Twenty Eight

This is a nice restaurant with a nice and chic atmosphere. However, the special cocktails are not that good :(
Some food items are ok but some are really bad.
Overall, it is a good place to go with friends and have a glass of wine… or two

I came here for my friend’s birthday and it was an experience. Our party was rather large, maybe 12 – 15 people and of course we all ordered appetizers, entrees, and drinks but everything was brought out randomly. One person would get their entrée while the person next to them would have just gotten their drink, it was weird that all the entrees weren’t brought out at the same time, there were still a few people getting their drinks at the end of our meal. One of my friends had several of his orders mixed up and it was an overall mess, luckily when the food did arrive it was really good.
The ambiance was really nice and intimate. It was just disappointing because you’d expect more walking into such a nice restaurant; service might have been off that day. I’d try this place again maybe for a more intimate occasion.

First the restaurant was really hard to find. The parking was difficult to navigate. The happy hour Pinot for 7 was okay. We had the garlic fries which was way too salty. We also had the fried boas pork belly, which were not very good. The salmon dip and it was really horrible it tasted like canned salmon. I would just say skip this one altogether.

The best modern Chinese restaurant in Orange County! Top Chef finalist Shirley Chung’s restaurant is a delight from start to finish! They have everything from light seafood appetizers, and dim sum, to squid ink noodles and coffee crusted filet mignon. They even have their own take on a fortune cookie dessert!
Everything was fantastic! Complementary valet, excellent dining service, and a gorgeous décor. I would definitely come back soon.

Twenty Eight is a great venue to host a private party. Its a bar and restaurant that has multiple connected rooms. A meetup group I am a party of rented one of the rooms to host a charity dance. Some of the rooms have shared counters at the bar so you can still order drinks easily even if you have a private space. The rooms also have private doors if you want to control who comes in to your private event.
Drinks are good. I tried the Spring in my Step which tasted like a cranberry punch vodka. I also asked the bartender to make a chocolate martini since they have crème de cacao.
The décor is modern. Its new and well designed with a gorgeous marble bar and white leather barstools at the main bar. They also have complimentary valet.

Overall experience was a big disappointment.
Food:
Tea smoked salmon dip: one of the tastier items of the night. The dip had a nice smokey flavor and creamy texture. The grilled bread were more the size and texture of a small crostini.
Steak tartare: I didn’t care for the acidic flavor of the tartare but other ms in our party enjoyed it.
Twice cooked bun (pork belly) came with two fried buns and a plate of condensed milk. The buns came out hot and flavorful but the price seemed a bit inflated ($ 8.50) for just 2 average buns. The vegetable curry buns were awful (unappealing taste and overpowering spicy flavor) and I would not recommend!
Crispy chicken skin bunwich: not memorable and not worth it
Oxtail noodle: I really enjoyed the flavor of this one. It’s on the sweeter side and a little heavy but I liked the taste. There was plenty of oxtail meat but the only problem was the noodles were a disaster. The house made egg noodles were hard and stuck together. Embarrassingly, I actually broke one of my chopsticks while trying to separate a clump of noodles… I wanted to like this dish so much :(
Wok tossed vegetable noodles: same exact consistency of the hard noodles as the oxtail dish. Other than that, the veggies were good and the dish was flavorful.
Chef’s special was a mussel dish with garlic squid ink pasta. This was one of the better dishes with plenty of mussels. If you like Vietnamese garlic noodles, you would like this dish.
Fire Phoenix: Only had a bite of the chicken but it was tough and dry.
Grilled hangar steak: cooked to a nice medium rare, with strong flavors. Not bad, not great, and forgettable.
Service: very nice staff but service was messy. Menus were left at the table after we ordered, people yelling their orders because the waitress was at the other end of the table, and one of our 6 main dishes came out over 10 minutes before the rest of the entrees.
The ambience is modern and beautifully decorated. We went on a Saturday night and there were only about 5 – 6 other tables occupied in the entire restaurant which was eerie and probably a bad sign.
Too bad, so sad… Wanted this place to be good.

Overdue review for an amazing OC Restaurant Week dinner. Chose Twenty Eight because of Top Chef Shirley Chung (who totally should have won), but really enjoyed the full experience because of our awesome bartender, Inga. Big shoutout to her!
We arrived way earlier than our reservation time of 7:30pm, so we decided to get some Happy Hour drinks from the bar. Started off with the Autumn Blush and Ginger Rouge. Both light, sweet, and fruity. Inga recommended the shao mai, which unlike your typical shao mai, is deep fried. Comes with 3 bite-​size pieces for $ 3 on HH menu.
When it came time for dinner, we opted to stay at the bar even though their dining room looked absolutely gorgeous. Very modern, sleek, elegant décor. For appetizers, we shared the foie torchon buns and steak tartar. The buns were my favorite of the night. Comes with 2 and tastes like a mini PB&J sandwich, except with a nice fatty, saltiness from the foie. The tartar is lighter than other tartars I’ve had before, mainly because they don’t use an egg yolk. They use Chinese donut instead of bread and added slices of mushroom for that extra umami flavor. Tastes very similar to items at the Bazaar, which I later found out that Chef Shirley previously worked for Joses Andres.
For entrees, we split the hanger steak and squid ink noodles. Both were larger portions than expected. The steak was cooked perfectly with a generous helping of roasted potatoes on the side. The noodles came with mussels, clams, squid, and prawns and is reminiscent of an Asian cioppino.
Along the course of the meal, we ordered 4 more drinks off their new spring menu, which they were in the middle of transitioning to: the Blossom Tea (literally tastes like fruity tea with a shot of alcohol), Bitter Berry (whiskey with strawberry), Vidal Saloon (whiskey with ginger beer), and Salted Rose (my favorite of the night with it’s combination of sweet and salty).

For dessert, we each got a scoop of their homemade BLK VTM ice cream. Strong Vietnamese coffee flavor with a nice crunch from cookie crumbles.
I’m usually skeptical of «Asian Fusion» food, but this was more just great food done right with a hint of Asian influences here and there. Unfortunately we didn’t get to meet Chef Shirley at the end of the meal, but we’ll no doubt be back in the near future!

Came here for OC restaurant week 2016 to celebrated my belated birthday with my coworkers. Lunch for 3 course meal was $ 20.
1^st course: pork belly bun with condensed milk was savory but nothing special. It could use more flavor.
2^nd course: oxtail egg noodles was simple. Adding the sambal sauce made it more delectable.
3^rd course: Vietnamese ice cream was yummy and full of coffee essence.
Food came out a bit slow and we were charge $ 4 for toasts.
I really wanted to like this place since I was a fan of Shirley Chung on Top Chef, but I found it to be disappointing. I feel like it’s just another ordinary Chinese restaurant.

Came here for drinks and dessert during the work week. The bar area was pretty dead, but I heard it’s usually more crowded during their Happy Hour, which runs in the bar area until 7. Love the décor of the place — reminds me of the interior of rich person’s home (see pic). My friend knows the bartender, Inga, there, who mixes great drinks. I ordered a drink from the menu, which was a bit tart, and later wanted something lighter (which is rare — usually I like my drinks stronger) so she made me a refreshing drink with vodka, cucumbers, and peach! The peach was a nice surprise since it’s a flavor I don’t encounter much in drinks. It was really good. My friend got a few drinks including one that came from a barrel with aged whisky and two other liquors. Instead of regular ice, she put a cube of frozen strawberry purée, which gave it a nice berry taste. The drink was aptly named something Berry.
Tried the Good Fortune dessert, which sounded strange, but was really good! The sugar on top had a slight hint of curry and inside the glass was a chocolate panna cotta with drops of passion fruit, a creamy coconut layer, and bits of crunchy milk chocolate and white chocolate. I’d definitely recommend this dessert, though it’s a little pretty price at $ 12 for the small size. I’ve never tried the food here, but I’d like to one day. Parking is valet only — it’s free at least.

Orange County restaurant week rocks with delicious! ! Today I met several coworkers for lunch at Twenty Eight and in honor of Orange County restaurant week, I ordered off the pre set lunch menu.
I started with the pork belly dumpling then moved to the ox tail noodle dish and ended with a delicious vietnamese ice cream scoop.
The appetizers are delicious. Not a very large portion but taste wise you’ll appreciate it. You’ll just want more.
The main lunch dish was excellent with the meat tender and tasty. Again I wish there were more plated but probably not good for my diet.
The desert was spectacular but as you’ll see from my pictures, you’ll be asking for more.
Lunch was 20.00 which was worth the taste of the food. Service was a little slow but the taste of the food made up for any short comings. Very friendly staff and your made to feel very welcomed here.
I’ll be back!

The restraunt’s décor is beautiful. I love the whole style flowing through all the rooms. Staff seemed friendly. We had a reservation for 5pm we all arrived a few minutes before 5pm but was told our table was not ready. We were not seated until 5:19pm. The interesting part to us is there were no othe dinning customers at that time. So a little puzzled on what the hold up was. I know they close after lunch service and reopen for dinner but if you accepting 5pm reservations seems as if your staff wpuld be ready to got prior to 5pm.
While seating in the lounge we ordered some water and drinks. The drinks are very strong but good. My friends and I were here for OC Restaurant week and can ONLY speak on those plates.
Bun service: different but very tasty
1^st course: two in our table had the calamari, one had the vegetable buns,& I amd one other had the steak tartar. We were not impressed the food seemed like it didnt have any seasoning with all theee dishes. making just bland favorited food.
2^nd course: steak, two squid ink noddle soup, and two lamb shank. The steak was good, the soup was okay nothing special, the lamb was fall off the bone wasnt a fan of the sauce on the lamb but the peas and polenta were good.
3^rd course: chocolate coffee ice cream. I am not a fan of coffee so i gave mine to my husband. Everyone at the table said it was good. They felt the toppings on the ice cream reminded them of chocolate pebbles.
All in all happy to have had the experience during restaurant week because I do not believe I qill be coming back at full price. With that being said heard great things about their duck if you like duck you should give that a shot. (I am not a duck person)

What a way to start OC Restaurant Week 2016. After watching Shirley in Top Chef, there was no way that I could miss out trying her restaurant and wow, what an amazing experience it was. We arrived on Monday night at 6:30pm, the restaurant is located in a business park so it’s sort of hard to find. Parking-​wise, the restaurant has a complimentary valet service or you can get your parking ticket validated in the parking lot. They have happy hour until 7pm Mon-​Friday so we went straight to the bar. The happy hour menu consists of $ 7 specialty cocktails, $ 5 beers and wines, and appetizers starting from $ 3, really great deal. We started with the Ginger Rouge and Autumn Blush along with the Crispy Chicken Shao Mai.
— Ginger Rouge and Autumn Blush: Great starter drinks for the night. Light, fruity flavor, the Autumn Blush features a purée at the bottom which makes the drink sweeter as you mix more of it into the drink.
— Crispy Chicken Shao Mai: Described to us as Asian chicken nuggets and that’s exactly how they were. The order came with 3 pieces with a chili vinaigrette on the side and if they weren’t so hot, you could pop one in after another.
We also happened to come in on a perfect day, since they were unveiling the spring menu. We ended up trying 4 drinks off the spring specialty cocktail menu. Featuring them in the pairs that we got them.
— Blossom Tea and Bitter Berry: Blossom Tea is very light again, a very aromatic tea flavor. Actually pairs perfectly if you sip it after tasting the Bitter Berry. The Bitter Berry was delicious, had the prominent flavor of the whiskey, but complimented very well by the strawberry that was diluted into the drink.
— Salted Rose and Vidal Saloon: The Salted Rose comes with a sugar and salt rim, very fruity and sweet. If it isn’t sweet enough, they give a piece of sugarcane to nom on. Vidal Saloon, a play on the Kentucky Mule, but definitely a lighter ginger flavor and a stronger whiskey taste. There was supposed to be a candied apricot, but they ran out.
Finally onto the restaurant week menu, we split the 2 first– and second– courses. Steak Tartare and Foie Torchon Buns with the Hanger Steak and Squid Ink Noodle Soup.
— Steak Tartare: Served with crostinis and sliced mushrooms, very light and flavorful.
— Foie Torchon Buns: Comes with 2 in the order, a play off a pb&j sandwich. You get the savoriness of the foie and the sweetness of the jam to make a perfect combination.
— Hanger Steak and Squid Ink Noodle Soup: Pretty big portions, pretty good, but nothing too special about either one. The steak was grilled very nicely and the potatoes were a good compliment. There were prawns, squid and clams in the soup, noodles were very tender.
— BLK VTM Ice Cream: Handmade ice cream, perfect ending to the meal.
Once again the experience was amazing, we opted to eat dinner in the bar area since Inga was so amazing to talk to. Will definitely need to be back to eat in the dining area, looks like the perfect place for a date. And hopefully we can meet Shirley next time!

Time to check this place out again.
I visited here when it first opened and I was pretty annoyed. Not that the food was bad, per se, but that some of the portions were so teeny for the prices charged that it was almost offensive. I have respect for the chef and so I sent her a personal note rather than a scathing review here.
I was happy to see that the food quality has remained very high and you can actually have a very good meal that is a reasonable value (for fine dining in Orange County). We spent $ 120 all in for 5 – 6 courses and a drink.
The crab, avocado dish was really, really good. Very subtle. I might have added some acid and salt but maybe that isn’t the point. In any case a real winner and worth a trip.
Quail with black rice. Great combination. The quail could have used more salt and the veggies had a tad too much but we liked this.
Noodles with shrimp. This was really great. Nice portion. Not too small but not too big. Interesting and very tasty.
Pear and lettuce salad. Very nice salad to go with the food.
We had a steamed cheesecake that was very good for dessert.
The chef uses a lot of ingredients in each dish but it doesn’t seem forced.
Service is attentive and very knowledgeable (the first time the servers were a bit clueless).
The wine list is sort of a who’s who of giant, mediocre industrial brands. Disappointing but par for the course that chefs who obsess over the diet of the shrimp they buy but will sell horrific wines with no character. But it is what it is.
In any case, I think that Twenty Eight has recovered from it’s rough open and is now a great night out. Time to show the love and add it to your list of go to places.

Everything we ordered was just ok. Nothing was extraordinary, nothing blew us out of the water.
Take note: Never, EVER order their «fries». What you will get, instead, are boiled fingerling potatoes with cheese on top. I don’t know about you, but I expect CRUNCH and CRISP when something is called FRIES, don’t you?
Pork dumplings were alright. It needed a punch.
The Wide Noodles were good– the only highlight of dinner.
My duck breast lacked flavor.
The Hangar steak was greasy.
I was so excited to dine here and was sorely disappointed.

We’ve eaten here about half a dozen times and had drinks another dozen along with small bites. Some of the best cocktails in OC. Their head bartender, Inga, does a seasonal menu, makes excellent classics and even bespoke cocktails (customizing to your preference). Her drinks are so good she’s even been published.
We’ve had over half the menu so I’ll just throw out some of our favorites:
CHIPS AND JERKY — chips are very light and the jerky is like crack. The salty, sweet & spicy combo compliments nearly any cocktail.
TWICE COOKED PORK BELLY BUNS — do you like bacon dipped in maple syrup? Because this is the Chinese version and it is just as amazing. You’ll want to split each bun for 2 people, otherwise you’ll get too full for other dishes.
OCTOPUS — very tender, can practically cut it with a fork. I’ve had plenty of great octopus done in Mediterranean styles (Spanish, Italian, Greek), this rivals them.
OXTAIL FRIED RICE — big flavors, very comforting dish. Recommended to share for the table.
This place is excellent for groups. They have a huge atrium that does everything from an organized singles night to a wedding reception. Service has always been on the ball. Valet is complimentary and is recommended, as the restaurant is located down a driveway so your alternative is parking in the structure and walking a hundred yards or so.

This is a difficult review to write because I am a huge fan of Top Chef and especially Shirley Chung, whom I thought should have gone into the finale against Nina Compton. So when I learned that Chef Chung was opening her own restaurant in Irvine, of all places, I was simply ecstatic.
I ate here three times, and to be honest, each time my experience was just shy of OK.
The décor is large and spacious — large windows, white chairs, dark floors and furniture, silver lanterns. Think Jeff Lewis meets South Beach meets West Elm. But the walls are completely bare, the space rather stark and minimal, and the atmosphere cold and uninviting. Feels more like a gallery space than a restaurant. I do love the field of hemispheres lampshades though. Reminds me of Domaine LA wine shop.
The Chicken Shao Mei ($ 6) is decent, but really small. I understand that it’s dim sum, but I just wish it was dim sum more. The XO Sauce Noodles ($ 11) were very tasty, but it’s nothing I haven’t had before. And the Zhajiang Mian ($ 14) was just OK.
The Carmel Lace Prawns ($ 18) is a tromp l’oeil. The presentations is gorgeous. The lace honey perched delicately atop the sheimp. But the flavor is almost identical to honey walnut shrimp that you might find at your typical chinese restaurant, even down to the overlooked shrimp. If you like honey walnut shrimp, then you will love this dish. I guess I was looking for something a little different.
For a restaurant of this ilk, the service comes across as amateurish. On one occasion, I watched a food runner walk around the entire room with my noodles, asking people if it was their order, before I finally flagged him down. On another, when I asked the server about the contents of a dish, she admitted that she had no idea. So I suspect training is part of the problem here.
I’m hoping that Twenty Eight can turn things around. It’s a great concept, and I’d like to see this restaurant do well. But as it stands, I can only give it 2 ½ stars.

First off, let me start by saying the service alone is 5 stars. Every waiter, waitress, bartender, server, door opener, maitre d, valet, are all above and beyond one would expect at a nice restaurant… and for that, I wish I made more money because you all deserve more tips.
This place was familiar. I think I had drunkenly stumbled into the location when it was Kimera… or however you spell it. But they’ve definitely changed the décor. (though the bathroom is still familiar)
The drinks are a HIT. The Asian bartender with a partial sleeve, she mixes them awesomely. The drinks on «social hour» (happy hour) were awesome, including «The Clover» which tasted like Fall, the Ginger Roush, and this one drink I cannot remember the name of, but it had Whiskey, Apple Brandy, and some jam with cracked pepper on a large ice cube (resembled an old fashioned) by far my favorite drink.
The Food is strictly a 3-​star affair for me, with the Lobster/​Crab Long Life Noodle being my favorite dish (also the most expensive). We did a family style dinner in which we all chose something we wanted to try. After the noodles, the Hangar steak was delicious. Though any beef on a cast iron will taste great! The potatoes and onions were a nice touch. Next favorite would be the bacon wrapped trout. Fresh, smokey, great veggies, this was a great dish. Now my not so favorites.
Granted, I am an «in your face» type of flavor guy. These flavors seemed more subtle, and less bright to me.
The Dumplings in vinaigrette, needed just that, more vinegar. I’m used to dipping my dumplings in a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, and chili oil, so this dumpling just fell short of good for me.
The Oxtail fried rice I think lacked salt or even soy sauce. It just needed more ‘umph’ and felt muddled in flavor notes, though the actual protein was well seasoned and cooked.
The steak and the pork belly bun’s were identical in flavor. They tasted like crispy Sio pao (for all my filipinos out there!) so it was just so-​so to me, when I can pick up a Sio pao for $ 2 at any Chow King. So pick your texture.
The Chicken was moist, but still lacked flavor.
Appetizers we got at the bar were the garlic fries, the pork cracklins and the steak tartar. 1) Garlic fries were good, but they aren’t AT&T Park good (MY SF Giants fans know wassup!) 2) The Pork Cracklins were just chicharones, but the Mediterranean yogurt sauce was great. The Tar Tar was well seasoned and prepared, i’d order it again.
ALL IN ALL, this long ass review, this place is just OK on food, but surpasses all expectations in the service department. I feel as if Chef Shirley (Whom I LOVED in Top Chef) had to tone down her food for a simpler palette. If this is what they served on the show, and was voted as great? I’m mildly disappointed.
I will however drop by for (their well pub’d in house) social hour. The prices are decent for some nice fusion food.

Shirley Chung who was a top chef finalist recently opened Twenty Eight. I liked her on Top Chef. But, I regretfully have to say that this restaurant was a disappointment food wise.
I wanted to get a sense of the food. So, I ordered a couple of appetizers. I ordered the twice cooked pork belly buns priced at $ 8 and the soy glazed octopus priced at $ 12.
The twice cooked pork belly buns were advertised to be boiled once and then deep fried. The exterior of the buns was dry and flavorless. The interior filling was nothing special and reminded me of the filling in a pedestrian char siu bun. It did not really have a pork belly taste.
The soy glazed octopus did not taste fresh, had a fishy taste and it was too chewy. The two tentacles that were set on the plate also had a slimy exterior. Also, for the amount of octopus that I received, the $ 12 price was much too high.
Moreover, I had several lunch mates who ordered the chicken with scissor cut noodles entrée who were each disappointed with the dish. They said that the noodles were undercooked and flavorless. And, that the chicken was fairly dry and flavorless as well.
I must say that the décor here was very well done in a modern, clean design. But, I don’t go to a restaurant for the décor but for the food. And, as much as I wanted to like this place, the exeution was off and the food was disappointing.

This review is based on my experience attending an event hosted here: I’ll update my review when I come back for dinner.
First, the venue is fantastic. Spacious front bar with low lounge seating, bar height seating, and seating at the bar. Large, open, dining room. Awesome semi-​open atrium in the middle.
Pass around food service was good. Everything was delicious. The steak tartare on fried Chinese donut was really great. Servers were on point – friendly and fast. It was a particularly warm day and the servers started bringing water out to everyone, which was really nice.
The cocktails on menu were all really good. The bartender offered to make me a few drinks from the upcoming fall menu. You can order drinks from the bartender through a window opening into the atrium.
Highly recommended for an intimate event venue.

I came here for happy hour and arrived around 5pm and it was not too busy. The bar area is very open and bright.
Soy Glazed Octopus — Overall a pretty good dish. The octopus was very tender. I just can’t justify how expensive it is. There was only one tentacle. It wasn’t a big one either. I would have expected more with the hefty price tag.
Twice cooked pork belly buns — Steamed then fried! This reminds me of eating chashu bun. It comes with condensed milk for dipping. I think it’s fine by itself. An order comes with two buns. Overall my favorite dish.
Better than ballpark fries — Loaded with garlic and crispy fingerling potatoes. HH $ 4. Best bang for your buck item.
Beef rolls — I was really expecting the traditional rolls with the onion pancakes. This was literally beef rolled up with daikon and cucumber. Bite size and very small. HH $ 3.
Beef Tartare — Can’t go wrong with this one. I like how the ‘chips’ were sliced Chinese doughnuts.
Overall I was not impressive with the food. My expectations were pretty high and it fell short. Valet parking is complementary. The structure also offers self parking but make sure to validate on your way out.