Onotria Wine Country Cuisine — Restaurant in Costa Mesa

Quaint interior, white tablecloths, the polished beamed ceilings - so beautiful and relaxing. I really liked that there is greenery in front of the windows so that you're not really aware that you're on Bristol between two freeways. Our server was attentive but not intrusive. BAKED-TO-ORDER fresh, crusty bread! We took the suggestions of our server for our salad and entrée - ordered the spinach salad, which had pear, almonds and was appropriately dressed with a passion fruit vinaigrette. So yummy! The chef's special, seafood crêpes, was delicious! (I was surprised, crêpes at an Italian restaurant.) The spicy tomato cream sauce was a bit heavy, overpowering the shrimp and escargot filling, which was delicious, when you could taste it. (That's why only 4 stars.) We had a pinot noir style Italian wine which I LOVED because it was drier than the typical pinot noir. It was perfect with our meal. Totally enjoyed our experience. It's on our return list.

*CLOSED iDK if this is temporary due to the construction or permanent. Too bad, it was...

I'll try to keep short. I've been here before for lunch and it was ok. This visit on 2/19/13 was the last. Our blonde waitress was very friendly and provided great service. The food was very good. The restaurant as a whole was a disappointment. The purpose of opening your business to Groupon is to gain more customers for the future so your business thrives from returnees. I feel like this restaurant just participated for the cash flow. The snobiness of the waiters and staff was nauseating. To watch a customer mock people using Groupons and then have one of the lead waiters/managers chime in and agree was distasteful. All Groupon users were squeezed into a 90 square ft. "bar area" with 5-6 tables of 2 and maybe 8 chairs at the bar when the rest of the restaurant had empty tables waiting to be filled. That said, the sad 3 flights of merely 2 ounces of wine/glass was a joke - I could have bought a jug of wine for a quarter of that price! Would definitely...

Not certain what took us so long to come to Onotria--we've driven by hundreds of times over the years! And now, it certainly won't be the last time for us! The atmosphere, service, food options, preparation, and taste were all just as we would have hoped for the Italian experience we expected! Chef Massimo presented our appetizers table-side giving instructions in which order they should be eaten! And they were perfect!!! We are looking forward to bringing a group of friends for the upcoming tasting &...