Steak in OC -- Flemming's, Ruth's Chris, Morton's or?
If this were LA I'd say go straight to Mastro's. But I heard the Mastro's in OC is more of a seafood place?
I've been to all three in the title in other cities and like them all. Quality does seem to vary city to city so I'd like to hear comments about the OC locations.
Look forward to your comments!
Thank you,
sphound
-
Out of Flemings, Ruth's Chris and Morton's, I would pick Flemings. I ate at the Ruth's Chris in Irvine where they serve you a side of steak with your butter. It's like butter soup it's bad. I didn't think Morton's was all that special, especially for that price point. Flemings serves a pretty good steak at a very reasonable price. Haven't been to Maestro's, but have heard good things about it. Stay far away, make that very far away from Turner's.
›1 Reply -
-
As others have mentioned, there are 2 Mastro's and both are excellent. Heck, the top-shelf places have been covered well, many with mixed reviews -- Morton's, RC, Flemming's, Mastro's. I like all of them and went to Ruth's Chris Irvine for my anniversary dinner this year and found it to be great.
However, I've got one place that's unique, serves a great steak at a decent price, and is about as devoid of pretentiousness as you can get in OC, and that's Trabuco Oaks Steakhouse in Trabuco Canyon. Even with the new places the last 10 years or so, Trabuco Oaks is still my go-to.
›3 Replies-
-
-
re: irishkevbo
It's right off Live Oak Canyon Road in the canyon between Lake Forest and Rancho Santa Margarita. The atmosphere is quite different from any other steakhouse you'll find in OC. It's kinda fun, but cramped. There are trees growing in the middle of the restaurant, and neckties hanging all over the place. They say if you wear a tie, they'll cut it off and hang it up. My steak was decent, but not the best I've had. The best steak I've had was at Morton's, but I haven't tried Maestros or some of the others mentioned on this blog. Definitely not as expensive as Mortons, but also not nearly as pretentious. A place to try, but I'm not itching to go back right away.
-
-
-
brekkie_fan
Jun 28, 2007 11:02 PM
I did Morton's in SD, which I thought was overrated. Don't think I'll be going to South Coast unless it's for their talked about happy hour.
Ruth Chris I did in SF, but I remember dessert more than anything else?
Fleming's - I just happened to go to the one at Victoria Gardens (Rancho Cucamonga) over the weekend, and that was just FABULOUS. I would go back in a heartbeat. Much better atmosphere than I recall in Fashion Island. That bone in, 22oz rib eye did me in....and it was worth it.
Been to both Crystal Cove (Mastro's Ocean Club) and the steakhouse in Costa Mesa. Adored both, but preferred the Ocean Club more for overall experience. I classify Ocean Club as "seafood focus with steak" and Steakhouse/Costa Mesa as "steak focus with seafood", so either way ~ it's all good.
-
-
-
-
I go out for steak quite often. In the past 12 months I have been to Mastro's Ocean Club or Steakhouse about 36 times and loved it everytime. I have been to Flemings only about 6 times and find it a great alternative to Mastro's. I have only been to Ruth's Chris's once and have no desire to go back. This is of course the Irvine location I am talking about. It totally lacks that great steakhouse vibe. It is more like a family restaurant with all of the kids running around. My steak was just average as well. I cannot speak for the other locations.
›4 Replies-
re: cdmedici
Ditto on everything you wrote about the Ruth Chris in Irvine. It felt more like a Sizzler and our waiter wasn't knowledgable on anything. I asked him to suggest a wine and he didn't know. He told us not to touch the sizzling hot plate, and what do you know, he touches the plate and nearly burns his hand while almost knocking over our plates.
-
re: sportsfan8
mstinawu
May 2, 2007 03:59 PM
I've been to the one in San Diego and Beverly Hills and I thought both were really great. Strange that the Irvine one would suck so bad. I've also been to the Flemming's in Manhattan Beach, but I didn't like anything my date or I ordered there that thing--we even had a $50 gift certificate to use there but I still didn't think it was worth it.
-
re: mstinawu
The one in Irvine is something else. I was there a few months after a work event in the area on a Friday. With all the exotic cars in the lot and the hour that they were behind on reservations, it was evident that it was the only place in town.
It doesn't have the normal clubby atmosphere of a chophouse, and the staff doesn't come close (probably kids from UC Irvine), but the food was still good.
-
-
-
-
-
elmomonster
May 1, 2007 11:20 AM
I hate to sound like a broken record, but yes, Mastro's in Costa Mesa.
-
-
