DARKROOM Restaurant and Wine Bar - Santa Ana (CA)

2 /5 Sylvia V Shang: Very overpriced, strange combinations of contrasting flavors, components that did not compliment each other, feels very experimental. Plating and execution was very good. Almost every dish had a strange bitter or spicy component. Tuna Tartar - mixing beet and carrot juice with tuna just overpowers any tuna flavor. Only reason to add beet is to trick ppl to think there is more tuna than there is. Tasted oddly bitter. Very weird. $27 for beets with a splash of tuna is wild. Squash - while cooked very nicely, having a bitter mustard flavor was odd and did not compliment the sweetness of squash. 2 small pieces of squash for $24 is wild. Zucchini bread - wonderfully toasted, texture was thick, buttery, and different than usual bread. $20 for 1 single slice of bread is wild. NY steak - they did not ask how we wanted it cooked. It was served rare. I enjoy a red medium rare steak but this was just surprisingly undercooked. Maybe they need to do that to fake tenderness since its not a prime cut. They only have vermouth cocktails. Which was not surprising since most of the dishes had this strange bitterness similar to that of vermouth. The chef seems to have a taste for it. Some people seemed to enjoy the place, so cant completely write it off. Just was not for me. They also mischarged us, although service for the most part was impressively good.

4 /5 Don Noble: Difficult to give this 4 Stars but we did. Here for our Anniversary because of the hype and reviews. Scotch Olives, Wagyu Tatare, Roasted Scallops, Roasted Squash, entree was NY Steak. Small plates were all well prepared and presented. The biggest issue was the price/value proposition. The Squash was a HOMERUN! The Wagyu was kind of bland but a creative presentation. The NY Steak was prepared as ordered and the fusion sauce with the Shishitos was good. However, parts of the Strip were tough and difficult to eat. Service was friendly and attentive. Not having a full bar was strange with a higher end gourmet menu, but we managed. Atmosphere was Dark like 60s Dinnerhouse but tables and chairs were kind of junior league. Would we return? Perhaps to try one of the Theme Prix Fix Nights at Chrysalis.

5 /5 Vanesa Delfino: I love the vibe of the restaurant. They made a special birthday significant with their handwritten card and accommodations of the menu. I enjoyed every single dish. My favorite was the squash and the tuna tartar. The drink that wins is #68. I highly recommend this restaurant and to be honest it’s hard to find this kind of treatment and level of excellence in Orange County. I always have to drive to LA but this restaurant has character and is worth trying.

3 /5 roostahktchn M: Here are what we (7 of us) take away: Food: 1. The Comte sticks: good 2. Zucchini bread: very good. The bread is like a cake, light and fluffy with some specks of grated zucchini, not dense. 3. Little gem Caesar: ok. Not a conventional Caesar cuz it got dills, parsley, and mints, lot of them. I like dills but not for this "Caesar-style" cuz it overpowered the taste of dressing... and all nori crunchies and pistachios got really lost. 4. Smoked and seared Albacore: so so. The beautiful fish slices got lost in the puddles of olive oil emulsion, the same as haricot verts. I would spread the emulsion on the plate, layer Haricots then fish slices on top. Drizzle with some emulsion so you can highlight the beautiful seared fish slices and the contrasts of colors. Also, I would rather grate the Myers lemon zest on top and or surrounding than lemon chunks. I had to separate not to eat them...lemon flavor is great but not adding the bitterness to my palate. 5. Wanderer NY steak: the most disappointing dish, got 3 dishes. The steak was cooked perfectly and high quality but was overpowered by super salty and saucy soy sauce reduction. All the fancy ingredients like Macha salsa, miso spinach, etc... got really lost. They didnt come together... 6. Kungpao donuts: strange. The sauce and flavor perhaps is perfect with shrimp or chicken, definitely not for donuts desert. 7 of us had a hard time to process it. I wouldnt call Kungpao and imitate a Kungpao-style, rather prefer an orange flavored syrup with sea salt sprinkles. 7. Semifreddo: good. 8. Risotto: very good. I appreciate the creativities but if they dont harmonize together then they defeat the purposes. Also, the star ingredient has to shine, anything else is complimentary for taste, texture, contrast, creativity. We tried but definitely will not a repeat. Service: The service was great from server to bartender and chef. However, our server missed one order. It was no big deal but we had enough food to rescue me...

5 /5 Sheela Patel: We had dinner at Dark Room last night with another couple and had such a fabulous experience. Stephen was our server, and he truly elevated the entire evening. His food recommendations were spot-on and absolutely delicious, the pacing of the meal was perfect, and his presence was attentive without ever feeling intrusive. He anticipated our needs so well that we never once had to ask for anything. Dark Room is a wonderful dining experience and an ideal place to bring friends—you feel taken care of from start to finish. We can’t wait to return. Ask to sit at Stephen’s table!!! The food runners and bartenders were just as excellent!! Such great team work!