The Wild Artichoke — Restaurant in Yorba Linda

My boyfriend brought me to Yorba Linda to enjoy a candlelight orchestra for my birthday we decided to grab dinner in the area before so we could try something different from the usual places in our local municipality. He chose the wild artichoke for the great reviews and unique menu.

At first glance walking up we weren’t sure we were in the right place. It’s a very unassuming restaurant tucked away on a small local strip mall that’s easy to miss if you aren’t paying attention, but wow were we blown away by the food.

First of all, nothing on the menu was a flavor or combination that you may expect. They have perfectly blended French, Japanese, and Korean cuisine to create bold, creative, & timeless flavors that you will never forget. We tried the calamari, wagyu meatballs, lobster pasta, & short rib which were all perfect in their own right. The lobster pasta was perfectly buttery and balanced with fresh tomatoes and fresh made in house pasta from scratch. The calamari was cooked to perfection and frankly speaking the best calamari I have ever had (even better than dishes I’ve tried in Spain, Greece, and Singapore). The slices of jalapeños delicately sliced and added to the dish added an amazingly balanced pop of spice and flavor. However, the short rib was the dish that completely left us speechless. The meat fell apart with the slightest poke of a fork and melted in your mouth to perfection. The food was so good we were crafting up ideas to get food delivery to our place 30 minutes away for in house date night.

The service was wonderful and the staff was incredibly hospitable, welcoming, and truly made me feel special on my birthday. The pastry chef even surprised us with a coconut pana cotta dessert to finish the meal. This place is worth the drive if you’re within a 60 mile radius and a must try for anyone visiting the area. This is a hidden gem and the prices, food, and service stand well above any of the Michelin restaurants I’ve dined in....

Tucked in a quiet Yorba Linda strip mall, this cozy French fusion bistro is easy to miss—but worth finding.

We ordered a lot of food for our birthday lunch gathering and we were impressed with the flavors & the presentations of the dish.

Some of the memorable dishes are

grilled artichoke & mozzarella salad- so hearty and loaded with textures from fried mozzarella to bacon bites. steam mussels- the bleu cheese gave it a little funk and another good layer of flavor on top of the delicious broth. crab cakes- unlike the usual crab cakes at steakhouses this crab cake is on another level with the beurre blanc sauce! steak frites lobster risotto- served on sizzling plate- the sauce bubbling, steak cooked just right with perfectly spiced fries! Cioppino- my first cioppino with fregula & fried soft shell crab- I am a fan!

Oh the compliments doesn’t stop at the cioppino, the SERVICE IS ON ANOTHER LEVEL! So welcoming, so accommodating and attentive! Our server couldn’t be any friendlier and professional at the same time! The staffs or the chef even took the time to make our birthday cake (from another store) extra special and we were all in dumbstruck how their attention to details are to make us felt so welcomed and made our meal extra special!

The owner and staffs attention to details is on the fine dining level- or even better than some of the fine dining restaurants and I can’t wait to dine again at the wild...

I came here for food, but at most got decent ambiance...

On a Saturday evening, our small group of 6 came to the restaurant for the first time. We didn't wait too long to hear the specials and place our drink orders. The waitress seemed a bit busy as most tables were full.

After the first order of drinks, we got our bread and what supposed to be an artichoke dip. Bread was undercoated and doughy. We placed food orders and had to wait quite a bit to get our dishes. Pizza Margarita, as promised on the menu to be straight from a New Jersey recipe, was my selection. Unfortunately, it was more like "straight from Domino's"... I have never seen a more under-cooked, thick crust as in this pie of nothing covered in a few tomatoes and at best a sliver of mozzarella. Bread is not their specialty, let's put it this way.

Service was extremely slow as the waitress chatted with another table for what appeared to be at least 10 minutes. The bill took a while to arrive as well. The other person serving (possibly a manager or the co-owner) was too busy to clean the dirty tables and set up for the next day's work instead of taking care of the current customers.

2 starts for the ambiance. Nice lighting, intimate atmosphere (maybe a bit too intimate as we got to know our neighbors a bit too well...).

I will not be back and do not advise you to go...