new nachos are still terrible compared to the old ones but they gave me this cool gift card so I guess it's not all that bad. you win some you lose some read more

Such a great restaurant! The staff here is super nice, & the restaurant's in the perfect area(Irvine)! It's definitely a great place to mingle and socialize, or to go on a date. Request Winston if you come. He's one of the servers at Eureka, and is super chill and kind. Recommended the chicken nachos and the ribs, both of which are to die for! If you're over 21, the alcohol selection is pretty great! Complimented my meal with a tasty beer. Would recommend to anyone. Can't wait to come back to Eureka, hungry for more food and spirits! read more

I was having a bad day so I went into Eureka! for desert. I told them I was handling my bad day by eating desert for lunch lol. They were so friendly and nice about it and when I went to pay, they wouldn't let me. Wow! I was so surprised. They made my day. Great staff and amazing desert, I had the apple crisp and it was delicious. They just made a customer for life! read more

LOVE this place! Best goat cheese and fig burger. And they have a great selection of beers. Definitely recommend this place for casual hip food! read more

Way overpriced. Crappy service today. Usually the service is pretty decent. Maybe Friday night is not a good night for service? The French fries were all just only the tail ends. They didn't bring what we asked for and they were inattentive. We had to wait forever for everything. read more

Had drama with the front staff just to get seated. Had a bad craft beer- no commercial beer. Our order didn't come out right. The burger was good though. Give this place some time to train staff. read more

re-update to my prev. update. the manager did email apologies for our poor experience and even offered a gift card. When I replied to the email asking for the gift card so that we could come back and try this place again, I never heard another word. Apparently, Eureka is only concerned with Yelpers THINKING that they provide good service and follow up to poor service. Don't be fooled. It is all for show, they will never get back to you and don't care if disappointed customers come back again. Very underwhelmed by the entire experience..... update to my initial review - the manager did email apologies for our poor experience and even offered a gift card. that is good customer service. they are new and perhaps they were just working out the kinks when we visited last week. we will try again since they took the time to reach out. read more

Had lunch with girlfriends there few times. Staff is professional, polite, knows the menu and drinks. Food comes out pretty quickly and price and atmosphere is great...reminds me of low key urban lounge at UCI campus. read more

Eureka! Was a incredible experience. It was our first time and will not be our last. The food was excellent. Had the truffle fries & Fig Jam burger. The service outstanding. Victor was out server and he was on his game. Wes, the manager stopped at our table to check in as well. The atmosphere is so warm and inviting. The craft beer selection was one of the best. If you love quality food, incredible service (ask for Victor) and some of the best craft beers you will want to give this place a try. read more

Came here a few days ago for the first time. Took over 25 minutes before our server came to us, and when she did, she didn't apologize for our wait. We ordered the bruschetta, which was very sweet for some reason. Server did not check up on our table, so our drinks were never refilled. The atmosphere is nice and the restaurant could be very successful, but the service is too poor. I did not see a manager going around to tables either. read more

I've been here 3x now and each time there has been no wait for lunch which we always found odd. Of course you immediately think there is something wrong with the restaurant of there is no wait during lunch rush hour in Irvine but that is not the case here. Food and service has been great all 3 visit with no wait for tables. Awesome!! read more

Excellent beer selection and burgers. Honey on the sweet potato fries is brilliant. Expect to be frustrated with a group; they don't accept more than three credit cards per bill. read more

I've been to this Eureka! and the one in Claremont but I definitely like this one better and it is bigger than the Claremont location. I usually order the Truffle Fries to share as an appetizer. Make sure to get these fries tossed in the sauce rather than having them bring it on the side. I think the fries taste way better this way. Sometimes they can be a bit on the salty side so I guess it depends on who is making them. For dinner I always get the Jalapeño Egg Burger. Egg on a burger sounded a bit weird to me at first but I tried it and I loved it! The drinks can be a bit pricey but they have a selection of drinks for $2 off during happy hour. The old fashioned is excellent. I also really like the whiskey sour here. They add egg whites on top of the whiskey sour and it gives it a unique taste. If you want a whiskey drink that is a little bit on the sweeter side I would definitely suggest the whiskey sour. The downside of this restaurant is that it is near a college campus so it gets really busy. If you don't have reservations expect to wait for quite a bit. Overall, I really enjoy this restaurant and would recommend it to everyone. read more

Came here for happy hour on a Thursday and they had a fun folk band. Our bartender was Lee who was super helpful and knowledgable on the cocktails and helped tailor the drinks to my own likings.. He helped me avoid a hangover!!! Can't thank him enough. The Mac and cheese was great! Definitely will be back read more

Been here so many times, I love it. Good Moscow Mules, mojitos, the Napa burger, steak salads, and the all day breakfast burrito! Love this place. Good place to go with girlfriends and also a not too casual of a date place, but somewhere you don't need to wear heels. Two thumbs up read more

Service is pretty good and their food is great tasting and top quality! Though I do think that they should add more menu items as there aren't that many choices. Other than that, great food and great ambience! read more

Just got back from a get together with friends. Was my first time there. We had an amazing time. Food was great (I had classic burger--yum!), but it was the level of service we received that really earned the five stars. The server was so patient with our large party and always had such a great smile and attitude. read more

Great Bison Burgers and beer selections. Lively atmosphere, friendly waitstaff. I keep going back

We love this place. They have awesome craft beers and I love to try new ones each time we go. They even let you sample a little beforehand. The burgers are really good and my kids always find something they like as well. It has a nice atmosphere inside and out. The staff is really friendly and efficient. Food always comes out hot and fresh and never had to wait a long time. read more

Came in with high expectations since the ambience looked good. Disappointed by the slow and unfriendly service and less than delicious food.

My boyfriend and I frequented the Eureka! in Claremont when we were in college and loved it. When we found out one was opening up in Irvine, we were stoked. We called ahead to see if they made reservations - the hostess that answered the phone said they unfortunately did not, but that was no issue for us. We stopped by with a party of 5 round 6pm on Saturday night and were seated withing minutes. The hostess took us outside, which was nice, but a bit chilly. I wish there were more heaters out there, although I can see their need would be for only a short season. A male server came by to get us started with drinks, where we ordered a few beers. Our server, Allie Davis, then came by and noticed I looked a bit cold, and offered to move us to table inside. How nice! Definitely more cozy inside at a nice booth. We let her know we already ordered drinks, which she brought over to us in a timely manner. We started off with a couple appetizers: mac and cheese, which wasn't what we remembered from our visits to the Claremont location years ago, but still good. The shishito peppers, however, were amazing! Allie took our entree order and was able to answer our questions in regards to the menu. My boyfriend ordered the Bone Marrow Burger, which he said was fantastic. I got the Fresno Fig Burger, as I was feeling adventurous. It did not disappoint! It was a cross between sweet and savory in the best way. Another friend got the Veggie Beet Burger with onion rings, which he basically inhaled he loved it so much. Allie kept checking in on us to ensure we had everything we needed and to make sure we loved the food. Overall, great experience. We are so excited Eureka! has come down to Irvine and we can't wait to go back :] read more

The food is really salty and some dishes are quite greasy -- I've tried many of the food items on their menu and this seems to be the case most of the time. On the other hand, the beer selection is worth the trip. The patio is very nice in the evening. A good college joint, but don't expect culinary magic. read more

I be rollin thru this spot durin HH, not Helly Hansen, happy hour yo. I dig this place at night yo, they got a gravel pit, i mean a fire pit ya feel me. I put down some fish tacos, ribs, whiskey, and sum truffle butter fries...i'm messin witchu, i meant truffle fries yo. I mean, for happy hour it's mad dope u feel me, but I prolly wouldn't drop doe on the regular fee ya know. But yall still some 4-star generals though in my book. I like how it's UTC too, them students need a drink in between them stem-cell research books...real rap. I'm out this piece, one read more

Love the food and the people and the atmosphere! It can get crowded but who cares.. the crowd creates the fun! The menu isn't crammed full of a bunch of choices where none of entree's seem to quite get it but rather a nice smaller array of food choices that are all done perfectly! I highly recommend for a nice and easy night out! read more

My husband and I had heard a lot of great things about this place and so we stopped by for lunch. We had the wings, a chicken caesar salad, and a Napa (chicken) burger. It was all delicious! Service was great and we loved the atmosphere. They also have a great selection of whiskey and beer! Overall, a wonderful experience. We will definitely be back! read more

Good beer, good whisky selection, and good appetizers! My only complaint is that it's hard to treat like a bar... With paper money and pitchers, but if you're looking for that, the anthill is nearby. read more

I had a great experience here with my wife last night. It was a busy Friday night, and they were short one server in our section, but we still got excellent, attentive service and solid recommendations for food and drink. The food was outstanding (riblets, brussels sprouts, bone marrow burger (rare), onion rings and the butterscotch caramel pudding), and the portions were generous. There was also great selection of adult carbonated beverages -- I had eight different IPAs, none of them with lame fruit flavors added. Most places around here, even Yardhouse, only have one or two real IPAs lately. So that was a pleasant surprise. read more