The food was great and the drinks were very well prepared. Enjoyed my time with my friends especially the ambiance. Laz was the best and very attentive. Highly recommend, def coming back here read more

Came here for my birthday celebration and I was amazed by the service. Laz welcomed me and my group and was attentive to our requests. The food was bomb, definitely will be coming back for the food and drinks read more

Palenque Kitchen - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

What can I say? This place is a hidden gem, you wouldn't even know it's here if you aren't from the area! The ambience and vibe is chill with cool LEDs and the dj was playing all the old school hits. The bartender, G, was amazing as well. She makes the best drinks and was attentive the whole time. Even Daniel, the general manager, came by a few times to check in on us. The staff here is very personable and make the experience great every time I come here! read more

Palenque Kitchen - The guava-mente is my fave drink here, you should try it! Super refreshing and not too sweet at all! - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

I had the best time here. G is the best bartender here. Not a drinker, but the drink she surprised me with was delicious. The GM was very polite and was constantly making sure we were ok. Definitely coming back! read more

Palenque Kitchen - Sandia pepino - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Great Ambience, fun music, scrumptious food and yum tres leches. Daniel the general manager made sure everyone was taken care of. Will be back for sure read more

I've only had the chance to sit at the bar but have had the pleasure to be served by Alec. He's the best! Drinks and service are always on point. Make sure to ask him to make you an espresso martini- he's makes the best ones! read more

While I know I am running the risk of making this place hard to get into by driving more people to there, I want to make sure this place is still around. I had dinner there around 6pm Friday and it was no where near as full as it should have been....Palenque changed my entire attitude towards high end Mexican food. Javier's started it, and Palenque just cracked my whole world view on it...now onto the review... To start, I highly recommend trying their Agua Chile if you love lime. This dish was a great presentation and while the complexity of Cohens aqua chile was missing (for those of you who have had the luck of getting it when he decides to serve it), this one was a solid contender. Next, the guacamole was simply outstanding. Between the two appetizers we ordered, the guac would be the winner in that match up. Made with perfectly ripe avocados whose flavor matched how beautiful it was...it was creamy, flavorful, and had just the right amount of tanginess for my daughter...although I would have liked more lime myself...did I mention I like lime yet? As for me pointing out the creaminess, those that know me know I like my guac chunky...the fact I was blown away by a creamy guac is just unheard of. Again, for me I needed more line, but my daughter loved it. I think they added pepinos (they were big seeds, and I am not a professional food critic, so let's go with "pepinos"...if I misidentified, you can deduct from my pay of zero dollars for writing this review lol..) Moving on to the main course, the birria was a standout dish. The tender, slow-cooked meat was rich in flavor, and the accompanying consommé added an extra layer of depth to the dish. SO MUCH FLAVOR! My daughter who does not like heavy, flavorful meat dishes LOVED the birria...so take that as you will. The salmon was cooked to perfection, with a crispy skin and moist, flaky flesh. The dish was beautifully presented and accompanied by a medley of seasonal vegetables (the carrots were bomb), and the little chunks of pineapple were great as well. Not a big Al pastor guy, but this salmon was amazing! The polenta it was served on was great as well! Overall, I don't normally order salmon, my daughter ordered this, but it would even be a contender for my choice is was so well prepared! Drinks, I ordered the sampler margarita thing...didn't know how much is cost, and glad I didn't know before hand...it was a good intro to their drink menu and I honestly would have never tried the watermelon margarita (ever since the watermelon mimosa incident from Sol that we DO NOT TALK ABOUT EVER)...but dammit if that drink didn't make me allow watermelon back into my life...amazing all around. For dessert, the tres leches was a better of the two desserts we tried...and while we normally don't order dessert and if we do order dessert, it's only one to share...we were almost forced to order two desserts due to the quality and taste of the birria, salmon, and the appetizers....omg...tres leches cake is one of my favorite Mexican desserts, and this one did not disappoint. The palenque cake was decent, but the glaze was not as sweet as we needed that night...and while I know that sweetness is not the paradigm of that dessert, I am glad I ordered it because the cake was amazing. If you put the toasted palenque white cake in the extra leche from the tres leches, you will go to heaven and immediately demand the angels send you back to finish! For those of you who are going to whine about cost, just stop...this is not a cheap place at all...this place is pricey and it's worth every damn penny! I just had a meal at Eddie V's and the prices were comparable and so was the food...this place rates at around the same you would pay for any high end restaurant around this area...this being said, I legit told my daughter that even though this place was pricey, this is what you want when you spend this much...you want to be happy you spent that much...you want to not regret the spend. And for the dude who wrote a review about the the birria not being available when he went...dude, I would be pissed as well...and you really need to go back and try it! Lastly, service was top notch. I think even the manager came out to check on us. Everyone was pleasant and I saw the wait staff and food runners f do their job magnificently. They handled all the food we ordered...and we totally over ordered since my wife wasn't with us to temper my impulses...they handled it all super quick and their energy was amazing! Top points all around... For you younger generation who made it this far in my review...this place slaps! For the slightly older generation that have made it this far, this place is amazeballs! For my generation, this place is totally rad and you should take your kids/grandkids to it as soon as possible! read more

Palenque Kitchen - The bad ass birria! I need a bit more lime, but dammit this was a bad ass birria! - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Been here before for dinner but today was my first time for Sunday brunch !! The food didn't disappoint! Drinks were good and they have a Dj !! Fun fun place ! A must try for Sunday brunch !! Great service !! read more

7pm. Walked in. No one was at the host station. I've never been there before so I grabbed a menu to peruse while I waited. No one came out or acknowledged me. (1 waiter and a bartender looked right at me but were too busy to smile I guess) The doors to the main dining room were closed probably because it's freezing out. I checked the hours of operation. Looks like they close at 10pm. Hmmm. Anyway, I only saw 1 table full of people and determined that it wasn't worth it. Went to Hook and Anchor next door and received excellent service. This review is on the service I never received not the food. read more

My friends and I came across this place and ended up having a better experience than we originally anticipated. We all came to find out that this place is VERY underrated. The food is delicious and great service. Its a new place and you can tell the staff is doing their best with every customer. I hope that when this place gets more popular they can maintain this level of service and food. DJ is top level as well. read more

I was looking for a new spot to try out tonight, and I found this. It was one of the best meals I've had in a very long time. Alejandro was our server and he was prompt and had great suggestions, very knowledgeable of the menu. We got Mojotes as a starter. It was a super creamy sweet potato croquette. The texture between crunchy and soft was perfect!! Very tasty black bean sauce too. I got the Tlayuda. The pork was not too fatty, very crispy. The tortilla was thick enough to not become soggy during the meal. The flavors were delicious. It was also easy to cut up and eat without it being too tall, sounds silly but I'm sure you know what I mean. My boyfriend got the Carne asada. The meat was very tender, almost creamy when paired with a very pleasing red sauce. We were both trying each others foods. Alejandro also suggested a really good wine--but I forget what it was. Sorry. It was very busy inside the restaurant, but the service was friendly and fast (without being so fast that you get suspicious that it's not fresh) Altogether it was an amazing date night! I think I fell in love!! read more

Palenque Kitchen - Tlayuda - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

The food was great, loved it I'll come back. The manager was friendly . The service was great and the ambiance as well

The atmosphere, decor and music were awesome! The food and drinks didn't disappoint either with friendly severs! Great spot in Costa Mesa! read more

Palenque Kitchen - Mimosa Board - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Such a pretty place with delicious food! Our servers Lazand Edwin were really attentive and friendly. I ordered the shrimp aguachiles and although they weren't the traditional plate they still were so delicious with a sweet taste! Will be coming back! read more

Palenque Kitchen - Camarones A La Diabla and Shrimp Aguachile - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

NEVER NEVER NEVER. This place is a SCAM. I stupidly made a reservation for 6 through opentable and within 4 minutes discovered my party had to cancel. Per opentable, I had to call the restaurant. I NEVER have had this issue through opentable. So obviously Palenque sets it up this way. Why? Oh, because THEY DO NOT ANSWER THE PHONE. So you can't cancel. I called within 10 minutes of making a reservation to cancel. No answer. Hours say they are open for the next 8 hours. I call again an hour later. NO ANSWER. I just call again. Guess what! According to Josh, the manager, I now will be charged $120 just to cancel - $20/per person!!! I literally tried canceling within MINUTES of making this stupid reservation. Not only will I never eat here, I will get my money back and Palenque will regret the $120 they temporarily get from me. read more

Stopped by Palenque for the first time. Sitting at the bar we were greeted by Iban. He was super nice and offered to make us a refreshing drink for taco Tuesday. I asked him to surprise us and man did he knock it out of the park. If you like a lil kick try the cucumber jalapeño margarita. It was the end of the night so I tried the churros con chocolate. Such a great treat. If you haven't been here before definitely stop in for a drink and some food. If you can find Iban. He was awesome, friendly, and always checking in to see if we needed anything. The ambience was amazing as well. read more

Palenque Kitchen - Churro con chocolate and margarita - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Had such a good time for my birthday brunch here. Super Mario took great care of us and was super nice!! Food was great! read more

Palenque Kitchen - Chilaquiles, french toast, chorizo con papas - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

First time here, came to celebrate my girlfriend's bday and the food & drinks were great, the ambience was very fun and the music playing definitely was a vibe. Our server Laz was very attentive and helpful. Definitely will be back again read more

Palenque Kitchen - Jamaica, so delicious and refreshing - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Beautiful place inside. The food 2/10. Service was okay. I wouldn't go back. There were no vibes

Updated review: Food was good and ambiance was great. Our server Laz messed up around 4 of our drinks and then also charged us for drinks we didn't have. We were a large group and didn't look closely at the bill until the next day. I would suggest you look closely at what your charged for. read more

Great place for drinks and dates. I like the dim lighting. It was slow when I went on a Tuesday but service was great read more

Palenque Kitchen - The onda civic - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

[Updated this review to include more detail]   I've been to Palenque twice and had a fun, memorable experience both times. We walked out wanting to talk about everything. Not everything was perfect, but the restaurant still deserves 5 stars because I had a good time despite not everything being perfect.   Must orders: Pulpo, zarandeado (grilled branzino), carne asada.   Other dishes: Ceviche, poblano caesar, carne de puerco iberico y chile   The positives:   GENERAL: Everything is jam-packed with flavor, they season aggressively (which I like), and their sauce work is really nice. Some of the combinations and pairings are not what I'd expect with Mexican cuisine, but they work for me for some reason. Also, portions are generous for the price.   PULPO: 5/5. I always order octopus when I see it on a menu. This is the best I've ever had. The texture of the octopus is amazing -- super tender interior with a really crispy exterior, almost like shattering fried chicken. The octopus was probably braised until tender, then deep fried or something. The brussels sprouts are sweet, tart, and saturated with deep flavor. The pickled chilies are great against the rich octopus and sweet sprouts. The macadamia nuts were unexpected but really nice -- very buttery and earthy. This was our favorite dish.   ZARANDEADO (branzino): 4.5/5. The branzino comes charred in the best way, which is balanced out by a beautiful chilaca aioli, and bright salad. I borrowed a tortilla that came with a different dish and used it to make a taco and it was pretty great.   CARNE ASADA: 4.5/5. I don't always know what to expect when ordering carne asada. You can go to 10 restaurants that serve it and get 10 different dishes. This one is memorable and a standout. It's a beautifully plush flatiron steak with tons of crispy potatoes, charred shishito / scallion, and this awesome morita aioli and luxurious onion soubise.   I ordered the steak medium rare both times. The first time, the steak was perfectly med-rare but the potatoes were slightly underdone in the middle. The second time, the steak was good but closer to medium, and the potatoes were a bit more cooked. I think they could be cooked longer before frying to be more pillowy, though. When I make potatoes like this, I cook them until they're nearly falling apart, then fry.   The not-so-positives:   THE VIBES: Just an opinion: Before I ever went to Palenque, I almost dismissed it because their online presence / social media presents themselves as more of a club at first glance. The first pinned post on IG is a tequila tower, and the interior is very nightclub-y. I've been to places that seem like this and those places put most of their energy toward the party vibe and drinks, and are less serious about the food. However, Palenque IS serious about their food -- great bold ideas, solid execution, etc, but it really didn't seem that way at first. if you dig a bit deeper and look for it, you can get an idea of their food quality, but it's not super apparent on first glance.   CEVICHE: 3/5. This wasn't bad whatsoever, it just wasn't that interesting. Reminded me of the ceviche tostada from the LA truck, Mariscos Jalisco, but that one's less than $4 when I used to go there often. I was looking for way more intensity and acidity (a good place for this is Roseline). I got this on my first visit and originally wanted to order the ceviche de atun but it wasn't available that night.   POBLANO CAESAR: 3/5. I love caesar salads. It was a pretty straightforward Caesar salad to me. Not much to write home about. An example of a take on Caesar that I love is Jon & Vinny's gem lettuce salad. It's amped up and over the top.   CARNE DE PUERO IBERICO Y CHILE: 2.5/5. I was not expecting it to come out with so much broth. It was basically a deep bowl of soup with pork and salad floating in it. It all tasted good, but it didn't make as much sense to me as the other dishes. When pork is served in a broth like that, I expect it to be more of a braisey, melty cut, like shoulder or neck. This one was more steak-like in texture. Cutting into a pork steak while it's bobbing up and down in liquid is kind of tricky. The first piece of pork was very well done and a bit dry, but the second piece was really tender and nicely cooked.   The beans were absolutely delicious, but unevenly cooked. A few of them were chalky and underdone, and some were creamy and perfect. The cheese was melty and wonderful.   The salad was a similar mixed green salad that came with the branzino, but it was placed on top and sunk into the broth. I've never seen this before and it was kind of strange to have a cold salad mixed into hot broth.   I think this dish could be much better if it were plated differently with the broth in a small bowl on the side. With all that said, I still want to come back again and again. I want them to be super busy and successful because they're doing great things. read more

We would always see this spot driving by and when we found out it opened we had to try it! Came here for my dads birthday dinner last night and we were so disappointed with the service. We started off with ordering drinks and they took so long to come out we had to continue to ask about our friends. I asked my waitress about the wine selection and she had no idea about any of the wines. Keep in mind it was around 5 pm so it was fairly empty. We started off with their guac and ceviche. I highly do recommend their gauc. We all ordered different entrees and our waitress forgot to put my moms order in so she got her food after we were basically done eating. The carnitas, vegan enchiladas and fish I highly recommend! Their tortillas taste fresh and soft. The food was good once it came out! I had to ask for the manager and speak to him about what happened. I was a little disappointed because they didn't even bring anything out to celebrate my dads birthday but that's okay. I think we will give it time to come back after they have been open for longer than 2 weeks read more

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Pros - Ambiance and food are great. the steak was made to perfection. chips and salsa were good. the place is beautiful and not too loud where you can't have a conversation. good music too. Cons - service and drinks. Service was very bad. we waited too long to get a server and get our drinks that we ended up going to the bar. They also took a long time getting our order. we went through 2 baskets of chips and salsa. Server was not so attentive until the end (i wonder why). too bad we were forced to give 20% tip because we were a big party but the service was not worthy of 20% for sure. now the drinks at the bar were not good. order a mexican candy shot and got something else. we asked him again if that's the mexican candy shot and bartender confirmed that was. shot was white and didn't taste like it. how can it be a "mexican restaurant" and not know what a mexican candy shot looks like? i also got another mixed drink and the cup was filled half way and was nasty. overall, i wouldn't come back because of the bad experience with service and drinks. read more

My sister and I came to try out the amazing food here and we had the lobster quesadilla which was truly amazing. The chips were also delicious and seasoned fresh. Garrett was one of the top-tier servers I have ever had took great care of me and my sister. His mixing skills were a pleasure to watch. The GM Daniel always checked on us and made sure we were OK which we found very pleasing and comfortable. They truly have top-tier service. read more

Palenque Kitchen - Lobster quesadilla - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Highly recommend this place. Great atmosphere. Good vibes. Food was yummy. Laz was great. Kept checking on us. Very friendly. Will be coming back. read more

This was our first time here and our server Laz was great! The Suavecito and Mayan Pitaya were both great drinks! We got the enchiladas to share and the portion was big! Would definitely be back again! Great service overall, amazing vibes.. highly recommend! read more

Super disappointed in how my experience went. This was my second time here (first time was for brunch). Tonight was for dinner. First off, when we got there, we weren't really greeted. We felt like we were walking up to an empty restaurant with 2 other employees there. When we got seated, our server came by and got our drink and appetizer order. He soon told us one of the appetizers we wanted were sold out. When he came to take our dinner orders, we asked what he recommended. He first told us of one other item, they were sold out of as well. We go to order and everything we wanted was sold out. Not one, two, or even three things... 7 items they were out of. What made me most upset, is the lack of professionalism our server had. He was almost laughing up until I was super stern with him. All they did was comp our 14$ dessert. Unfortunately will not be back. Super disappointed on how this evening went. Hope they can train their staff to let their customers know AHEAD of time what their out of, and realize this is a job and their must be some sort of professionalism when it comes to serving. read more

Solid Mexican food option. Lots of specialty tequila and mezcal based cocktails and traditional Mexican fare. The chips and salsa are also good. We got the carnitas and it was very good. Ambiance was trendy - sort of a club vibe. The service was a little slow. Took a long time to get drinks and water refills. read more

Palenque Kitchen - Mayan pitaya cocktail - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Very bad service the girl in the front said it would be a 20 minute wait mind you it was very empty. We waited for about 30-45 minutes . A couple walked in and they seated them as soon as they walked in. We felt ignored because prior to that we had asked how long more since it was so empty and there was a bunch of tables open. read more

(: save yourself some time/money and skip Palenque for now. Service 0/10 (specially the bar tender) Ambiance 8/10 Drinks 2/10 Food 7/10 read more

Food was delicious- drinks were good and our server Laz was fun and had great suggestions. 10/10 recommend and if you can....request Laz as a server, you won't regret it! read more

Had a great time at this restaurant. Music, ambience, drinks and food were all great. I highly recommend the Chile Pepino to drink, and the steak fajitas (don't get the chicken). We also tried the enchiladas puerto nuevo and camaron al ajillo, both were very good as well. The service was also great, I would definitely go back! read more

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I'd say this restaurant has really great potential and first off, the ambience and decor was upscale and posh. The food was pretty good as well. We had the guacamole, pan con queso, molotes, mole temporal (with rice and beans included in the entree). The guacamole was delicious and the molotes were also had great flavor as well. The pan con queso was good, but we thought the cheese/bread could've been better. The mole temporal was also very good as well as the beans. The rice was good, but nothing exceptional. The server, Jazzlyn, was really sweet too. We thought it was a solid meal and they did a good job overall. read more

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Great service, delicious food, amazing drinks. Had a great night with kids and wife, definitely coming back again. Music great vibe to spend a Friday night. Our server Laz was on point. read more

Beautiful restaurant, great service, and delicious food. You definitely have to try their margaritas samplers. Easy going vibes, bring your friends and family. read more

Palenque Kitchen - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Ambiance 4/5 Food 2/5 Taste wasn't bad but the overall value is lacking. It's high pricing for small portions. Service 4/5 Sat at the bar and the bartender was very attentive, given there wasn't many people there. read more

"Happy Hour" is only at the bar top even though they have Happy Hour Menus at the tables. The prices they charged are different than what was on the menu. Very shady. read more

Awesome food and great service! The carne asada was so good! And the branzino was also delicious. Shrimp ceviche was tasty with a nice level of heat. My first time here. Definitely recommend this spot! Our server Ivan was fantastic! Please check this place out. We will be back for sure! read more

First time here. The ambiance is WOW. Service was on point. Everyone was very nice from the host to our server. Chips and salsa to start while waiting for our entree. I got the Steak Tampiquena. The flavors on the steak, OMG! really good price for the quality. read more

Palenque Kitchen - Steak Tampiquena. (16oz. Bone in Ribeye) with Cheese Enchilada - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Costa Mesa, California