Rancho Capistrano Winery — Restaurant in Ladera Ranch

This is for the Ladera Ranch location...Ok so what an evening!!! One of the worst, and weirdest experiences dining we have ever had. We stopped in on a Sunday early so it was fairly light in crowd. The restaurant itself is actually pretty with a nice covered outdoor area. The staff that sat us was personable enough and semi-attentive so all a plus.

Here's where things go off the rails. First off, my wife ordered the St. Patricks Day special corn beef with cabbage. She said it was good actually , but the cabbage was just a quarter head raw sat on the plate which she felt was a bit weird. I ordered the Beef Rago short rib. Generic and way to heavy with an acidic or vinegar taste. Thus the food gets a C plus.

Now the the drinks.. apparently this is a beer and wine only location which is fine. BUT, me and my wife each order off the specialty cocktail menu. I ordered the "Power Nap" with the listed ingredients being "Vodka, Baileys, coffee, cream etc." When the drink came , it seemed way watered down and weak. I was going to chalk it up to just a poor bartender or a light pour and not say anything. Then the waitress who was working bar came around asking for round two. I asked what was on their bourbon list and she said they were only a beer and wine bar. I inquired if they were only beer and wine, how is there was "vodka" in my drink and "tequila" in my wife's cocktail. She informed us they use Soju which is a lesser ABV and thus within their licensing. Ok.. fair enough. I asked then how is it the menu says Vodka and Tequila. Her response was they are the same and their bottle even says vodka I explained they aren't even close and in fact seems a bit like a bait and switch for 17$ drinks. She finally agreed that they aren't the same spirit, but the bottle said vodka so therefore they are the same( I think she likely meant the bottle said tequila infused , or flavored) BUT THEY ARE TOTALLY DIFFERENT LIQUORS. I told her that explains why my drink tasted off and she said she's not had any complaints. About this time, the 17 year old kid sitting in the booth next to us who overheard the discussion said "hey, it says in small print on the bottom that all drinks are poured with Soju". I suppose that's the piece that allows them to wiggle out of what is nothing but false advertising. We sure didn't see it. I told the bartender, "why don't your owners simply change the ingredients on the menu to reflect accurately and clearly what are in the drinks. " her response is yeah I get it, I'll talk to them. Amazing. Then when we were leaving it dawned on me that Baileys was a spirit as well. I looked at the bar as we exited, sure enough no Bailey's, only Torani Baileys flavored syrup. My family has been in the bar business for years and that level of lack of training by bar staff, misrepresentation by ownership, and general confusion is simply not acceptable. I suppose the filet mignon on the menu is really only top sirloin, but hey the box said filet ..HUH.

So buyer beware. We won't be back to any of the locations which is sad as we are seeking new joints and have plenty of funds to share.

PS cost our seasoned bartender a tip so she paid for the...

I have always wanted to go to this place since it opened in our neighborhood. We finally went and thought it was a perfect way to celebrate our wedding anniversary with a romantic dinner while the sunsets. I had made reservations prior and I was specific on where to sit and was still asked by the hostess where did we want to sit. I was hoping to sit closer to the outdoor, but we thought maybe the 4 chair table is reserved for 4 people party. Later on I see 2 people sitting on the 4 chair table. =/ So we ordered the flight of wine and appetizer and it was perfect. We ordered our meal but WOW we did not imagine it would take that long to get our dinner. I had asked for my burger to be medium rare and when we got served they gave my wife my burger and hers was well done. The woman serving the food even asked us who had the medium rare. My wife always checks her burger and I was half way done with mine when she noticed and she does not like medium rare. We did not say anything since service already took so long and my wife just dealt with it. Meanwhile, the whole time between our appetizer, wine tasting, dinner, and paying we were only offered water once. I noticed another party who got there first than us had left earlier than us. I just expected service to be more constant and frequent and I have never been to a restaurant where we were only offered water once. We were super excited and we left disappointed. Its beautiful place but I think from the time of reservation to our dinner service it could have been better. Not sure if we...

UPDATE: I am changing my review from 3 stars to 1 star as I am now in the process of disputing a FRAUDULENT CHARGE from this restaurant. The day after I posted this review on Google, they added $80 to the tip on my bill. I have been advised by me credit card company to file a police report for fraud as the restaurant is unable to provide ANY evidence that I wrote $80 on the tip line of my check.

The food was absolutely delicious without fault. The seafood was moist and flavorful, the pastas and appetizers rich and savory. The service, however, left something to be desired. Despite the restaurant not being particularly busy, we had difficulty getting the attention of our waitress throughout our meal, our water glasses were constantly empty, and at the end of the evening one waiter knocked over the bottle of wine that we already paid for and did not offer to replace the spilled wine until we insisted. I understand accidents happen, but if you spill a customer's bottle of wine it should be implied that you will either replace or comp the wine that was spilled. I hope to come here again and receive better service because the food was honestly magnificent all...