Sundried Tomato American Bistros & Catering

This place is solid neighborhood joint with good beer selection from local area OC Brewers and some solid basics like cheeseburger /​Chxn spring rolls /​and mussels — also: bacon wrapped scallops good too on happy hour menu — but isn’t it all better wrapped in bacon .!? The bartenders are great– Fankie even is known to DJ some nights — I would try with family or date night — bonus round Wed night is lemon Chxn risotto soup night and my family kills for this 1 despite sundried tomato namesake. Cheers and Clive on !

My boyfriend and I have come here countless times but unfortunately our last visit was more than unpleasant. He ordered their blacked chicken over bow tie and found a long hair in it! After telling our waiter they simply took it off our bill and didn’t offer us anything else. Of course I’d expect you to take it off my bill since I didn’t eat it but that it?
I’m so grossed out that we will definitely not be coming back which in unfortunate cause I used to love this place but after the way that was handled I wouldn’t be surprised if that sort of unsanitary/​food handling is uncommon.

Awesome food & even better service from Frankie, the amazing, funny bartender. The bread was free! We ordered a full rack of root beer baby back ribs & it was a huge portion! The meat fell off the bone & the meat was so tender. Impressive! Enough for 2 with a leftover box. We ate at the bar. Frankie made it very entertaining! He’s a great bartender! You get a free spring roll appetizer with a Unilocal check in, valued at $ 11.They custom made my lemon garlic salad dressing. It was delicious. They also custom made a sweet BBQ sauce.

Talega local. We go here once a week. SDT is a great place, and so close to home! The food is great, and the menu is dynamic. Wait staff is courteous. Michael sets the bar high (pun intended), behind the bar. Frankie, Pauly, and Jordan are professional and engaging. There is a reason this place is still in business…

Food is amazing. I love their chicken spring rolls and home made potato chips. I’ve ordered their pesto chicken sandwich and is delicious. I always order their sweet potato fries with their dipping sauce. They have good happy hours too. Always a good time

Our food and service were both very good. They allow dogs on the patio. Great view. They have a nice happy hour menu

Awesome food & even better service from Frankie. The bread was free! We ordered a full rack of root beer baby back ribs & it was a huge portion! The meat fell off the bone & the meat was so tender. Impressive! Enough for 2 with a leftover box. We ate at the bar. Frankie made it very entertaining! He’s a great bartender! You get a free spring roll appetizer with a Unilocal check in, valued at $ 11.They custom made my lemon garlic salad dressing. It was delicious. They also custom made a sweet BBQ sauce. The

I celebrated my wife’s birthday there and asked for something special but low key since we don’t like unnecessary spotlight. They handled very well and we had a great time. The food was above average for the price. 5 stars are well deserved.

I came here to celebrate baby #2 with my co-​workers and my last day before maternity leave, and left feeling angry, confused and judged. Let me tell you why.
The waiter went around the table taking everyone’s order as every waiter/​waitress does… Then he got to me. I ordered the grilled cheese and tomato soup. The waiter flat out told me «no, you can’t order that». He then proceeded to tell me something along the lines of «I have 3 kids, I know what pregnant women should eat and cheese is not one of them.» When I tried to tell him that was what I wanted and what I felt like eating, he kept refusing to take my order. I was so taken back that I didn’t know what to do but to ask him to skip me so I can look over the menu again. Once he came back to me he just sat their waiting for me to pick something else… But I didn’t want anything else. All of my co workers kept telling him that I can order what I want and what we want to order is the grilled cheese. He kept refusing… So I ordered the lobster tacos. He came back 1 minute later and told me the chef said the cheese is fine and I can order the grilled cheese.
He then proceeded to tell me this long story about his wife and how she ate a bunch of lobster while she was pregnant and how his kid is super awesome at softball. He then began to show me videos of his kid playing baseball. It was the weirdest experience ever… And I still am confused why he went off for 5 minutes talking about how awesome his kid is. I guess the moral of his story was that my kid won’t be as strong as his because I eat cheese while I’m pregnant, and his wife ate lobster. I don’t get it… So weird.
This waiter made me feel sad, angry, confused and then just made me feel like a bad person for «hurting» my unborn child.
I’m pretty sure this man, or anyone else, can’t tell me what is best for me and my baby.
So extremely disappointed in my experience here and will NEVER come back here again.

Fun half price bottles of wine. Cozy vibe. Service wasn’t attentive. Food was average. I recommend the grill cheese sandwich and chopped salad.

Continue to enjoy the food, atmosphere and service at Sundried whether for dinner or just drinks. Paul and Frankie at the bar are the best. Friendly, professional and always make a great cocktail.

We live in Talega. This is our neighborhood café. The atmosphere is relaxed and a little elegant. Service is always great. The food is excellent, and the menu changes often enough that we never get bored. We love the baked artichoke, chicken eggrolls, sliders, and flatbread pizzas.

I go to Sundried Tomato often. One thing that brings me back is the service and willingness of the staff to accommodate requests. This is especially true of Mike the bartender. I came in the other day and wanted to have a salad that was no longer on the menu. Mike indicated that as long as the ingredients are still available they will be able to accommodate. He took the time to check with the kitchen and was able to server the «Wedge». This salad is an especially refreshing choice with a unique twist by this establishment which makes this particular ‘Wedge” stand out amongst its peers. The staff as this restaurant is top notch, management is great, and Mike leads in setting an excellent example for others on the service staff with his phenomenal customer service. Thanks to Mike, I will continue to visit this restaurant.

Please read this if you have food allergies or intolerances and want a safe place to eat.
I have been going to Sundried Tomato since they opened years ago, especially for their great happy hour food and drinks… but that is not why I am writing this review. About 4 ½ years ago, I developed numerous food allergies as a result of an autoimmune disease. Since I have never had a food allergy in my life, I was unaware of the discrimination and downright carelessness of most people in the food industry with regard to people with food allergies. After numerous anaphylactic reactions from eating out at restaurants that were supposed to be allergy friendly, I decided to call Sundried and see if they would be willing to «deal» with my allergies (the menu, although amazing, did not seem well suited for my issues which is why I had not tried them earlier). In their defense, my husband who had Celiacs has been eating there for years with no problem but he is just allergic to wheat, I am allergic to everything else. I spoke to Joe, the manager, and he was not only willing to make me something very specific that was not on the menu but he was also kind, patient and sincere. I have been eating there about once a week now for almost a year and I have never had even the slightest reaction to anything they’re prepared. Because they put all of my information in their computer, I can order with anyone there without worrying that someone new or inexperienced might get confused. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone with food issues. If you don’t see something on the menu, just ask. I did, and now I have a place my husband and I can eat without taking an Epipen with me. FYI — they also have Tito’s vodka which is gluten free!

Sweet restaurant. good service. Tyler was very attentive and made me feel good. Thanks tyler!

What a great way to get into the holiday spirit. Spent the evening at Sundried Tomato with my family last night. The place is decorated beautifully and they were playing some kind of a jazzy Christmas station. The hostess Samantha was very courteous and accommodating. We were sat within minutes even though I’d not made a reservation and they were very busy with a large party.
Our Server Nick was brilliant. Quick to greet, prompt with the drinks and the food was coursed out perfectly. Speaking of food, as always the food was exactly what we were looking for and totally hit the spot. I tried Chef Rodrigo’s Ribeye Special and for $ 29 bucks it was great!
Thank you Sundried Tomato for making a night out with the family truly special. Happy Holidays!!!

I will have to say that Paul is a great bartender. He knows what is needed to get the job done. He does not make you wait and anticipates want is needed. Great person to carry on a conversation with. Keeps the environment at and around the bar inviting. If you stop in for a drink at the bar or a full meal, know that you will be satisfied either way.

We went for thanksgiving lunch and was one of our worst experiences. The food wasn’t tasty at all and the ambiance was dark, depressing, cold and without any decoration. You couldn’t find anything special that you want to come back again. The food was also expensive comparing to quality.

I’ve been here a few times now and am a huge fan! They have a fantastic happy hour every day — including Sunday from 4 – 7. Their craft been selection is also great and changes frequently.
Menu items are to die for. My ahimsa tuna couldn’t have been cooked better.
On top of the superb food and atmosphere, they have a new event venue in San Juan Capistrano called Plaza de Magdalena which they also cater to!

I wish I could give this place more than 5 stars, it is wonderful. We went here for thanksgiving and the food was superb. Everything was hot and plated amazingly. Our waiter was nothing short of attentive and was very nice. We are already trying to figure out when we can come back for their regular menu during lunch or dinner. I highly recommend Sundried Tomato Bistro to anyone who wants yummy food and great service.
P.S.
You have to try their namesake soup. It’s so good!

Excellent Tortilla Soup! As a Tuesday special, it is worth visiting to try this soup. Being mid-​afternoon with Jordan bartending was great too. The perfect combo.

This place is waay overblown. The food is mediocre at best and their price points are beverly hills. They need to come down to earth on prices and attitude and rise in quality of service. Very expensive and you leave hungry.
I appreciate the reply from Saul, but I’m a businessman who has to work and make payroll, so waiting for happy hour prices at 4 o’clock wont work. Nice try.

Around 20 of us strolled in here for a rehearsal dinner and basically overran the outdoor patio. Simply put the waiters totally killed it. The place was pretty packed as it is without us and their service was top notch. Drinks flowed, waters never empty, food came out piping hot and fresh and the servers were all friendly and helpful. The view you get on the patio was gorgeous and the weather could not have been better.
The food was delicious however not stellar otherwise this place would go 5 stars easy. Some of the portion sizes were inconsistent, pasta dishes of the same kind were of noticeably varying sizes. The ribs were the same thing, some had huge racks while others were much smaller. Also the ribs were good but not mind blowing. Hailing from Texas although it is tough to compete since we are spoiled with some of the best BBQ in the world. The mac and cheese here however did blow me away, some of the best I’ve had anywhere. Overall we were impressed, especially with the A+ service.

Was initially unhappy,
But the combination of getting a full refund and not being able delete my review earned them a 5 star.
Inside and the Patio are really nice dining areas. Give them a try.

We had our wedding rehearsal dinner here about a month ago. Working with Patti, the catering manager, was pretty easy. At times she was hard to get a hold of, but nothing that’s really worth complaining about. She told me the different tiers for the fixed price menu, and allowed me to choose entrees that I thought would best fit the appetites of our wedding party and families. The price wasn’t bad, considering we were able to put two appetizers, 4 entrees, and 2 desserts, plus added tea, coffee, and soda on our menu.
We all arrived at the restaurant and the table was set up for us on the patio. They had the heating lamps going and it actually was quite pleasant. They personalized the menu for us too!
Now, the food. We ate here a couple months before choosing this place, just to make sure the food was good. We had a couple of the pastas and a sandwich, and everything tasted good to us then. We ended up putting one of those pastas on our menu, but everything else were items that we didn’t try. The food tasted good, but it was WAY too salty. I’m sensitive to salt, but everyone else commented that it seemed salty as well. The food made me super bloated the night before my wedding, which I was not pleased about, and I ate the trout. I specifically chose to eat the fish because I figured it was light and not oily and salty. Others commented that the petite filet was salty too. I had the lemon bar for dessert and it was like biting into a sugar cube. It was soo sweet, I couldn’t eat more than a couple bites.
All in all, everyone had a great time but the food disappointed me, which was a shame since it was for the night before our wedding.