Filomena’s Cafe and Wine Bar

I had the opportunity to dine in this restaurant with 7 other girlfriends on a Friday night at 7pm mid January 2016. We made a reservation a few days before and sat at the amazing handmade table in the center of the room. Most of us ate dinner entrees and drank wine and mixed drinks. A few just joined us for drinks. We were not in a rush and the entire night was at a leisure pace. We were served our drinks, salads and meals in a normal pace and never once thought they were delayed or too fast. I can’t remember what we ate since I’m writing this review 6 weeks later, but every single one of us LOVED our meals. I believe I had an Arrabiatta pasta and added scampi. Others had Osso Busco and several different chicken and fish dishes. Frankly it was perfect timing of everything. It was a birthday for one of our friends and they brought out dessert on the house. The Executive Chef, Linda, came out to greet us and we had a great conversation with her. All-​in-​all, it was a great evening in a great restaurant. All in attendance agreed we would be coming back! I really don’t understand all the negative reviews. We had an outstanding evening. Thank you, Linda!

This restaurant was rather disappointing. First of all, it’s in the Laguna Design Plaza and hard to find. If you go to Filomena’s on the weekend, most of the doors to the plaza are locked. When we finally found the restaurant and received the menus we noticed that the wine list was very long, and written in very small print. As we just wanted something to accompany dinner we attempted to order one of only the 3 or 4 wines priced below $ 35 a bottle and were immediately told that they were out of that, but «we recommend another wine in lieu» which we assumed was something in that price range. When they brought out the wine and poured it, I was able to fire up the flashlight on the smartphone and found out they had brought us a $ 58 bottle of wine! We told them we didn’t want that wine and would like to order one of the under $ 35 bottles instead. 5 minutes later (we didn’t drink any of the expensive wine) an obviously irritated women who I believe was the chef came storming out of the kitchen and barked at us «what’s the problem?!»…we politely explained it to her and she yanked the bottle out of the ice bucket and then held the bottle and our 3 glasses up to the light to make sure we didn’t drink any of her pricey wine. As first time customers, her rudeness made a bad first impression. When they brought the less-​expensive wine to our table. it was slapped onto the table and we had to pour it ourself. This trick reminded us of the «House Wine/​Hess Wine» trick that some restaurants play…(order the «house».get, and pay for, the Hess)
As for the food, it was «meh» at best. The Vitello Saltimbocca was quite tasty, however for $ 20, it was very heavy on pasta and light on the veal. We didn’t order any appetizers, however they did look tasty being waitered to nearby tables. The atmosphere was on the minimal side, not a coffee shop, but also not very elegant. It felt like a $ 20 per person restaurant at a $ 35 a person price. They had 2 TV’s running showing a cooking show with better looking food than they were serving… a strange choice of programming.
In summary, I’d say that if you go here just for food, you’ll probably enjoy it without too much damage to your credit card, however the wine is way overpriced. If you are craving Italian food, Fratello’s on Niguel Road, Luciana’s on Del Prado or the «small plates» at L’Hirondelle in San Juan provide a much more enjoyable dining experience in the price range of Filomena’s (and polite chefs!).

We just moved to Aliso and have been having a hard time finding a quality place to go out to dinner. We are so happy to have found this little gem! I got the eggplant parmesan and it was the best I have ever had! We have tried the other Italian places in the area, I’m not sure how they are so popular (couldn’t even finish my dish from mangio bene it was so inauthentic –I feel like it came out of a frozen box) and this little place seems to remain hidden. On one hand I want to tell everyone about this place because it is so good, but on the other hand I don’t want it to become so popular that we can no longer get a seat! This is definitely our new go to spot, so happy to have found such a perfect place. I really thought I would have to go to Laguna beach after moving here to get a decent dinner, not anymore!

It’s very casual and the service is good but the food is very very average with no real imagination past an Olive Garden type of food. It’s flavor less and not really worth another visit since there are so many more choices for Italian food in Orange County.

My wife and I are frequent customers of Cosmos here in Aliso, but to now have two options for Italian cuisine is great! We shared a calamari appetizer, I had Frutti de Mare with Angel Hair pasta and my wife had Chicken Piccata and both were outstanding. Although warned that service could be a little slow with some call in sicks, it was fine. We really enjoyed our dinner.

This is an undiscovered neighborhood gem! Great wine list and delicious Italian food — family recipes passed down and expertly prepared by owner, Linda, originally from Philadelphia. The Som, Andii, was so gracious and spent time explaining the nuances of the extensive offerings to us before we made our selection. The service was friendly and the restaurant has a great casual/​upscale wine bar feel. They offer special wine dinners each month which sell out quickly. SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL INDEPENDENT RESTAURANT! They make life so much better! If you don’t go… they wont stay!

Service good. Great ambiance. Outstanding live entertainment. Best Bruchetta ever. Soup outstanding. But dessert made it over the top! This is «Love Cake». Ricotta cheese cake, citrus and honey. Extremely fresh, light, decadent!

Showed up last night. No reservations. No advanced warning with 14 people (only five were adults!) … They were incredibly accommodating! We all enjoyed our meal (very tasty!) … the wine selection is superb! Will definitely be going back … soon hopefully!

I’m sitting here eating some of the best Italian food I’ve found in Orange County. Best homemade pasta ever but it doesn’t stop there!!! Live music. The Honeybees. Great music, great food, great attention to detail. They are getting it right. Came here before & the food was amazing, service was slow. Not anymore. Everything was right on. Thank you for a great night Keep it going. You are so needed in South County.

I love this place. I found this gem in Costa Mesa years ago and I’m so glad they are closer to me. The service is outstanding. The food is amazing. I wish I could order something besides the pappardelle bolognese but it’s so good I can’t! The ambience makes you feel at home.

Brought 8 friends for a birthday dinner based on my previous experience. I had to downgrade them from my previous stellar rating because they just didn’t live up to 5 stars and I try to be particular with giving a perfect score. All my 8 friends commented on the less than perfect performance.
It took me over 20 minutes to get my first beer and it was hot so I really needed a drink. A drink doesn’t need to be cooked so it should’ve been there within 2 – 5 minutes. It took me over 30 minutes to get a glass of water so that was even worse. Possibly need help in staffing.
I’ve read all the ratings from larger groups saying the service is slow and I have to agree. Our dinner took over an hour and a half to get to us. Total time at restaurant was 3 ½ hours. But it was fresh and tasty so they get a pass. And I had great company.
The main reason I’m being more accepting is that we travel to Europe a lot and meals often take 3+ hours. We Americans are used to the speedy service primarily because restaurants want to turn tables for the extra revenue. But there needs to be a happy medium.
Live music was nice to have, but it was too loud and more like a lounge than a restaurant. We had to raise our voices to have a conversation and I left with a hoarse voice. Half our group are musicians so they know music and made sure I commented on it.
I’ll be back again and hope to have the 5 star service I had the first time and will be happy to change my review once again.

First impression: This place is located inside a really neat plaza, never knew it was here before! Came here around 6pm on a Wednesday night. Apparently they close at 7pm on Monday thru Wednesday, which seems very early. We should have checked their closing time the day before, maybe we could have planned to be there sooner.
There was no-​one else in the place, but service was still a bit slow. Wine prices start about $ 10 per glass and go up from there, average being about $ 15 per glass. Bruschetta was alright, but too much raw garlic. The handmade ravioli was absolutely delicious though, so that was their redeeming quality. That said, we would have liked it a little bit hotter. Not sure I would come back here soon, maybe wait a few months for them to get organized and give it another shot.

I was at the design center for an event yesterday and I thought I would try this restaurant.
They had prepared four different wraps special for this event. The server told us we could order off the menu — but it would take a long time to get our meal. So we chose the wraps.
These wraps were not anything special. I had a tuna salad wrap and my friend ordered a spinach and avocado wrap. The wraps were pre-​made. They lacked flavor for sure.
I would think if I ran the only restaurant in the Design center and the design center was having an event I would have my best tasting meals or small bites ready to order. I would want to show off what my restaurant was all about.
I wish I had better restaurant choices in Laguna Niguel. I won’t be going back to Filomena’s.

Not that there are many reviews, but I am surprised by the number of positive reviews for Filomena’s. I just had dinner here with a large party and left very disappointed and under the impression that the executive chef, Linda is prejudiced against those of us that speak a foreign language and who might not represent the OC look.
We arrived on time for our 7pm reservation and proceeded to watch an entire restaurant (90 people as we were told by the chef) be served before us. We waited almost an hour to get water, bread, and to order our drinks and food. We were served our dinner 2.5 hours after our reservation and treated with disrespect when we complained about the service and food prep. The table next to us and surrounding tables, who had the same experience and complained, received a smiling apology and free desert. It makes me feel sad and disappointed that a business owner who claims to be in the «top 10 in orange county» can treat her customers with such disrespect, especially when we have gone there to celebrate a milestone birthday with a large group of people.
None of the 10 people in our party, all local residents, will be eating here again and will definitely not be recommending this restaurant, or other affiliated restaurants to friends or family. It doesn’t matter if you’re having a staffing issues (as we were told), if you can’t accommodate your reservations, you shouldn’t be seating other parties and then serving those parties before your reservations. We would have also appreciated being let know that service would be slower than usual, instead of Linda stating, «I don’t care,» when we expressed that we were not pleased with how we were being treated. Unfortunate experience all around.
Oh…and the food did not make up for the time spent, lack of professionalism, and disrespect.

Dude. Seriously this is what just happened when we went here:
They never came to take our order for 45 minutes, after we had made reservations for a birthday dinner.
After an hour had passed from when we ordered (and people who came in after us got served) i walked in from the patio to see when we were gonna get our food.
Our waiter then told me an employee had left early and they were behind. that didn’t explain why other people got served but I was totally understanding. Also why didn’t they tell us this instead of making us wait for an hour?
Then another half an hour passed and still nothing. We had to go up and ask them again where our food was (and for more water because they literally completely avoided coming over to us)
Then the owner came over to the table and had an attitude like we were out of line for wondering why we were sitting there starving for a laughably long time while there were employees just like standing around doing nothing.
She said the food would be ready in five minutes. half an hour later the food finally came.
They left out one of our orders.
Then while every employee didn’t even acknowledge that they had failed miserably in every way we were all still way too nice to them.
The check came and she had added a gratuity and didn’t comp us any of the food or ntake money off the 50 $ bottles of wine we bought.
Seriously WTF? Thankfully we all kept a good attitude and since it was way past ridiculous it will be a memorable experience, but you knows we had to jump on Unilocal ASAP.
The guy playing guitar was sweet though so 5 stars for him.

Local gem just like Bistro Anju.
Bolognese, frutti de mare and their champagne chicken are truly exceptional. Fresh made pasta, perfect wine pairings (thanks to the sommelier Andi «ahndee»)
Will be a regular! Price is great! Service is excellent! Chef Linda is passionate and puts a lot of love in her dishes.
This place is not pretentious. Very welcoming and down to earth.

A Fun Filled event with Jazz Musicians, Great Company and very appealing food. Gregory Michael Entertainment’s Gregory was celebrating his birthday. His entire band provided the Very sexy Jazz sounds. All In all, the entire evening was SIMPLY GREAT. Outside patio seating was fabulous. Ambience is worth mentioning.

This review was written for their Costa Mesa location.
I finally found my Italian hidden gem. Amazing pastas and the best soup minestrone I ever had. I will be coming here again and again. By the way the place is so small hardly 30 seats but again that’s a plus for me and now they have another location in Laguna Niguel.
After leaving the rest, I had to drive to their new location in Laguna Niguel and meet the maestro of these orchestrated pastas the one and only Linda. She was so humble and sweet.
I am going again tomorrow to try the Vodka Pink Sauce. My kids wanted pasta for dinner. So I took them to a local Italian rest we usually go to and I ordered spaghetti Bolonegse. I kept comparing it all the time to what I had for lunch at Linda’s rest. Linda you spoilt me and nothing compares now.

Such a great lil spot in this center… Finally!!! I was served by Jesse! She was so knowledgable about the wines and food!!! I had the scallops and the artichokes!!! I also drank some delish Barolo!!! Yum!!! Can’t wait to go back!!!

Came in here over the weekend to pick up dinner and was pleasantly surprised to find this well appointed bistro/​restaurant in the design center. It was so inviting for a minute we thought about changing our to-​go order and eat there. The staff was super friendly and offered water and wine at the bar while we waited for our food to be ready. Here’s the breakdown of what we got:
cheese garlic bread– really good, the bread was crusty of the outside and warm and flavorful on the inside
meatball and sausage appetizer– this one was my least favorite although I’m not a huge meat eater; meatballs were a little dry but I loved the sauce and ricotta with it
lasagna– this was awesome; I only had a bite but I could’ve eaten the whole thing
penne alla vodka– I changed it to fresh fettuccini and added chicken– loved the fresh pasta and the sauce was so rich and creamy
tiramisu– great, very strong coffee flavor (which I love but my husband hates so I didn’t have to share)
cannoli– so good (again I only had a bite) but the filling was so smooth
I was surprised to find out how long they’d been serving dinner (2 months) and still so few reviews. Maybe people don’t know it’s there? Hopefully people start finding it because when a good place comes to town I get attached. Good pasta is so hard to find.