The Wooden Pearl - Anaheim (CA)

5 /5 Minh Thai: Have dinner here on Friday with my wife. The restaurant is at the bottom floor of the Anaheim Packing District. Very difficult to find parking. We used valet, its $9. The restaurant is very cozy, kind of rain forest theme, and its warm and very welcoming atmosphere. Food is outstanding. Very different. You can see the chef has a very creative mind and style. Portions are small but just enough. My wife had the swordfish and I had the chorizo and claim. We added an order of bread ( parker rolls) and it was enough food. Oh, I forgot we had the butter cake for dessert and it was very delicious . Their drinks are phenomenal also. This is a highly recommended place. Just valet your car and have a good time

5 /5 carly: Came here yesterday for lunch with some girl friends and was blown away by the ambiance, food and drinks. Rain, our server/bartender did an amazing job to explain the drinks and make reccommendations. We had the wedge salad, Burger, Calamari, steak sandwich (which fell apart in the best way) and the caramel custard and butter cake for dessert. The service and atmosphere were perfect and we cant wait to come back.

5 /5 Naomi Takara: Everything about this place is magical. The manager, Manny, treated us really well, and the other servers were so lovely. The food was amazing. My friend got the tatar and I got the pork chop, both fresh and with lots of flavor. Apparently it was Mannys birthday but he was working today, bless his heart. He knew his menu top to bottom and was quite accommodating. Servers were attentive and helpful. They even did a little something for our birthdays since it was late in the night, which was super sweet. This place feels so comfortable, even with the surreal rainforest vibes. Will def want to come back because of how much the staff feels like they care about this place.

2 /5 Lauren Paik: We came to Wooden Pearl for our anniversary and, overall, left feeling disappointed. The food was fine, but it felt overpriced for what we got—especially the scallops. I’m still genuinely trying to figure out if the chef messed up our dish or if we were purposely served miniature scallops, because every review photo we saw beforehand showed jumbo scallops. For $40, I couldn’t believe how tiny they were. When the dish first arrived, I actually thought the potato underneath was the scallop—only to realize the little balls on top were supposed to be them. (I wish I’d taken a clearer photo, but I circled the scallops in blue for reference.) After seeing another recent review where their scallops looked totally different, I honestly felt ripped off. The rest of the food and drinks were just fine—nothing to really rave about. The service was also just okay. Our server barely checked in and didn’t make us feel particularly welcomed. When I asked about a cocktail I’d seen on a TikTok review (“Dr. Bunsen Honeydew”), instead of just saying it wasn’t available anymore, he told me he’s worked there since opening and had never heard of such a drink, which felt a bit dismissive. The overall atmosphere just felt off, which was disappointing given it was our anniversary. In short, it wasn’t a terrible meal—but between the overpriced dishes, underwhelming service, and odd vibe, I don’t think we’ll be returning anytime soon.