Wood Ranch — Restaurant in Irvine

My final night in O.C. and my cousin and I came here for dinner. The mall was bustling with activity. Despite that, there was no waiting. We sat and ordered drinks. My cousin wanted a S. Pellegrino. They were sold out. She then ordered a gin & tonic ($11.50). I was fine with water and a root beer ($4.50) since I was the driver. My meal started with the Tri Tip Mushroom Soup ($8.95). It is really good. Tender pieces of beef, big slices of mushrooms, and a broth that’s more like a stew’s gravy. My cousin’s entree was their Salmon with grilled asparagus ($27.95 + $1.50). I went with the 7oz Tri Tipped BBQ ($24.95). When asked how I wanted it I said medium-rare. While waiting for our entrees they brought bread to the table. It’s unique sweet bread that’s served warmed and had a buttery texture. Our entrees came. My cousin enjoyed her salmon and asparagus. I on the other hand was not so pleased. My first cut into the beef revealed it was not cooked to order. To be sure I cut directly in the middle. It was medium, and on the way to being done well. We called the server over, showed her it was beyond medium-rare, and then came the excuse that it’s going to be medium due to their precooking them the night before. Please get the manager I requested. Begin the long discussion of why they can’t prepare the beef to medium-rare. Not happy. I am disappointed, and troubled that they can’t cook the steak to medium-rare. If you know this, be honest and up front in telling your customers this fact. Had I known, I would have ordered a different cut of beef cooked the way I want. The manager comped dessert in an attempt to smooth things over; but that doesn’t change the fact that they were not honest about the Tri Tip beef. I’ll be back in town. If ever I’m looking for a place to have steak, this will not be the first places to consider. If you dine here, be warned. If they weren’t honest with me, they may not be honest with you. I’ve had amazing experiences elsewhere where I didn’t even have to ask. They had observed my steak was overcooked, and immediately fired up a new steak. That’s what I call outstanding service. My check after tax and comped dessert...

I would like to begin this review by stating that the four stars rating I've given is not representative of my generalized opinion of the establishment, nor the overall dining experience; were I not equally amused and bewildered by the management staff this review would be a staunch three stars. However, I absolutely must mention my experience with the managing staff.

Attempting not to wax loquaciously I'll jump straight to the delivery of our food, which was curiously missing the buffalo wing appetizer we had ordered. It was not our original waiter who delivered the food, and we weren't in a rush to receive the appetizer though we did mention its lack thereof. Now, this is where it gets interesting as we only asked that the appetizer be delivered to us at some point.

The manager of the establishment approached us, though it felt out of place it was appreciated, and apologized for the lack of the appetizer and told us he would take it off the bill. Unnecessarily, he mentioned that the waiter thought we had told him to remove it from the bill and that made the situation tense having had words put into my mouth that were never stated. Nonetheless we were grateful, and expressed our gratitude thusly.

To put the cherry on top of a strange experience the manager returned multiple times with further zeal for customer service, a zeal that was welcomed if not a bit awkward. At the conclusion of our meal, and the fourth time he checked in on us, he offered a free dessert and we were obliged to accept. Our son really enjoyed it.

The wonderful customer service would be reason enough for us to return here, but the cuisine is lacking. Thirty dollars for a small New York Strip that ended up being slightly overcooked and so tough their dull steak knives had me white-knuckling to the point of near-soreness. I'm not a big fan of BBQ joints to begin with, and to have such an awful experience with price to quality ratio left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

I may return with friends who enjoy BBQ because I enjoyed the ambiance and customer service, but I won't be returning to dine for...

My husband and I were visiting my family in Southern California and what does everything in SoCal revolve around – a mall. It can be either an indoor mall or an outdoor shopping center…regardless it’s a mall. It was Friday night and we met at Irvine Spectrum to dine at Wood Ranch – one of my family’s favourite restaurants. Like many other restaurants in malls, I was very skeptical AND I’m a food snob. But I was proven wrong at Wood Ranch.

Food: My brother told us that you can’t go wrong with either the baby back ribs or the tri tip so we ordered both. I first ordered the St. Louis ribs which I didn’t like because they were dry and hard to cut. I sent them back and ordered the baby back ribs which they swapped out and those were delicious. The baby back ribs were how ribs are supposed to taste. They were very tender and the meat fell off the bone. My husband’s trip tip was not only big in size but also really flavourful and tender as well. Everyone else in my family also ordered the tri tip. All of the sides we ordered from green beans, french fries, white corn, baked potato, broccoli and mac and cheese were all average.

Just a note: The BBQ sauce they have the on tables was very addictive and their garlic bread is yummy. It comes out warm and soft.

Drinks: Everyone ordered either soft drinks or the strawberry lemonade which was fresh and flavour. My niece being four ordered a chocolate milk. Just a heads up that the size of the soft drinks are enormous!

Price: 175.86 USD for six people and one child which was incredibly reasonable.

Ambiance: It’s a big space with outdoor seating. There’s not an ambiance, but it’s a large friendly feeling restaurant.

Service: Carlos our server was efficient, friendly, accommodating and awesome.

Would I go back? Yes. I would definitely go back with the family. Just a tip: Go early especially on the weekend because it gets...