California Pizza Kitchen — Restaurant in Irvine

First off, when we got there, the girl at the front obviously was not having a great day. Didn't smile once or welcome us in. After waiting in line to check in, she said it wasn't busy and wouldn't put down names despite the fact there were at least 5 groups of us standing around waiting. Anyway, after a bit, I asked if the bar was open seating. She said it was, and we could go over. (Would have been nice to know rather than just standing around). Walked over, and we sat at the bar. It was clean and open. The bartender, Blanca, welcomed us and got us menus. She was a delight. It was obvious she was busy, but she always checked up on us and made sure we were happy. I ordered the Shrimp Scampi Zucchini. When reading the description, it sounded like it was mostly zucchini. However, it was mostly noodles with zucchini "curls." It was very watery and desperately needed salt and pepper. Blanca was very helpful and got cracked pepper and more parmesan cheese to help kick up the flavor. My husband had the WCB burger (I think that's the name?) and said it was delicious. The only issue was the bun fell apart. He told me he thinks it would have held up better if the buns had been toasted first. Our drinks were delicious, so there are no complaints. One issue - a manager, I believe named L.A., was on his lunch break sitting at the bar. He was so inappropriate. He sat next to another coworker who was off work. The entire time he was eating, he was bothering this lovely woman. She was on her phone and purposefully was not looking at him while he kept bothering her. He was making racially inappropriate voices and trying to get in her face. He was holding food at her and was making donkey sounds, then saying things in Spanish to try and, idk, flirt? Be funny? It was wildly inappropriate. When he got up and walked off, she looked at me with that look many, if not all women know. No words needed to be spoken between us. We both shook our heads. I felt bad for her because I've been harassed at work before by management, and there is a helplessness that comes with working under your harasser. I hope she is able to go to someone to report him. The place was clean, the food was ok. The drinks were bomb!...

Met up with a few friends after work to have dinner and a few drinks to help the week pass by a little faster. Everyone needs that mid-week pick me up, right? We were seated in a booth and our server was quick to take our orders, but also give us plenty of time to look over the menu.

We started with drinks - California Crush, Red Sangria and White Sangria. Our server, Mario, was very helpful through suggestions and helped us narrow down our options. We had so many questions (mostly just being indecisive on which one is better) and he answered with a smile through them all.

For food, we decided to start with white corn guacamole & chips. For our dinner, our table got the Brussels & Bacon (well-done) flatbread sans the carmelized onions, Asparagus & Arugula Salad, Mushroom & Spinach flatbread, and Penne Pasta with chicken. Mario came by to check on us every so often, making sure our satisfaction levels were over the moon, pretty much.

To end the evening, we got the salted caramel pudding. After 10 minutes of conversation at the table, the dessert never made an appearance. Mario came by to check on us and personally made sure the dessert was brought right out. To apologize for the long wait, he comp'd it, which took us by surprise. Service is surely on another level since the new renovations. I like!

Since one friend had to leave for the evening, the two of us stuck around for another round of drinks at the bar. To our delight, late night happy hour was just about to start! We ordered the Agave margarita (recommended by bartender as the best) and California Roots (super refreshing cocktail with avocado).

Although the weeknight was pretty crazy, it began to slow down by around 9:30 and we got to chat it up with the bartenders about whiskey, bourbon and best things on the menu. Somehow, we got around to decorating a few people's name tags, lol! Thanks for putting up with us barside,...

We visited California Pizza Kitchen on Saturday, July 12th, around 9:30 p.m., and the entire experience was deeply disappointing.

We arrived as a party of four and saw that at least 25% of the tables were empty. Despite that, the host told us there would be a 30-minute wait. After about 40 minutes, they tried to seat us at a high-top table—one of those tall bar-style tables with stools. These are usually meant for drinks or small parties, not a dinner group. I pointed out several standard empty tables, but the staff simply said “no” without any reason. The lack of courtesy and respect was obvious.

When we were finally seated, it only got worse. The waitress (an Asian lady) brought us water without ice, saying the ice machine was broken. Then she placed four dirty, used plates and utensils on our table—without even checking them. My husband asked, “Is your dishwasher broken too?” because the items were visibly stained. There was no apology from her or any manager, and we had to ask for clean replacements. The waitress had a poor attitude and seemed uninterested in basic customer service.

A few hours after the meal, my husband developed a stomach flu and is still recovering. While we can't say for certain that the restaurant was the cause, the timing is suspicious and troubling—especially given the lack of hygiene we experienced.

When the front of the house is this careless, it makes you wonder what’s happening behind the scenes. As customers, we need to be cautious. Cleanliness, professionalism, and food safety should be non-negotiable. Sadly, CPK failed to meet even the most basic expectations, and we won’t...