Descanso Restaurant — Restaurant in Costa Mesa

My (girl) friend had a Modelo recommend by our sever McKenna and we shared the taquitos appetizer because it’s the ONLY meal that doesn’t charge a starting price of $5 to add protein . Literally if you area vegetarian this is a good place for you to eat , but I’ll tell you now DON’T !!! I warn you the service for seating outside is disgustingly FRIGID AND NON COMPASSIONATE .

Let me paint the picture for you … upon entering the restaurant the hostess (Jayden) greeted us . We ask for a table for 2 and Jayden proceeded to look into her laptop or layout of the restaurant to see what’s available for us . She says ,”I’m sorry we only have the taco bar open and outside , inside dining is full” . Then continues to say ,”we do have blankets and heaters for outside dining”. My friend and I looked at each other and said sure we can sit outside . As Jayden seats us to our table she tells us that either she or someone will bring our blankets . Maybe 5 minutes have passed and our server , McKenna comes over and asks can she get us some drinks to start . This is where my friend says what beers do you have on Tap ? McKenna doesn’t quite hear her so I repeated what beers do you have on tap that are good? She began to name some and said she likes Modelo and my Friend asks is Modelo any good and McKenna says yes it’s one of her favorites . A few minutes more has passed McKenna comes back with Modelo and no one has brought the blankets for us . Keep in mind it’s about 46 degrees F . That’s just a tad cold . 🥶!!! We asked McKenna can we get a couple of blankets ?! McKenna says , “sure I’ll be back with them , but are you ready to order food” . We started to look and our server asks do you need a fee minutes more and my friend said yes give us a few minutes. Well , more than a few minutes have passed still NO BLANKETS and our waitress is no where to be found . All of sudden loud music begins to play over the speaker and we look around to see what’s going on . The table next to us is going to be sung Happy Birthday to and guess who’s singing to the celebrant ?! McKenna (our sever) and the hostess (Jayden) . They both walked away after the song and many minutes have passed and finally McKenna comes back and asks are we ready to order ? We ordered the taquitos and once again asked for our blankets and mind you the heater is still not on . McKenna says ok I’ll bring you blankets . She came back finally brought them after several times of asking which I don’t think we should be asking for this and asked if someone can turn the heater on also ?! We have been sitting outside at the point for about 30 minutes . Food finally came also and still no heater . My friend and I were just giving our server a chance to notice these things or even ask are we ok , etc etc . My friend and I continued to talk and eat . We check our watches and it’s already over an hour we still have no heater .t this point we are done eating and asked for the heater to be turned on after an hour . McKenna comes back to our table and asks if she can get us some dessert and we respectfully declined and I asked if there’s a manager on site and she says yes I’ll have her come over . A few minutes later the manager comes out but first approaches the other tables right before coming to us . Manager comes over and asks “how are we and what can she get us “ . I asked what her name is and she stated Daisy . I went on to tell Daisy how unacceptable it is for the hostess to seat us and not have the blankets in hand as she seats us and to ask for the blankets and heater to be given and turned on is utterly ridiculous and so unacceptable. I continued to say with that no one including our server asked or checked to see if we are ok . 🤔!!! Wow !!! At this point my friend thinks they are intentionally excluding us while all the other tables with guests received their blankets upon being sat . Makes you question the service of how the staff is being trained . Daisy (manager) agrees with our concerns and says she will speak to them and asked if she can give us a dessert on...

I made reservations for 4 for the Plancha table at 7pm. We were seated quickly, and the initial server was pleasant and mostly attentive at first, getting us drinks and taking our orders. Two people in the party do not tolerate onions and requested no onions for their food multiple times. We were assured that would be honored. After this we did not see the server, even for refills of water and drinks. We didn't see anyone until the chef came out. The chef did not come out to start cooking til an hour later at 8pm. The entire time he was cooking we could barely hear him as he spoke too quietly to even hear him over the grill, and his personality was blander than mayonnaise. The "entertainment" was not engaging or appeared to have any effort put into it at all to make it so. He seemed almost bored and like it was a burden to be there. We were asked about food allergies and stated that there were none in our party but two of us did not eat onions of any sort, to which we were told basically "too bad" about the fried rice as it already had onions premixed into the veggies that go into it. No offers to leave some of the rice without veggies for us or any other sort of workaround. Despite our insistance that we didn't eat onions, the chef still gave us the rice and when I stated that we didn't want it because of the onions, he acted put out and irritated with our refusal. I had ordered chili relleno with steak added - and was told by the chef that there were onions pre mixed into the corn and bell pepper mix in the chili relleno. I told him I didn't want onions and had requested none. He asked if he could do anything else. I asked if I could have it without the onions and was given a half hearted response of "that's not really possible, it's already mixed in". Chef made NO effort to rectify it or even ask if I would be OK with just the pepper and cheese and leave out the additional veggie mix containing onions (which I would have been and even initiated asking, but was brushed off by him). I was turned off at this point and refused his offer. Everyone else's food was OK, but definitely not good enough to justify waiting an hour and 20 min for it. After everyone was served, the chef then asked me half heartedly if he could make me anything and again I asked for the chili relleno with no onions, otherwise I wanted nothing else. He just shrugged his shoulders and left. It was only after everyone had pretty much finished eating that the server approached me about the issue and I reiterated what had happened. She got the manager (Daisy) who attempted to smooth it over and offered half off our next visit but there is absolutely no way I would come back after the treatment I received, the long wait, and the lackluster performance along with refusal to even attempt to honor my request. The manager assured me that this is not typical but from other reviews it appears that is not the case as I've read a couple with similar issues. We will not be returning and I cannot in good faith recommend this...

Descanso Restaurant came highly recommended by my friends, and I'm thrilled to say it lived up to the hype! Our visit was an absolute blast from start to finish. The service was impeccable, the menu offerings were diverse and enticing, and the atmosphere was lively and festive.

Here's what we indulged in:

Appetizers: We started with the tantalizing combination of Chips, Salsa, and Chicharróns, setting the tone for an exciting culinary adventure.

The Ceviche El Tigre was a standout, featuring Wild Caught Striped Bass, Lime, Leche de Tigre, Pomegranate, Avocado, Cucumber, Red Onion, Fresno Chile, and Blue Corn Chips.

Kids Menu: For the little ones, the Quesadilla with Chicken or Steak was a hit, offering a delicious and satisfying option.

Plancha Dinner Menu: We began our main course experience with either the flavorful Fideo Soup or a classic Caesar Salad.

The Mexican Fried Rice stole the show, especially when paired with the creamy sauce. It was an absolute must-try!

The Pork Loin Alambre was a symphony of flavors, featuring Center Cut Pork Loin with an 'Al Pastor' Marinade, Bell Peppers, Onions, Tres Quesos, Avocado Toreado Salsa, Cebollita Onions, Cilantro, and Serrano Chiles.

The Ribeye Steak was cooked to perfection, served with Fingerling Potatoes, Charred Cebollita Onions, Grilled Serrano Chiles, Avocado Toreado Salsa, Morita Chile Aioli, and Cotija.

To cap off the evening, we celebrated with a fiery birthday dessert of Cinnamon Sugar Chips and Vanilla Ice Cream, adding a sweet finale to our memorable dining experience.

I wholeheartedly recommend Descanso Restaurant to anyone seeking a unique and delightful Mexican Teppanyaki experience. I'm already looking forward to returning for brunch and Taco Tuesday - this place is truly...