Last night's Prisoner Wines Dinner was wonderful. We were cheerfully greeted & given a flute of champagne as we entered the room to be seated. So nice to see linen tablecloths, complimentary bottled water, even specialized reservation holders with our name at our table. Such an elegant location in a special room at the back of the restaurant with dedicated servers and food runners making sure every dish was served on point and our glasses of wine were never empty. We agreed that every wine dinner should be this elegant. All the wines were great with generous pours. The salmon tartare appetizer was sterling. The heirloom beet and goat cheese salad perfectly lightly dressed. The filet mignon [rare as it should be] with lobster étouffée atop and bacon-wrapped asparagus was exceptional. We were disappointed with the dessert of chocolate "cheesecake" that was basically graham crackers and definitely not any kind of cheesecake as we were hoping to receive, so we just ate the berries and whipped cream/mousse. Ah well, the dinner itself was a solid 10 until the dessert dismount lowered the score to an 8. No worries, we will be back.

Good food and great service. Plenty amount of seating. Good lunch options. Love the chicken here.

If I could give this place 10 stars I would! The restaurant was very clean and I loved how open it was. They have a really nice bar area with a great happy hour!! There were some tall tables you could seat yourself at to the right that were included in the happy hour. I had the spicy chicken sandwich with Cajun fries and an espresso martini. The chicken sandwich was perfectly cooked and had such good flavor. The chili aioli and spicy sweet sauce was to perfect! Our server suggested adding a splash of Baileys and it was DELICIOUS! I really appreciated her suggestion. We were very well attended. I can't wait to come back!

It was my first time dining at Paul Martin's American Grill. My mother wanted steak and mashed potatoes for Mother's Day. To our surprise, they still had some reservations for Sunday (we did them on Saturday). Our reservations were at 3:45, and we were seated at 4:00 p.m. We knew that service was probably going to be a little slow because of the holiday. I kept overhearing the host letting the other guests know that they were going to be seated a little later because the service was running a little behind. Our greeter/host, Jacob, took us to our table and apologized for the delay. He was very professional and nice.  Our waiters, Lex and Joseph, were very welcoming, helpful, and attentive. The food was very delicious. Those biscuits are a must! The biscuits are crunchy and soft. I wish they served them with a special spread or sauce to give them that extra touch, but overall, they were good. My dad and I ordered the salmon with a side of mashed potatoes. The salmon was flavorful, and it didn't smell like fish. The mashed potatoes were so creamy that they melted in your mouth.  My sister, mother, and brother tried the rib eye and filet mignon. Their review was, "Every bite melts in your mouth." I think they loved it too, ha!  The ambiance was very quiet. I was surprised that it wasn't super busy for a holiday. I think it had to do with the fact that they were not taking any walk-ins. The decoration was very modern. I loved the decor and lights. The color scheme was also very zen.  They had a special menu for Mother's Day. Therefore, I plan to go back to try their lunch menu.  Omg, I almost forgot! You need to try their chocolate cake. The raspberry sauce and whip cream on that cake were delicious too. There is no picture because I devoured it as soon as I arrived home, ha!

I came here with my kiddo for lunch on a Friday. It was past prime lunch time, some time after 1:00p, and it was maybe half full? We had to wait a bit at the front as no one was manning the front desk/hostess stand. This is located at the Irvine Spectrum, visible from the corner of Pacifica and Spectrum Center Drive. I'm guessing the nearest parking would be the theater parking, which is where we parked. The interior is dark decor, reminding me of the 80s steakhouses, although this location opened in 2011, I think, and the first ever Paul Martin's opened in 2007 (according the Wikipedia haha). We came here during OC Restaurant Week so was hoping to have an inexpensive lunch (relative to their regular menu prices), but kiddo ended up ordering the spicy chicken sandwich from the regular menu and switched the cajun fries to sweet potato fries ($19.50), and I got the golden fried shrimp from their express lunch menu ($16.95). So glad I did! My dish was filling (of course, fried food), but it also came with a salad with lemon basil vinaigrette, which cut the oiliness and freshened up my palate between eating the fried shrimp and cajun fries. The house made cocktail sauce for the shrimp was yummy, just enough heat and horseradish. My kid liked her sandwich, too, and the sweet potatoes fries were good! We had a main server and two others who helped us in between and they were all very nice, courteous and attentive.