Poached Neighborhood Kitchen — Restaurant in Irvine

Nestled in the heart of Irvine, Poached Neighborhood Kitchen promises a delightful dining experience with its enticing name. However, my recent visit left me feeling as scrambled as their eggs Benedict. Instead of the anticipated creamy avocado, I was greeted by the presence of guacamole on my toast. While it's a clever twist, it left my taste buds longing for the simplicity of a perfectly ripe avocado. Alas, the avocado toast itself was rather underwhelming. Perhaps they were trying to redefine the classic, but sometimes, simplicity is key. Their hashbrowns were little crispy wonders truly stole the spotlight. With a tantalizingly crunchy crust and a heavenly mashed potato texture inside, they were a delightful surprise. If you're a fan of these golden-brown delights, consider ordering a side of hashbrowns to make your meal a winner.

Moving on to the fishy situation, the salmon seemed to have taken its aquatic theme a bit too seriously. As I took a bite, it seemed like the salmon was trying to remind me of its origins. While it's understandable that fish should taste like, well, fish, I was hoping for a more delicate and refined flavor profile. But hey, at least it made me appreciate the wonders of a good tartar sauce!

They certainly know how to spark curiosity and keep you guessing about what's on your plate. Adventurous eaters might find themselves delighted by the unexpected surprises that lie in wait. In terms of presentation, Poached Neighborhood Kitchen definitely deserves a round of applause. The dishes are beautifully arranged, enticing both the eyes and the camera lens. They know how to make your Instagram followers drool with envy!

On a positive note, the staff at Poached Neighborhood Kitchen were incredibly friendly and welcoming. Their warm smiles and attentive service added a touch of sunshine to the dining experience, making the bumpy culinary ride a little more bearable. Poached Neighborhood Kitchen is an interesting spot with a few hits and a few misses. If you're up for an adventurous gastronomic journey and don't mind some unexpected twists along the way, give it a try. Just be prepared for the unexpected and keep your taste buds...

I came in here with my boyfriend feeling excited to try this place out due to its reviews. I walked in already feeling a bad wave of energy with the host up in the front. After we placed our orders, the host informed us that we could sit anywhere we liked and that it was self-seating. Nobody bothered to check up on us and one of the servers rudely told us to move from a 4-seat table to a 2-seat table when we had already been served with water and utensils meaning we had to move all the stuff on our own to another table. The server could’ve told us to move politely with a bit of mannerism but no she came in telling us to move so suddenly. The food here was okay the salmon tasted somewhat bad and it had discoloration. I got a side of hash browns expecting it to be crispy but no they taste like mashed potato at this point just change the hash brown menu to mashed potatoes. This place made me realize that not all places with 4-star ratings are too good to be true. Just because you have a 4.5 rating on Yelp doesn’t mean that you guys take your service seriously and have a top-notch service. We didn’t ignore what the host said because we heard her state that self-seating is anywhere she didn’t mention anything about 4 tables reserved for 3 or more people. If you did want to implement these rules for guests then you should’ve put a sign instead so people are aware. The server did not approach us politely with mannerisms. I’m writing this all my honest opinion because this place could’ve done a better job with their service. This was a very detailed and honest review you guys can defend your guys store all you want but I’m writing this from the experience that I had when I was here. Again service is horrible everyone working here looked like they were dreading working here. Have some upbeat character in your servers and strive to have a top-notch...

Came here for the first time with a group of 8. We were greeted by a snarky hostess when we checked in - she acted annoyed that we were early for our reservation. When she called us in, we waited to be seated as she spoke to others in line - it was our first time here, so we didn't know to just walk in. When she saw us waiting she was (again) annoyed and told us that we were supposed to go straight in.

When we got inside the person taking our order was very kind & patient, the servers were all polite and attentive. Food was good and everything came out correct & as ordered.

As we finished our meal and were talking the same hostess from earlier came up to our table and said that we only had an hour & a half allotted and we were already 15 min past our time and that they couldn't have us there any more....basically kicking us out.

We were busy talking so we weren't tracking our time, but I thought her delivery was really rude and matter of fact considering we were paying customers.

I'm sure she felt like she did nothing wrong but none of us plan on returning and won't be recommending this place to anyone we know based on the interaction with her alone. Its too bad because their waffles were delicious, but spending time and money to go out happens less frequently for me nowadays, so I'd like to spend both in a place that appreciates my business and has basic customer service skills when speaking...