Haute Cafe & Market — Restaurant in Rancho Santa Margarita

My husband and I have visited three times, each time trying new dishes to fully experience what they have to offer. We were initially drawn in by the cafe's vibrant Instagram feed, but unfortunately, we feel the dishes didn't live up to the online hype, suggesting a case of overpromising & underdelivering.

It seems there might be some discrepancies in the ratios and pairings of ingredients, which, we hope, could be an easy fix. For example, stuffing a hot quesadilla with avocado resulted in a texture that was just too mushy for our liking. Heating up avocado also notoriously brings out the bitterness of the fruit rather than the desired rich, creamy flavor. Similarly, an egg white burrito filled with noticeably watery egg whites (which can suggest the eggs might not be the freshest), cheese, tomatoes, and avocado turned out rather soggy. The first 5 bites were delicious and then it turned into something wildly unappetizing. The egg white bowl, which looked amazing in pictures, was served with an overwhelming amount of egg whites, a modest quarter cup of potatoes, a few sprinkles of kale, and too much guacamole, making it difficult to enjoy due to the disproportionate ingredients.

Additionally, the pastries didn’t seem as fresh as we hoped, and while the smoothies were tasty, they were quite sweet.

On a positive note, the coffee and matcha have been consistently excellent, and they are what would keep us coming back. Additionally, the staff has always been kind, friendly and eager to recommend dishes.

We appreciate the warm atmosphere you've created and believe there's a lot of potential. With adjustments to the consistency, ingredient pairing, and balance of your dishes, I'm confident that this cafe can truly live up to its promising portrayal online. Thank you for considering our feedback, and we look forward to seeing how...

I love the location, the ambiance and the service. But I did come for the food and now won’t be able to again. I ordered a strawberry glow and eggs Benedict and my friend got a cold brew and an avocado toast. My food was so salty that it made me think of when my child has helped me cook and over salted the meal because he didn’t know better. So I ate through the salt and hoped it was iodized and at least it would keep my thyroid healthy. Maybe? Then I broke open one of the eggs which was somehow hard boiled and very off putting. So I hid that one and the second one was done well as pictured and I enjoyed that with my salty zucchini and potato bits. My friend was carefully eating through her toast and I saw why. It’s burnt like Lucille Ricardo was in the kitchen making them and then covered with the toppings. It’s bread. Once you’ve burned it, it’s blatantly obvious. so when you cover it with toppings it seems like you’re trying to hide a problem under the rug. The strawberry glow was sweet and yummy but it tasted more like I’m drinking strawberry jam and ice cream than something truly healthy. While I really wanted to love this place and be a fan, looking at my friends toast I realized people like us who will try to eat through the complaints rather than hurt someone’s feelings need to just go somewhere else. So this review is for people like me, who read reviews hoping to find a place where everything is perfect so they can enjoy a nice meal. And while nothing in life is perfect, hard boiled eggs Benedict is not it and neither is a blackened toast.

Three star rating because the ambiance was really really nice and the service staff were...

It's unfortunate that I have to write this review. But, I am just feeling so frustrated and honestly, frustrated is how I feel each and every time I order food from Haute Cafe. It's not a good feeling. Three weeks in a row we have ordered good size orders for my work. Three weeks in a row!! EACH TIME, they forgot something on our order and we have to go back and then wait EVEN LONGER. I don't understand why they forget something from our order each time. I just don't get it. Meanwhile everyone's food is getting cold while having to wait for what was forgotten on our order. If you ask for extra sides of sauce or salsa, hands down they will always forget. It is even written on the receipt but still we never get the sauces/salsas. And it hasn't just been the last three weeks; it has been every order since we started going there. This last time, I walked out of there feeling so much anxiety. It is never a peaceful or enjoyable experience ordering food from this place. And this last time will most likely be our last time ordering food from here. It just isn't worth it. We take our work to Hanna's for every important visitor that is in town or special celebration for our employees, Christmas parties etc. We order breakfast every week from Haute Cafe. But, I just can't seem to do it anymore. When you are spending a good amount of money every week and each time you just feel so defeated, it's just time to move on. Food is good (when it's correct), service...