Mr. K and I recently had a very nice dinner at Mesa, a lounge in Costa Mesa. I only wish it was closer. If so, would have already returned in a heartbeat. We loved just about everything from our experience. Mr. K even drew quite a detailed sketch of his enjoyment, which is shown at the end of this post.
While it’s classified as a lounge, it’s one of the nicest lounges we’ve ever been to, and even has a retractable roof. In addition to the regular menu, there is also a “secret menu.” If you’re a regular reader, you know my obsession with secret menus.
The secret menu is handwritten in a booklet. In addition, there are many blank pages where guests can doodle or leave their signature. Mr. K took this quite seriously and spent most of the night drawing.
Anyone can order off the secret menu as long as you know to ask for it. We only knew because we were invited specifically to try out the secret menu. Normally, I don’t accept media invitations outside of San Diego, but the retractable roof and secret menu had me curious. Plus it gave me an excuse to visit some spots in the OC I had been wanting to check out.
Beef Tartar (angus prime tenderloin, caper remoulade, white truffle oil, and a fried quail’s egg)
The quail egg was adorable and and the aroma of truffle oil was very present. Beef tartar can be a little plain, but the truffle oil and quail’s egg made it quite delicious. It was a perfect start to our meal.
Smoked Chorizo Meatballs (house made Chorizo Meatballs in tomato passata and parmesan cheese)
I loved the grilled bread and the meatballs were soft and flavorful. You could definitely taste the chorizo.
Duck Confit Tacos (slow braised duck, pickled cabbage, cilantro, and house serrano chile salsa in miniature taco shells)
This starter was so colorful with the purple picked cabbage and greens. The duck confit was tender and just slightly gamey, and the taco shells were still nice and crisp. This was a great starter as well and it was hard to choose a favorite.
Seuss Doctor (Nolet’s Gin, muddled raspberries, Luxardo Brandied cherry syrup, Cocchi Americano, fresh lemon juice and bitters)
Green Al (green Chartreuse, St. George Absinthe, muddled cucumber, mint, burnt fresh thyme, and a hand cut ice cube)
The secret menu includes these two cocktails. Both were enjoyable though I preferred the look of the Seuss Doctor.
Free Range Chicken (fingerling potatoes, wild mushrooms, creme fraiche and truffle oil)
They also recently made a few changes to the entree section of the menu, so we tried some of the changes including this free range chicken. The skin was thin and crispy. The fingerling potatoes, already buttery on their own, were even creamier when mixed with the creme fraiche and truffle oil. We really loved the potatoes, mushrooms and truffle oil combination.
All Natural Pork Chop (roasted brussel sprouts, hickory smoked bacon, and apple marmalade)
The stuff near the bone is the house made marmalade which was quite delicious. It wasn’t too sweet and I wanted to just bottle it up. The pork chop was perfectly cooked, and I loved the thick cut. It wasn’t overly seasoned, allowing the natural flavor of the pork to really shine through. The roasted brussel sprouts were great as well, retaining their crunch and vivid green color. I really enjoyed the smokey flavor of the bacon and having the bacon in the plate as well shows the contrast of pig meat in two very different forms.
Ice Cream Flight (Organic Blackberry Sage, Vanilla Maple Bacon, and Coffee Chipotle Stout made with Espresso Chipotle Stout beer)
The house made ice cream was so soft and creamy, with a soft serve-like texture . I loved the variety of flavors and it was hard to choose a favorite. I normally don’t care for ice cream desserts, but I thoroughly enjoyed this flight.
As promised, here are Mr. K’s sketches. This first one was a sketch of the lounge scene from our viewpoint.
The second one was his masterpiece expressing how he felt about our meal. I had to laugh at the detail, especially with the ice cream flight with a pig head sitting on top of the bacon maple flavored one, or his sketch of what is the best part of the pig, etc. I’m a little worried at how cute his sketches were. I’m pretty sure that’s my influence as it’s not his usual drawing style.
Mesa is located in The Camp plaza, which I really loved as well. The parking lot had phrases written on each space. It also houses a really good bakery which I’ll be blogging about later.
We had a really good time at Mesa and will be back again. If it were closer, we would have already returned prior to writing up this post. I wish we had more lounges like this in San Diego.
Disclaimer: As noted above, we were invited to the restaurant and our meal was complimentary. My opinions expressed in this review are all my own and I was not compensated for the review.
Mesa
725 Baker St
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
https://www.mesacostamesa.com/
