Scarlet Kitchen and Lounge — Restaurant in California

Had a very disappointing dinner at Scarlet Kitchen tonight. I admire this place as I'm sure they make money hand over fist--they're in a strip mall next to a Jersey Mike's, but they charge Newport Beach prices and their army of staff flips tables rapidly. But the food just isn't worth it, even when there aren't service issues.

I'm vegan and my wife is vegetarian, so we have to research restaurants before we go. Scarlet has a great sounding mushroom risotto on their website, but when we tried to order it tonight, we were told they haven't had it in forever (since last fall, apparently.) The waitress had zero interest in helping my wife find an alternative, so she ended up ordering a side order of risotto and a side order of brussels sprouts. I got the only dish I can eat, the carrot tacos. We were only served the brussels sprouts and tacos, and the food runner didn't say anything about the missing risotto until I asked her. I was told it was coming, with no ETA. When our waitress came over she said the same thing--I asked, coming soon? Eventually? No response. When the risotto finally came out, it was so incredibly undercooked that the rice was crunchy.

I asked for a manager for the first time in my life, and was told they'd comp the risotto, but she didn't make an offer to bring out a new one. When I asked, she seemed surprised that I wanted "more" risotto. That's not the word I would use--we were never served any edible risotto in the first place, and returned the original risotto with only half a spoonful eaten. She insinuated that we were trying to scam them out of free risotto when all I asked for was what we originally ordered. She asked what would make me happy, so I told her to refire the entire meal so my wife and I could eat our food together.

To their credit, they did better the second time, with all three dishes coming out at the same time and cooked properly. The risotto was nothing special, the brussels sprouts appeared to be cooked in a deep fryer (bland, uniform in texture and color, and oily), and the carrot tacos were poorly conceived. They were described as "a play on pulled pork" but the carrots themselves were just shredded and crunchy (definitely not slow-cooked like the menu says), which is not a texture I'd typically associate with pulled pork. I asked for corn tortillas, but I'm pretty sure these were flour. The jalapeno was raw, which is an odd choice for such a tame dish--why not pickle it to take some of the heat down and play off the slaw? The tacos were also overstuffed for a single tortilla, and impossible to eat without the filling bursting through the bottom. As a vegan it's nice to have an option on the menu that isn't just another veggie burger, but this dish needs some work if a normal person is ever going to enjoy it.

When we got the bill, the risotto was comped but they charged us twice for the brussels sprouts and the tacos. You'd think that someone would have double checked the bill when our table had obviously had problems and been promised a comp, but no. Their credit card machine also calculates tip based on the post-tax amount, which is a total scam and a pet peeve.

When competition finally arrives to Rancho Mission Viejo, it will kill this place.

Two stars because my wife loved the butter lettuce salad she had...

Wow! So awful! I normally don't write reviews and especially like to write negative things about businesses. Things happen and I try to be understanding. Though, in this case I simply can't believe how poorly things went with dinner. It could have been a scene from a movie.

My husband and I sat down for dinner. I ordered the lamb and he ordered the Scarlett burger.

Our order arrived in a timely manner and we were off to a good start. Then cut scene...

The toppings my husband ordered on the burger were missing. No problem. He let the waitress know and unfortunately my lamb was so salty that I couldn't even eat it. I like salty food so that's saying something. No problem again. I just ordered the burger lettuce wrapped since that would be quicker and then my husband and I could eat together.

About 10-15 minutes goes by and my husband is starring at a cold burger and I can't flag anyone down. In the meanwhile it seemed that there was a manager and she came over and asked some new questions about if I wanted fries or the potatoes. The fries were unbelievably salty and she warned me they are prepped like that so I may want to try the potato. Which was nice but why over salt everything?

My burger arrived but not lettuce wrapped. So she grumbled that the waitress didn't say that, and took it back. Then my husband's toppings arrived but his burger was so cold they had to take back the burger again. My food finally arrived while they were dealing with his meal.

It was OK. And my husband's food finally arrived. it took so long that we barely ate together. His burger wasn't great but he was so hungry that he just picked at it.

The seeming manager sat at the table across from us doing paperwork, hardly anyone there, didn't pay attention to the fact that we couldn't get the waitress to come back.

Then, after all was said and done and many apologies later once the bill arrived, they didn't even think to say would you like a desert on us, a discount, a credit, anything at all. Everyone knows how expensive it is to go out and when you do, your hoping for a special meal and relaxing time. It was out date night and such a poor turn of events. The entire dinner was awful, and the service was atrocious. We are pretty easy going and friendly, and I can't imagine if that was a super picky or easily aggravated person. The entire staff would have had an ear full.

It was an expensive dinner for what we got and if it was slammed I could maybe understand. But the place was pretty empty.

They made sure we had water in between the food coming and going so that...

10/1/2023 Had reservations for dinner at 5:30 pm at Scarlet Kitchen & Lounge. We checked in to the hostess, who must have forgotten. we checked in as Yelp contacted me about a no-show. This was corrected. We saw Madison and Lorilie, who were amazing at our previous visit. Lorilie is amazing at checking on guests and providing answers to questions, etc. Ava was our server this evening and took our drink and appetizer orders. We started with clam chowder and tomato bisque soups...so good, especially on a cooler day. My wife was craving their halibut, but they ran out, so she ordered the grilled fish tacos, which she enjoyed. I had my go-to Filet Mignon and eggplant parmesean, which was outstanding. It was nice to see the restaurant busy and the crowd happy and conversing. We had a nice experience and will call next time to check on the fresh catch prior to arrival. Ambiance is positive and uplifting, and the staff is quite attentive and professional. Recommended

Previous visit Tonight, we found a truly hidden gem right next door in Ladera Ranch. We made reservations for 6 pm and were greeted by the lovely and professional hostess. My wife chose to sit outside in their very nice patio. Once seated, we were greeted by Madison, aka "Madie," and she was beyond fantastic. Madison was a professional, kind, and amazing listener with stellar customer service skills. My wife and I both had a bowl of their tomatoe soup, which was so good and tasty. We also ordered drinks as they have a full bar, and the drinks are made to perfection. Lorilie also stopped by to see how we were doing and asked if we needed any refills or anything else. Lorilie was so kind and very professional. The establishment is very clean and well managed and the staff are quite efficient and pleasant. For our entrees, Madison stopped by and took our order, and my wife ordered the Halibut entree . The presentation, taste, and overall experience left her very happy and smiling. I had asked for a custom dish as I was craving the filet mignon and also the eggplant, so I ordered the filet mignon without potatoes or veggies and a serving of eggplant with marinara. All I can say is WOW. The filet was tender and cooked just as I had requested, medium rare, and so tasty. Great presentation as well on this dish, and the eggplant was cooked quite similar to the way I make it. The meal was fantastic. Overall, the wonderful restaurant, Scarlet Kitchen & Lounge, is a new favorite and our compliments to the chefs, staff, and management! Highly...