Panini Cafe Irvine

My first time here I am having the lentil soup with a a avocado romaine salad. Good food I like the presentation and the lay out of the restaurant. Will come back again

My review is mainly based off of service versus quality of food. The food itself was decent but the lack of service makes it to where I don’t ever want to go back.
I went after prime lunch hours yesterday (On a Sunday) wanting to place a to go order. I originally ordered the chicken kabob combo but had asked for hummus instead of salad to which he looked at me and said «I can’t do that.» I get not being able to do substitutions but he didn’t offer any other suggestions and was very blunt and dismissive. Since I really wanted hummus with my entrée, I switched my order to eggplant Parmesan. My order came to around $ 13 and I left a tip.
The area where they put the ready to go orders was visible from where I sat down to wait for my food. 20 minutes went by and I finally saw them place a bag on the pick up station. Another person walked by and stapled the receipt to the bag then walked away. That is where it sat for over 5 minutes while at LEAST 5 people walked by, LOOKED at the bag and then went back to finishing their conversations. The original guy that had taken my order was overheard saying «yeah I have no tables right now.» At this point, I was pretty annoyed because it had taken almost 30 minutes and asked if they can check to see if that was my order since it was the only order sitting there. He just looked at me and said «oh yeah. Sorry»
The icing on the cake was when I got to my car and examined my bag, they had forgotten all the sides including the hummus! The packaging was done so poorly that marinara sauce had already starting spilling all in the bag.
Like I said, the food quality was decent but service is ultimately what makes you go back to an establishment.
Very disappointing experience.

Good place for Mediterranean food. Had the date salad. Parking can be tough. The salads are the best!

I ordered the moussaka here for lunch for $ 12.95. It was not very good. Good and typical moussaka that I have had comes layered in several layers of eggplant, ground meat and is topped with a nice, creamy layer of béchamel. Not here. They served a very small portion of bland, flavorless ground beef and topped it with a small, grilled and tough piece of eggplant with a sliced tomato on top of that. It was very disappointing not only because the entrée was flavorless and in such a small portion, but, it resembled no moussaka that I have had before. And, their rendition was not good.

Ive been coming here since it first opened and i must say, it is one of my favorite go to places for healthy, affordable, delicious food!!! No matter what day of the week you go, its always busy here during lunch time. All the entrees come with 2 sides (my favorite sides are the Rice Pilaf and the Caesar salad). I recommend this place over those new «healthy» salad/​sandwich places opening up around Irvine! The price is around the same, but the quality is much better.

I’ve been here for brunch and lunch in the past. The wait was less than 10 minutes without reservations.
The coffee = Lavazza. AWESOME SAUCE. Just keep the caffeine coming.
The stuffed eggplant was everything, the spice and flavors were amazing. The only thing I didn’t like was that my salad was swimming in the marinara sauce. I wish they would have put the salad on another plate or bowl.
Tiramisu is a must because it’s light and airy.
My friend, who is a kebab snob, ordered the lamb. It was good but it was overcooked for his taste. Never mind that he ate the whole plate though…

Food quality here is amazing. This will be my new go to place for Mediterranean. The beef was delicious! Pita was great too.
Service was pretty good. Although they did forget about the kids meals and that was pretty important to us. We came with a large group … Over 10 of us. Hence one star off.
Parking was an absolute nightmare!!! How this plaza has changed.
We didn’t park in the structure because I wasn’t sure about the validation. But we will try it next time. But not sure if finding parking in there will any better.

Love their chicken kabob special. For about 10 bucks, it comes with salad, rice, and a good amount of protein. My wife and I can essentially share one for a meal! We like to order for pickup since we live pretty close.
We’ve ordered the chicken kabob family pack for four people and that easily could have fed 6 – 8 people! Great value for what you get. Get half pilaf /​half rice to get more variety too!
So the food, the chicken kabob is awesome. Our favorite. The ground beef with eggplant dish is decent too. Just haven’t been able to stray away from the chicken because we like it so much. :)

Minus 1 star from my original review for bad customer service from the manager. My boyfriend and I come here almost every week, we ordered hummus and pita bread and asked for extra pita bread (which they usually give to us at no extra charge) and today we were charged extra for it for some reason. When he went to go ask why we were charged today the manager got very defensive and stated it’s never free for extra pita bread. The amount wasn’t a big deal at all but just the concept of it and the way the manager handled the situation was very poor.
Also the chicken kabob plate continues to increase in price, now it’s $ 12.95 when it used to be $ 9.95. Chicken is sometimes overcooked and dry lately and the mediterranean salad has also declined in quality.
However we will still come back because we love their kabob plates, chicken soup, and hummus. Just wish attitude of the manager was better. Takeout is also inconsistent sometimes they give us bread with the soup and sometimes they don’t.

My friend and I came here before our Jiu-​Jitsu class, and we were hungry! Their most popular dish is the Grilled Chicken Kabob ($ 12.95), and it’s a huge plate! We split the plate since it was a rather large portion and got a bread basket ($ 2.95).
Starting off with the bread basket, the focaccia bread was nicely warm and very fluffy. I like mixing the olive oil with balsamic vinegar and a dash of salt that’s on the table.
Our plate came with a shish-​kabob consisting of 6 pieces of chicken along with grilled onions, peppers, and tomatoes, a romaine avocado salad, and basmati rice. The grilled chicken BREAST surprisingly cut like butter, and it was so juicy and flavorful. The citrus dressing from the romaine avocado salad was paired nicely with the chicken, and basmati rice was perfectly fluffy. This plate was just perfection, and it was worth every bite.
Service was really good and our food came our super quick. Definitely coming back!

After years of wanting to try Panini Café, I found the food good, but definitely not better than other Mediterranean restaurants.
Trying to find a healthy spot to carbo load for my friends, I stumbled upon Panini Grill in Irvine which I had seen around Beverly Hills wanting to try but never having the chance to go. Perhaps because I had never gone, it always had this layer of mystique that made me think that it was pretty good. Unfortunately, after going, I realized that it was probably better to have been a mystery.
My friends and I all had ordered an entrée which was made up of the typical Mediterranean entrée, a choice between basmati rice and bulgar pilaf, and a choice between salads (Caesar, Mediterannean Greek, or Romaine Avocado). I ordered their new flat iron steak kabob. What I enjoyed was the fact that the components were not on the traditional skewer mainly to avoid the awkward task of slowly separating the pieces off. However, besides that there was nothing super extraordinary about the food. The meat tasted fine and was cooked medium rare, while the bulgar pilaf was flavored and had the right consistency. I did find the romaine avocado, which people seemed to like, kinda boring as a salad. While I appreciate its simplicity, the combination of avocado, tomatoes, and cucumber just did not have that much flavor and there was nothing that made it special.
In terms of service, the restaurant itself was busy but seemed a little disorganized. We started off with one waiter but after he did not show up for awhile, another one took his place. It was pretty busy but seemed a little odd. For parking, there is a lot and a garage. However, on Saturday night, it was pretty packed so we had to loop around till we found a spot.
Overall, Panini Café is a decent spot but there are definitely better places for Mediterranean food.

I love this place. Not sure why I have never been before. Probably because the parking lot sucks!
We came for breakfast. I had a custom scramble and wiped the plate clean. I can’t remember what the husband ate because I was too focused on the plate of deliciousness in front of me. I’m looking forward to returning for lunch. Neighboring tables were being served lunch and it looked so tasty, especially the kebab plates.
One thing I’d change — next time I’ll sit inside, even if I have to wait I don’t like the feel of sitting in plastic walls. It downgrades the experience and gives it a more fast food feel.
Bottom line: Service was fantastic, food was good and the bill didn’t shock me.

Panini Café is an all around solid spot. It will never blow you away, but it will seldom disappoint either.
Their logo says its Italian and Mediterranean cuisine. Technically that’s true, but most of their best dishes are kabobs with curry like spices that remind you more of middle eastern cuisine.
For example, the waiter says their best seller is the Koobideh kabob platter, followed by the Mousaka beef platter. And their appetizers are dotted with various types of hummus, babaganoush, and flat bread. Not exactly the first things that come to mind when you think Italian or Mediterranean/​Greek, but still good food.
The Koobideh is fine, but to me it tastes like seasoned hamburger on a stick. Nothing to write home about, but not bad.
In my humble opinion the Mousaka is much better. Far more flavorful, with various spices that are reminiscent of a mild curry flavor. It also had a side Greek salad. This seemed slightly out of place paired with my curry flavored beef dish, but it was fine.
I also tried the sampler platter for an appetizer. It included three kinds of hummus (plain, tomato, and olive), babaganoush, stuffed grape leaves, pita bread, etc. The hummus and pita bread were great, but that’s not exactly a challenging dish. The babaganoush and grape leaves were not quite as good in my opinion. A little too much curry flavor in each than what I’m used to. But if you like curry you may love them. Just not the flavors I’m used to in those items I guess.
I have been here about 4 – 5 times now and have tried various dishes. Almost all are good, almost none are bad. Just nothing so far that has gotten me overly excited to make this a top recommendation.

: VENUE/​SERVICE:
I’ve always enjoyed the ambiance & the food served at the Panini Café from the Aliso Viejo (AV) location to here in Irvine. I used to frequent the AV a lot when I worked near there. As for the Irvine location — I’ve only dined here a few times & I find that:
1) service here is a bit lacking — not as attentive or caring
2) sometimes they forget to add the dressing for the salad (unless u want it plain but I don’t!)
But the food & their relaxing environment does make up for those 2 little cons of mine. Both indoor & outdoor seating is a pleasant area to dine at. Parking used to be a pain in the butt but there is a structure now… so it’s not as bad.
: FOOD :
Our food does come out in a timely manner, I usually get the same — kabobs or mousaka. The taste in them all has been consistent & fresh! Somewhat healthy ;) I like leaving here feeling not heavy or gross in my tummy. Prices are great for the generous portion of food you get.
Appetizer Combo Plate [4/​5]
–Included the Hummus Trio, Babaganooj (the best here), Dolmadas & Tatziki. Need to give a bit more pita to share
Mousaka [5/​5]
– My absolute Fav dish :)
Chicken Shish Kabob [5/​5]
– moist, tender, flavorful! Veggies were grilled nicely
Flat Iron Steak Shish Kabob [5/​5]
– cooked perfectly at medium rare!
Koobideh Shish Kabab [5/​5]
– not dry at all & is tasty
Tiramisu [4/​5]
Banana Bread Pudding [4/​5]
: NOTES :
1. Adding a Koobideh shish kabob is $ 4.95
2. They do not take reservations even for groups larger than 12. But on the day of you can call ahead by an hour to let the restaurant know you have a huge group coming in.
I’ll definitely be back again & to try out their other items as well as their breakfast~

I’ve also loved the chicken kabob plate at Panini Café — delicious and pretty affordable at $ 10. I stopped by last night and learned that Panini Café has raised prices. They are apparently using antibiotic and hormone free chicken now so the chicken kabob plate is now $ 13. I do applaud Panini Café’s efforts to serve healthier meats, so I guess the price increase is inevitable. :(
Everything else I’ve tried at Panini Café is mediocre. Always stick with the chicken kebabs.

My boyfriend and I came here for a monthaversary post-​workout, pre-​midnight shift date. Given the busy schedule, I was already running late for my shift and in a hurry, starving but wanted to enjoy the mini date. We let the server know and he was great with bringing the food quickly and our check immediately after the food.
— chicken shish kabob 10.95 l 4: portions are large, enough for a post-​workout starving individual. The chicken was juicy, flavorful, slightly salty, but delicious when mixed with the rice. Even the grilled onion and tomato had so much flavor! However, the avocado salad was the biggest disappointment, with the ¼ of an avocado per salad. The leaves, especially basil, were a bit wilted. Perhaps I usually like dressing on mine, but the salad had barely, if any dressing. Needless to say, the salad was almost barely touched, and I love salads.
— salmon kabob 15.95 l 3: taste-​wise, it was OK. Nothing too memorable about the 5 chunks of salmon and the onion was a bit undergrilled/​cooked. I also didn’t like the huge broccoli randomly placed with the dish. Again, the salad was bland. For the price, would not get it again.
PROS:
— recommend chicken shish kabob
— yummy rice
CONS:
— OK salmon kabob
— bland avocado salad
TIPS:
— the little shaker that’s not salt/​pepper? Yeah you shake that stuff all over the rice! Mmh delicious

Backstory first.
So back in the dorms, I lived with my friends, and they had a «family» with their other friends. One of them had a nickname of which I learned of and started calling her, as «Panini». So in 2013 I saw that this place had existed and I told her «we should go». So one of the Panini Cafes in Socal was bookmarked and it came to sit there for a while.
Fast forward to 2015 and after talking for months to fellow Unilocaler and famous UCI alumni Van D, we finally decided to meet up at this place because … well you can see her check ins and her review. :P
After meeting her for the first time ever, Raymond sat there to see what he wanted. Van already knew what she wanted. Heck, I even used all these Unilocal reviews to figure out what to eat. The chicken kabobs.
But first an appetizer:
The hummus trio. You get to eat the garbanzo, edamame, and black bean with pita bread. It looks cute with brown, black, and green as trio. I was scared of trying the edamame one because I only knew of the one in pod form, but it was good. All of these were tasty! Garbanzo and edamame were favorite, but I love pita bread. But don’t get me wrong. You need the hummus to add to it to give it the non-​dry flavor. These two complement each other perfectly.
The chicken kabob. Oh how juicy, moist, and the spice on it is amazing. You must try this once before you go on to the rest of the menu. You also get a salad on the side (which also has an amazing sauce/​vinaigrette. Oh I got to say this get the romaine avocado salad. I heard the PSSSTT get that one from someone sitting in my table: P You also get it mixed with rice (you can substitute if you don’t wish to eat carbs), and it looks all colorful on your Panini Café plate. Grilled onions and bell peppers with your chicken kabob. Oooh now I’m thinking about it even more now. :)
Service can be on and off at times.
Raymond wants to try the salmon grilled sammich next time :3

Why have I not gone to one of the Panini locations before? I have, the one in Canoga Park. After experience #2, I’ll have to seek and destroy other locations as well — it’s good.
Chicken Kebab ($ 10.95, 4.5 stars) — Chicken was most and tender, cooked perfectly. I even liked the tomato wedges and onion. Choice of rice, pilaf, or bulgur wheat (I got bulgur) and choice of salad: caesar, chopped, or something else (I got chopped with a light lemon dressing) — and it was all was divine and very filling. Very tender and moist. But wait, you can order a split for $ 3 and get your own rice and salad for the deal of the century.
Nice was the hostess, the outdoor patio, the waiter, the menu, and the food. Serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner — I like.

I imagined this place to be a quaint and small café but surprisingly its a nice spacious bistro full of people even late at night. I came here to grab late dinner with a friend after our intense hot yoga session and we were starving.
Everything on the menu sounded so good but I settled with the chicken pesto sandwich with a cup of chicken soup. My friend got the caprese salad with chicken added on. The food came out with and the presentation was pleasant; especially my friend’s caprese salad!
I picked the Chicken Pesto sandwich as it was highly recommended on the menu and it did not disappoint one bit! The bread was nicely toasted and the huge chunks of chicken and sundried tomatoes with pesto flavor in each bite was delicious. The chicken soup was a surprise as I was expecting the basic chicken veggie soup but instead I was greeted with a bowl of reddish colored soup (I am guessing tomato based soup) with huge chunks of chicken and veggies. I was extremely satisfied with my meal and I definitely plan on coming back to try the other stuff on the menu!

My work had Panini café catering for lunch and it was BOMBSKI! It was a nice change from the typical sandwich lunchboxes from Panera and Corner Bakery.
We got the Healthy Take-​Out which consisted of chicken shish kabob skewers with vegetables (bell pepper & tomatoes), basmati rice, and caesar salad. I haven’t had Mediterranean food in a while so this was really good and reminded me of how much I love it! The entire take out was enough to feed our office of 7 and we still had enough leftovers to feed a family.
The chicken shish kabobs were REALLY good and juicy. The pieces of chicken were a bigger size than most other shish kabob places which made me happy! They sure know how to marinade and grill chicken breasts since none of the pieces were dry. It was seasoned PERFECTLY and not overly salty at all! The grilled tomatoes had robust flavor especially when eaten w/​the basmati rice. Oh man that basmati rice was the best rice I’ve had. It was flavorful and wasn’t dry. The caesar salad was just like any other regular salad, BUT they use organic mixed greens for salads so that’s WINNING in my books!
I’m looking forward to trying their other menu items especially the pita bread and other appetizers! Their prices are very reasonable for the quality of food. Excited that eating healthy doesn’t mean eating unflavorful rabbit food

Me encanta comer aquí, tienen siempre fresco jugo de naranja y la sopa de lentejas es mi favorita, perfecto por un día como hoy que hay demasiado tráfico en la vía a casa, así tomo un breve descanso y como algo rico