Old Vine Cafe is now $25 with 2 bottle limit. I love this place and rarely feel the need to bring a bottle as all their tasting menus come wth a glass of wine with each course. As much as I like dinner here, their breakfast is just as good, if not better.
Belacan Grill in Tustin. $10 bottle, 2 bottle max. Malaysian food. Never had Malaysian before, very similar to Thai. Good food, casual restaurant. Family friendly. Right next to the original Zov’s.
where is this place?
alan
26342 Oso Pkwy # 103
Mission Viejo, CA 92691-5646
(949) 582-0026
Went there again this weekend, and again the food was fantastic. We went during happy hour, where several ‘acceptable’ wines (including a decent '04 Sabon Lirac) are $7.00, and the appetizers are less expensive, and rather large.
Lumberyard in Laguna Beach charges $10 (2 bottle limit). The menu is American comfort cuisine and is quite good, acceptable for a casual meal, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to dine here again.
Note: Tradition by Pascal charges $10 corkage for a half bottle. As noted, $20 for a full bottle.
Paul
Starfish in Laguna Beach. $25/bottle, 2 bottle limit…ouch. New restaurant by the owners of Tabu Grill down the street. In fact, Nancy (the owner) was at the door greeting guests. Billed as Asian coastal, lots of seafood, meat dishes with asian influences. Located in a strip mall across PCH from the Montage. Plenty of parking (yea!). Lots of construction going on, had to walk through plywood scaffolding to get to the gorgeous restaurant. Very cool, hip vibe…on the dark side, but not as dark as Tabu Grill. Wine list sucks. The food was wonderful, except for one dish that was universally panned by the whole table. Waiter graciously took it back and off the bill. Lots of small dishes that are meant to be shared, I love that style, let’s you taste a bunch of stuff. Brought a 07 Sauzet Champ-Canet and a 08 Lambrays. The Sauzet was so damn tasty, went well with everything, loved this bottle. The Lambrays not so much on this night. I would come back to Starfish in an instant. Great food and atmosphere. As an aside, when the waiter was bringing us wine glasses for the Sauzet, he first brought Reidel “O”, I can’t stand those stemless glasses. I asked for regular stems and the “O” glasses were quickly replaced.
It’s too bad that restaurants are having a tough time financially so they seem to be raising corkage fees…
I’m ok with up to $15/bottle, but $25 or over is pretty hard to swallow and actually a reason to avoid the restaurant, unless the food is that good.
Andrea at Pelican Hill, $30/bottle ![[shock.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0b1dcf699ec319f43254f92e3f145786dcd93904.gif "shock"){kind=small}
, 2 bottle max. The most expensive corkage I’ve ever paid in the OC. Also, one of the most if not the most expensive dinner I’ve ever had in Orange County. I’m gonna save everyone a boatload of money. The food was by and large average to above average, except the porcini risotto made in a huge wheel of cheese at tableside topped with shaved black truffle (this was sublime). Utterly and completely overpriced. You’re paying for the “privilege” to eat at Pelican Hill. I do have to say that the view is amazing, we arrived right at sunset. Very hoity-toity, not really my scene. My dinner party must have brought the average age down by a good 10 years. I wish I could have heard what people said when my wife and I rolled up in our 2000 Rav4. I would have paid extra for the valet to park our car next to the Bentleys, Ferraris, and Porsches up front. I’m not going back, except to maybe have a $10 beer and watch the sunset.
no m3!?
Nah, I hate valeting the M3. Even though the cars at Pelican Hill make the M3 look like a hoopty, I’m paranoid that something will happen to it, I’ve heard too many horror stories regarding valets. Plus, I get a kick out of driving our POS home depot car to the super ritzy, over the top places. That’s one of the reasons I hate eating in LA, you HAVE to valet at some places.
Felix Continental Cafe at the Square in Orange. Great cuban/spanish eats and a $5 corkage but bring stems as they only have the little ones.
Tabu Grill, Laguna Beach. Website states $30/bottle with 2 bottle max. Went last night, got charged $25/bottle ![[scratch.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/4/42a16863a8714da3c1604419e3eb9206bb87aa50.gif "scratch"){kind=small}
Brand new chef, new menu started last night. Spectacular butternut squash soup, beet salad. Vietnamese salad was very good. Foie gras was unlike anything I’ve ever had for foie gras, almost like a pate brulee, kinda weird. Pork was sublime, ribeye was good, but nothing special. The place has expanded into the space next door and not as dark. Great meal and vibe.
Joe, Is the Tabu Grill where Hush used to be? What wine did you bring? 
No, Hush was about 1.5 miles north of Tabu. Tabu has always been where it’s located, but expanded to the area next door. I can’t remember what used to be next to Tabu. I was with some non-wine geeks so brought easy drinking stuff. 06 Copain en haut and 07 Jadot Baudes. Both were delicious. Looked over the wine list, usual overpriced stuff centered around recent CA.
Added Brassiere Pascal
Broadway in Laguna Beach. $25/bottle, 2 bottle limit. Been open a couple months now. In the old space where Five Feet used to be. Terrific food, hip decor, fantastic service. Loved everything about this restaurant. One of my and my wife’s new faves. 2 big thumbs up…except for the corkage, but $25 is standard for Laguna Beach. Brought a 02 Lafarge Ducs, loved this bottle, will post a TN in the wine talk forum.
Three Seventy Common in Laguna Beach, where the old Sorrento Grill used to be. Woo-Hoo, great corkage policy. $15/bottle, no bottle limit. 1st bottle is waived if it’s not on the wine list. I looked at the wine list, everyone on this board WILL get the 1st bottle waived. Good food, hip atmosphere, Loud as hell. I think I was getting hoarse by the end of the night. Brought 2 bottles, but only opened one cuz the ladies weren’t drinking much. That one bottle was free cuz it wasn’t on the list. 05 Dujac F&P AC CM. Surprisingly, drinking great right from the start. I also brought a 06 RM Old Vines cuz I wanted to compare the two, but it never got opened. Saved myself $15 and took the RM back home.
That’s good info Joe, thanks!