The best little hike to unwind. Love this little park with all its sculptures. You park at the…read morecivic center and hike for five minutes to this little area. It's perfect for Easter. Happy Yelping!

Do you love rabbits? There's only one acceptable answer here…read more.. This public sculpture is so cute! It's like, "What are they doing? Are they swapping tales of how they con the humans out of extra snaccos by using their cuteness?" But in all seriousness, you should stop by Civic Center Park if you're ever in the area. There's plenty of free parking (both structure and outdoors). It's a nice and easy path, great for an evening stroll. And if you're lucky enough, you may even catch a glimpse of hares around the Bunnyhenge! Picture Tip: If you like a nice aerial view of Bunnyhenge (or other parts of the park) be sure to utilize the elevated walking path at the intersection. You can walk up (or use the elevator) and it will take you to a lookout platform that will give you an amazing shot.

Irvine is clean, extremely safe, organized, and easy to live in day to day. Many residents are…read moregenuinely kind, thoughtful, and invested in the community. For people from more direct or informal regions, interactions can feel distant or hard to read. It is usually a preference for politeness and conflict avoidance rather than exclusion. Since the pandemic, service quality remains strong but feels less consistent. Before 2020, systems ran predictably and informal trust helped smooth out friction. Parking has long been an issue around the university. Permits and campus parking costs are frustrating for newcomers. The upside is that you can almost always find a spot though.

The Irvine Civic Center is an amazingly beautiful place and hosts medium sized events really well,…read moreis a great vote center, and is also right next to the enormous and incredible Bill Barber park. Likewise, the city of Irvine itself is my absolute favorite in the entire country, and probably the world, so I'm grateful to be able to live here now.

This is the perfect spot to go if you're ever craving Italian sandwiches. I got the Prosciutto…read moreFocaccia Sandwich ($15) and Piccante Focaccia Sandwich ($15) -- they were super delicious, filling, and not dry at all. The service was great; they greet you when you enter and are super friendly. You order at the register and they bring you your food. I will note that you have to wait about 15 minutes for your food (depending on how many people are ahead of you), but because they make your order fresh. I went on a Saturday afternoon and it wasn't too busy. There was plenty of seating inside and outside. Can't wait to come back and also try their pasta and pizza.

I have passed by this place several times and was craving pasta, so I decided to try it with my…read moredaughter. It was all right. The price point was high for what you get. I got the pasta with pink sauce, and it was tasty, but the portion was small. It came with two small slices of focaccia bread pieces. My daughter got the Californian sandwich, and it was all right. It was deli meat inside, not particularly quality type of meat. Service was the nice. The two guys working were kind and accommodating. No one else was inside, but it was around 3:30 p.m. Ambiance inside was cute and clean. I'm not dying to go back.

Really enjoyed looking at all the art sculptures walking an approximate of 1.5 mile loop. The trail…read moreconsisted of cement and gravel paths. The flowers around the path were also in full bloom. There is also a cool sky bridge to take in the beautiful scenery. I could see the ocean! Parking is free and trail head starts at the beginning of the parking lot. There were also two small dog parks within the loop.

Wow, this is a great park!…read more There's a bunch of fun sculptures throughout this nice park. Bunnyhenge is probably the biggest one. There's also a dog park here for small and large dogs. I like how there's an accessible elevator for the bridge to connect the two parks so you don't have to cross the street. Parking is also easy since it's at the civic center. Do yourself a favor and check out the Newport library too!

I wanted to send some love to our other neighbor Santa Ana. Downtown Santa Ana is still overrated…read morein my opinion. But people are starting to notice the fun things to do and see here now. I feel the Downtown area is becoming a familiar destination for some. Lots of events are performed here almost every month. I love the food and coffee shops here. Santa Ana still has some of the best Mexican and Latin foods here in my opinion. They also have museums of art, and Car shows here. No crime here hardly, its safe to hang out in Downtown Santa Ana, believe it or not. So, I love it. Gotta start coming out here often to spread my love for the city.

The 2024 independence day parade, was awesome, the downtown is beautiful full of restaurants,…read morefamily places like ice cream stores, for all tastes, vegetarian and vegan restaurants also, clothing stores, shoes, jewelry, bride dresses and accessories, music, kids clothing and souvenirs, everything you need you can find it at the 4th st. There's parking on the streets also parking structures. Banks, church, all very convenient. If you want to know Santa Ana and Mexican stores and Hispanic you get to visit the downtown. I love this place and highly recommend it to you all.

Been wanting to try Oliver's Trattoria in Irvine for a while and finally managed to get a…read morereservation for Friday evening at 6:30pm and the place was packed. We were seated on the outdoor patio, which had the perfect ambience as the evening started to settle in. We started with the Fritto Misto, which was awesome. The calamari and shrimp had just the right amount of breading, and the arrabbiata sauce pairing was spot on. For dinner, the three of us decided to share a few dishes: the Branzino al Sale, Margherita pizza, and Spaghetti allo Scoglio. The Branzino al Sale had a great tableside flame presentation, and they deboned and filleted it for us, which was really impressive. We were super excited for it, but unfortunately it was way too salty for our taste. We mentioned it to our waiter, and he handled it really well by switching it out for the lamb chop special of the day. That ended up being the star of the night, honestly one of the best lamb chops we've had. Perfectly cooked, flavorful, and tender and love the chimichurri sauce with it. The Margherita and Spaghetti allo Scoglio were both very good as well. To finish, we shared the Affogato, Panna Cotta, and Tiramisu, and all three desserts were amazing. Despite the issue with the branzino, the service was excellent, the patio ambience was great, and this is definitely a place we'd come back to.

Food quality - 5/5 Value - 1/5…read moreAmbiance - 5/5 Service - 5/5 Overall - 4/5 Portions are small, and therefore overpriced, and I didn't appreciate the 20% auto gratuity for our table of 4 adults and 2 kids. $210 worth of food was just enough with no leftovers. I will not be going back anytime soon.

What a cute and quaint little island! I really loved visiting. There's plenty of free parking if…read moreyou drive down the residential streets, and you can see plenty of cute little homes. This would be a lovely place to own a vacation home. I absolutely love driving over the bridge with American flags flying on both sides; it's something you don't see often in SoCal. There are several cute shops on both sides of the main street, and there's really something for everyone. The island is known for two things: chocolate-covered frozen bananas and Balboa bars. I apparently missed the memo on the Balboa bars, but we got to visit both Dad's Donuts and Sugar 'n Spice for some frozen chocolate bananas, and they were lovely! I recommend coming in the morning to beat the rush. We brought lunch and went to the beach for a picnic on the park benches. It was a lovely day with family! I look forward to coming back to Balboa Island in the future!

We went on a cloudy weekday in late March. We parked in the parking lot on Palm street and took the…read moreferry there. At around 10:30 in the morning, there was plenty of parking available. We paid about $11 for 4 hours which comparing with Santa Monica is reasonable. On our way we also saw free street side parking , but those spots are not close to the ferries. There is a 5 minute walk from the parking lot to where the ferries are. You will have to cross a couple of streets. The ferries are pretty basic but they have capacity for 3 cars as well. Adults pay $2 each to get to the other side. They ONLY accept cash. There and back, the wait time was under a couple of minutes. The island itself is clean and serene. Other than a minimart, a fishing gear shop and a grocery store, there weren't any shops on the oceanfront walkway and no signage as to where you can find any stores. We walked for a bit and then returned to the mainland and Balboa village. Overall, we loved how clean and family friendly the beach and the pier and the island were. If we lived closer, we would visit more often for sure!

Omgggg!! This place is amazing. Great humongous cookies. I love that their cookies are baked to…read moreperfection just the way a cookie should be-- crunchy in the outside and gooey chocolate in the inside. They give just enough chocolate chips and dough ratio. Their ensaymada with cheese is so nice and fluffy. This is my go to place if you're craving for a nice comfort cookie day.

I already knew I loved Paderia for their banana pudding (very similar to Magnolia Bakery's famous…read morebanana pudding), so I was so excited to be apart of this event. I tried the pistachio latte and the walnut chocolate chip cookie. The pistachio latte was good! It was pretty sweet and the pistachio flavor is very strong, giving it somewhat of a salted taste. But let me tell you, I am OBSESSED with the walnut chocolate chip cookie. It is very, very similar to the cookies at Levain Bakery. I'm not actually sure I can taste a difference. But since there aren't any Levains near me (that I know of), it's nice to know I can get my cookie fix at Paderia. The interior is also so beautiful/modern and the staff is really friendly. I could see this being a great place to grab some sweets and socialize. Thank you Yelp & Paderia for the experience.

I decided to bring my mom here for Mother's day and enjoyed all of it!…read more We made a reservation about a week ago just incase there was a long wait. I highly recommend making a reservation before going because when we arrived, the line was down to the parking lot. It was packed! We instantly got sat and our server, Alex, stopped by with some water and greeted us. We were informed on Mother's day, they have a set menu. It was 2 salads, 2 apps, 4 entrees and 3 desserts for $55 per person. This was a lot of food! We honestly got full after the apps hit. Everything was sooo delicious and yummy. Alex, was extremely nice and friendly throughout the entire experience. They were very busy and all the servers were running around so we understood if he fell behind. We felt bad because the table next to us was giving him a hard time and being rude about the menu and how they didn't like certain items on the menu yet Alex stayed very professional and helpful with them. 10/10 food and experience, i will forsure be back to try more food and cocktails and request Alex's section!

We visited Maggiano's for their Mother's Day dinner, and while we usually have great experiences…read morehere, this visit was a bit underwhelming. The fixed holiday menu likely played a role. The salmon was overcooked and cold, and the pastas were just okay. The cheesecake was the highlight of the meal. Our server was attentive and friendly despite the holiday rush, and the atmosphere was still enjoyable. We'll definitely return, but this visit didn't quite meet our usual expectations.

We sat outside on a Sunday and it was beautiful. Service was quick and attentive and there was a…read morelive musician who came on at the end of our lunch. I highly recommend the main courses and appetizers. Everything was hot and fresh and delicious and the flavors were amazing. The sole was perfectly tender and the citrusy flavor was amazing with the capers. The pizza was also great. The crust tasted home made and was baked to perfection. I would skip over dessert next time. The custard in my caramel brûlée was grainy. The chocolate mouse cake slice was ok, and the vanilla ice cream was sugary. We will definitely be returning for the pizza and mains!

Great food on Mother's Day, not cheap, some misses on service…read more A wall makes it hard for the host to see people waiting for a table. If the host is not at the front, then ring the bell. A potential customer rang the bell to attract attention, no one appeared, and she left. Liked the food: fettuccine ai funghi porcini, seven lobster ravioli, and panine or sandwich with meatballs and fries! The lobster was finely ground but might have had more flavor if it was coarse ground. Host seemed upset that we had no reservations, even though there were several unreserved tables. The waiters were friendly. Our breadbasket was not refilled. Plates were cleared quickly. We were not asked if we wanted to see the dessert menu. So, we did not ask for the dessert menu and left.