Mendocino Farms — Restaurant in Brea

Update: February 2025

I came during the busy lunch time rush. It’s a pretty popular spot for lunch or dinner. It’s busy with to go orders as well. So, wait times for food can be a little longer. It’s an open kitchen so you can see the staff preparing the food. It took almost 20 minutes for my 3 salads.

My all time favorite is their Avocado & Quinoa Superfood Ensalada!! I love everything about it, from the superfood krunchies, quinoa, avocado and chipotle vinaigrette!! You have the option of adding chicken for an additional price. But, it’s so delicious even without the chicken. I love added texture and bold flavor of the chipotle vinaigrette! Whenever I have this salad, it’s so satisfying and filling.

There are many sandwiches to choose from. You can get soup or one of their sides to go with it.

Our group came hungry, after a long hike. And, Mendocino Farms hits the spot!

Good quality food with fresh ingredients. Many healthy choices Cute decor and they have an outdoor patio area. Some gluten free and vegan options here. Seating can get really crazy here during the busy lunch and dinner times. You can look for seating at the outside courtyard near Whole Foods (after you’ve gotten your food of course 😉)

Avocado & Quinoa Superfood Ensalada - love the superfood krunchies in this salad! And, of course, the avocado makes this salad filling. 🥑 The chipotle vinaigrette has a little kick but love it! This is my go-to whenever I go here. It always makes me feel like I’m eating super healthy but it’s also visually appealing and tastes delicious! 🥗

The Impossible Taco Salad - (One of our friends tried this salad) Plant-based Impossible chorizo was a little bland but felt good eating it (trying to be healthier) The Spicy Dijon Potato Salad was delicious.

Pink Lady Beets & Goat Cheese Salad - pink lady beets and green apples are crisp. The goat cheese makes this salad so yummy. Love the presentation! So beautiful!

Peruvian Steak Sandwich - The spicy aji amarillo marinated steak is so flavorful. The herb aioli is delicious.

Three of us in our group shared the Avocado & Quinoa Superfood Ensalada, Pink Lady Beets & Goat Cheese Salad and Peruvian Steak Sandwich. It’s a great way to try different menu items. The staff was very accommodating and brought extra plates so that we could share. They even cut the sandwich into 3 for us.

It was the perfect amount to fill you up for lunch without making you feel like taking a nap afterwards.

Overall, great food experience. I’m sure I’ll...

Most people already know about Mendocino Farms (aka Mendo) but for those of you that do not here’s a quick intro/personal opinion from me: Mendo is a great place for lunch, covered patio, AC cooled inside seating and friendly staff. Regardless of how busy it is, it will always look like it’s busy inside because the staff is doing a lot to make the place clean and topped off in every way. Napkins holders are full, drink dispensers are never empty for anything longer than 10 - 20 minutes, staff is always available to answer questions or help get containers, food is always sourced from environmentally aware locations, menus are labeled with info for Gluten-free, Vegan and other dietary restrictions and it tastes delicious. None of the food isn’t going to taste exactly compared to the actual dishes from a store that just serves those dishes or sandwiches but I feel like that’s mainly because of the sauces and how Mendo chooses flavors, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t taste delicious. At this location they have lemonade infused with different favors that were really good (rose lemonade, turmeric and lemongrass lemonade and a green power lemonade with ginger, celery and other goodies). My wife ordered the Smoky Chicken Elote Bowl and I got the Pork Belly Banh Mi. There were a few small things that were pointed out with both dishes (pork belly was a little more fatty/oily that my wife would have liked and the chicken breast was a little dry in the Elote bowl) but they were still really good and the perfect amount to fill you up for lunch without having to make you take a nap before getting back to work. Again, super nice staff and they are good and fast at what they do. Gotta say it was a nice lunch date today. Also the last item that we enjoyed was no more table numbers, you take your receipt scan a QR code on the table and type your order number for the staff to know where to...

My girlfriend and I decided to go to Mendocino Farms for dinner. When we walked in, we noticed the front door was propped open. While ordering food, I felt flies crawling on my legs. We should have left at that point.

We ordered salads and waited for our meals. While sitting at the high top table, we had to shoo flies away. We were sitting where I could see the counter where prepared food was left to be picked up by patrons. I noticed that food would sit out and multiple flys would land on it. I walked up to the counter and saw my salad next to sandwich that had two flys on it. I let the young man at the counter know about the fly sandwich, and he graciously offered to replace my meal. I explained I did not notice flies on my salad, but I did not want to leave it there while we waited for my girlfriend's salad. I went back to my table and noticed the young man was telling a girl in the food prep area about the fly sandwich. Her name tag said Susie. I could tell from her body language, and the young man shrugging his shoulders, she was very dismissive of my concern, and was not happy about having to remake the sandwich.

My girlfriend's salad came out and she grabbed it immediately. I asked that my salad dressing be tossed and requested a tortilla. I did not get a tortilla and my dressing was on the side. While eating our dinner, we noticed more prepared food left on the counter that was attacked by flys. It is clear the staff does not care about food safety and the well being of their patrons. This was a very dissapointing experience and I want other patrons to be aware of the fly problem at...