The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar - Tustin — Restaurant in Tustin

Popped in for a birthday dinner with a small group of friends. After numerous recommendations, we had to give this place a shot.

First impressions - ambiance is super cute and has a cozy steakhouse feel to it. Our table felt intimate without feeling pressed against other tables nearby. There was a seafood smell that lingered around our area. I didn't mind the smell, but if you are not a fan of the smell, I could see it being a minor issue.

Drinks - we ordered a bottle of Malbec and Veuve for the table. The wine selection was really nice and the Malbec tasted wonderful. The boys ordered some scotch drinks. They started with a Macallen/lemonade cocktail and moved over to a single malt. They had a great selection of scotch and single malt, unfortunately we just had bad timing as some of the selections they chose were out of stock at the time.

Food wise..... Appetizer: Wild Mushroom, Truffle Oil and Blue Cheese Flatbread - so good and awesome cheesyness fashion. The flatbread was crisp and the truffle taste really stood out. Highly recommend it.

Entrees: 12oz. Brandt Family Reserve, Cajun Flatiron Steak: The restaurant recommends the temperature rare to medium rare. As a carnivore, I'm still not at that level of steak. I had mine cooked to medium and I absolutely loved the dish. It's got a really nice rub on the steak that keeps the flavors going as you cut in to each bite. I do prefer sauce on my steak so i opted for some peppercorn sauce on the side to be fair to my new adventure. Definitely preferred the sauce with it. But you can also do without, just personal preference really.

The Winery Corkscrew Pasta - for the veggies at our table. It was a huge hit and they really like the flavor and attention to taste. It was a big win since most steakhouses, don't put much thought in to veggie appetites. It was refreshing to know the veggies can be pleased here too!

Roasted Organic Vegetable Tower - for the veggies at our table. It looked super pretty and also seemed to the a win for the veggies at the table.

Sides - we ordered the Brussels Sprouts & Crispy Pork Belly Bits and Roasted Butternut Squash & Potato. Both side were fantastic, but we all got a little crazy on the potatoes and cleaned that puppy up! It was probably the best potato side dish I've ever had and I was hooked upon first time.

Service was absolutely fantastic. They went out of their way to ensure our dining experience, the food, drinks and birthday boy were all excellent. I was blown away by how well they took care of us and the level of service we received from the staff. They did a great job to make sure the birthday boy at the table had a wonderful time.

Overall, I highly recommend coming here and checking out some of the best steak and sides in the OC. They do a phenomenal job of taking care of their guests with their great attitude and food quality. We can't wait to...

A Night at the Winery Restaurant: Tustin’s Tepid Decadence

There’s a peculiar kind of dissonance that occurs when a restaurant aspires to greatness but stumbles on the small things. That’s the Winery Restaurant at the District in Tustin—a place that whispers promises of high-end dining but delivers an experience just shy of exceptional.

The atmosphere had the makings of upscale comfort, but the seating arrangement suggested otherwise. New York-close to the neighboring table, we found ourselves unwitting eavesdropping on their banal chatter instead of indulging in the hushed intimacy we’d hoped for. The irony? The restaurant had the space to spare but packed us in like sardines at a deli counter.

The food was a study in highs and lows. My girlfriend’s $76 ribeye—medium-rare by request—was a tale of two steaks. The thick side was a carnivore’s dream: juicy, tender, perfectly kissed by the fire. But then came the betrayal—its thinner edge, overcooked into culinary mediocrity. My filet at $56 fared better, but at that price point, you expect every bite to be a revelation.

Sides and drinks were solid players in this uneven orchestra. The $15 broccoli, while comically overpriced, was well-prepared—vivid green and kissed with a touch of char. The sweet buds martini, a candy-like indulgence, contrasted sharply with the “Perfect Gentleman” bourbon Manhattan, a robust, smoky triumph of a cocktail. Later, the pineapple cider offered a pleasant, tangy nightcap. But for $76 a steak, is it too much to expect bread without having to ask halfway through the meal? Desert, an inspired lemon/blueberry cheesecake was one of the brighter spots here a solid choice, but like everything else just short of perfection.

The service hovered somewhere between polished and perfunctory. Competent but lacking the finesse that defines a true five-star experience.

All said, the Winery delivers a respectable, if unremarkable, experience. The highs—those first bites of the ribeye and the deftly crafted cocktails—are quickly tempered by the lows of overcooked meat and intrusive seating arrangements. It’s a restaurant that seems to aspire to Michelin-starred grandeur but stumbles just enough to remind you it’s still a Tustin/Irvine neighborhood fine dining at heart.

Go for the ambiance, the drinks, and perhaps the fleeting brilliance of a well-cooked steak. But temper your expectations—and maybe bring...

It was OC restaurant week and lunch time. Noted I look and dress a bit young, but I'm NOT! Plus looking young in NO way should result in disrespect! A young persons' money is just as good any one else's!

The hostess was polite, but sheepish, still she seated me near another lady that was dining one table away. There were some customers at the bar. Also some loud obnoxious business men.

The busser, or water waiter, gave me dinner rolls to wait for the server, then wait, and wait. I waited before 45 MINUTES! At least have some customer service to come and ask if some one has helped me or find someone to help me! ! What kinda of server intentionally IGNORES A HUMAN BEING! !

Just because I didn't look old with nasty wrinkles or look like a degenerate alcoholic, I don't get any service? ? ? ? ?

I tried to get the servers attention. She was determined to ignore me. I got up to leave in utter disgust and fury. I was livid, I was ignored for 45 min.

Before leaving I asked the hostess what is wrong with their service. "Am I not good enough to be served food?! " Given on a week, OC RESTAURANT WEEK, that they are suppose to be expecting & be welcoming of new patrons to bring in new business. I was going to throw up with fury! The disinterested new hostess brought out the manager. Who made an attempt to sit me back down. To change my experience. I was not going to sit back down, not only did I want to vomit from anger. Who knows what would happen to my food? ! ? ! I took a picture of the age discriminating server. She served food to the lady one table away from me. She saw ME and chose to IGNORE ME! The manger gave me some excuse that it was not the bar area. The lady next to me one table away got served! How is one table away out of all range of being served or waited on? ! Lies! That just pissed me off even more. Why must the manager out right LIE? In that instant it was clear the place is untrustworthy of serving food to me. Who knows what would happen to my food?

I am never going to this restaurant, again. I will tell everyone how pretentious, snooty, stuck-up the servers attitudes are, and the lies!

Food is about trust. We trust these people with our health. Let me name off the results when they break that trust: listeria, noro virus, ecoli, food poisoning, botulism,...