TAPS Fish House & Brewery

I really enjoyed my last visit here. The service was quick and efficient. The food was so good. I had the sea bass and it was amazing. I highly recommend it.

I went here for brunch with some friends. I was expecting it to be a lot better as far as their food.
I pretty much sampled everything they had. Soome of their items were a bit salty. The sausages, pancakes and salad bar was good.
I definitely enjoyed their desserts. One that was my favorite (hace to order off the menu) was the Banana Foster. That… DELICIOUS!
Unlimited champagne /​mimosas. Our server Joshua was awesome and very attentive. Kudos to him.
I’d come back…

Came for Sunday brunch on my brother’s graduation. Normally I’m a big time hater of buffets, even high end ones, but for whatever reason I came away from TAPS satisfied.
Pros:
— Choice of either unlimited champagne/​mimosas or 2 pints of beer
— Carving station only had 3 types of meat but all 3 were good.
— Crab legs, oysters on the half shell
— Some cooked to order items like omelets.
— Wide variety of desserts, including a chocolate fondue.
— Other reviews indicate TAPS can be hit or miss in terms of service, but at least on the day I came it was good
Cons:
— To be honest, most of the hot food in the trays was pretty bad. Didn’t really bother me though as that stuff is full of carbs to fill you up faster.

This place has a pretty awesome brunch. $ 37.99 for a large buffet, endless mimosas and service that’s great. Check out the brunch when they offer it. The chocolate fountains are to die for.

Fab food and fab service! Was me and my hubbys first time to Taps. He had the chippino and I had the clam chowder. Both were good. However, the grand slam was the chocolate soufflé…RIDICULOUS! since it was our first visit, we received it free. Our server was knowledgable, courteous and prompt. Great job TAPS!

We arrived at lunchtime and the restaurant was about two thirds full. The service was very slow. The restaurant was nearly empty by the time we got our check. Service was generally bad. The waiter did not check on us after the food was delivered. We felt like second-​class citizens as the waiter seemed to ignore us. We thought he was annoyed with us because we asked about their lunch time hamburger special. We rate the food as average or below average considering
the price. My husband’s Cobb salad had too much dressing and the chicken was dry, hard and overcooked. my scallop and shrimp sandwich was swimming in way too much mayo with more mayo on the side making it difficult to eat without a mess. However, it was tasty. We spent $ 40 not including tip for a lunch experience that was below par

My review is for Father’s Day brunch. I’m sad to say this was a very disappointing brunch experience for me. I’ve been told good things about the taps brunch, but it did not live up.
The reason for my three star review is pretty simple: the food was not very good, just your typical buffet food. Since it was Father’s Day, I know it was more crowded than usual and that the restaurant can’t control lines at some food stations, but things were continuously running out and I found myself opening up empty trays.
Also, service was strange. Things seemed to be attentive. We were out on the patio during that outrageous heatwave, and they were passing out cold towels which was nice. But It took like half an hour to get waters and drinks. Waiters kept coming by asking us if we wanted anything, and then would disappear and we couldn’t get water (or refills half an hour after).
Overall, way to overpriced for what you get (both food, quality and service wise).

It’s sad that I have to lower my ratings for taps because my first impression of Taps was outstanding. I was constantly telling my friends and family about how wonderful taps service was and so on.
When my sister, brother, and I walked in today for dinner, the wait time for a table in the dining room was roughly 15 minutes. We told the hostess we would wait, but after 10 minutes, the hostess explained how if we just sit at the bar area, it’s open seating and we could eat right away. We just decided to go sit down at the bar area. We sat down, and were told that a server, Monica was going to be helping us out. We waited for about 15 minutes, while watching our «server» walk by our table multiple times. She said she was gonna help us twice but never did. I was confused cuz a minute later, another server, I believe her name was Alexis helped us. She was really nice, and attentive. The two stars are for her. However, I felt as if no servers were paying attention to us cuz multiple severs walked by not acknowledging our existence. We didn’t even have drinks on our tables. Why? Because we look young? Both my sister and I have experience as servers, and I’m a current sever. I understand that it gets busy and rough. But to assume just cuz we look young, that we probably won’t tip them well, they feel they don’t need to treat us the same as older guests, which is absolutely disgusting.
Food–
Lobster bisque– Is okay, but way too salty. There was no lobster chunks in there whatsoever.
Hairssa Salmon– HAD TO SEND IT BACK. I substituted my quinoa with mashed potatoes, but the salmon and mashed potatoes was cold. You can tell its been sitting out under the food lamp for a long time. I know how restaurants work. They leave it under the lamp cuz they want certain entrees to go out together with the rest of the tables food… I’m not stupid. The presentation itself looked like a microwave dinner. There was no cucumber salad or sauce like it normally comes with cuz I’ve ordered the salmon before and It was dull in color and just unappealing to look at and eat.
Sirloin steak– UNDERCOOKED asparagus. My sister had to spit it out. The asparagus was hard and not even slightly cooked. Her steak was good in flavor, but cold as well.
I absolutely hate having to send food back, let alone complain to a manager cuz I know what it’s like being in a servers situation. However, we were ignored for 15 minutes, food took way too long to come out, only for it to be cold and other stuff like cucumber salad been left off the plate.
I want to mention that no bad reviews go to my server, she was very nice and attentive. It’s the way the entire place was ran, and lack of general service which ticked me off. I’m not returning here.

Sorry, if I have the coherence to write this review, I should not have gotten the awful service I received from this terrible waiter. We waited over 20 minutes for our lobster bisque. When we kindly asked for it, the GM asked us if we had drank before coming to the restaurant.
If your pre cooked lobster bisque took 20 minutes to come out, it really doesn’t matter if we drank beforehand. It matters that your service is slow and awful.
This isn’t the first time we’ve had awful service here. We thought it’s just because it a newer restaurant. No, just a terrible place.

My boyfriend and I are regulars at this location. Nothing can beat their amazing Chilean Sea Bass! I don’t know what they do to make it so amazing. Probably involves butter, butter and more butter. But I don’t mind! Amazing food and GREAT customer service.
The General Manager, Masaya Yamazaki, was so friendly and talked with us for a while during our last visit! Thanks for making our visit so awesome!
Until next time :)

My husband and I had frequent this restaurant a few weeks back. We were so pleased with the exceptional service that we received. Our server was brilliant as was the gentleman that made our salad and dessert table side. After an evening like this, we were so excited to bring our daughter here for her birthday. So tonight for her seventh birthday, I made reservations for 4 at 6:30pm (which TAPS canceled on Open Table to stop me from writing a bad review: «As requested, TAPS Fish House & Brewery– Irvine Marketplace has canceled your reservation for a party of 4 at TAPS Fish House & Brewery– Irvine Marketplace on Saturday, May 21, 2016 at 6:30 PM.
If you have questions about your canceled reservation, please contact TAPS Fish House & Brewery– Irvine Marketplace at (714) 619‑0404. Have a question for OpenTable? Visit
for answers.
We hope to see you on OpenTable again soon!
Sincerely,
The OpenTable Team»)
She was so excited especially since I told her about how they make the ice cream right at your table.
My little one had to go to the bathroom upon our arrival. So while we were in the restroom, my husband was shown to our table. When we came out of the restroom, the hostess showed us to our table. We sat at the table and awaited our server. It was lovely to see that the wait staff was attentive to the table that was seated after us. They had been brought water and bread. Yet there we sat; not a word or glance from ANYONE. After they walked past us by for the fourth time our seven year old asked «did we do something wrong? Why aren’t they coming to us?» Can you imagine how we felt as parents on our little girls birthday? After two more servers past us with no eye contact or acknowledgement, we decided to leave the establishment. Our daughter said sadly «that these people are not nice.» No one even seem to care. Well, no one but our daughter.
As we were departing, we were asked «should we get the manager for you?» The statement should’ve been «I’ll get the manager for you.»
I’m not sure if the new trend is to have your customers wait 15 minutes, without having the courtesy to even say «our apologies for the delay, but someone will be right with you.» It’s amazing how a statement so small, can make such a difference. Just sad…
We will never step foot in TAPS again. How could we ever? TAPS is now responsible for creating a bad memory for our daughter on her birthday. Thank you for making her cry.
Great customer service. You should feel nothing but shame.
We ended up taking her to Lino’s in Huntington Beach. She had a great time!!! The service was amazing!

CHAIN FOOD!!! –you can taste the prepackaged corporate shipped flavor.
Unlike the majority of Unilocalers, I have been in the food industry for 23 years and love the culinary arts, I know what I’m talking about. People giving this kind of food more than 3 stars are your typical frozen food diners on the weekdays and food critics on the weekends (aka Unilocalers).
I’ve been to taps a couple of times, mainly for oysters and bar food. I made the mistake to give it a chance on my birthday (April 25^th)
We order the following appetizers:
Shrimp cocktail, which by the way it’s prepared table side by mixing the cocktail sauce in front of you LoL shrimp comes cooked and chilled from the kitchen. It was good
Oysters on the half shell, there’s no much science in opening oysters and serve them with cocktail sauce and the vinaigrette similar to a mignonette. This was good too
Crab Cake, big crab cake, I could taste a lot of fillers (bread crumbs, panko etc.) it was good (I’ve had better)
My youngest daughter got the kids cheese burger, most restaurants don’t put too much effort on the kids meals and taps it’s not the exception, it was as bad as a Big Mac.
My son ordered the sirloin, it came with smashed potatoes and asparagus, he said it was good, I tried his potatoes and they were average.
My oldest daughter ordered the jambalaya, she didn’t eat much, I tried it and thought of dehydrated rice, this was not good at all. She didn’t want to send it back, she took it home and after a couple of days she threw it away.
My wife ordered the mahi mahi, I tried it and I thought of the fish and chips that I’ve had eaten at pubs that taste better.
I ordered the pork chop, it had the texture of microwaved food, a little too salty. The rice, tasted like instant rice.

Drinks are good but a little less than impressed with the food here. The happy hour items were not stellar. Tried the Charcuterie sample, ceviche, beet salad, and calamari (non HH item). All were just okay. The bread and dip that is complimentary is actually way better than the food you pay for. I’d say drink up and eat bread. Leave room for real food eslewhere. The cream ale is second to none. I could have give up all beers for this — easy to drink, thirst quenching and light (i’m guessing from the way i feel after).

HAPPY HOUR REVIEW! They have food and drink specials, plus any specialty cocktail not on the happy hour menu is $ 1 off
—complimentary fresh out of the oven sourdough bread with a crusty shell! Love how they serve this with their mix of balsamic and olive oil, yum
—fresh oysters: $ 8 for 4, these were fresh, they served the small juicy ones
—hamachi: prepared table side, DELISH with that sauce and the sticky rice!
—calamari: we choose the Provençal preparation which was okay, kinda tasted like chex mix
—beef carpaccio: yummy! Loved the accompaniments
—clam chowder: creamy, thick, just the way I like
—lobster bisque: also pretty good
—sweep the leg craft cocktail: GET IT, light smooth, you can’t go wrong with an egg white cocktail
Would totally come back for happy hour!

I dined here the last 2 Fridays. First for a company dinner and then the week following for Happy Hour. Food and service during both trips were great!
[Visit 1]
During my first trip, I ordered the Tiger Shrimp Scampi. The shrimp were a decent size and there were 4 of them… the pasta was cooked just right, not too soft and not too al dente… and the sauce was quite tasty.
My co-​worker wanted to share with me and so I also had part of her 16 oz. Ribeye entrée. The steak was extremely tender and flavorful and it was cooked perfectly to medium rare as ordered. This was accompanied by some steamed veggies and a large side of country mashed potatoes. The potatoes were awesome! If I were to go back for dinner, I’d probably order the Ribeye.
Some of the other entrees ordered by our party: Miso-​Marinated Chilean Sea Bass, Harissa Grilled Atlantic Salmon, 16 oz. Double-​Cut Pork Chop and Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf. Everyone enjoyed their food… there wasn’t a single complaint.
[Visit 2]
For my 2^nd trip, I went for Happy Hour with a friend. Being that it was a Friday, it was extremely busy. Luckily my friend got there early and was able to snag a table in the bar area. **Happy Hour is available Mon-​Fri from 2−7pm and Sat from 12−5pm**
The 2 of us shared 3 items from the HH menu:
*Margherita Pizza — The center of the pizza was a bit on the soggy side, I imagine because of the big chunks and slices of tomato, but it was still good. I can sometimes be picky about the crust but this was delicious with a slight sweetness. The pizza was served with a dipping sauce made of olive oil, hot chile peppers and perhaps some other seasonings. I tried the pizza with the dipping sauce and loved it!
*Ceviche — Citrus marinated bay shrimp, bay scallops, tomato, avocado, cucumber, red onion, tabasco and cilantro. I did not care for this. I typically prefer ceviches that are lighter in flavor but this one was way too sweet and seemed ketchupy. I will not be ordering this again!
*Tempura Shrimp — This did not sound appetizing to me but my friend wanted to order it so I went along. I was pleasantly surprised. When I heard «tempura», I was thinking it’d be like Japanese restaurants where it’s a long piece of shrimp that’s over-​battered and slightly soggy. Instead, these were lightly breaded bay shrimp with a slight crunch, similar to popcorn shrimp. It paired well with the kimchi aioli. The best part for me though were the blistered shishito peppers.
Costco sells gift cards, $ 80 for $ 100. But I read through some of the Unilocal reviews that state the Costco gift cards are not valid for Happy Hour. That’s definitely a bummer. I don’t know of any other place that has restrictions on gift cards. And I don’t believe any of the other restaurant gift cards sold at Costco have restrictions so I don’t get why TAPS can’t just go along with the norm and honor them during HH. Hopefully one day management will change the policy for that.

Happy Hour
It was insanely busy but we managed to snag the bar seating in front of the kitchen and oysters. Décor was modern and gorgeous. I love the white leather sofas and the beautiful Christmas tree in front! Food was so-​so. We ordered:
Smoked Tri-​Tip Sliders — Smoky, good portion but felt like it was missing something. Needed a bit of cabbage or coleslaw in it since it tasted plain with meat and bread.
Marinated Beet Salad — Gorgeous presentation. Needed more goat cheese to balance out the beets and the tartness of the salad. The salad had too much dressing and was soaked which I did not find appetizing at all.
Artichoke — Good flavor and a healthy, light appetizer.
Clam Chowder — This was too thick and heavy. It looked like paste rather than soup. I do not recommend this!
Clams & Mussels — My mother ordered this. I did not try it since I do not like clams or mussels but it smelled delicious and garlicky. My mother loved this dish.
Happy Hour times are good:
Mon-​Fri 2−7pm, Saturday 12−5pm
I may return for happy hour since they have good drink and food specials. Otherwise, their menu is overpriced for average food. The service was also very slow and it took us several times in order to get our water refilled and for us to receive our food.

I really wanted to go to the one in Brea since the pictures looked really good, but decided to go to this one, which is closer. My sister made reservations for Sunday Brunch for my birthday at 10AM. we arrived 10 minutes before they opened and there were a few people waiting outside. Once inside, we checked in a waited maybe 10 seconds before being seated.
After putting our drink orders in we headed off to the stations to get our eat on. There was a table with hot items in the center of the buffet area. It consisted of mashed potatoes, gravy, pancakes, cheesy tater tots, some turkey dish, some fish dish, sausages, bacon, eggs benedict, etc. Next to this was the carving station, which had pork belly, sausage, and beef brisket.
There was a dessert bar, which had various cakes, fruits, rice crispy, pretzels etc, to dip in mik or white chocolate. There’s the salad area with the crab legs and oysters. Around the area are small tables with cheeses, roasted artichokes, crostinis, thinly sliced deli meats, etc.
My first plate consisted of mashed potatoes, cheesy tots, calamari, beef brisket, sausage, pork belly, eggs benedict, and a biscuit. Everything was ok except for the pork belly. It was too fatty. The beef brisket was ok until I bit into a really salty part of it. The egg in the eggs benedict was totally cooked so when you cut into it nothing came out. No oozing yolk. Was disappointed.
My second plate consisted of various cakes and a rice crispy square dipped in chocolate. Dessert was just ok. Nothing to rave about. We also ordered the mini donuts which was on a separate menu. Those were ok as well. Everything was just «Ok». Nothing special and not a lot of variety like I was hoping it would be.
Service was good. There were different people checking up on us and taking away dirty dishes. I probably wont be back for brunch. Maybe try lunch or dinner.

This was my first time at Taps and let me just say, I was impressed. I was impressed because I thought it would be another brewery-​type restaurant that I would peg a notch below BJ’s. I was definitely wrong!
First thing that stood out to me, was that the layout of the restaurant is large and sectioned off into cozy booths, larger group dining areas, and tables and chairs in the center. We made reservations for a Saturday night and were seated at one of the tables. Normally, I’d prefer a booth but the tables here are actually placed appropriately (as opposed to feeling awkwardly placed in the middle of the dining area for maximum capacity purposes) and paired with very comfortable dining chairs. Based on that alone, I’d have no problem being seated anywhere in the entire restaurant.
For our dining experience, we enjoyed the following:
Short rib meatballs — this was good. Nothing amazing, but rich and satisfying. I liked how it came w/​your own personal mini loaf of crusty French bread!
Ceviche — tasted fresh, could’ve used a bit more acid. Came with great, crispy tortilla chips.
Sirloin steak — cooked to perfection, probably one of the better steaks I’ve had in a while.
Drunken Mahi mahi — good portion from what I observed, friend said it was great.
Bread pudding — presented at tableside, really good but vey sweet.
My husband ordered one of the specials; it was a fried fish that was accompanied w/​a pasta in a Béchamel sauce — this was to die for. I wish I knew the name but it’s on the specials and according to our server, will be added to the regular menu.
Needless to say, our meal was fantastic. It was a wonderful dining experience because not only did we enjoy the food, the service was terrific, the ambiance was very nice, and everything was just cohesive. A lot of times those things don’t quite come together; which usually results in a meh experience even if the food was phenomenal or if the service was outstanding.
Based on my experience, I highly recommend Taps. The menu options are pricey. They won’t break your wallet, but it’s def not «casual» prices (unless you just a baller tho). I would say it’s on par with Gulfstream’s or Houston’s. And while it is a tad fancier than BJ’s or Lazy Dog, the atmosphere is not bougie and I felt it was comfortable and appropriate bringing my 9 month old here.

I was pleasantly surprised by the food here, as many breweries I have been too have more of a «bar food» kind of situation going on, more of your burgers, flat bread pizza, and nachos. The selection here was pretty good, a lot of seafood options, and what set this restaurant apart is they have a lot of «table-​side preparation» options. The restaurant itself has a nice bar section, oyster bar, indoor and outdoor seating available. The outdoor seating is lit well. We went on a Saturday evening, most people were dressed pretty nice, definitely not your «casual/​come in sweats» kind of place. Seating time was only 15min, but we took a spot in the bar section. Bar section waitress was very good, which I was pleased with because in bar sections, sometimes you are not so lucky.
We asked the server what the most popular appetizers were and she recommended: Colossal prawn cocktail, Monterey County artichoke, and calamari.
We went with the colossal prawn cocktail, which included a horse radish cocktail sauce which was prepared table side and could be adjusted according to how spicy you wanted it. The prawns were very large, the dish came with about 5 – 6. The cocktail sauce was delicious.
We also tried the Monterrey county artichoke, and don’t be fooled, it is not a dip, it is an actual whole artichoke. My friend and I looked at it so fast and assumed it was a dip. Be prepared to put some work in with this appetizer, as you have to pull each leaf off and bite the artichoke meat off. The artichoke was cooked just right and flavored with lemon, and included an aioli sauce for dipping on the plate.
The Chilean sea bass was highlighted on the menu, so i decided to go with that and was not disappointed! This was an amazing dish for sure. The sea bass was marinated in miso, but did not have a thick glaze, which made the dish pretty light. The sea bass was served on top of rice, with cooked spinach on the side and a spicy yellow jelly.
We almost went with the liquid nitrogen sundae for two, but we were too full. This is also prepared table side. And a little dessert tip, the butter cake and chocolate soufflé take 30 min to make, so order ahead of time.

Irvine’s best happy hour.
The new Taps Fish House & Brewery on the Tustin/​Irvine border feels instantly familiar. If you have been to the nearby Lazy Dog Café or the brand new Famous Dave’s, you realize the interiors collectively have more in common the longer you sit. That said, Taps isn’t just treading clichéd waters — the restaurant’s Irvine location is easily their most ambitious to date.
There are flat screens everywhere and true to their brewing roots, a bevy of draft options. But there are also briny and sea fresh oysters, incredible fish tacos and perhaps the best smoked tri tip sliders in OC. If you keep your eyes on the staff you will spot a new addition: table side service. Carts ferrying the some of the trappings that the kitchen offers bring a personal touch to what is already solid service. Add a seemingly endless happy hour on weekends and you have a stone cold lock 4 star experience.
Te menu is voluminous — almost to a fault — featuring everything from Korean influenced bowls to thick chops of steak and just about anything you can think of in-​between. This leads to somewhat clumsy dishes such as their ceviche which was a tired and uneventful rendition of my favorite starter. Thankfully, the waitstaff are very knowledgable and can be trusted to steer you towards their strongest offerings.
Taps has taken significant strides in their newest and most ambitious undertaking and judging by the crush of customers I saw on a Saturday, they should enjoy a great deal of success.