MRK Public

One of the best restaurants in San Clemente. Great service and great food. This my first time here and won’t be my last. I think I just found my new regular spot in town. Thanks MRK Public for a great overall experience.

MRK did not turn out to be as great as I had hoped.
For one, the location is strange, used to be a fast food place and the transition did not quite turn out, I expected it to be a bit nicer.
Service was great, though it did take awhile for our food to come out, they were very friendly and helpful.
The pork belly poutine is a pass, missing the brown gravy and the meat was pure fat.
We had the short rib, the chicken bahn mi and the fried chicken sandwiches with fries and salads.
Sandwiches were tasty and flavorful, the salad and fries forgettable.
Portions are on the small side, also a bit pricey for what you get.
In all, we had a descent meal, I would just not rush to return here again.

Nice location, cool, creative menu options. Food was tasty and the price is fair compared with other similar quality food. Then why only 3 stars? Because of the arrogant rude kook with the long curly hair who works there. Maybe he has nothing to do with this restaurant but I saw him talking to the staff. Anyway, if you are the owner, a phony smile is better than a sincere grouch. You thought you were too cool for school which actually makes you a complete loser. To MRK Public — if this guy has nothing to do with you, my apologies and if he does, suck it you kook.

Amazing food. Amazing atmosphere. Super friendly staff. I will definitely come back again!!!

My husband and I stopped here on our way to San Diego. It looked really good based off of the pictures and the reviews. Might as well give it a try!
The services was good but the food was mediocre. We ordered the wings which look mouth watering but when you bite into one you taste an odd flavor and notice that they are very dry (most likely over fried). You get accustomed to the flavor but still so so. We ordered a side of ranch which also tasted weird and definitely didn’t expect to see a 50 cent charge for this tiny side of ranch. We also ordered the short rib sandwich which lacked flavor. There was a horseradish sauce but it wasn’t thrown on top and really needed to be near the meat which was slightly dry and flavorless. And this is where you start throwing ranch on it to give it a little moisture.
Overall this place is just ok, probably won’t be back.

I «like» MRK, but don’t «love» it.
I’d give it a 6.5…but have HOPE that the menu expands and I can upgrade my number to a 9.
The Cons:
— The menu is somewhat small/​limited (especially for vegetarians)
— Not many booths/​seating
— Situated on a loud street (El Camino Real)
The Pro’s:
— The burgers are reported to be excellent! I’ve seen them and they do look tasty!
— The one chicken dish (happens to be a sandwich) is ok
— The service is very friendly
— The atmosphere is casual
— Indoor & Outdoor dining tables
— Immediately off of the I-​5 exit/​easy freeway access

My husband and I stopped here on our way to San Diego.
I wouldn’t classify this place as a Gastropub but it was a good choice to stop.
They have local beers, which rotate. The food was amazing. There’s a very small but well done menu, something I can appropriate; however, there are not a many vegetarian options.
The patio is dog friendly!

Everyone made us feel very welcome as soon as we ealked in the door. The beer is top notch. Great selection to choose from. The food is also very good. We had the wings and fries with housemade ketchup. Amazing!

My sister and daughter and I love this place we have been trying out everything on the menu. Yesterday we tried the pastrami sandwich and it was great we split it so we could try the lemon beignets and boy were they good. We have had the same server each time and she is a sweetheart. Her name is Carissa and she is a joy always serves us with a smile and very informative about the menu. It’s a must try if your in south San Clemente.

The appetizer (bread), Tuscan Toast,
was burnt. Why would you serve charcoal bread? You can see the bread in my photo. The beers were teeny tiny? Maybe 6 oz glasses, if that. I received 2 chunks of cheese in my entire appetizer. I was soooooo disappointed. I wish I wasn’t.
Needless to say, I will never be back! I
I have given this restaurant a few chances. When I had their fried chicken sandwich, it was all dark meat. I also had the short ribs, which were loaded with fat. The prices are VERY high for what you get. The customer service was mediocre, at best.

I had to stop by after reading some other great reviews. I started off with one of their great local beers on tap. Which is something I always love, locals business supporting other local businesses. I had the Lite Lager which the server recommended (it was 2:30pm and I didn’t want to get too crazy) What I also liked was each beer is 6 dollars all day everyday. Yes some may be 6oz and some may be 8oz but you cannot beat the price for quality beer.
I first started with the Vietnamese Sticky Wings. The title does explain it, they sure were sticky but the taste was sure darn good. Was a decent portion as well! I also ordered a side of fries and got crazy with a side of rosemary roasted garlic aioli on the side. The fries are extremely good, nice and crispy with a nice amount of seasoning.
Then I had to try and finish up my experience with the Lemon Ricotta Beignets and they were just as everyone has expressed in the other Unilocal reviews. They are fluffy warm and sugared to perfection.
All in all I enjoyed my experience and the whole look of this place!

#39/​100
Aaron E is giving this place a 4 star. Well I am too. If only the noise level was a tad bit lower, I’d totally give them a 5 star. But I know its not the establishment to blame, it is US. Regardless, I am rating my experience…
Moving on…
Our servers were amazing. We stayed for about four hours there. I had to sort of let the effects of my two glasses of Cab, burn off. So we had two servers taking care of us. Both were awesome! They explained what they had on tap and the wine list they had, and their specials. Although some of their specials caught my attention, I had to pick one of Aaron E’s choice when he visited here. Yup. Their house burger.
Their house burger is this half pound juicy Angus beef dressed with white cheddar with roasted tomatoes (YUM) hold the pickles, greens, with slightly burned grilled onion (Noooo), with yummy lemon aioli (loved this!)
We also tried their red wine braised Angus short rib with rosemary roasted garlic aioli. I’m in meat heaven! Amazingly good! Seriously huge portion meant to be shared. And we did. It is tender and soft and tasty. Served with greens.
We also had their sweet chilli chicken wings. We inhaled that in minutes! Order it! It’s one of their most popular item on the menu. Really good!
And then there was the pepper crusted bone marrow with salsa verde on the side accompanied with roasted red pepper paired with grilled baguettes. I had one word to describe eating this — orgasmic!
So glad we tried this place out. Breath taking views of the ocean. Excellent service. Yummy grub. Parking is plenty. Outdoor seats available as well.
I would definitely return!

Got the burger and pork belly poutine. They were both good, but not incredible.
Good quality good and ok service. The décor was pretty cool too, but who gives a damn about that, this is for tasty food reviews damnit! and the food was tasty. I give it a solid 3.75−4 stars. and not too badly priced for the area either.

Here ye here ye… get your butts down to MRK for the short rib sandwich… the fried chicken sandwich and an absolute must is an order of the beignets which are incredible!
Service is great! Tons of local brew beers!

I keep coming back because it’s just that damn good…
Quality is sometimes in the details and I still know that they culinary team at MRK Public take extra steps to pickle, house make, source excellent ingredients and keep somethings simple.
The Sticky Wings are on point, the Fried Chicken sandwich and pork belly go extremely well with the craft beers served and the dope staff that works this small and busy joint.
It’s comfortable food, casual atmosphere and a refreshing venue from other overcrowded and «one of many» restaurants around South Orange County.
They had a special pastrami sandwich with pickled cabbage that was off the charts delicious and the rotating taps with many local beers makes you glad they don’t serve Coors Light or Stella.

Good food, simple, clean and relaxing décor, ocean view LOVE IT! I’m glad there are more and more foodie spots in San Clemente. The menu is packed with delicious items — most with meat or seafood. There are just a few vegetarian choices for my hubby. I ordered the poutine and it was amazing (gravy is ridiculous). The pickled onions & jalapeños were delish. I also got the calamari frisée salad but was so full on the poutine I only ate half! The orange slices and pumpkin seeds in that salad were perfect. My husband ordered the banh mi with tofu and said it was yummy. Baguette was perfectly toasted. Of course, I had to try those lemon ricotta beignets for dessert… OMG that lemon-​yogurt-​yuzu sauce on the side was to die for.
My only one complaint is that the non-​alcoholic drink menu is kind of pricey. $ 3 for a small Pellegrino $ 5 for a large.
This was my second time, and I will definitely be back when in this area again.

Excellent local spot in San Clemente. I come here frequently with my fiancé and am always excited in the variability of their local craft brews… There is always something new on tap, and who can beat $ 6 pints?!
I’ve sampled almost everything on the menu. For the appetizer, grab either the Mussels (the broth is amazing) or the Tuscan Toast. The toast is really unique and I’ve never had anything like it anywhere else… Roasted tomatoes and garlic with some sort of french cheese in EVOO… Its out of this world.
For your entrée, you cant go wrong with the braised short rib sandwich. Its a generous portion and will leave you full and satisfied, especially after a brew. it’s got some peppers on that which gives it a great bite!
My fiancé’s go-​to dish is the chicken sandwich. It’s top notch. We always compliment with a side order of fries. They have great dipping sauces to accompany. There’s a reason this is #1 rated by Unilocalers in SC… You wont find a better combination of value and flavor anywhere else.

What can I say that hasn’t been said about MRK. Hmm… the beignets rock?! I think that may have been said already but even so, they do! ;)
Truthfully, I came here with no expectations but was super pleased to see that MRK actually does live up to the hype. Neither my friend nor I were starving so we opted to share a few dishes in order to try more. We ordered the Tuscan Toast and the Poutine, and of the course saved some room for the beignets! Every item was delicious and well done:
The Tuscan toast wasn’t your basic roasted garlic that you smear on crispy bread — it was more of a loaded schmear w tomatoes and cheese and olive oil — basically tasted like heaven on toast, which IMHO is what they should really call it. ;) Don’t miss this folks!
The Poutine was really delish, and loaded with pork belly and a yummy thick gravy. It was also garnished w chilies, onions and cheese — all served on a bed of perfectly crispy fries. One warning though that it is quite large. Between the two of us we barely made a dent but it was too good to not take home, and heated up really nicely the next day.
AND finally the beignets… and these were not just any beignets folks — these were LEMON RICOTTA beignets. Holy smokes, these are dangerous! Served warm and slightly under-​cooked with a sprinkling of powdered sugar and a side of creamy lemon cream. These alone were worth the visit and if you are in the area, I highly suggest you stop and try these!
All in all MRK really impressed. The service was awesome and super friendly. The place itself is pretty small and nothing fancy but has a cute fun vibe to it — feels really comfortable and you can tell someone put effort into making it feel that way. My only complaint is that they are too far away from me in San Clemente. ;)

MRK Public has been on my radar for their selections of craft beers and wings, so it was a great opportunity to drive down before hitting up another beer spot on the way home. Exiting off El Camino Real, the restaurant is within a few meters from the freeway entrances/​exits. It’s a super easy find and there’s plenty of parking in their private lot. Since we headed in for a late lunch around 1pm, we decided to sit in the outdoor patio while the weather was warm and sunny.
Beer menus are displayed inside and outside, so you get visibility anywhere you sit. The selection is a small list, but there’s variety so there’s a bit of coverage on every type. Unfortunately, the stouts that day were pretty minimal, so through a recommendation, I settled on Oskar Blues’ Old Chub on nitro.
For lunch, my brother and I usually split all our meals family style. I mean, we family and all, but it allows us to try more things as well. We started with the Bacon Blue Salad. Baby greens tossed with chunks of Point Reyes bleu cheese, applewood smoked bacon, five-​spiced candied cashews, green apples and a cider vinaigrette. I really enjoyed how the dressing was light, but enough to coat the greens and provide some flavor. Everything was on point and this would work well as a stand alone meal as well if you’d like to add any protein.
Since the wings is what I had most anticipated, we definitely got an order of the Vietnamese sticky wings. Tossed in a roasted chili caramel glaze and fried garlic, the wings had a nice caramelized crunch on the skin with a sweet chili flavor. Served with pickled vegetables to cleanse the palate, the wings were phenomenal and I most likely would order it again.
To round out the rest of the meal, we also got the pork belly poutine. Crispy fries layered with gravy, fried pork belly, pickled Fresno chilies, pickled red onion, queso fresco, scallions and horseradish crema. We had asked how large this portion would be and our server mentioned it would be a bowl, but when it came out, it was much larger than I had expected. Very filling and can get a little heavy. Luckily, the salad was nice to break away from the gravy, cheese and cream.
Overall, the meal was fantastic and the weather was on our side to enjoy the patio seating. The ambiance is laid back, inviting and relaxing. Service was superb and would love to come back for those wings and more.

Want a forward thinking kitchen and a casual gastropub experience in South County? Look no further than San Clem’s MRK Public!
For whatever reason the Unilocal and overall South County communities have been sleeping on MRK Public but something tells me that will change and soon. The open and welcome environment invites you to try new culinary creations and craft beers. MRK Public employs the Playground in Santa Ana’s principal in craft brew which means every beer is $ 6.00 but the size of the glass will change depending on the beer you choose. The average beer seems to clock in at 8 ounces although you may get as small as 6 ounces. I tried IPA varieties from Avery Brewing and thoroughly enjoyed them both.
The menu is diverse and creative, especially for San Clemente’s standards in cuisine. Pork Belly Banh Mi, Red Wine Braised Angus Short Rib and the Fried Chicken Sandwich all peaked interest but the House Burger was the must try after exhaustive contemplation. This Burger is a beef clad madman. A ½ pound Angus beef patty was seared to a perfect medium rare and topped with melted white cheddar, oven roasted tomato, romaine lettuce, dill pickles, a grilled onion spread and a small amount of Lemon aioli. Everyone at the table omitted the tomato and with that exclusion this is quite possibly the best Burger you will find in a 10 mile radius if not further. Plus they actually know what medium rare should look and taste like. That alone affords 4 stars.
Oh, and the Fries. Those wonderful Fries…
Crispy outsides, fluffy and piping hot insides… a potato flavor explosion in each bite. Borderline perfect execution and the perfect companion for that House Burger. Some would argue that $ 12.00 for the burger and $ 5.00 for the Fries is expensive, and I would agree, but you do get what you pay for. I got out of MRK Public for about $ 25.00 and considering the quality of the ingredients and atmosphere I left perfectly content.
Will I return? Yes. Hell yes, even. Probably within a week.