Restaurants

Monsoon- $$$
729 4th Avenue San Diego CA 92101

We went to this restaurant on our trip to Sea world. Restaurant is located in downtown San diego. Not very spacious and looks cramped but the chairs are pretty huge and surprisingly offer the required privacy :-)

Menu is pricy, portions are very small, which can be overlooked because of the taste. We ordered a veg biryani, naan platter, appetizer platter and two curries. Everything tasted excellent. Naan and Apetizer platter had generous portions.

On the whole, it has been a wonderful experience visiting this restaurant.

I give it 4 *.


The Wheel of Life Vegetarian Thai Cuisine $$
14370, Culver Drive, Irvine- CA 92604, Suite 2G.

Everyone is welcomed by the owner :-) small space with 6 to 7 tables. Price and food are reasonable. Enjoyed the flat rice noodles, with a spicy sauce. It did meet the Spicy barometer for Indian taste.


Dosa Place
13812 Red Hill Avenue
Tustin, CA - 92780.

Food: Dosa's are excellent, I went here for the first time last week, and was happy to note that the buffet displayed a decent selection of North and South Indian items.

I would recommend this place ideally for South Indian food. North Indian items like Naan and chole weren't so good.

Price: below 10 dollars adult buffet
below 8 dollars Kids buffet.

Rating: 4* again for south indian food only :-).

Veggie Grill

81 Fortune DriveIrvine, CA 92618

Food: I can aptly say "Curiosity definitely killed the cat". Being a vegetarian, my expectations were very high when i dined at this place. My spirit was dampened after tasting thier menu. I ordered a burger that contains ingredients which mimic beef. It was a disaster, although their tofu burger is bearable.
It is a very pricy place, for 4 burgers we paid close to 65 bucks.
A big NO- NO.


Greens cafe :
15435 Jeffrey RoadIrvine, CA 92618

This is one place I can vouch for vegetarian food. They have a decent menu and also offer lunch buffet's on Sunday.
I loved the burger, and am a big fan of the wild rice on the menu.
Definitely worth a try.
Price : Below 10 per Entree, 11:95/person buffet.
Website:
http://thegreenscafe.com/

India Cook House :

14130 Culver DriveIrvine, CA 92604-0335
Disastrous place to dine for Indian food. Their buffet was pathetic, with very few vegetarian choices. On this particular day we visited the restaurant, they had a dry cabbage curry with a spinach paste as the second option. They do not offer Buffet prices for kids- we have to pay 14 dollars for kids as well.

HELL NO -- I would never step in this place again.

Buffet: 14/person- u do the math :-)

Haveli :
13882 Newport AvenueTustin, CA 92780-4666

I did not like the location of this restaurant, very small, food was mediocre. Saving grace is they offer reduced prices for kid's buffet, we get coupons in our mail to dine at this place.


Red brick Pizza :
6721, Quail Hill Parkway
Quail Hill Village Centre
Irvine- CA

Located in Quail Hill, this place is by far a very relaxing place to dine. I love the outdoor seating and it is very peaceful, with very little activity. Pizza is handmade and a medium pizza costs 16 dollars. Pizza is very tasty, I would definitely recommend this place to get away from routine and enjoy some peaceful dinner or lunch. We haven't tried other restaurants in this area, but there are quite a few options for dining.

Natraj's Tandoori:
6751, Quail Hill Parkway
Quail Hill Village Centre
Irvine- CA

Samosas at his place rock, never tried other dishes on the menu. But we make it a point to order a plate of samosas, before ordering our pizza. $2.95/plate contains 2 samosas.



Elephant Bar:
14346 Culver Drive
Irvine - CA - 92620.

Vegetarian choices at this restaurant are decent. Although the entreess are expensive- ranging from 10-14$.

We raked up a bill of 70$ for 4 entrees and drinks.


California Pizza Kitchen
55 Fortune Drive, Ste. 600Irvine, CA 92618

This place rocks, I love the location, more than food, service is wonderful.
Broccoli sun dried - tomato Fusilli is a must have. Price 10-15$

Thai Bamboo Bistro
2417 Park Avenue Tustin, California 92782

This restaurant is our all time favorite, very economical, and we end up taking leftovers for next day as well. The portion size for each entree is huge- Any single order can be shared by 4 people. I never have come across any restaurant that offers so much quantity of food with a single entree. 10-15$

I give this restaurant a 5*.


Zov's
3915 Portola Parkway Irvine, CA 92602

We accidentally dined at this restaurant- after closing escrow for our new house. It serves more as a memory than a best place to dine. Vegetarian choices are very limited. We ordered a Lentil soup and a Veggie burger- prices are expensive too- we paid 40$( 2 people) for a burger- pasta- and soup. Price 10-15$

I give it a 2*

LA Salsa
14171 Jeffrey RdIrvine, CA 92620

This place is way better than chipotle. All their entries are below 6 $ and they have a wider range of menu compared to Chipotle. 6-8$

Chipotle

9512 Culver BlvdCulver City, CA 90232

I usually prefer eating at Qadoba when it comes to Mexican grill. Failing to find one in our vicinity, I had no choice but to go to Chipotle. They have very limited menu compared to Qadoba. They do not offer quesedilla. Like i said earlier - I feel LA Salsa is much better compared to Chipotle. Price 5-8$

Tri State Village
Jeffery Road, Irvine

This place carries a Chinese Menu and has lots of vegetarian choices. I liked their fried green beans dish and tofu entree. They also replace the white rice with veg fried rice for 5 dollars. Each entree price is between 10-12 $.


IHop
18542 MacArthur Blvd., Irvine, CA, 92612

Very pricey, 15 $/entree. Food is mediocre.

Souplantation
2825 Main StreetIrvine, CA 92614-5901

Fun place to dine for kids, for adults, we easily get bored eating salad. I do like their soups, and Blueberry muffins.

Economical place to dine 10-12$