Bacchus Bar and Bistro — Restaurant in Irvine

Bacchus does have a kitchen! Olives –piquillo pepper, citrus, harissa essence $4

Roasted Nuts- pecans, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, pepitas, brown sugar & spice $4

Roasted Mini Eggplants- gorgonzola and fig jam, mozzarella with capers and tomato, goat cheese and lavender honey served with a crostini $8

Grilled Shrimp Cocktail-bbq jam, cole slaw, grilled corn, basil served with crostini $12

Pork Rillette- apple mustard, port gelee, grilled fig and honey bread $9

Oven Roasted Medjool Dates- herb goat cheese, prosciutto, piave $8

Grilled Asparagus- shaved parmesan, pine nuts, sherry vinaigrette $8

Cheese plate- red and white wine friendly $14 Add prosciutto and Salami $4 each

Small Plates

Veal and Fontina Meatballs- house meat sauce, parmesan Served with crostini $11

Grilled Shrimp- roasted red potato, goat cheese, lemon, basil, caper, tomato vinaigrette $16

Flatbreads

Fresh Mozzarella- oven roasted tomato, basil, extra virgin olive oil $10

Prosciutto-red onion, fontina, gorgonzola, fig jam $11

Salami- pepperoni, mozzarella, meat sauce, red onion, red pepper $11

Grilled Shrimp- mozzarella, sun dried tomato, basil pesto, pine nuts, arugula $14

Red Potato- applewood smoked bacon, onion, rosemary, goat cheese, hen egg $12

Salads

Arugula- pickled pear, date, piave cheese, crispy prosciutto, hazelnuts, sherry vinaigrette $12

Grilled Chicken- pecans, bleu cheese, green apple, red onion, mixed greens, honey tabasco dressing $12

Shrimp- grilled zucchini, asparagus, red pepper, corn, tomato, avocado, romaine, roasted sweet onion vinaigrette $14

Heirloom Tomato- buratta cheese, basil, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic reduction $12

Salami- pepperoni, chicken, mozzarella, tomato, pickled peppers, basil, romaine, red wine vinaigrette $11

Sandwiches

Grilled Chicken- basil pesto, oven roasted tomato, mozzarella, ciabatta roll, kettle chips $12

Cola Braised Pork- house bbq jam, cole slaw, ciabatta roll, kettle chips $12

Soft Shell Crab- open faced, applewood smoked bacon, heirloom tomato, grilled corn, basil, arugula, red pepper aioli, grilled country bread $14

Grilled Vegetable- zucchini, eggplant, red pepper, tomato, herbed goat cheese, ciabatta roll, kettle chips $11

Add-Ons

Garlic toast $1 Kettle chips $2 Mixed greens $3 Chicken $4 Shrimp $7

Desserts Seven Layer Chocolate Cake- blackberries, hazelnuts $7

Butterscotch pot de crème- whipped cream, palmiers $7

Raspberry pistachio cake- fresh raspberries, pistachio $7

Strawberry shortcake- honey, whipped cream $7

Sweets...

Shredded Beef Tacos work well with the pickled red onion and spicy jalapeno flavor. The beef needs to be seasoned a bit more to bring out the natural beef flavor. Rating: 2.8/5

Carnitas Tacos have a great flavor with porky goodness shining through. The cojita cheese matches well with a salty cheese flavor. Rating: 4.3/5

Fish Tacos has a generous portion of fish. Spicy and sweet flavors are balanced and match with the fish. Rating: 3.8/5

Warm Roasted Brussels Sprouts served with Chinese sausage (lap xiong), shishito peppers, fried garlic, and sesame ponzu. The brussels sprouts are roasted to sweet perfection. The lap xiong adds a sweet porky flavor. Along with the ponzu and shishito peppers, the flavor profile is very Asian. For presentation, it would be nice to have the shishito peppers raw for a contrasting bright green color as the brussels sprouts lose their color due to the roasting process. Rating: 4.3/5

Glazed Pork Belly Tacos are glazed with a sweet soy reduction and topped with kimchi salsa and cabbage. Unfortunately, the glaze and kimchi salsa overpowers the pork flavor. The tortilla, on the other hand, has a hearty roasted corn flavor. Braising the pork belly with non-sweet soy marinade would push the flavor forward plus make for more tender pieces of pork. It would balance out with the spicy and somewhat sweet kimchi. Rating: 2.1/5

Lamb Burger topped with goat cheese, roasted tomato, pickled red onions, cucumber, and lemon tahini yogurt atop an egg bun. The presentation is very interesting. It looks like a giant lamb meatball inside a huge brioche bun. It would be better with a smaller bun for a tall burger or making the burger patty flatter to fit the brioche bun. Also, lamb needs to be seasoned a bit to bring out the true natural lamb flavor. Rating: 3/5

Chocolate Bread Pudding topped with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. The bread pudding has a firm texture and chocolate aroma. You can see the chocolate chips/chunks inside but the chocolate flavor seems to be muted. The chocolate drizzle is nice but a chocolate ganache would be better. Also, vanilla bean ice cream would be better than whipped cream as it would create a natural crème anglais sauce as it melts on the warm bread...

Cool place for a random spot. Drinks are normal and constructed to specks, the owners drink on the floor while they schmooze, and if you don't have a reservation prepare to wait 2 1/2 hours+. A lot of the reviews are made by those who got schmoozed, got paid, or just don't know any better. Am I cranky about my experience? Yes, that's what these are for. I came for a good experience and I knew there would be a wait. However, there is a percentage of acceptance between ambiance, time, food, and cost. The size of the area is about 10X10. The food was great gota have the skewers, what that being said be prepaired to pay full meal price for A sausage or the corn cheese dish with cold deep fried chips. Time to wait, completely unacceptable. You have over an hour and a half of wait time? "We're sorry, we can't accept you to wait. The would be to great", boom done (We put our name in 7:30 didn't get seated till 9:45). The cost? About $15 per item. So Drink, a food choice, and appetizer $45.00. Finally the "ambiance". Yes it is looks woodsy with a camp feel and cute decor. The issue is you get a 6 inch lip to eat off of and a stool to sit if you not lucky enough one of the 2 tables, or the kiddie sized tables in the middle. Over all stop by and take a look in and go somewhere else. Hope this helps save some ones...