ARC Restaurant Food & Libations

I’ve been here quite a few times, and I am still always amazed by some of their dishes. My boyfriend and I usually sit at the bar so it’s always fun to watch the chefs make the dishes and the bartenders make the drinks.
Food: everything is always great. The menu sometimes changes, but for the most part, our favorite things to order are the brussel sprouts, duck breast, wedge salad, and burger. IF YOU’RE NOT GETTING THE WEDGE SALAD, YOU’RE NOT GETTING YOUR MONEY’S WORTH. This is probably the BEST item on the menu, as it comes with four halves of lettuce with phenomenal bleu cheese (and I love my bleu cheese, and this is AWESOME bleu cheese), perfect amount of dressing, sweet tomatoes, and two thick, AMAZING pieces of bacon. I can’t get over this salad. Also, the burger is made of cow, pig and duck meat — perfectly balanced, cooked, and paired. So good!
Drinks: I usually ask for a red wine recommendation, and I’ve never been disappointed. I like my pinots, so they help me pick a light, fruity pinot noir to enjoy. My boyfriend has tried the Number One cocktail and LOVES it. He raves about how refreshing it is. I’ve tried the Dear John and have loved that one as well.
Great food, great service. Although it can be relatively overpriced, it’s a nice treat every once in a while.

This place is kind of small, hidden in the corner of the shopping plaza. Most of the food here is cooked in a wood burning oven in an open kitchen. You can taste the burnt char with every bite you take. The menu does not have that many options but these options is all you need. I order the cheeseburger, my friend ordered the meatballs which came with garlic soaked with whiskey and tomato. My brother ordered the steak and potatoes.
The meatballs were pretty good. The outside of the meatball were crispy and the inside was moist with tomato sauce. I feel that it needed a little bit more seasoning. It was served with garlic bread which was amazing! It was toasty and crunchy with every bite you take. The cheeseburger was the biggest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. The meat was literally too big for me to handle. The first bite I took was a messy one because the duck fat juice dripped down the burger and all over my mouth. It created the savory taste along with cheddar cheese, bacon, lettuce, and onions. The steak was not too fancy; it came with the oven roasted potatoes. It was simple and tasty.
The service was great. They were very attentive refilling drinks when necessary; very informative of the menu, and they even gave us extra garlic bread for the meatballs. I recommend going here on a fancy date because when I was here, I was super under dressed.

This restaurant is very overpriced. One Mexican coke bottle is $ 6! What a rip off! Just a word of advice, never get the tomato pesto! It’s not worth it. The consistency is not very good. It almost made me a little nauseous. I would recommend not going to this restaurant and going to Mastro’s instead. Yes, Mastro’s is very expensive too, but at least it’s exceptionally delicious!

Service was great, our server was knowledgeable and very personable. We ordered the Cheek, Burger, and Brussels. Cheek was tender and had this sweet cream on it. It was good but I don’t know how feel about caramel in my entrée. Then there was the brussel sprouts which were charred but literally no flavor. There was duck fat but the seasoning was definitely off. I took a bite from my friend’s burger and that was really good. The bun was soft and melted in your mouth. The burger was juicy and the flavor was on point. Maybe I just ordered the wrong things. I’m willing to give it another try.

Came here for my sister’s birthday with a family of 5 and it was the best choice!
We ordered a few drinks to start. The cigarettes and coffee was lovely and smokey, per it’s name. ordered the number 14, which was especially refreshing with lots of lime juice. My mom got the mojito, her drink of choice. She said it was amazing.
We got some Brussel sprouts, calamari, and chili to start. My God! That chili is just to die for and the Brussel sprouts were crisp and had a lovely charbroiled taste. By far, my favorite was the duck breast, which was soooooo tender and had just a hint of sweetness. No gamey flavor and it was definitely the table fav.
We also ordered the snapper for the table, but the chef, Dan, informed us that it wasn’t available unfortunately, so he was super generous and offered to prepare a board fill of his own creation. It was SO amazing! Tables were turning their heads and even our waiter’s mouth was watering. I know it was just a particularly special night, and special thanks to Dan the chef for being so generous and preparing the most beautiful meal for our family; still, I would definitely come back and hopefully they run out of my order so I can enjoy another epic surprise! n

By far, one of the hottest environments to dine in. Their slogan reads, «Dirty Sexy Happiness,» and its exactly how I felt.
Immediately upon walking in for dinner, we took a seat at the bar/​counter. I highly recommend sitting here as its a open bar/​kitchen and you get to witness the explosions coming at you from every angle.
We began with some cocktails, Party Hat & Duchess. Although Duchess wasn’t on the menu any longer the bartender was kind to accommodate. Both drinks had a definite kick to them, exactly how I like it! We ordered the Wedge, Brussels Sprouts, and Steak to follow. Had we not taken a seat at the bar we would have never known how they truly get down and dirty in the kitchen. One guy prepares the salads and veggies, another works the wood burning oven, and the other works the wood burning grill. Wow! What a concept! No gas!
The Wedge! Holy crap! Where do I begin? Its huge, share it! The chef slices and perfectly assembles heirloom tomatoes, lettuce, a large slice of blue cheese, 2 thick slices of bacon, dressing, pickled onions… whhaaaat!!! My palate was bowing down to me! Next came our Steak and Roasted Potatoes. I watched them scoop that dollop of sour cream on the potatoes as soon as it came out of the wood burning oven and onto the iron skillet… exceptional! Cant wait to make this at home. My only complaint, at this point, were the brussels sprouts. Charred and it came out last :(This wont stop me from giving them the 5 stars though, cause maybe Im a bit spoiled with Cleo’s brussels (need I say more).
We get the check, and it was brought to my attention that they don’t accept any tips! But why!!! I get it though, great marketing strategy, although so hard to not be able to show some sort of admiration or a form of appreciation of satisfaction and gratification ;)
Cant wait to be back and try their burger!!!

Burger — 5 stars, one of the best burgers I’ve ever had, worth coming here just for this
Pork — 4 stars, juicy, needed salt and hot sauce for more flavor
Meatballs — 2 stars, nothing special
Burrata — 4 stars, tasty but would be amazing w anchovies
Portions are huge. Each dish can be shared by two people.

Had a really good meal here. Met some friends and split a bunch of items. The bacon tart was a favorite. Everyone seemed to love it. I took a pass on the Shrooms order but my other 3 dining mates loved it. It looked very rich but they were fighting over it. I had high hopes for the meatballs but they were a little over-​cooked and only ok. We also got the Dip which was really good. It is like a mix of Italian and Mexican flavors. My favorite item was the beef cheeks. They were super delicious and flavorful. Melts in your mouth. Great cocktails too. A few Italian Snow Cones went around and were fun. The Gloom was good as well. No reservation on a Saturday night which isn’t smart but timing is everything. We got our name down and were seated within 30 minutes. The people right after us, not seated for another hour. Can be a brutal wait. Luckily the drinks help!

Our 2^nd time here. Food and drinks always on point as well as great service. Hubby and I walked in for lunch today right around noon and got 2 seats at the bar. Got the brussel sprouts to share and I got the steak and chicken taco while hubs got the steak sandwich. Their steak is seriously out of this world! Bomb!
Cocktails were fresh and delicious as well. Sitting at the bar and watching the cooks work is so cool. These guys are amazing at their craft.
Love this place. Will be back.

I came here twice in 1 week. My friend and I came across this restaurant randomly while walking around the OC Mix. The hostess did a great job of convincing us to dine there. I heard veggie lasagna with basil, pesto & balsamic vinaigrette. Something along those lines, and I was sold. We sat at the bar directly across from the fire of the pizza oven. The fire was mesmerizing. The restaurant is dark inside with chandeliers, giving the feel of an old Chicago or New York bar. There are also booths for more intimacy. I still think the bar is the best way to go. The whole kitchen is right there in front of you. Most items are made in cast iron skillets in the pizza oven. There are many vegetarian options.
The first time we had the Veg, Tart & Tomato. The Veg was lasagna without the noodles layered with zucchini, cheese, squash & mushroom I believe. It was sooooo delicious. The Heirloom tomato was filled with spinach & pesto and was also to die for. The tart with bacon was very tasty. All exquisite cuisine on par with Napa Valley restaurants.
The second time I brought my fiancé. We got the beet salad (all beets), cauliflower (excellent presentation), quail & Brussels sprouts (best I’ve ever had). He loved it so much. It was a good quality experience to dine there. The servers wore black vests. They don’t accept tips; it’s factored into the price of the meal & drinks. This place inspired my fiancé & I to cook more vegetables using fire & cast iron.

This place is a solid 4.5 stars.
This is a well done foodie– hipster style restaurant. Something that is a bad thing… Brussel sprouts and sliders… But in this case it’s a very good thing.
If you don’t know, most of the food here is cooked in a live wood burning oven in an open kitchen. You can taste the smoke, but more importantly you can taste the care in the food prep. It is a small to medium size menu and the four 5 items we had were all good to amazing.
This was the best wedge salad I ever had in my life. It has this craftsman or house made bacon, that is almost a half inch thick. Accompanied with an heirloom tomato, thick slab of quality blue cheese and house made dressing.
We also order an extra side of this delicious bacon.
The meatballs were pretty good, not enough fat for my palate (dry) and a bit under seasoned.
The roasted cauliflower with béchamel was creative.
A real surprise was this pan roasted corn bread! I wanted to order two, but felt guilty. I think I will order two, next time. Or if I am alone. Please don’t tell anyone.
The last dish was the steak. Not the fancy tomahawk. The cheap one. It was tasty. I think it was flank… It came with these amazing oven roasted paprika potatoes…
It only has limited crafts liquor, cause they want to be fancy, and no Diet Coke :(
The food and service were a 5 put the restaurant was kind of an odd shape, but don’t let that stop you from coming to a really good place!
BTW. Tip is included in the price stated on the menu.

Unilocalers I admire like this place, so I am for sure not telling you not to go. Go try for yourself, see if ARC is what you are looking for. As one of my favorite Unilocalers Aaron E. says, «ARC is perhaps the least understood and most polarizing Orange County restaurant on Unilocal.» Well I don’t know about me not understanding ARC, but if he is correct and it is polarizing, I’m definitely left with a strong negative polarity.
You have a restaurant dedicated to 1 wood fired oven and that’s it. They run their whole restaurant out of it. We all like flame cooking, so what’s not to love? But this is a one trick pony. And everything tasted the same… burnt. I like char on some things, but there is a fine line between a little char flavor, and just plain burnt. It’s a strong flavor and one that needs to be used delicately otherwise it just destroys all other flavors. These are close to fine dining prices, and as such I’m going to hold your chefs’ culinary techniques accordingly, which means they better have full control over that oven.
Wedge Salad — This looked beautiful and I was so excited to dig in. 4 baby romaine hearts, pickled onions, 3 slabs of heirloom tomatoes, a large slab of excellent blue cheese, criss crossed by 2 slabs of bacon, and dressed in blue cheese. This was the best dish of the night but still not without flaws. The bacon was cut very thick and had me excited just looking at it. Unfortunately they destroyed it by overcooking it to the point of shoe leather. Even with a steak knife it was hard to cut, and harder to chew. That was a big warning flag for me that either someone in the kitchen doesn’t know what they are doing, or isn’t caring to inspect the dishes as they are coming out. It’s a sin to burn a slab of bacon this nice. The romaine hearts was an interesting choice rather than the traditional iceberg, but this provides a very bitter center of the lettuce, which was unpleasant. The heirloom tomatoes were excellent, drizzled with olive oil, salt, and pepper first. I loved the use of pickled onions and the blue cheese here was outstanding. 3.5 stars
Brussels Sprouts — was the 2^nd item to come out. These were terrible. Whatever preparation they were supposed to go through, didn’t come out in the dish at all. Tasted like plain raw brussels sprouts cut in half and thrown in an oven to quickly burn. They’ve set the Brussels Sprout Renaissance Movement back 20 years with this dish, as I was quickly reminded why most people hate them so. 1 star
Chicken Casserole — The photos on Unilocal looked great, and I’m a sucker for any kind of baked on cheese, so I knew I had to try this dish. However this turned out to be more like a dip, rather than a main course. Usually a casserole will have a starch of some kind added like potatoes or rice or pasta. This was just shredded chicken, broccolini, and béchamel sauce. So unless you had something to put it on, it was incomplete. My biggest complaint was that the broccolini was raw and hadn’t cooked at all in the dish. Here their one oven concept works against them, because the broccolini should be partially cooked ahead of time. With such a hot oven, it doesn’t take long for the cheese to brown, there’s no way the broccolini can be cooked in such a short amount of time. The flavor of this dish was just ok, as the chicken was shredded really fine, it kind of got lost in the rich sauce. If you order it, make sure you get a side of potatoes to pour it on, otherwise I have no idea what to do with it. 2 stars
Steak and Potatoes — This came with 4 edible pieces of steak cut about 2 inches by 1 inch thick. We requested medium rare, and only those 4 fell into that category, although I could argue that it was really medium, but close enough. There were 2 tiny well-​done burnt ends that were charred beyond recognition. Unlike a tasty BBQ burnt end, this beef wasn’t seasoned very much and the only flavor you got was char, which isn’t pleasant. The potatoes faired better and did roast up pretty nicely in the skillet with whatever duck fat and or butter they were using. 3 stars
I found very little cooking technique being used here and left ARC with the impression that people are just throwing stuff in a hot wood burning oven and calling it a day with little care to the finished dish. But go see for yourself if this one oven restaurant is for you. 2 dishes, 1 salad, 1 side, 3 cocktails later, I however was left with a $ 145 bill and wondering «For what? To just eat burnt stuff?»

Small but cozy and casual. and nice customer service.
1. Customer service — 4
2. Atmoshpere — 4
3. Presentations — 4.5
4. Taste — 4
5. Price — 4
We definitly will come back to this place.

Big let down. I’ve had this place booked marked for so long and so excited to try those delicious meat I’ve seen and heard about on Unilocal,but wow what a fail. Food is not horrific so they get one star for that and another for service
Pro/​con:
no tip but food is more expensive.
Casserole was tasty but very small and at $ 18 I’m 97% sure it’s nothing special that I can’t replicate at home no prob.
Pros:
Nice staff
Cons:
Meatballs are small & dry & expensive
3 for $ 19. $ 6 for extra meatball.
I was longing for a rich thick sauce to dip my bread and meat in especially because the meatballs were so dry. Instead it was just like smooshed roasted tomatoes. Bread was ok nothing fantastic sadly.
Wasn’t able to try any cocktails but note that their specialty cocktails are $ 16 I believe and $ 17 for custom cocktails. My visit was disappointing but o’well now I know and I can cross another off my list and will not return.

Upscale cocktail and eatery I fully enjoyed a girl cuz date at one night. 4.5 stars
Food: 4.5, Service: 4, Atmosphere: 4.5
Cost to worth it rating: 3 (cocktails spendy at $ 16,
Opentable-​able: no
Return worthiness: yes
Highlights:
— Egg nog: best I’ve ever had. They have daily special versions during the holidays to get you into the spirit. Mine was with bourbon and port and super fluffy, yummy, and comforting.
— Meatballs: huge. Roasted garlic pieces and bread slices served in a skillet. 4 stars
— Chicken broccoli cheddar casserole: trendy version of this was delish. 5 stars
— Cocktails: craft to a T. This is no trendy impostor as bitters and sodas are made in house. Not your average liquors and well drinks here.
— Artsy menu: listed by ingredient and no ovens – just open fire grills
— Atmosphere: dark, intimate, and cozy with a few tables and a bar.
Lowlights:
— Only a few reservations a night for parties of 5 – 8 (probably since it’s such a small place)
Was worried it might be an obnoxious socal spot but it works. I really enjoyed the food and cocktails and dining experience here and want to come back and try more.

Dark, hot, quiet ambiance.
After sitting down at Arc a few times you can learn to figure out the place.
You learn to admire their approach to food.
It’s difficult to rate because there’s nothing to compare them too.
No matter what you order from tacos to quail, from quail to a tomato. You will not be let down by the overall quality of ingredient, and the superb taste in each bite of food you’ll experience here.
To top it all off the servers are educated (which you’d expect) and sincere, but not going over the top and kissing your ass. They allow you to enjoy your dinner.
The cocktails run a bit higher in price than most restaurants of its caliber. Cocktails here are good but I’ve had many better from other nearby restaurants. And it’s becoming weird to see such a mark-​up on beer prices nowaday. I believe it was Dogfish Head Festina Peche for 10 dollars a bottle which threw me off. Great beer. But I know it’s 10 for 4.
Overall unique experience. Don’t overdress. The restaurant stays hot due to the wood burning oven. Definitely a must try.

Unilocal Challenge 2016: 15÷100−
ARC advertises, «Dirty, Sexy, Happiness» and they deliver on all of it. Our first and second visits were on ordinary weekend nights without a reservation and there was a 30 minute wait each time. Not bad. The most recent visit was on Valentine’s, late evening, with no reservation (unwise!) and luckily only an hour wait.
Made to wait outside by the fire pit (the bar was full with diners), I ordered the Number One, $ 14. The «Number One» cocktail was interesting and tasty and made with Amaro Miletti, ginger and Curaçao. Previously unknown to me, Amaro Miletti is traditionally a digestivo made from aromatic fruits, herbs and spices. This «sexy» drink made the wait bearable…
I must be getting old though… the music, while very good… was WAY too loud outside on the patio and also in the ladies’ room… Hearing loss: not sexy. As for the «dirty» part of the equation, the décor is dark and the smoke from the indoor fire was slightly evident. The food, served sizzling hot in cast iron skillets, is appealing. Decorative metal trivets, dark wood and black leather banquettes add to the «dirty-​sexy» ambiance.
On to the «happiness» quotient: Chef Noah von Blom has certainly pleased us with his creations that are all both delicious and inventive. Over three separate visits we have tasted: The burger ($ 22), which featured a mixture of «cow, duck & pig», and was juicy and richly flavored. The meatballs ($ 16), with garlic & whiskey were addictive. I could’ve eaten a half dozen myself. The Brussels sprouts ($ 9) and cornbread ($ 6) were wonderful compliments. The cornbread in particular is a must-​get. Glistening and moist, with what appeared to be a honey glaze, it was easily one of the most delicious food items we have tasted in recent memory. We have also happily consumed the pig ($ 18), with beans, maple and herbs, the duck leg ($ 17), with lentil, egg & parsley along with the potatoes ($ 8) with crème fraîche. All were winning combinations. Our «dessert» was the bacon ($ 14) with a sherry-​maple glaze and parsley. Amazing. We worship bacon.
As for «sexy» libations, I’ve been enjoying working my way through their list. Besides the Number One, described above, I’ve also imbibed in: Cigarettes & Coffee ($ 14), which was a heady blend of rye, smoke & coffee — amazing and not for the faint of taste or heart. The Gloom ($ 14), (which generally comes with gin, but we requested a vodka substitute) and featured a mix of lavender and Cocchi Americano. Cocchi Americano is the contemporary Italian apéritif now used to replace the no longer available Kina Lillet– made famous by James Bond’s Vesper Martini. Delicious.
We love ARC. It’s not inexpensive, but the care and quality in their offerings and ambiance make it a worthwhile date night spot. We plan to try their brunch sometime soon…

It’s definitely a gorgeous restaurant. We didn’t have reservations on a Saturday night but the wait was very doable, we waited about 15 minutes before being seated at the bar.
It’s very cozy, dark with good lighting, and attentive staff. My friends and I ordered a bunch of things from the menu. We had two steaks, casserole, tart, and cornbread.
The cast iron skillets were a different touch. Never had everything made in an iron skillet before.
The portions are a very good size, we thought we would still be hungry but we weren’t, in fact we had plenty of leftovers.
The best thing on the menu was the tart. Maybe it’s because it was the first thing I ate, but those lardon bits were delicious.
Everything was a bit heavy since it had a lot of cheese, duck fat, and whatever goodness they had in the food. The only downfall was that some of the dishes were overly salty and parts of the foods were charred.
Everyone has been posting pictures about the wedge salad. How good could it be? I guess I’ll have to check it out next time!

Had a great post deftones concert dinner here with my primo way back when.
BEEF CHEEK
Tender, moist, flavorful? yes.
BACON
May very well be some of the thickest hunks of bacon I have ever had on this planet. I could actually taste the weeks get stripped from my already short life span. And it was worth it.

Everything about the atmosphere at ARC Restaurant Food & Libations is very trendy and comforting.
All of the food selections on the menu are cooked thoroughly in a wood fire oven and the serving sizes are meant to be shared between 2 – 3 people. It’s usually good to go with a date or a group of friends so that you can try a few different options. The thing I love about this place is the timeliness of the service. Our waitress told us that all the food would be coming out in a timely manner and each order basically came out one after the other! The bartenders are keen to make precise drink suggestions based on your tastes, so that’s always a plus.
I’ve been here a few times, but a few selections that stand out are the Duck Leg, which was nice and tender. The Bacon (which can be seen in the pictures) was my personal favorite. We also ordered mushrooms in this cream sauce, and I was actually surprised with how it tasted! Very flavorful and distinct. I ordered the steak and potatoes, and all I can say is that the meat was just impeccable. Everything about this dish was done right. The cream sauce and the potatoes came with kept me wanting more! I would recommend this dish to all of you meat lovers out there! There’s an off menu item that I would definitely recommend, which would be the steak sandwich. Instead of the burger, I would opt for that instead. It’s easier on the jaw and even more delicious!
The bill can run you up a bit, but otherwise, it has a variety of wonderful selections from food and drink to choose from that you wouldn’t find anywhere else!