Delicious stone fired pizzas, salads and appetizers. Felt like I was back in Italy!

Atmosphere was great. Located in old town Orange. Parking is impacted. Small restaurant but cozy and nice decor. Best Caesar salad and the pizza is to die for! The crust so good! Great service, wish they had more space! read more

Wonderful pizza from an authentic wood fir d oven and out of this world tiramisu. Slightly pricey but well worth it!

I hate writing a negative review but I think it's important people spend their precious pizza money elsewhere! As an Orange local I was stoked to try this spot since there is not much Italian in the circle area. I was quite disappointed. Our Cesar salad was mostly cheese and dressing with a side of lettuce, service was lackluster, ambiance left a lot to be desired and our pizza was soggy and disappointing. And when we got the check my husband and I looked at each other and agreed we could have made a much better meal at home for a fraction of the price. Unfortunately won't be coming back. The fact that there are so many good reviews show what a low bar we have here in Orange for our restaurants now. read more

Wow, just wow. We were absolutely blown away by the quality of the meal we had last night at Irene's. We had the pleasure of meeting owner and wine sommelier, Rick, as he poured us a 2011 bottle of red: the domaine du Pesquier Gigondas. Give it a minute to breath and it's uniquely tasty. We were quite pleased to be enjoying a bottle of red that was sealed before we were even old enough to drink with a surprising only $50 a pop. Now for the stars of the show. I couldn't decide what I was more looking forward to trying: the burrata appetizer or the pizza. The burrata is served with warm bread, a whole bulb of garlic confit, and decadent burrata soaked in delicious olive oil and a few easy spices. It certainly lived up to its expectation, and then some, just as the pizza did as well. The pizza was perfect. The soft spongy crust was everything you would ever imagine in an ideal neapolitan pizza. I really appreciate the quality of every ingredient that is used, you can really taste it in every bite and see it in the minimalist curated menu. This was probably the most authentic italian pizza I've ever had, right here in the heart of orange. A fantastic new addition to the circle, we are so happy to have you! P.S. We learned Rick named the restaurant after his grandmother, whom he says he is reminded of with the wood-fired Italian oven. P.S.S. the playlist they got going in there is everything. read more

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Pizzeria Irene is a small spot, so definitely call ahead if you want a table. Let's start with the good: the meatball was flavorful and the Caesar salad was actually amazing. I loved the lemon zest on top! The tiramisu was yummy too. Food had appealing presentation. Now the pizza? Kinda tragic. It took forever to come out and when it did... mid at best. The pizza was literally 1/2 crust and 1/2 sauce/toppings. One of them came out with burnt crust. Like, how do you mess up the thing your restaurant is named after? Also, the burrata bread plate? Bland. No flavor. Would not recommend. read more

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Great addition to Orange circle restaurants Very good service and food I loved wine selection read more

Definitely my new favorite pizza spot! Thoroughly impressed by the Caesar salad. I'll be dreaming of the perfectly crunchy cheesy citrusy perfection for the rest of my life!! And the Bianca Pizza - it was a garlicky and savory dream. amazing! This will be the pizza I order from here on out. The Calabrese Pizza is the what you would imagine if you pictured a perfect pizza, but better. Now, I wish I could give it an extra star for the ambiance in there. Perfectly cozy, warm, relaxing, chilled-out yet still upscale. Truly lovely. Also my server was a sweetheart. read more

Three of us walked into Pizzeria Irene just after noon when they opened on Saturday. Not crowded at all at the time but the place had filled up by the time we left (not a big space). Tried the Margherita and Calabrese pizzas and loved them both. Calabrese had a nice kick to it. Crust on both was outstanding. Genuine wood fired is next level. Caesar salad is a delicious addition. We had a lovely bottle of wine and walked away happy. Service was good. Cool place. I look forward to trying other menu items. read more

We visited Pizzeria Irene for lunch. Food was delicious, especially the meatballs. Pizza crust thin with a nice puffed boarder. Toppings were super fresh and flavorful. Tiramisu was amazing. Restaurant is small so recommend making a reservation. read more

This is my favorite place to eat in Orange County for pizza. It's close to my house and they always deliver the best food, ingredients top-notch highly recommend this place. Wonderful wine selection. read more

Pizzeria Irene - Margarita pizza - Pizza Near Me - Orange, California

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Small restaurant, but food and service was great. Due to limited space, need to make reservations as soon as possible, otherwise there could be a long wait. Plenty of choices for wine(s), limited menu items, but all have decent portions. There were three of us, we split a Caesar Salad, two pizza's, bottle of wine and ice cream for desert. All excellent and we left happy :-) read more

We finally made it to Pizzeria Irene this evening. We showed up just before 6pm on was able to get seats at the bar. First thing, the barstools are terrible. They're uncomfortably small and hard to slide forward. We ordered a caesar salad and each had our own magherita pizza.The person who took our order was very nice and provided a lot of info about the drink options and the menu. The restaurant is much smaller than I had anticipated. Overall, all of the servers were very friendly. The caesar salad took about 15 minutes to come out. I wouldn't call it a caesar. It looked really good but there was wayyyyyyy too much dressing on it. Further, the dressing was very, very tart. Very lemony. I've had all kinds of caesar salads and can say that this tasted nothing like one. I would have been fine with that if the dressing wasn't so sour. The lettuce leaves were soaked in dressing. The pizzas took an additional 35 minutes from the time we finished our salad. It doesn't make much sense since a fire baked pizza should take 90 seconds and it's a small restaurant. There was only one table ahead of us. Our pizzas came out and one was severely burnt but the other was fine. How can the consistency be so off between the two? How can they possibly grab two pizzas that are supposed to be the same but don't look anything like one another and be okay with serving it? I've had plenty of authentic Neapolitan pizzas so I can accept a little bit of char on my pizza but this was excessive. The other head scratcher about the burnt pizza is how half of the cheese was missing. How was the pizza? Aside from the burnt parts... nothing great. If you like Neapolitan pizza then you're better off going to Pietrini or Fuoco. read more

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Finally had a chance to dine here. Nice setting but definitely small. Our server said they were looking to expand the space. I can't remember our server's name but she was superb. This is where I struggle. This place has gotten rave reviews, and I'm sure I'm the anomaly, but I left feeling like it was good but not great. The ceasar salad was good. It had a nice crunch to it. We got the mushroom and calabrese pizzas. Mushroom was good but had way too much cheese. Calabrese was good but didn't have enough salame. Tiramasu was good. read more

Personal service and outstanding dishes: we were accommodated many times over. Don't leave without trying the tiramisu!

Service, 10/10. Food, 12/10, ambiance 10/10. Make a reservation. Only 6 tables, but trust me it's worth it. read more

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Pizzeria Irene is an experience not to be missed!! The pizza is divine and just like you would get in Italy! The staff is amazing and friendly! The garlic/burrata appetizer is to die for and the Cesar salad is the BEST we've ever had!!! We look forward to returning often... you will crave this once you've tried it!! Bravo read more

Pizzeria Irene is even better than I described last time. I'm sure now: it's pizza crust is the best I've had in my whole life! It is perfectly chewy, airy yet firm, a hint of natural sweetness from the highest quality flower and the dough rises beautifully into a pillowy golden crust. My previous review I said it was the best wood-fired Neapolitan pizza crust I've ever had. I have changed that to: it's simply the best pizza crust this 63 year old has ever tasted. Honestly, I cannot imagine improving this crust. This time we got the Caesar salad and I'd say when you come don't skip it! We got two which was more than enough for four people. Incredibly good. The young woman with us (a thirty something) said, "This is the best I've ever had!" And I agree. The fresh and high quality Parmesan-Regiano cheese, generously and very finely grated over the salad, was delicious and tasty, but mild! It's not the "Stinky Cheese" from Kraft that we had in our kitchen cupboard growing up. Nor is it the strong dry Parmesan that many Italian restaurants serve. The Caesar salad is tossed in a mild and light, but rich, Caesar dressing and has a nice citrus finish. My brother said it's the best he has ever had, (as long as you don't expect to taste the anchovies). We had four pizzas: Pepperoni; Margherita, Bianca (a white sauce), and a Calabrese. The Calabrese had a big bold salami flavor, with some chili heat! The Bianca was the only white sauce pizza I have ever liked! Honestly and I'm not exaggerating. The Margherita was probably three people's favorite. The Basil's fresh, vibrant flavor was the perfect accent on the Margherita pizza. The pepperoni is traditional Neapolitan American pizza at its best. Please see my photos of the pizzas. It's the first time I've added photos to a review, but I wanted you to see how delicious these pizzas look. On the next visit we plan to try the Garden pizza as it was paraded past us and it looked interesting and delicious. Also, we want to try the Broccolini with fennel sausage pizza. We will order both of those along with our Margherita and pepperoni pizzas which we will probably always order as our starting place. We repeated the same two appetizers: the giant meatball and the Burrata garlic bread with mozzarella and crema. Both excellent again! The restaurant's ambience is simple, clean, bright lively and cheerful. People are having a good time and really enjoying themselves. Service was stellar! Yara greeted us as the hostess with her great charm, and helped our server Julian keep up with the drinks and water refills. Yara remembered us even though we'd only come once a month ago. Julian, our server, is that rare person that seems created for the role he plays. He conveys a sincere interest with real warmth. I'm going to add, because he deserves the compliments, that he is also polite, helpful, efficient and attentive. He didn't serve us on our last visit, but he noticed us and told us he was glad to see us back and he pointed out where we sat on our first visit. Rick, the owner/chef was in the kitchen with two assistants and man were they efficient! They are really honing their kitchen system and everything they served us was well-timed yet also quick. We never had a lag between salad, then appetizers and finally the main pizza course. We dined at 5:30 pm and we were done at 6:30 pm. It's a Tuesday, and they were packed and they stayed packed and every seat at the pizza and wine bar was taken. Use the reservation system and get a table if you can! read more

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This great small spot in old town Orange has the best pizza , wine and atmosphere! Do not pass up the caesar salad either!

Saw that this was a michelin restaurant with great reviews. We decided to try the mushroom pizza. It was absolutely delicious! It had mixed mushrooms, salsa verde, & caramelized onions. Will be coming back to try the broccolini pizza! The customer service was also superb! read more

Horrible experience... the place is tiny. Just go somewhere else. They sat a couple before us after they told us it would be over an hour wait. We walked around waiting for a table. We took a lap around the block and went back to check where we were in line. When we saw the couple who initially arrived after us, we told the host and she said some BS about how they only wanted wine even though as she said that someone was dropping food off at their table. They called us after 1.5 saying our table is ready, we expressed our disappointment about what they did. Never apologize and seemed to not care. Not a good way to treat people. read more

This is a lovely neighborhood, pizza restaurant with elevated pizzas and nicely done Caesar salad. Service was excellent. There's a somewhat limited menu but the squash pizza that we had was delicious and filling. read more

Best pizza at an incredible value especially for the product they are using. High quality, seasonal produce harvested and served at the height of their flavor, ingredients flown in from overseas, as well as a beautifully curated wine list all available at great value. MAKE A RESERVATION! THEY ARE VERY BUSY! And if you're one of those people who leave a negative review because you couldn't walk in and get a table on a busy night: 1 Plan better. Make a reservation. 2 You're what's wrong with Yelp. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. read more

This place is so cozy and intimate. Parking can be tough but if you're driving out to the orange circle you should expect that. The food is absolutely amazing. The flavor is so authentic and home made! I don't think I've ever ate this much bread in one sitting but wow... it was great. Our server was so sweet and informative as well. It was our first time here but we will be returning soon! read more

Pizzeria Irene - Pizza Near Me - Orange, California

Ambiance: a quaint restaurant that is bustling inside with aromas of deliciousness. Great for a date, or even a night out with family. Food: on point. You can tell this dough was created with years of thought on the right ferment, wise, and chew. Well done. Can't wait for the city to get moving on the permit for beer and wine. Sides were precious - olives yum! Burrata with the seasoning was finished without a drop left. Service: on point. Amazing for a soft opening. read more

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Charming! Wood fire pizza!!!! Delicious 10/10. Good selection of wines. Only serve Caesar salad, good but other options would be appreciated. Grace was our server, she was helpful and always smiling. Clean restaurant. Restroom was spotless. Will be back soon read more

What a hidden treasure in the heart of old town Orange. The food is fantastic, so good I forgot to photo of the pizza. Our server Grace was attentive and on top of everything. The space is small but intimate, reservations are highly recommended. read more

Pizzeria Irene - Caesar salad with cheese like snow. - Pizza Near Me - Orange, California

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This place is fantastic, which is why it can be challenging to get a table when they're busy. If you don't get in the first time, come back because the food is excellent. We ordered the butternut squash pizza, the calabrese & a Caesar salad. The Caesar might be the best one I've ever had. So lemony and so fresh! And the pizzas were both delicious, but the butternut squash was my favorite! They don't sell alcohol yet, but I heard that they might allow you to bring your own. Call and ask! read more

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I have eaten in once and ordered take out once. Dining in, the experience was great! Amazing food and great service! This review is mostly to highlight the take out experience. The biggest issue is that the menu photos on Yelp are out of date. What's worse, the brocolini pizza was removed, while a brocolini appetizer was added. You can guess what happened when I called to order and received an appetizer instead of a pizza. The staff also didn't offer to fix the issue for what is a clear mixup with their menu online. That being said, toast tab has an up to date menu, but is the 5th or so result when searching Google. To sum up, for those looking at their menu photos and don't find a new photo posted after the date this review has gone up, know that any menu you see does not reflect their current menu. read more

Love this little restaurant! The owner is sweet and very attentive. The pizzas are delicious-- all of them. It's a small curated menu and you have to try their wine. REALLY god selections! read more

Fantastic new restaurant in Orange, long overdue for the Orange area. The location is nice that it isn't in the circle so it's easier to find parking but it's still close enough that you can easily walk around after eating. The restaurant is small so you need to make reservations but it's a very inviting space. The service is on point, attentive but not overbearing. The food is good but the seasonings were off on the pizza. Highly recommend the burrata appetizer, probably our favorite dish of the night. The broccolini pizza was good but under seasoned and needed some acid or heat. It would have benefited from some hot honey. The wine list is comprehensive and very good. Is it good for kids? If the kids are older yes, if they are under 6 or need to run around a lot then no. read more

I drive 30nin 3x a month to eat here. The pizza is delicious, dough is gooey and soft. Burrata is a slam dunk for appetizers. I always sit at the bar. Julian is always a gentleman to all the guests, with prompt and polite service. Only complaint is they are open only a few hours a day, no lunch, Wednesday to Sunday. read more

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Finally got the chance to dine at Pizzeria Irene and the service and ambiance was great. It's a small space but comfortable and inviting. I ordered the Ceaser salad and Bianca pizza. The salad was pretty good I like the crumbs of croutons and it was more on the lemony side but I prefer to taste a little pepper and salt which I didn't. The pizza when deciding I was in between the Bianca and the calabrese, I ended up choosing the Bianca and regretted it. For me the pizza had too thick of cheese and not enough of the other toppings. The crust was amazing though! I ripped it apart and built bites with the garlic and guanciale and a little cheese and those bites were delicious. If the cheese to other toppings ratio were better it would have been a 10/10. (My preference and opinion) I will definitely return to give other options a try. read more

We had dinner here last night, June 5th, and it was a fantastic experience! We started with two appetizers, buratta, which was served with bread and roasted garlic, delicious. We also ordered the Cesar salad, which was one of the best I have ever had. We ordered two pizzas, my husband had the pepperoni and my daughter and I got the broccolini, both were exceptional. My husband loved the pepperoni, he said it was the very flavorful. The interior is small, but beautifully decorated. And the pizza oven is quite impressive. There is a small bar area. Service was outstanding. We had a great time at Pizzeria Irene and I highly recommend this amazing restaurant! read more

Amazing food, amazing service and a cute intimate vibe! A great place for a date night!

Fluffy, perfectly charred, nice chew and just the right amount of saltiness. I ordered a Margherita pizza to go and ate it later that evening and it still tasted excellent. This is as close to authentic Italian pizza as it gets. My only gripe is they open at 5pm so it's difficult to eat there more often. The restaurant is tiny and cozy so reservations are a must if you do go. I can't wait to come back and try another pizza. read more

Had such an amazing experience here! There was a line at opening, but it was well worth the wait. The staff here is very attentive and their service was outstanding. The aesthetic and ambiance of this restaurant is immaculate. You can tell so much thought was put into every detail. Speaking of details, the oven! *heart eyes* just beautiful! On to the best part, the food. I found my new favorite place for a Caesar salad! Definitely the BEST caesar I've had, by far! For pizza, I had the Calabrese, it was delicious and had the perfect kick of spice. I saved the best for last, the Burrata is heaven on a plate! Roasted garlic and Cheese, need I say more? I would come everyday of the week just for this if I could! read more

Pizzeria Irene - Burrata - must try!!!! - Pizza Near Me - Orange, California

The service is so friendly. We were there a couple weeks ago and they remembered our names and our interactions. The food is AMAZING and so good. I wish they had a full bar, but the wine selection is really good. read more

Great pizza and excellent food. Good service. Cute little place. One of our new favorite spots. Highly recommend.

Wife and I came here for our anniversary as we've been wanting to try since it opened. The food and service were fantastic. Pizza was not soggy or too floppy for the style. Interior is small but well done. Probably some of the best pizza in Orange County. read more

Pizzeria Irene - Pizza Near Me - Orange, California