VOX Kitchen & Bar - South Coast Plaza — Restaurant in Costa Mesa

OK, ok.... The place was awesome, with great service and an awesome location at South Coast Plaza. However the food is good, not great but good.

The seafood ceviche is ok, I understand that it's a fusion pan-asian cuisine, but it's inspired by Peruvian-Chinese cuisine. Having that said, when I think of Ceviche, I think of thinly sliced red onion that has been marinating in a citrus juice and also choclo, and also, this is mixed with the seafood which is delicious. Now we didn't get that at all. The Ceviche from Vox had red onion, which was NOT sliced thinly, so you can taste the bitterness of the red onion, also i am aware that they didn't add choclo but they did add some kind of corn nuts or something I am not sure. Now, in peruvian cuisine, the Citrus Marinade is VITAL to the dish. Again, we did NOT get that here. The marinade had either little or no citrus flavor at all but instead tasted very sweet.. why?? I dont know, but that did not pair well with the dish at all. The Lomo Saltado is delicious. My only complaint there is that usually you do get a bit of juice when making that Lomo. However, I didn't get that here. It was a bit more dry than usual, but overall, the Lomo is good. But my only advice is to add a bit more of that juice you get from the Lomo sauce. The Chifa Fried Rice was freaking awesome, so I'll give you that one that was very delicious. I highly recommend that dish. The Elote..... well, I like elote, but please add a bit more of the spicy mayo, I felt like there was little to no sauce on it. But I did enjoy it. 😉

Overall, the experience was great. The waitress was kind and informative. The food could be...

We tried out Vox for lunch today and was blown away by the experience. The restaurant is conveniently located right next to the stairs/elevators in the parking garage one level up. It appears like a small place with a separate bar area outside the restaurant. Once you walk in, there is also a large outdoor area which is where we decided to have lunch. The outside is the better choice since it doesn't feel as closed in. The whole restaurant has a cool and easy vibe. Our waiter was friendly and attentive with food and drinks coming out fairly quickly. Drink menu was nice for both non-alcoholic and alcoholic options. The Lychee lemonade was a hit with my lunch partners. We all shared the Elote which was a great flavorful starter. I had the picanha fried rice. The meat was incredible and the rice seasoned perfectly along with the onions and tomato. We also had the rib eye with shitake mushrooms which was also delicious. The portions are generous by the way. Overall a five star lunch no question. We went early with a reservation which I would recommend. It got packed right around 12:45ish. We can't wait to go back and try more dishes...

This Vox kitchen is located across the Ruby’s in SCP. It’s freshly decorated with plenty of wooden-style furniture with plenty of natural light in the bar and outdoor seating areas. The indoor restaurant dining area is extremely loud to the point where I would need to shout to hear, but the bar area inside the mall is much quieter. For the outdoor zone, expect to hear the noise of the road/parking lot.

For the food, if you’re a fan of LatAm flavors or popular Asian American food, this place is perfect! They’re best known for their garlic noodles and steak fries. The garlic noodles are packed with garlic flavor and don’t fall into the common pitfall of over-buttering, so even as you reach the end of your meal, the noodles won’t cool into a pebbly mess. As for the saltado fries (steak fries), everything is well-seasoned, the meat is exceptionally tender, and they pair perfectly with the aji sauce!

I tried the Cocomelon cocktail while here, and the bartender was very knowledgable about the drinks and very friendly! The waiters check on you occasionally throughout the...