Best Neighbourhood Gem Restaurants in Costa Mesa

This was our first time dining in this establishment. I've always heard great things about Mastro's and was excited to try their steaks. Made reservation ahead of time. Our server, Sean, was fairly new, but he was friendly and described the dishes extremely well. We ordered half dozen oysters to start, followed by a chopped salad to share. For our Entrees, I went with their Porterhouse, medium rate, and wife ordered a Pan Seared Sea Bass. She thought the fish was somewhat dry, so we talked to our server, and he was happy to assist us to swap the dish to something else. We decided to get their Seared Scallops; which was more expensive, but tasted phenomenal. My steak was very well seasoned and cooked to the right temp. We also ordered their Lobster Mashed Potatoes which was a good portion to share. It was full of flavor and tasted very buttery. Overall, experience was very good, we also ordered a couple of drinks to go along with our meal. To finish our dinner, we also ordered their Espresso Mouse Cake. It was very sweet, but was a good compliment with coffee.

Greeted by a very cordial hostess then seated in a lovely outdoor area. Our waiter was patient with all of us as first time guests and he explained the menu in great detail. Pod was outstanding.

Caleb was the best server ever! We love him. Great follow up, checked on us regularly and got us in and out in time for the holiday play. We were late for our reservation bc of traffic (helicopter accident at Camp Pendleton). Thank you Caleb! You deserve a raise.

Always a special treat to dine at The Farmhouse! Loved my burger, our table also loved the Jidori Chicken, and the mussels. The Butternut Squash Soup was reportedly meh. Desserts a bit disappointing today (not usually) — can’t recommend the berry sorbet (odd-tasting), and the Vanilla Pot de crème was a bit bland according to the friend who had the soup. Our waiter was like a warm hug, the kind of server you look forward to his check-ins!

S52 is our go to place for some pre-show dinner. The Crab cake, Ponzu broth - poached Butterfish, and grilled Sea Scallops were really delicious 😋, and the wine pairing of the Tasmanian Jansz Brut Rose with the Crab Cake, as well as the La Crema Chard from Monterey with the Scallops and the Paul Hobbs Chard-Crossbarn from the Sonoma Coast with the Butterfist were excellent! A delicious meal and highly recommend. Eric our server was awesome taking us through the expansive seasonal menu, and attentive service. Cheers to the folks at S52 for another great experience. We really miss the lounge piano player S52 used to have in the lounge. See you again next month! :0)