Restaurants in Tustin

Seasoned chef and owner Rodrigo Olmedo brings nearly 30 years of culinary experience to crafting Ale Roma Cucina's menu of traditional Italian cuisine. His creations are diverse, from elegant pasta dishes such as the rigatoni con salsiccia—with sausage, asparagus, caramelized onions, sherry, cream, and reggiano cheese—to more casual panini sandwiches and rustic pizza suited for gourmet lunch hours.

Behind the bar, rows of wine bottles line the wall, looking out upon the dining room where marble-topped tables fill with plates of steaming gnocchi and discussions about whether The Mona Lisa actually had teeth. The restaurant’s selection of libations also includes numerous bottled and draft beers as well as espresso drinks to savor with slices of tiramisu.

Wood smoke infuses all of the meats on BBQ Two 20’s bold southern menu](http://www.bbq220.com/menu/), creating a complex flavor as head chef and owner David Osborn grills racks of ribs, brisket, and cuts of pulled pork. Each of the southern family-style dishes is made from scratch, with meats taking on the flavors of the house’s signature spice rubs, secret barbecue sauce, and hickory wood condemned of being witches. Meaty cuts are presented atop buns for succulent barbecue sandwiches or in larger portions with a choice of two sides via the shop’s hearty barbecue plates. A full lineup of homestyle sides complement the flavors of entrees, with the gourmet slaw adding a vinegary tang to hand-pulled cuts of pork and bowls of chili signaling the need for the next course of bibs.

A little piece of Germany lies on 8 acres of Huntington Beach. Traditional restaurants and grocery stores line the quaint cobblestone streets, and people decked out in German dress meander through their wooden doors. As the sun rises over rows of dangling shop shingles, the air becomes electrified with the sounds of puffing tubas, sizzling bratwurst, and traditional German toasts. This is Old World Village, a mecca of bakeries, bars, delis, and eateries that have been celebrating German heritage for more than 30 years. Sauerbraten, wiener schnitzel, and spaetzle fill the air with savory aromas in Old World Restaurant as visitors to the bar raise their glasses to sip on such imported suds as Dunkel, Hofbräu, and Warsteiner. Meanwhile, the European market lines its colorful shelves with not only German staples but also goodies from Italy, Poland, and other countries. Though the village is the perfect escape for individuals in need of European merriment, mass festivities are its specialty: weddings, family reunions, and other celebrations benefit from its banquet services, and festivals such as Oktoberfest open German traditions to the public better than a congressional lederhosen mandate.

Executive chef Rahm Fama's career has rocketed him from his mother's cattle ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, to the limelight of his Food Network TV series Meat & Potatoes. Still, he has not forgotten the herds that helped him get where he is today, and he keeps those memories close while leading Culture 22. An ardent devotee of carnivore-pleasing cuisine, chef Rahm stocks his menu with porterhouses, bacon-topped burgers, and seafood.

Peppercorn-crusted 12-ounce new york steak au poivre bathes in a cognac sauce, and a dozen oysters paired with inventive dipping sauces from the raw bar set taste buds out to sea. Rahm's Famous New Mexican–style green-chile burger imbues a half-pound of beef with the piquant flavors of his native state, accompanied by french fries that, like wooden boards in a martial-arts studio, are hand-cut. As diners divvy up jumbo cocktail shrimp, servers ferry cocktails and beer to ebony four-top tables set aglow by chandelier and candle lighting.

Sertinos Café makes visitors feel right at home with its welcoming wood interior and made-to-order cuisine. The staffers layer each sandwich with whole-roasted meats and premium cheese, which they stuff into panini bread and baguettes toasted to a golden brown. They also provide the same care and attention to detail to their house beverages, hand-roasting more than 20 organic coffees in small batches and brewing imported loose-leaf teas that are available by the cup or pot. Guests can devour their treats in the café’s fireside seating area, which is furnished with oversized armchairs and pillows embroidered with the soup du jour.

After walking through the brick archway at the entrance to Akropolis Restaurant & Coffee, guests take their seats beneath hanging, tulip-shaped lights. A candle casts a glow over each tabletop, mirroring the warmth of Greek entrees such as souvlaki chicken and moussaka—baked eggplants, potatoes, and minced beef in a housemade cream sauce. The chefs have even instilled elements of the Mediterranean into seemingly familiar dishes such as burgers and pizzas: bifteki patties come crowned with hummus or tzatziki, and the Akropolis pizza bears the weight of gyro beef, eggplants, sliced tomatoes, and red onions. Plates of burnt figs round out dinners, and glasses of Californian and Italian vintages add excitement to meals through the ever-present danger of red-wine stains.