Tangata

We were here for Father’s Day brunch, and the food and service were excellent! The buffet had a lot of variety, and they somehow managed to keep the food looking and smelling delicious even in the 100+ F heat. I’m a vegetarian, and the non-​meat options were extremely tasty. The wait staff was very professional and attentive without being pushy: they even helped reseat my 85 year old grandparents closer to the air conditioning and kept the ice and drinks coming! They read our minds and brought us lemon wedges for our water without being asked and let us take our time to enjoy our meal.
Additionally, the space was really beautiful and airy. The light fixtures were very cool and unique. The view overlooks the Bowers Museum courtyard, which is gorgeous.

Perfect setting, perfect Tangata Burger with sesame fries, perfect service, perfect prices. What a hidden gem!

I was torn one whether to give this place 3 or 4 stars, but opted for the latter. This restaurant is much better quality than what you typically get at a museum, though still has something lacking, especially for the price tag.
First off, this restaurant has really nice clean décor. Really nice atmosphere to enjoy a meal (they also have a patio to enjoy your meal outdoors). They continually change out things like their iced teas, soup of the days, and gelatos. Our waiter didn’t seem to know what was going on as he had to keep coming back to correct himself.
I ended up with the carrot lemongrass soup and steak salad. The soup was actually really good and «refreshing» if soup can be that. The steak salad was light and didn’t have to much dressing (which I like) but the steak was way overdone.
The highlight of my meal was the strawberry Panna cotta. It was really delicious and I could eat it over and over again.
Overall, this place is solid stop for a meal before you head into the museum. I wouldn’t go out of my way to come here, but as it is a convenient stop for the museum, you might as well do lunch.

We arrived right at noon, of course pretty hungry and wanted to have a light meal before visiting the exhibit Mummies. They were busy, still with a few tables opened but the hostess said to put in for a reservation at 1. No problem, gave us a chance to check out one exhibit before hand. When it turned a few minutes before 1 we walked over to find two women asking how long for a table. They were actually taken before us with the same amount of people still in the dining and with us having a reservation. Kind of weird, but things happen. Fast forward to waiting about 15 minutes for the waiter to come take our drink order, and by that time we were ready to order.
Albacore Tuna– mostly filler. My mother in law had to send it back due to the lack of tuna mixed with the contents. She got the Chicken Banh Mi (I believe was the name). Have you ever been to Lee’s sandwiches? Same bread, sliced turkey and was plain due to requesting so. The mushroom pâté came on the side and was basically mashed up mushrooms that wasn’t much of a pâté.
Fish taco appetizer– SMALL. So if you could get two orders then do so to split among a group. About the size of half an index finger. 4 or 5 to an order. They were tasty and the flavor was delicious!
Chicken Breast– my partner got food poisoning and was up all night. I had a few bites of the chicken, broccolini & Mac and cheese. Right after the mummy exhibit we both started to feel awful, my partner more so than me.
Jeffrey was our server, didn’t take much time to explain things and we got the vibes we were annoying him when the (lack of) Albacore Tuna back. Working in customer service has been my life for a few years, I understand it & waiting tables can be frustrating. I have the utmost respect for waiters and how patience has to be a strong suit. I really hate to post negative reviews but I felt this place needs something more. It’s lacking in everything overall.

We went here for Mother’s Day brunch, and the food was nice. The service was nice too. The only issue I had was the hostess was so overwhelmed (which I didn’t understand why) she couldn’t do ANYTHING right. There was seating in the lawn area, for the brunch and she sat us elsewhere. When we asked her to move us because we had a reservation, she looked confused and flustered. It was pretty annoying. Oh and drinks aren’t included in the brunch. Rather annoying! Would I go back again, I’m still on the fence about it.

Food
Service
Better value somewhere else like Haven Gastropub, Orange Circle. Strange parking policy as well.

Calamari was excellent– and the shrimp salad looked good but not substantial.

Just what Orange County needed! The space is beautiful, inspiring, and allows the food to shine. We got the full experience with a three course meal before checking out the Mummies Of The World Exhibit — what a treat! Warm, friendly service paired with the Braised Short Ribs and the Date Bread Pudding — Will definitely return!

Had to say, this was pretty good. I usually stir away from restaurants within museums. The price is usually higher than normal and food is mediocre. I stand wrong. It was actually pretty good. They have recently renovated the restaurant, so it’s nicely lit with open sky light and windows to the veranda. Quite refreshing. It was raining of course, so we saw the palm trees swaying, the rain drops falling onto the clear glass that sits 10ft above us.
We had ordered the chicken and pork egg rolls. My least favorite. Nice presentation, but the texture inside was a little too mushy for me, coming from an asian background. I don’t know about the banana ketcup that is spread underneath it. I didn’t care for it. Who eats eggrolls with ketchup anyway… let alone banana ketchup.
I have ordered the salmon entrée, which was beautifully plated. It was almost like salmon in a soup! But I liked it, I can just spoon some of the broth over the salmon and the nicely al dente vegetables. Don’t drink it though!!! It was quite salty to me, unless you love sodium. =)
My friend ordered the skirt steak entrée. It was nicely plated as well. I never like skirt steak, but I stole a bite and it was quite tender and flavorful. It was paired with kimchee cabbage, so basically an American entrée infused with Korean flavor.
I wouldn’t mind coming back for another go, if I was doing another tour at the museum.

Great service, food and staff, trendy and they serve full bar… Nice afternoon facing the veranda

The new menu is absolutely lovely !! It is very forward thinking to have wines from Valle de Guadalupe (Baja California) — these wines pair perfectly with the food. We had the candy stripe beet salad, calamari and egg rolls! A feast for the palate ! Hector is an excellent server too !!

Wonderful meal today! Every time we come we experience great food and service! Service was spot on and we received a complimentary dessert as well! Skirt steak was nicely seasoned and the BBQ chicken was presented well. Ask for Jeffery when you go! He will be very attentive!