Hanna's — Restaurant in Rancho Santa Margarita

3/6/2024 Had a wonderful lunch at Hanna's yesterday. The hostess was so nice and seated us at a nice cozy booth. Our server Zach was superb. Zach was thorough, kind, professional, and precise. We started with drinks and a cup of their amazing filet mignon soup. My wife ordered the organic chicken tacos, and I had the crunchy chicken salad. We also saw other amazing servers, and they stopped by to say hello. This restaurant is one of our favorites, and the staff here makes a huge difference as they are all kind and love people, and the food and drinks are stellar. Highly recommended.

2/17/2014 What a lovely day and dining experience at Hanna's Restaurant in RSM. My wife and I stopped by for an early dinner and were seated by the lovely hostess immediately. Kimberly was our server and was simply magnificent. Kimberly's customer service and professionalism was stellar, and what a kind person. We started with drinks and both decided to try the filet mignon chili cup, which was phenomenal. The texture, taste, and temperature were simply perfect. For an entree, my wife decided on the sea bass tacos, and I had the crunchy chicken salad. Both meals were prepared and presented very nicely, and the gentleman who delivered the food was not only professional but also was very positive and had an enlightening personality. The staff at Hanna's are all wonderful, and you can tell love what they do and love people. The meal and dining experience were incredible. This is on our top three list of restaurants in the area. Highly recommended. 1/29/2024 Stopped in for dinner this evening at Hanna's in RSM. We sat at the bartop, and both Terra and Laura helped us out. Both are amazing servers. The ambiance was positive and cheery. We started with drinks, and my wife ordered the grilled fish tacos while I opted for the crunchy chicken salad. We had a nice time talking about our weekend and monthly plans as well as the upcoming Valentines Day Dinner. Life is good, and we enjoy every chance we have to unwind and savor great food, people, and surroundings. Highly recommended.

1/13/2024 What a fantastic evening at Hanna's in RSM. We had reservations for 5:30 pm but decided to sit at the bar. The place was hopping, and the ambiance had a positive vibe. We started with Drinks and Alec our bartender and server did a great job with my wife's Don Julio Blanco, club soda, three limes muddled and mint and of course a generous pour of my Austin Hope red wine. The place was packed, and we so enjoyed chatting with fellow bar patrons. Alec took our food order, and my wife had two grilled fish tacos with a Caesar salad, and I had the Sea Bass entree with mushroom risotto and sautéed spinach. Oh, so good. After a few drinks, we finished the evening with Gelato and a cup of coffee. What a great meal and awesome night. Great people, food, and service! Highly recommended.

11/17/23 Had a wonderful lunch today at Hanna's in RSM. We were seated at a high top in the bar area and immediately greeted by Allie. Allie had a wonderful smile and a welcoming personality and was quite attentive. Allie took our drink orders and also two cups of their amazing butternut squash soup. Once we finished our delicious soup, Allie took our entree orders. My wife had grilled fish tacos, and I had the crunchy chicken salad. Both entrees were scrumptious, and we enjoyed our time, the food, service, and ambiance. Highly recommended.

10/28/2023 We had a wonderful dining experience this evening at Hanna's in RSM. The hostess was wonderful and seated us at a nice table in the covered and enclosed outdoor patio. Ryan was our server extraordinare, and what a wonderful and positive personality. We started with drinks and each thoroughly enjoyed a cup of butternut squash soup, which was splendid, so tasty. My wife and I both ordered the crab stuffed sole over risotto. The meal was amazing, and the service off the charts and ambiance quite positive and pleasant. Highly...

I had the occasion to take my wife and her mother to dinner tonight. My wife, Kari, requested Hanna's. I was elated as it is not only one of our favorite restaurants, but unquestionably one of the finest in Orange County. Fortunately, you don't have to take my word for it - food critics from every corner agree - Hanna's is clearly a five star dining delight.

We were seated in the new, smartly appointed Wine Room. It's ideal for wine lovers and those desiring something unique and sophisticated, yet relaxed and unpretentious.

After being seated, much to our surprise, we discovered that the night we chose to dine with Hanna's was "Wine Wednesdays" - every glass of wine was 50% off. Makes one want to get out more often midweek...

Hanna's has undeniably one of the most extensive wine lists I've ever seen. What makes the selection process a joy, however, is that not only will the owner, David, help you best define what you're looking for, he'll leave you with an iPad where you can stroll the vineyards of the world until you find what didn't know you were craving.

The ladies chose a lovely Sauvignon Blanc with a tinge of grapefruit. I selected my fave; a Malbec. Just in case you've not enjoyed a glass of Malbec before, it's a deep ruby-purple color, is well balanced, with exquisite aromas of black berries, ripe plum and "robust" spices. My selection had a hint of wood smoke and coffee. Unusual but savory, and a perfect choice for fall.

With wine poured and the restaurant bustling, we began the challenging ordeal of mulling over Hanna's capacious menu. The first thing we noticed was a new fall bill of fare. Hanna's is already one of those places where you want to order one of everything you see, but this new fall menu made the choosing even more excruciatingly pleasant then ever.

For our salad we could not resist the Not So Proper House. It's a delectable mixture of whole leaf santa maria, goat cheese, candied pecans, local strawberries and raspberries, with white balsamic vinaigrette. It has become one for my favorite salads of all time. If you're light eater, you may want to consider either splitting or ordering half. Because the service at Hanna's slightly eclipses their food, if you need something special, they are genuinely delighted to make it happen. As to our salads, we enjoyed every morsel. Unfortunately, we didn't leave much room for diner - or so we thought.

While the ladies were tempted by the Salmon and Wild Pacific Seabass, I could not keep my eyes off the delectable pork chop served earlier at the next table. I am sorry I did not write down the specifics of Hanna's new seasonal Pork Chop but, suffice it to say, it was a liberal portion and ever so scrumptious. The presentation alone was enough to satisfy me. As full as I was from my salad, I somehow found room to relish every bite. Even my wife and mother-in-law smiled heartily before their empty plates.

After paying our bill and saying goodnight to the staff, who always feel more like friends, Kari's mother and I walked arm in arm along the walkway. As we strolled, she thanked me for an extraordinary evening, then stopped to tell me how much she missed her recently passed husband of 65 years (Kari's father). Then with a wistful look of longing, she said to me in a soft voice, "He would have really enjoyed tonight..."

I tell you folks, it doesn't get much better than that.

I am already looking forward to out next dining...

Over-priced bar food under the name “steakhouse.”

Let me first share a quote from the website:

It has often been said that a true fine dining experience represents a work of art; from the skill of creativity and execution of technique, to the quality of ingredients used and precision of presentation. At Hanna’s, we have made it our philosophy and passion to master the art of perfection in every single dish we create.

Based on the website information, menu, reviews, and price range shown, we expected a high quality meal. Upon walking in, the bar is right in the front and excessively loud. The appetizer was good, but lacking in calamari and filled with peppers (you expect a dish called fried calamari to be at least 80% calamari and the rest whatever additions for flair, but it was about 60/40 with 60 being the peppers and filler lettuce). What we ate was tasty, but we were not happy about the price and what was given. My husband ordered a short rib sandwich, and he was the clear winner of the night. Since I would call Hannah’s a pub, he got the right style food, for a good price, and really enjoyed it. I ordered a steak (surprise, because we searched for a local steakhouse!), and asked if my filet could be done Pittsburgh rare, to which I was told “yes.” Our plates came out, and my plate was extremely hot, which made my nervous. I cut into my steak, and surely enough, it was solidly medium/medium rare. I asked for a new steak, and that came out also in an exceptionally hot plate. While it was an improvement, it was barely traditional rare (definitely not what I ordered). I had to put my steak on a side dish to keep it from cooking further in the crazy hot plate it was served in. I am confused at the website’s about section and designation of a steakhouse with an inability to cook steak correctly, and I have no idea who thought it appropriate to heat the plates. We got jalapeño potato au gratin for a side, and it was… interesting. Rather than a cheese SAUCE, it was an excessive amount of cheese melted over sliced potatoes. I ate this while waiting for my second steak, and it had nice heat from the peppers, but it was not au gratin and it was certainly not fine dining quality. We were given a dessert on the house to make up for the steak issue, though a 52 dollar average quality steak for a 14 dollar dessert is a little bit shrug. Still, I was happy enough to get some chocolate lava cake with espresso ice cream. The cake was shockingly tasteless, except for the chocolate syrup on the top. The ice cream had a decent espresso flavor, but was very diluted/watery/ tasting and very icy. Additionally, the wine was very overpriced.

Here are individual ratings: Fried calamari: 2/5 Short rib sandwich: 5/5 6oz filet mignon: 1/5 Chocolate lava cake:1/5 Waitress: 5/5 Atmosphere: 1/5

TLDR: we spent a ton of money at a steakhouse that can’t cook steak correctly and I feel like we...