CHAAK KITCHEN — Restaurant in Tustin

The restaurant was recommended to me by no one but I did see it on the Michelin app and decided to go out with my gf to go eat. We looked at the menu and decided on four items + 1 dessert. We started with the Pulpo Al Guajillo. That dish is octopus with garbanzo purée , chayote, and red chorizo. Ima start off by saying I’m typically not a fan of chewy food . It doesn’t sit right with me BUTTTTTT this dish for some reason has an exception. I fully expected to give this a 2/5 but it’s an easy 5/5 dish. The octopus was indeed chewy but the flavors I was chewing were absolutely delicious. The surroundings of the octopus were what really helped the solidly the perfect rating. This dish set high expectations for every other octopus dish in my future. Salbute Pato Ahumado was our next dish and this duck taco of some sorts was out of this world. Fluffy soft tortilla and juices every single bite. As a fan of cherry tomatoes they definitely added more to the already great flavor of this taco. NOW the moment I was waiting for… the COCHINITA PIBIL. Right away when the dish was sent out to our table I spam the statement “ Do you smell that?” I’m still dreaming of the smell as I write this 4 hours later. The smell alone warrants a 10/5 but after eating it, it definitely is up there for one of my favorite dishes of all time. It’s a make your own taco dish with some sort of limey salsa verde, guacamole and diced tomatoes. You want to definitely make your taco and then rub your taco on the side of the meat plate. Im not going to explain anymore, you just have to try yourself. Lastly we got the enchiladas, to some of you it may be good but it wasn’t my cup of tea. The cheese and enchiladas sauce wasn’t something i enjoyed but to others they may love it. We ended up liking the food so much that we got dessert. We decided on the bombas and they’re nice and fluffy. It’s one of the desserts where you can’t do anything too great that would make it an outstanding dish, you can only mess it up. Glad to say they didn’t mess it up. It was good and as expected as a dessert. Dulce de leche & really good chocolate with sugary beignets. My experience was a 5/5 love it and would...

Chaak was a serious letdown for me. I had very high hopes for this place since I'm a Tustin resident. I believe this place has gotten way over hyped. Not only are the 5 star reviews a little misleading, but I have seen it on social media being related to a possible Michelin star contender. I definitely don't agree with any of those claims, sadly.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was very nice. The decor and service from my waiter were great. Where it all fails is in the food! The lack of flavor and seasoning is absolutely mind-blowing. We had some chicken quesadillas for our kids with "oaxacan cheese," definitely not quesillo. The chicken was bland, had no salt, had no seasoning, and was extremely dry. The kids only had a piece out of it and didn't bother finishing it. We ordered the bone marrow appetizer, and they had me really confused on this one. First off, deciding to match bone marrow with esquites? Why? Then, with the esquites, they grate some cheese on it but overly mix the corn with too much lime, and that combination doesn't go well lime corn and cheese?? Then, the steak ... again, no salt, no seasoning, I can honestly grill one at home and have it 2x better than what we received here. I had to force myself to eat the 100.00 steak, which was definitely not worth it. The pork belly tacos didn't really stand out. There's nothing good about it, but nothing bad about it either. The only plate that had some kind of flavor was the seared octopus. It was cooked perfectly, and the puree it was paired with was delicious it had some bits that were crunchy that added to the texture of the food.

In conclusion, $380.00 for a dinner of 4 2 kids, 2 adults, it's definitely not worth it. I believe they have a target market, and they are hitting it with the people leaving 5 star reviews, but as a Mexican cuisine fanatic, this place isn't it. The lack of flavor in all of their dishes needs to be improved, in my opinion. I will definitely not be...

I truly struggled writing this review. I started out giving 5 stars but went back and edited it down to 4 stars... Hidden gem (kind of) in Old Town Tustin...but with one reservation. I'm trying to be reasonable while we are still in the COVID mess. The food was AMAZING! They recommend sharing dishes...excellent idea. The meat platter was wonderful. the carnitas platter was amazing. Oh, and my old fashion was to die for. Our server was excellent. The roof opened while we were dining to expose the evening sky...very nice. However the tarnish on this shinning star was desert. It was early Sunday evening and they were out of flan? No self-respecting Mexican restaurant would let that happen. Our server gave us some lame story about being closed Monday and not wanting to waste food...very lame. So, we ordered their deep-fried sugar & cinnamon coated delights. The server brought us clean plates and we waited in anticipation...FOR 20 MINUTES!!! That was just plain unreasonable. Our $85 meat platter came right away but our $10 desert took forever. And to add insult to injury...the establishment automatically adds a 3% gratuity for the kitchen...WHY? Again, the server was very nice and gave us some lame story about the kitchen being busy...well then, do not accept the order of you cannot deliver! That's pretty simple. Or, perhaps the kitchen employee (in an apron) should have stopped chatting up customers, which he was doing all evening, and offered a helping hand in the kitchen. He most likely received part of the automatic 3% kitchen staff gratuity. I'm just sayin'... Unfortunately, I did not leave with a savory-sweet taste in my mouth from the dining experience but rather one that was far more bitter. MY RECOMMENDATION...DO NOT ORDER DESERT!!! Enjoy their wonderful food and leave...get an ice cream around the corner and you'll have a far better experience...perhaps even a...