Cedar Creek Inn

What a great place to sit out on the patio, take in the sights of the Historic Mission and enjoy some great food. Cedar Creek Inn has some fun sandwich choices and really great salads. The Seared Ahi sandwich is so savory and there is a Turkey Brie and Strawberry sandwich that has this incredible raspberry jalapeño sauce. Those sandwiches and the Zuni Rolls keep me coming back again and again.

This venerable San Juan Capistrano destination is a class act. Perfect combination of creative menu items, quality food and drink, great ambiance, and nice staff from the bus staff to the wait staff. I have sent compliments to the chef a few times, too. This is also a family owned business that really is an anchor in the community. Super spot for special occasions — a cross between dressy and casual — always comfortable. The patio with the view of the historical mission just across the street makes this a place where locals love to appreciate our many gifts. Cedar Creek Inn is certainly one of them! Thank you for being there, Cedar Creek.

I’m not exactly sure what to think of this restaurant. Is it fancy or casual? For an intimate date or a family meal? It’s very hard to say. The inside seemed fancier, but we sat on the patio (inside was booked on a Saturday), which was much more casual (plastic chairs!). The food was decent. Nothing blew us away. The potato skins are a good appetizer. I got the eggplant sandwich for my entrée, and my husband got the prime rib. We didn’t have complaints, but we weren’t raving either. Actually, the food highlight was the free basket of garlic bread. Delicious. The service was above average. The ambiance is nice – right across the street from the mission. I’m just not sure we will be back. It was very crowded and the food was fairly standard.

My daughter and I took the day to go see the mission and stopped in for lunch. It was a beautiful day out but decided to eat inside. We were seated right away and the waitress came within three minutes of us being seated. She made excellent suggestions since we had never been there before. We had the calamari appetizer. It was the best that I have ever eaten. As soon as we were done with our appetizers our table was cleared and our drinks were refilled. Less then five minutes later our lunch was delivered and everything was equally as good as the appetizer. My daughter had the fish and chips. Amazing. I had the french dip which was good. The service was great. It couldn’t have been a better experience. The only reason for the four stars and not five was because it was a little on the expensive side for us. But it was worth the money.

Great atmosphere and wonderful service and food
Visit the mission San Juan too! Directly across the street!

Awesome Food… Fish and Chips was so GOOD! Tatar Sauce Spicy and Good… it was a little busy for holiday weekend but that was fine more time to visit with family and enjoy the nice time…

Let me first say that the restaurant looked wonderful with all of the Christmas décor.
However your dining room is dirty. Even in the dim light you can clearly see the wear and tear and the chairs are falling apart. I was seated on a folding chair as were many others around the room… Did you guys run out of chairs?
You can certainly afford new ones with what you charge for your menu items.
My party decided to try the fried green beans and were totally disappointed. Not only were they served lukewarm but the beans themselves were over cooked and the breading was just bland.
The ceasar salads came out over dressed and soggy.
The salmon dish that my wife had was really good though. I love that they cook it and serve it on the cedar board.
My prime rib although perfectly cooked came out cold and the accompanying vegetables were over cooked and limp.
Our waiter was really nice and tried but seemed a bit overwhelmed. He didn’t know the specials and was absent most of the time.
This wasn’t our first trip in but it will probably be our last.

Great spot for a nice casual meal. The best part is the setting and ambience. Right across from the Mission, outside is beautiful especially with view of fireplace or mission. Inside is cozy and warm.
Food is very good. Not fine dining. Pretty basic steaks and mashed potatoes with some other options (I.e. Seared Tuna). If you have high food expectations, you won’t be wowed but you won’t be disappointed either.
Caesar salad was great. Clam chowder was very nice. Seared tuna was very good (weird paring though — I normally don’t match mashed potatoes with fish). Filet Mignon was also done to order and was good.
Very reasonable prices. Some nice well priced wine options also.
Will go back.

Great place! I was visiting from San Diego for a friends birthday. I got the special Mahi dinner. Delicious!!!
I am a pescatarian so there won’t many options for me or for vegetarians but the rest of he group– meat eaters– loved it.
It’s a bit pricey however service is great.

Excellent excellent… I never had calamari like this before, lightly breaded & fried succulent chunks. Delicious enough to be the ONLY reason to come here… but wait. the margaritas are fabulous!
I also enjoyed the Ahi tuna tartare as my entrée, and was glad I opted for something small, as the portions for lunch entrees were huge.
A good place to celebrate birthdays, one of the waiters is an awesome tenor and really does the Happy Birthday song justice. The atmosphere is friendly and fun.
And thanks to the lady sitting next to us, she shared a few bites of her steak, when I commented on how good it looked. :-D

Cedar Creek Inn serves meat so undercooked a skilled Veterinarian could still save the animals.
Another Unilocal mobile application find on the fly that yielded utter and complete disappointment, Cedar Creek Inn offers a decent ambiance with a beautiful deck, convenient proximity to downtown San Juan Capistrano and a kitchen that deserves to be run out of town by gunpoint. I am not joking, our table of three had nothing but losers on our plates.
I opted for the Ahi which clocks in at $ 25.00 and claims to offer sashimi grade ahi seared rare and served with a spicy lemon caper cilantro sauce which sounds delicious but the Ahi arrived unseared. In fact there was not a hint of a sear. It was a sashimi steak that felt the grill for about 3 seconds on each side… which honestly isn’t a deal killer on its own (I love sushi), but the surrounding vegetables were all cold, including the mashed potatoes which had no place on a plate along with Ahi in the first place. The entire plate was cold.
My fish was so rare it was still talking smack to Spongebob Squarepants.
Another diner at my table ordered the Angus Beef Sliders and comically they came out scorched beyond recognition. I am talking hockey pucks in buns. In fact they were fit for a god since they were nothing more than burnt offerings. A one bite and out situation. At least they are consistently inconsistent?
My entire table was between underwhelmed and plain upset with their dinners and even though we expressed displeasure very little was done to compensate for the situation with exception of giving the kitchen «medium rare» another shot on the Sliders only for them to come out medium well the second time around. At this point they really should have retired efforts and struck the Sliders from the ticket (look guys, you don’t know how to cook meat to temperature).
This was easily the worst south county find of the year and my last visit to Cedar Creek Inn for any reason in the future. Bleh factor five.

All ways good and always a good time take my new one here and we just enjoy each other here thanks you very much

Stopped here for brunch on our way to vacation, and so glad we did! The place is super cute and homey. They sat us next to the lovely fireplace that was actually on!
My friend got the bbq salad (I forget the name) and I still dream about that salad. It’s perfect, everything is chopped up the same size and it has a great bbq flavor without being too sweet.
I randomly decided to get the chicken stir fry which I was pleasantly surprised with. The fresh tangerine slices were a great touch, and it was soooo much food we ended up taking most of it to go.
Can’t wait to stop back by when I’m in the area.

This is a combo locals and tourist destination in South Orange County, across the street from the Mission San Juan Capistrano. The martinis are good and generous, as they serve it in a small glass with a carafe backup. Sat in the bar this time, as it was a Friday night, without reservations. I had prime rib and LuLu had the pot roast. I was shocked at how ‘fatty’ the Prime Rib was for the price. I’ve seen leaner and larger portions of Prime Rib for $ 19.95, although keep in mind it’s a higher priced place due to its location.
LuLu (from Buffalo, NY) gave 5+ stars for her traditional pot roast with red cabbage!

Sorry for my delay in posting my review. We came to the Cedar Creek Inn on April 4^th, 2015. The six of us had a wonderful experience. The restaurant is very pretty and we were sat in a quiet area. I found myself wishing we had decided to sit outside where it had a more vibrant atmosphere. Our server was very accommodating and friendly. He suggested different drinks based on my first selection. We shared the appetizers of crab-​scallop cakes, potato skins, shrimp cocktail and sesame calamari. All were delicious! My hubby had the lobster bisque and loved it. Salads were refreshing. Our entrees were wonderful, braised short ribs, fish & chips, cedar planked salmon, Filet Mignon, etc. My nephew devoured the roasted lemon chicken! We were too full to have dessert. No complaints at all!

We were very under dressed when we got here since we came with a group after a 13 mile walk. Yikes, a little embarrassing, but we aren’t from the area and didn’t make the reservation.
Any way, it is pricey, and my ahi tuna burger was delicious. As was the house margarita and potatoe skins. Beers were only like $ 5, so not bad.
I didn’t like my husband’s steak sandwich. It was open faced and he asked for medium, but it seemed well done to me. They had a lot of interesting menu items. I really liked their ahi burger– definitely recommend it-​swiss chese, this jalapeño tartar (and I don’t like tartar so it was more a zesty creamy sauce) with sprouts. Also, the coconut cake was really good and I am not even a big coconut fan!

Still love the Ahi Tartare! Now I’m just waiting waiting for the crab cakes. Always great service, very attentive staff, and they come by at just the right moments.
What I love the most is the ambiance. Casual but classy and upscale. Today I sat outside on the patio and its a lot more comfortable than I thought. Just an overall relaxing, beautiful place with great food.

Cedar Creek is a nice option to get a good meal before visiting the Mission. We had a variety of menu items and split them between four of us. They included the fish & chips, the chicken croissant sandwich, seared ahi salad mad the steamed artichoke. My favorites were the ahi salad and the sandwich. The ahi was very fresh and the portabella mushrooms and sweet peppers were a nice addition. I also loved the wasabi-​ginger vinaigrette dressing. The chicken croissant had a nice curried flavor. The artichoke was fun to eat and the dill sauce was yummy. I didn’t get much of the fish n chips to try but it seemed ok. We sat outside on the patio right by the fireplace. Cool setting and great way to spend a Saturday afternoon in San Juan Capistrano!

We have been eating here for many years and have always had good food and Great Service. This is one of the best places in San Juan Capistrano.
With a full bar and plenty of seating its a very popular destination for lunch or dinner.
Right across the street from the San Juan Capistrano Mission The patio has a great view and sometimes you can even see the swallows returning to Capistrano. Just like the song.
Everything on the menu seems to be pretty tasty and very consistent. The Calamari with jalapeño tartar sauce is probably the best I’ve had anywhere. Very well seasoned and very tender. Highly recommended.
If you ever want just a nice day out go see the mission and pop in for lunch at Cedar Creek Inn and dine on the patio.
Enjoy.

Palm trees, oaks, and the mass of red umbrellas on the courtyard patio were so inviting that when we finished touring the Mission San Juan Capistrano we made a beeline here for lunch. The restaurant was busy; luckily we were able to find a table in the courtyard.
We started with house margaritas. This cocktail is prepared with conmemorativo tequila, cointreau, grand marnier, sweet and sour, and fresh lime juice. They are served in stemmed glasses which as first glance did not seem to be much of a cocktail for $ 10. Then the server put down two small ice buckets with carafes of the margaritas so we could refill are glasses with a cool drink. This was a great touch. And the margarita was good: not two sweet, not to sour, and not to strong or to weak
Linda and I shared a plate of fish and chips. This lunch item came with 3 pieces of perfectly prepared fish, it wasn’t greasy and it wasn’t overcooked. The fries were good, but pretty standard. The lunch also came with a side of coleslaw.
We also shared a small kale salad, are server told us that it also had shaved broccoli leaves. I would have never guessed if she hadn’t told us. The salad was small; I could have easily finished two. It was excellent! I had several good meals on this trip; this might have been the best of all of them