Park Ave — Restaurant in Stanton

I'll start this review by noting that it has been a long time since I've been to Stanton, and finding a fine dining restaurant in the city is a very pleasant surprise. The exterior of the restaurant is late-60's chic, and the interior carries that theme as well, complete with starburst lighting fixtures and lots of black & white celebrity photos.

The parking lot was packed when my group of 6 arrived, and although we had a reservation, we still had to wait 15-20 minutes until we were seated. As the hostess took us through the beautifully designed dining room, we were led to the back patio which is like a huge backyard, complete with paper lanterns hanging from the trees and a perfectly manicured lawn. We actually was waiters walking food down a lantern-lit pathway to the back of the yard, so there must be a special private dining area in the back.

As we were seated & handed menus, we were told about the specials of the evening, and ordered some drinks from the bar. Then we waited....and waited...and waited. After a good 20 minutes, the drinks finally arrived, and we ordered our appetizers and meal. Then we waited...and waited...and waited. Finally, the appetizers arrived after about 30 minutes. The wedge salads were good sized and looked nice --basically 1/4 head of lettuce with dressing, bleu cheese & bacon bits. The squash blossoms were a huge disappointment -- basically 3 deep-fried pieces of ricotta. I could barely tasted any squash. The portobello mushroom dish was just ok, nothing special.

For the entrees, the seared Jidori Chicken dish was way overcooked, and extremely dry. The scallop dish was just OK.

Overall I was disappointed with the speed of service, as well as the quality of the food. The meal came out to about $65 per person with gratuity, which a high price tag for the quality...

Good food and service.

My wife and I invited two other couples to Park Avenue for New Year's Eve. One had mentioned that there were no good restaurants in north OC, so we wanted to set them straight. No one was disappointed with the NYE event, but I need to comment on two price-related topics.

First, we were given menus titled "New Year's Eve". It was, as expected, a less varied menu than usual. Our waitress, Cheryl, told us that, in addition to the items on the menu, there were two "specials". One special was a rib-eye steak. There was also a rib-eye steak on the NYE menu, but I ordered the "special".

Later, when my bill arrived, I was surprised/shocked to see that the rib-eye on "special" was $30 more than the rib-eye on the menu!!!

I don't know about you, but when I'm given a menu and told verbally about non-menu item specials, I expect those specials to be priced less than the items on the menu. I was happy that none of my invited friends had ordered a special. It would have embarrassed me.

Next, the wine list is thorough, but really overpriced, if you are experienced at buying fine wine at Total Wines (or Costco). As an example, a 2011 Rodney Strong Cab was well over $100 a bottle. It's widely available a many retail locations where you can check the PAG...

Went this passed Saturday for our anniversary. My husband surprised me. Really great service. We had Jeff as our server, who did not only have really excellent knowledge of the menu and special items, but also gave us a personal tour around the other parts of the restaurant including the garden they have! He was super attentive and very patient with us and our questions. He also had a great recommendation for wine that paired well with what we ordered which was the stuffed porkchop and the special menu's swordfish. Both amazing! Great atmosphere and great surprises await you when you dine here. The manager even came to our table to greet us. We just joined the email blast where they will have upcoming wine tasting events and such. Great place to throw an event like a wedding or renewal of vows or the like. Definitely want to come back to try the Italian restaurant side near the garden. Gonna double date it next time too to share the love. Thanks Jeff for the kind service! Hope to get...