BANDERA

Our first time at Banderas this past week. Everything my friends said was true. The cornbread was amazing (and I don't normally like cornbread!). The salmon appy was so yummy. Free corkage and great service!! more

We're locals and eat here regularly. Here's the scoop - they don't take reservations and unless you get there shortly after they open, plan for a wait and it can be as long as an hour. Great news - they have a happening bar and a nice outdoor seating area by the fire. You can order wine and appetizers (so just relax and hang out ). Service - The restaurant staff work very hard. They work as a team and anyone can help you - therefore, don't ever hesitate to ask for help and you'll get it immediately. Service has always been good. Food - We've never had a dinner we didn't like - but a few favorites are anything with prime rib, the macho salad, and the fresh fish (including the sandwich). The rotisserie chicken is good - but boring compared to everything else on the menu (pick something else if it's your first time there). We always get the artichoke - it's now our benchmark for all artichokes. The cornbread is amazing. Little known secret - you can bring your own wine and there is no corkage fee. However, the house wines are great and have become some of our new everyday favorites. more

1/2 chicken is $17. For $24 you can have 1/4 chicken and two pcs of ribs. OR if you want to do takeout, you can get a whole chicken for $15. Does this make sense to anyone? Pros: Chicken was ok Cons: Too expensive for what it is more

Good food but we were pushed incessantly to get on with it and finish. Displeased major. more

Love/hate this place. example: tonight i will pick up dinner to go for 4. (1) Full cut chicken, (2) orders of ribs, and a few sides. $80 - $100? Dang. Sure glad i can afford it. Or for $30.00 I can do Baja Fresh. :) If you have not been here - you should check it out. Pros: Great food Cons: $$$ more

Great place with great quality food however its not the only place in Newport Beach you can get good quality food plus customer service. The customer service was absolutely disgusting. Pros: Example: best croissants in town Cons: What are the drawbacks? more

My boyfriend and I had dinner there our last night in Newport Beach and it was one of the best resturants that we have been to. We went earlier in the day to put our name on the list since it was a Saturday night and when we arrived they had our table ready for us. The food was really delicious!! My boyfriend ordered the prime rib which was juicy and really good with the mashed potatoes!! I had the roast chicken with mashed potatoes and it was simply yummy. We shared a ceasar salad and even that was really good!! We had a really great time and the waitstaff was really friendly!! I can't wait to go back to Orange County and have dinner here again!! Pros: Great food and service Cons: loud, sort of expensive more

After a longer wait than the hostess had estimated, we were seated at a nice booth for an equally long wait for service. This would have all been acceptable if the food had been as good as touted, but we found the chicken and lamb to be utterly bland, and side dishes uninteresting, except for the spanish rice which was overly peppered. The only defense of the chicken is it was not dry, but otherwise it was quite ordinary. The whole experience was a bit like a Disneyland ride - an hour-long wait for a few minutes of fun, except in this case not a ride I'd do again. Pros: nice waiting area where they serve drinks Cons: food not worth the wait more

Wait was longer than hostess told us. Long wait for service after we were seated. Food was bland and tasteless. For the price, there were no extras such as bread and service was poor. After an hour wait, it was disappointing. Pros: comfortable waiting area Cons: everything else more

Sat night at 7ish this place was packed with an hour and half wait. This has got to be some great chicken.....NOT!!!!!! I don't like to find under cooked chicken in my salad with a lot of grizzle. Ribs were good. Still not worth an hour & half wait. If it's trendy your after, there's many other options even as close as Newport Beach or Laguna. Pros: None Cons: difficult parking, long wait, bad food, bad service more

If the restaurant manager Todd is such an awful and rude person, that goes to show the whole restaurant service as a whole. It was a disappointment to speak with him over the phone to make a dinner reservation for my husband's birthday. He was rude, short and definitely not friendly. Instead, it was as if I was hassling him for a favor. After being fed up with the rude conversation, I asked if he was the restaurant manager, and to my disbelief he said "yes" in a cocky manner. He is a disgrace to the restaurant because the food is excellent. But service and food has to go hand in hand, and in this case he needs to be fired. Pros: Food Cons: Service more

Our family of four, loves this place. I do recommend that if possible you get there when they open ( I believe it's 4:30 ) because they get crowded right away. We literally plan the day we go...usually a Saturday and will get there about 4:15 and sit in the car and wait for the place to open ! We have gone later and waited, and it wasn't too bad, as long as you can find a place to sit. The waiting area is nice and large, and on cool nights the fireplace will be on. This area can be chilly, because even though it's covered, it's all open on one side. We have two kids 14 and 7, and they love it here. The atmosphere is dark and soothing ( good for you single people on dates ), but also good for us married folk !! We always start off with the Cornbread...yummy...sweet, kinda crispy on the outside, warm and soft in the inside. The kids always get the "kids" chicken and cheese sandwich...although there's really no official kids menu here, they have a few things good for them. And man let me tell you, that little sandwich is so good, lucky for me and my husband our daughter never finishes her sandwich....darn !! we have to finish it for her !! Now, me and my hubby usually get the same thing... the Macho Salad, which is the BEST, a great mix of all different things, including dates and moist chicken. You have to try this one. The sandwich we get is the lamb sandwich, which is thinly sliced on a great bread, and their mashed potatoes are delicious. The kids get Dove Bars after they eat, but my only complaint is that they don't have the best or biggest variety of desserts. The place is always crowded, and we've never had a bad server. We love it here, and sometimes in the fall, they will put "Chili" on their menu...if your lucky enough to catch this item, you gotta get it. Pros: good food,good service, great atmosphere Cons: not a big dessert selection more

We waited 65 minutes for our table for 4 and when we got to the table, there were 2 place settings. We asked for 2 more place settings 3 times before it actually came to us. Our appetizer, the cornbread, came before the utensils came so we sat there while the cornbread got cold. We finally got another server to bring us utensils - thats when he told us that they were running LOW on utensils! This is a nice restaurant...and they are running low on utensils?? And our waitress couldn't even tell us this, nor did she apologize. I asked for butter twice for the cornbread and it came when I was practically done with the appetizer. I ordered the chicken - which tasted delicious. It came with a sauce that I hadn't tried yet. When our waitress came by, she asked how everything was doing and we said good - and then she took the sauce AWAY from the table! I have NEVER had a waitress take a sauce off the table while I'm eating. I've never been to this place before but after trying this for the frist time, the hour wait and customer service is definitely not worth it. You can get good chicken elsewhere. Pros: nothing really Cons: service more

Every time I come to this restaurant it?s packed. The food is fantastic and I love the romantic atmosphere. My favorite dish is the house salad with croutons made of cornbread and the barbequed salmon. I would definitely save room for an Oreo sundae too. They don?t take reservations so come early even on week nights because it is also very popular with the after-work crowd. Pros: Great food and service Cons: Long wait more

This location has gone severely downhill within the past year. A favorite among friends and I.... we will never return after our last experience. If you enjoy waiting double your quoted seating times, rude hostesses and mediocre food, this is your place. Pros: nice client base Cons: hostesses, hostesses, hostesses more

We make the drive from San Dimas twice a month for that incredible artichoke. It's served split and drizzled with just enough butter to dip it into. We also really enjoy the prime rib, the woodfired chicken and for dessert the banana cream pie. The prime rib has a salty peppery coating that just sets it apart from others we've had. The chicken comes right off the rotisserie and has a wonderful smokey flavor to it. Outside of the food this place looks like a big singles hangout. Everyones dressed sharp & checking out each other at the bar. For diners it's great people watching. Well worth the drive from San Dimas. Our next new discovery will be Mastros Ocean Club in Crystal Cove. We'll leave some comments on them later. Pros: Woodfired artichoke, prime rib, chicken Cons: very noisy, very crowded, limited parking more

If you don't mind long waits for a table, then try Bandera if you are in the area beacause the food and service are excepcional. Their cornbread is unlike any other and the atmosphere is casual. While the decor is average, the food great, making Bandera a must try! Pros: Great Food, Reasonable Prices, Good Service more

Bandera is the crown Jewel of the Houston's group. The overall combination of beautiful people, relaxed atmosphere, food bursting with flavor, and fair prices combine to give the customer an extraordinary dining experience. First timers MUST try the cornbread. The prime rib is more flavorful than Lawry's and the Rotiserrie Chicken is great. For cheap eats, get the blackened fish sandwich - it's only $12 and worth every bit of twice that. Warning: if you like bland food or buttery cream sauces this place is NOT for you. Every bite explodes with flavor and the menu planners are not afraid to use spices. Pros: A Ton of Food, Very Flavorful, Relaxed Atmosphere Cons: , Pricey Drinks more

Whenever in the Newport beach area I would always meet friends at Bandera for drinks. The bar crowd was/is spectacular. A singles nirvana. Finally eating dinner one night I realized how many great meals I missed out on at Bandera. The rotisserie chicken was the best I ever had. Better than Zankou. Another time I had the Prime Rib. This also was fabulous. Well worth the drive for a great dining experience. Pros: Rotisserie Chicken, Prime Rib, the Bar Scene Cons: , Crowded, Long waits more

This is a great place. Lots of good looking people and great interior design. We liked the food a lot although it is a little on the heavy side. The only tequila they serve is Cuervo. This is pretty weak for a SoCal bar but what they try to do is keep it locals only by serving no fancy hard booze that the party crowds from other areas would come to drink and by not accepting reservations. Cons: No reservations more