Urban Plates — Restaurant in Aliso Viejo

As a 3 year Plate Pass paid member UP has one of the best value, healthy lunches out there.

Cons: Terrible signage , it’s the larger stores but it’s surrounded by smaller offices , drove past it into the plaza across street , can’t see the signs more than 50’ away. GPS used. There’s another place called Urbane Cafe in the same plaza!!!

Prep Counter is 80% of entrance area for To Go with no signage of TO GO. What restaurant has the to go counter front center and not the host or main order station? Bald tan Latino told me to stand back closer to the door with no one in line. Well I’m trying get my food order and eat in dining room which is where I’m standing. You a driver? No I’m a member . Show me your order name There’s no name on the UP app. Just 10 digit order number. Showed it to worker The counter is 4.5’ high and he placed it at my face level , no response.

Beet salad is consistent with menu and recipe , had 20x before. Side of Bermuda fish was dry and over cooked. Worse than the other 8x I’ve ate it.

This dining room is awesome and so impressive outdoor patio with large group tables.

GM photo was behind the cashier and saw the guy walking around but I didn’t want to stop his work to hear my comments.

2 elderly ladies were sitting in dining room before I arrived, I got my food before them (preordered) , the Latino pepper walked over to them to check on their order which wasn’t correct what he thought it was. He returned to them and with food and walked away back to his area and chatted loudly in Spanish with shorter , heavy female on the salad line .

The utensils and water station were easy to collect , clean , proper. A 20 something white male cashier was attentive to elderly by explaining credit card was not processed, he even walked around the counter and place the slip and pen into the elders hand and help read the slip to her. Latino female cashier was friendly and smiled to customers.

Brea & Irvine & Pasadena UPlates have well trained and polite front line workers. Totally enjoy the culture, service, food….just not Aliso V location. (Image is Brea…where I am In car writing this review 2 days after...

Last week, I met my girlfriends for lunch at Urban Plates, my first time at this restaurant. I was initially impressed with their idea of fresh and healthy eating as well as their food selection, including highlighting meals that are vegan and/or gluten-free. I was optimistic that my food allergies for gluten, garlic, and dairy would be accommodated. However, my excitement soon vanished when I tried to order. I was notified that everything is cooked with garlic; they were only able to offer steamed asparagus without garlic! The sad truth is, that those fresh and organic vegetables are smothered in garlic seasoning! Imagine promoting freshness and organic and then you cook those delights with some cheap seasoning instead of adding FRESH garlic for those who want it! It was such a disgusting a disappointing experience that only deserves one remark: CULINARY DISASTER!!! Not sure what Chef is responsible for these decisions!

ADDITIONAL COMMENT AFTER RESTAURANT'S RESPONSE: I had arrived early and talked with the staff about my needs; the manager talked to the kitchen staff and confirmed that they are using seasoning in all the side dishes (except for asparagus that can the steamed). While waiting for my friends to arrive, I was observing and did see the shelf with all the many, many seasoning containers.... The carrot-beet dish was so full of seasoning that I could not even recognize the flavor of a carrot or a beet. AGAIN: you promote organic freshness which means I expect to be able to enjoy the FLAVORS of the vegetable instead of seasoning with strong garlic flavor.... It was a horrible experience and defeats the purpose of eating fresh vegetables. Incredibly...

I’d like to make it clear for anyone who comes to urban plates about the review rating. Food was delicious. Our party ordered a surf and turf and rib plate, both which despite being room temperature, were still fresh and tender. When it comes to service, this was a mixed bag. We came into the restaurant as first time customers, and were greeted by an employee who helped us in great detail understand the format of plate ordering, where to look through menus in line, and where to order. This matches with most of the reviews here about great customer experience. Unfortunately it went downhill from here. The cashier had a strange and rushing attitude, and the warm welcome we previously got was overshadowed by checkout. We then waited over 30 minutes for our meal, while other parties later than us were all quickly getting food. When I went in to get an update on our food, there was unfriendly acknowledgement and a strange atmosphere, and I was slowly met with a response that it was coming out. The server who brought it out then dropped some fries on the floor with no apology or response to the situation. The food ended up being room temperature at best, and seemed to have been sat out for some time. Overall, apart from our initial welcome, we were met with tense atmosphere and dismissive attitudes.

Really hope the business can take a closer look here and make some...