Twenty Eight

Twenty Eight Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant: Twenty Eight provides the kind of sleek ambience that one may expect from a restaurant near the Irvine/Newport Beach border. Walk past the professionals quaffing refreshing cocktails churned out by the bar that greets guests and you’ll see a minimalist black-and-white dining space that radiates chic through sparseness.

Food: Executive chef and José Andrés protégé Jay Lacuesta uses this backdrop to present seasonal contemporary dishes that are built around meat and nuanced Chinese influence. Kick off your meal with a starter like charred Mediterranean octopus with tomato-parsley panzanella salad or roasted bone marrow with beef drippings. For mains, dig into the crab tajine with black truffle peel and shellfish crumbs or the grilled whole branzino. Be sure to save room for house-made ice cream --- choices might include exotic flavors like black sesame.