Chaparosa Grill

Stopped in over the weekend for a quick bloody mary before a movie. The drink was good… however a bit pricey. With a $ 3 tip, for two of them, it was over $ 18… Probably wouldnt do that again but it hit the spot.

Always pleased with this little charming place. It’s just never busy… Quite strange. I love it.
Caribbean menu — Jamaican jerk chicken pasta on the server’s recommendation. EXCELLENT! I was looking for something with spice. Wasn’t terribly spicy, but had just enough flavor. The pesto sauce although it sounds like a strange combo with this dish was just right.
Seafood pasta — also a good choice, a bit more buttery in flavor. Good choice if your looking for something without the rich cream sauce, but more than a marinara.
Enjoyed this little place with a full bar and simple wine list, you can’t go wrong.

Ambiance: Okay. Not too shabby of restaurant.
Price: $ 1.50/taco during happy hour on Tuesdays.
Service: We received quite annoying service at the bar. The server was incompetent about $ 1.50 tacos and acted like he never heard of the deal, but said he will give us the deal since we asked.
Location: Ample parking at the District,
Food:
This «nice gesture» was presented with a bad attitude.
~Chips and salsa taste bland and old.
.
~Tacos: The only good thing out of the three tacos we had was the chicken. Carnitas came in second and spicy calamari came in dead last.
~Water had a funny taste to it
Story: We heard good things about this place and decided to give it a try. This will be the first and last time here for us. If it wasn’t for the annoyingly terrible service, we’d come back for the chicken tacos…

Do not understand the low reviews… met a friend from UCI for a meal here and we had a nice time. We really enjoyed the Coconut Shrimp appetizer, Strawberry Gorgonzola Salad and West Indies Curry Chicken Plate.
I think ordering off the Caribbean side of the menu is the best thing to do here not the Americanized Cheesecake Factory looking side.
Outdoor seating is great for people watching (Who knew that skanky looking girls like to go to the movies dressed as skanky looking girls). The server waived the corkage fee (Loring Pinot went great with the hearty curry plate). Service was efficient and relaxed.
My take on this place, vis a vis the other reviews, is the same as my take on my driving skills versus the other maniacs on the road… I’m the only one that is right :)

Chaparosa Grill in an unappreciated restaurant located in the Tustin District shopping plaza (by the theater, across from the Native Foods).
The food is best characterized as a modern fusion of American and Caribbean style cuisine. Dishes featuring Jamaican spices, jerked meats, and curries are served comfortably alongside your standard fare of American sandwiches and the occasional bacon burger. The menu is also home to a cosmopolitan array of Cajun, Greek, and Asian inspired dishes that seek to both tantalize and refresh the senses.
My favorite thing to order is the Mediterranean Vegetable Pita (see photo), a lush handheld entrée filled with grilled onions, peppers, zucchinis, carrots, avocado, and feta cheese, all complementing each other in a wonderfully harmonious culinary symphony. The vegetables, as with the other ingredients, are always fresh and juicy and the warm pocket bread adds a nice resonance. If coming for breakfast, the Laguna Omelette is another great option, offering a plethora of hearty breakfast meats and vegetables mixed together in lumberjack portions. The house potatoes are a nice pairing, although they admittedly come out under seasoned at times.
Chaparosa offers both indoor and outdoor dining options. The interior is colorfully painted with bright oranges and ocean blues, staying true to its equatorial theme. Outside is a large selection of cozy tables for patrons who want to enjoy the fresh air, glance at curious passersby, and listen to live music performed by a band that can be impressive in their own right. It’s an attractive option when the simple satisfaction of enjoying a good meal outside can make your day.
Honestly, I don’t understand why this restaurant doesn’t attract more people. The chef goes to great lengths to include tropical flavors that may be new, but well-​received by the typical American palette. The menu is extensive and varied so diners should have little trouble finding something to satiate their appetites. If you are at all curious, I strongly recommend stopping in for a bite. Hey, if anything, at least the wait will be short.

Being bold lands you situations like these. Lately, we have been hitting up restaurants on the spot since our hunger has taken the best of us. Having went shoe shopping today, we came out with appetites. Chaparosa seemed like an interesting place to eat — all the vibrant colors and interesting paintings. What caught the bf’s eye was their advertised $ 10 fixed menu.
Taking a look at the fixed menu, we realized it was better to order from the actual menu since prices were similar. I landed a Reubin Sandwich (corned beef) and him, the Fish and Chips. Again, while I waited, I pulled out my phone to check-​in and saw the low rating. After last night’s experience at C’est la Vie, I was apprehensive of how this was going to turn out. But we were already seated and ordered.
The Fish and Chips were delicious. The fish had the right texture — soft and flaky. The Rueben sandwich on the other hand was A-​OK. There was nothing about it that stuck out. It was just layers of corned beef, kraut, and dressed with the same tartar sauce that came with the Fish and Chips which I thought to be odd. Why was my corned beef sandwich dressed with tartar sauce? Both meals came with tons of fries, which is a bonus to those french fry lovers. For us, it was a bit much, but def not a problem cuz we just left them.
After being fiddled last night, this just didn’t seem too bad at $ 25.But I’ll be continuing to dine at my 4 – 5 star restaurants and looking for more.

I’ve been here a couple of times. Their patio is dog friendly which my friends and I appreciate. The first time I came here was for a doggie meetup event. We all sat on the patio and ordered from the bar menu. It had a lot of specials on it for the superbowl. It was great! We ordered a bunch of stuff and we all shared dessert, pizza, salads and had champagne. The group was fun and I enjoyed my time there with the other doggies and their handlers.
We came here again the other night because my friends hadn’t been there. We sat inside this time because it was chilly out and the two of them ordered pasta and I had a cranberry feta salad. My salad was pretty good. I requested water with no ice and the waiter was very good and prompt. It was a nice place setting. I love brushetta and I shared this with my friends but seriously, I must have eaten almost the whole thing myself.
I liked that the place wasnt’ very crowded. It looked empty walking in but there were people in there… low lighting. My friends both ordered pasta dishes and they said that they liked theirs. We’d probably come back again with the doggies to enjoy eating on the patio if we’re in the area again.

I’m glad my wife and I had a $ 40 groupon certificate, because I would be sorely disappointed if we had to pay full price for our meal. We went for a late lunch/​early dinner on Saturday afternoon and the place was pretty dead. The wait staff was very attentive and polite, but the food was extremely poor. It felt like we were paying steakhouse prices for a Denny’s meal.
We each ordered $ 20+ entrees; My wife ordered the ahi tuna steak. I tried to order the lamb, but ten minutes after ordering, I was informed they were out. Okay, whatever… so I ordered a new york steak. The cuts of both were very cheap. the steak was very fatty and gristly and the ahi tuna steak was just full of sinew. The sides were bland mashed potatoes, bland rice and bland vegetables. Like I said, this would be acceptable if we paid $ 11.95 per plate at Denny’s.
We won’t be back again.

Was going to have dinner at Ra but screw waiting for 30 minutes… walked our ass to this place to try something new…
walked in and the server and host was the same person. he wasnt very friendly either. he seat us in a terrible spot right by the door, although the restaurant was huge and had empty booths and tables everywhere. what the hell. so i was like F-​it. Its happy hour, so lets go to the bar.
So we hopped over and ordered a lemon drop (for myself), calamari tacos, calamari, and a Hawaiian style pizza. All off the happy hour menu. Well… the lemon drop was very good. Flavorful, strong, but not too sweet. Yum. The calamari tacos came with 3 tacos and rice. Did not taste like they were fried, and even if they were, cannot tell. The calamaris came out seasoned with some type of asian tasting dressing. Very good, probably best thing there. No need for lemon. The pizza was large for a happy hour pizza (about 10″ in diameter). Thin-​crust. A drink and 3 happy hour items that got both of us full for $ 27.
Over, a great happy hour place. Good cheap food. Large portions for happy hour. And it ends at 8. Hell F-​ing yeah. Oh, and the service was much better when we moved. The chef also came out to ask how our food was. Glad we came here.

I believe this was my third time at this place. I have the jerk shrimp twice and the Chipotle chicken the third time. Both meals were flavorful, which is what I would expect. My friend had a salad with spinach, mango and chicken as I recall, and it looked fresh. No complaints.
The drinks were decent — I had a ginger cosmo. You could really taste the ginger and I liked that it was a little bit different.

Hmm, I’m kind of surprised by all of the low reviews of this place. I haven’t been here in a few months, but has it really gone downhill that much in that short period of time?
They have a huge patio area that we usually sit in. We usually start off with the Asian Nachos. That’s one of the best nacho dishes I have ever had! That wasabi cream that is poured over the won ton chips and the chicken is awesome! Just the right amount of «heat» to it and excellent flavor. I haven’t found a favorite here yet. We mostly come during lunch, but I have also been here a few times for dinner. I usually end up getting a sandwich for lunch. Nothing memorable (I can’t even remember which ones I have had), but if it was terrible I would definitely remember that.
However, I do remember the dinner I had there one night — the pink peppercorn lamb with port and peppercorn reduction. I love lamb and any type of peppercorn sauce. This was delicious!
I honestly would have given them a 3-​star rating because the front of the house service has always been questionable here — relating to the speed of it. They always seemed to be MIA when we needed something like drink refills, even when there were just a couple of us in the restaurant. I gave them a 4-​star because of the food. Plus Chef Tony always comes out and says hi and wants to know how the food is, which is usually right before the staff disappears on us.

Came here on weekday for a coworkers birthday, from reading the reviews I was a bit hesitant to come here.
This place gets a solid 3! Nothing bad, nothing spectacular. When we arrived at noon, not many people were there. We were seated right away and placed our orders soon after.
I ordered the prosciutto and mozzarella sandwich with fries and a iced tea– everything was good, a little pricey for a sandwich though.
Everyone enjoyed their food and the staff was plesant.

I was at The District with fellow Unilocaler Lily A. and some friends, and decided to try Chaparosa on a whim because we wanted to eat dinner before watching Iron Man 2 at the AMC movie theater. The closest restaurant caught our eye plus it was Caribbean, something new to try. We sat outside so we could enjoy the live steel drum player pounding away to some Caribbean tunes, great way to start the night. The menu had some interesting choices and one that I chose was the Bahama Beef for $ 18.95. This dish comprised of filet mignon strips with sweet chili ginger sauce and peanuts. It wasn’t a new taste to me because it pretty much tasted like strips of beef topped with Thai sweet chili sauce. It was good, but not great. We also had the calamari and the wasabi nachos. The nachos were okay a little soggy, personally I prefer carne asada nachos. Overall the taste was more of an Asian flavor rather than Caribbean. So if you are at The District and want to try some Caribbean food, take it from a person who has been to the Caribbean, this wasn’t worth the price.

Wow I guess a lot of my Unilocal buddies I know personally felt the same way about this spot. Upon my new employment, I came here with a co-​worker to get acquainted with my new company’s infrastructure over lunch. After briefly discussing about some projects I ordered the following:
–1 half order of the Peach and Proscuitto salad; consisting of: Those two ingredients in addition to almonds, various greens, and vinaigrette
The salad was simple and conservative in texture and taste, given the contrast between sweet and salty flavors. However the acidity in the vinaigrette is one that I wasn’t too fond of, pretty sharp to the tongue and throat after sliding down into my stomach. Vinaigrettes should be light and little bit tangy, nothing more but a hint in the acidity. Doesn’t help that I’m somewhat recovering from a cold, thus my displeasure with the taste.
The peaches weren’t sliced properly and many large chunks stood out here and there as if it were taken out of a fruit can.
The place was pretty spacious in seating and wasn’t too busy during the lunch hour. My co-​worker enjoyed the decent jerk chicken given his familiarity with Jamaican cuisine. Service was pretty consistent and attentive. Overall, price I’m assuming (given my co-​worker generously covered the bill) came to about $ 23.00 with tax (don’t know how much he tipped).
Mediocre cuisine, at somewhat affordable recession prices. Hopefully they’ll be somewhat better in the future if I ever come back for a second try. 2.5 is my final rating, not too inclined to give a three unfortunately.

I was walking by and their happy hour sign caught my eye. I went in and tried the «Asian Nachos», which are fried won-​tons with grilled chicken, a teryaki glaze and wasabi sauce drizzled on top. Pretty tasty, but became heavy in my stomach afterwards.
Service was good, no complaints at all. I’ll probably be back next time I get back to The District

Carribean fusion food. I stopped by for oc
Dine week. I got the shrimp avocado salad with jambalaya and chocolate ganache dessert (see photos). Food was great. Will stop by next time.
This place is kind of slow at the district. I went back a few weeks later to catch a movie and noted that they had a sign that said «$ 10 set all the time». I guess recession hits everyone.

I have been wanting to try this place for 2yrs now and finally made it there. I thought it was a Mexican place but it’s not. The restaurant is in a great location w/​great patio seating. The inside is actually small. The service was decent considering there were only 3 tables maybe. Everything looked great on the menu I do have to say but it is not a cheap place. I ended up getting Penne with Jerked chicken which also had a star meaning it was spicy. iIt was neither spicy or had any taste whatso ever. I asked for crush red pepper which still didn’t help so I had to add salt. Which I never to b/​c the reason you go out is to enjoy the new flavors. It was in a creamy cilantra pesta sauce which had no flavor! The piece of jerk chicken was decent and tasty. My dish though was $ 15.50 which I would not do again.
My friend did get the west indies Chicken curry which I would have to say was quite tasty & seemed to have much more flavors! So I’d might try that next time.
But again for the price, I might to elsewhere.

Awesome Caribbean food! Get their famous Jamaican Chicken Banana Sandwich — you’ll seriously feel like you traveled there w/​out out leaving your seat. Its a Jamaican Party in your mouth!
I’m not too familar with Caribbean food but its good. Awesome service and environment. Peach Tea is great — perfect sweetness! =) Desserts are really good.
Chief is really nice. You may actually get to meet and talk to him if you go. He has an amazing story.
Parking: Open Lots, its tricky because the restaurant is hidden inside right across from the AMC. So either park in the back of AMC or park across Sharkys.
Price: Pretty pricey for Caribbean food, maybe its considered higher end or maybe its just in the OC. So your meals are going to be around $ 15+. Yes I am cheap.
**I would still recommend people to check the place out if anything. Its very rare to find a good authentic fusion Caribbean Restaurant anywhere in the US.

*This review is based strictly on the OC Happy Hour Week!*
They probably had the most variety of foods during HH at The District. In fact I came here twice. The food here is okay, much better value that at JT! I had the happy hour burger, slightly bigger than sliders, it was actually pretty decent, moist, not overcooked (actually came with fries unlike other place! *cough* JT *cough!!). The margarita was good. I also ordered the chicken jambalaya on my second visit. Taste isn’t super intense, way too spicy to my liking. The amazing thing was the chef/​owner was the hostess, bartender, and waiter! I wonder who was in the back cooking… based on his picture on the menu, he’s gained a few pounds, so the food must be good?

I ordered a pizza here and it was lacking in originality and overall quality of ingredients. The crust had no flavor, generic cheese was used, and the toppings was something to long for. Even the presentation was bad! I really feel they just opened up this place just to make a quick buck due to its location.
My other friends ordered pasta and it looked like a big mess of random stuff. I tried some of it and it tasted very unoriginal, even CPK has better pasta/​pizza.
The «head chef» seems to be full of himself too, but that’s a different story. You are really better off spending ½ the money at some other eateries around there.