Ironwood — Restaurant in Laguna Hills

10/13/23 Had a wonderful dinner at Ironwood Cellar. Brooke was our server for the first part of our dining experience, and as they got busier, Art took our table. Both servers were excellent. We started with drinks, and my wife had the wedge, and I had the butternut squash soup. Both were excellent. The ambiance in the outdoor patio was fantastic. For our entrees, my wife had the halibut entree, and I had the filet mignon. The filet was presented and prepared to perfection. My wife's halibut was a nice cut of fish yet not as hot as she likes her food served. Overall, our dining experience was very nice. Highly recommended.

9/3/23 It's always a winning dining experience. Ironwood Cellars deliverer once again with stellar service, good food, drinks, and a very pleasant ambiance. We were welcomed by the wonderful hostess and taken to a lovely booth, just perfect for an evening out with my wife. Art was our server extraordinare, and his hospitality, menu knowledgeable and overall kindness were so appreciated. We ordered a few tequilla drinks, which were perfect and quite refreshing. We also both ordered the tomato bisque soup, which was brought to us by Brooklyn, another wonderful person who showed professional kindness as exuded positivity. For our entrees, I ordered their signature giant meatball with spinach noodles, and my wife had the halibut entree. Chris, the manager, came by to see how the meals were and was such an awesome host during the evening. After dinner, Chris sent us a very tasty creme brulee with strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. It was so good. The coffee was terrific as well. We just love this establishment, and the staff are simply the best and most wonderful to chat with. Highly recommended.

8/9/23 We had a wonderful dining experience and evening at Ironwood Cellars. Michal (Mehow) was our fantastic server and was truly professional, courteous, and helpful. We started with tequilla drinks and the special broccoli cheese soup. The bartender makes fantastic drinks, and the service from all staff members is stellar. My wife had her favorite Halibut entree, and I had the filet mignon entree. Both dishes were prepared perfectly and presented quite nicely. Highly recommended.

6/3/2023 Had a nice dining experience at Ironwood last evening. The corn soup was very good as an appetizer, and we also had drinks and artesian bread. Rebeka was our server, and we could tell she was managing many tables as service was a bit less attentive than the norm. Her service was good and matter of fact. The halibut entrees were very good as my wife and I ordered the same dish and loved it. For dessert, we shared the oatmeal raisin crumble. Oh, so good. Recommended. 3/6/2023 What an amazing dinner. My wife and I decided to grab dinner tonight, realizing it was OC restaurant week. Once seated, we were greeted by Alex, our server extraordinare, who immediately made us feel at home while taking our drink order. Alex returned after a few minutes and asked if we would like to order some food and explained the restaurant week specials as well as answered questions about specific items on the menu. We were very impressed with Alex's customer service and demeanor, which was top shelf. My wife ordered the tomato bisque soup as an appetizer and the Halibut entree for the main course, and I ordered the soup as well as the short rib entree. Both meals were 5 - star amazing, and we will surely be back to enjoy more this week. We ordered the giant meatball entree to go, and it somehow was missed in the to go bag, so upon returning home, my wife noticed the missing meatball, so I called the restaurant. Chris answered the phone, and after I explained we had just dined there and Alex was our server, Chris immediately referenced the meatball. Without hesitation, Chris asked for my address and said he would bring it by in about 10 minutes. Simply amazing customer service. This restaurant, the staff, food, service, and ambiance is stellar, and we are ever so appreciative. Highly...

4/18/23, This was the 1st time for a good friend and I to visit Ironwood. We get together monthly for drinks and fine dining and we'd had a single malt scotch sampling at my place prior (18, 20 & 22 yr old)

I've lived in mission viejo for 6 years and recently started expanding my dining options. This will become a new regular for dining.

We both got the Rib Eye medium rare (it was a little closer to warm center rare but not enough to send it back) one bite and we were hooked. It was a nicely marbled, very...VERY flavorful and tender cut.

Did I mention that it was a large steak? (View picture)

We also got the smashed fingerling potatoes(exceptionally tasty, crispy outside and creamy inside and seasoned perfectly... they're like the best potato skins you've ever had... smashed!), the steamed vegetables kept up with great taste, aldente and nicely seasoned also the spaetzle.

I look forward to sampling other options on the menu and expect to be equally pleased. I see why this cosy (but not cramped) restaurant has a 4.7 rating, which got my attention.

BTW, the portions are very generous. Usually people take pics of their plate but you can't really gauge size... so mine gives my extra large hand for perspective. I hope you have as filling of an experience as we did. Best regards and happy eating.

UPDATE: 6/18/2023. Since my first review I have returned three more times and found the food, the service and the atmosphere still equal to my original review... However, there now seems to be the need for me to add a caveat about the change in their food selection.

On my 4th trip, last evening, I took my brother so that both of us could celebrate Father's Day with, of course, the ribeye steak... only to find it is no longer on the menu!!! It was "Available as a Chef's Choice" for the evening... however, I was informed that they will no longer offer the ribeye... sometime in the near future. Considering how many rave 5 star reviews this dish has received it's a puzzlement a to why they'd Sabotage future business and alienate existing customers. I'll be returning, but calling first to verify menu options. BTW, I reduced my 5 star service rating to reflect the restaurant menu change(wait staff is excellent: 5 stars)

3/8 YEA!!! RIBEYE IS BACK A dinner...

Food: Overall Decent with a caveat.

We ordered three appetizers. Oysters on a half shell were good. Baked skillet of mac and cheese was very good. Buratta alla panna had good flavor with a wonderfully toasted bread.

Our entrees were hit and miss. Wild Caught Alaskan Halibut had amazing flavor. We ordered two dishes, one came in very thick and decent portion while the 2nd dish came in thin and visibly much smaller. Recommended but watch out for unusual portion disparity. The Pan Roasted salmon had good taste. Unfortunately the mushrooms on the plate were not good. Three of us sampled it and we all did not like it. It made one of us very nauseous. The Wagyu Beef burger was very good. It was gobbled up along with some amazing fries. Recommended! RibEye steak was good only after it had to be recooked. Make sure to request one level higher. If you like medium plus, order medium well, and so on. It was super bloody for medium plus and even after we asked them to cook it, it was still pretty bloody. Good flavor.

Desert: Since we had to leave early (due to nauseous mushroom experience), we did not want to stay. However they were kind to give our birthday girl an oatmeal raisin cookie crumble. It was pretty good. U

Service: It was good but could have been much better. I had hoped they pay more attention to their birthday guest. She was clearly not happy with her entree after eating the mushroom. She didn't touch much on her plate. I think if there was any care given rather than brushing off her poor experience, I may have given them a higher rating. Perhaps if a manager had come by and asked a simple, how is your meal? They could have improved the experience.

Value: I believe we just had some bad luck with the food but the servers should have been more attentive. I even said to one of the servers/hostess she wasn't feeling well after eating the mushroom. Not much was done and no care was given. We are going to pass on this place for...