The Best Restaurants in Tustin, by the Record
The best restaurants in Tustin, by the professional record: Michelin Guide, Los Angeles Times, and Eater have all weighed in, and their honors are what rank this list. CHAAK Kitchen comes out on top.
Chiang Rai and The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar hold the next two places. Los Angeles Times shows up on more of this list than any other guide, with Eater next.
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Rank 1. CHAAK Kitchen
Yucatán Mexican
Cochinita pibil marinated in citrus and achiote, pulled and served with fresh tortillas, is the kind of dish that makes Yucatán cooking click. This modern Mexican restaurant in Tustin focuses on the smoke- and spice-driven food of the peninsula, and it holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Mezcal cocktails come customized with tamarind and mole bitters, and the charred habanero salsa arrives whether you ordered it or not, which is the right call.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
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Rank 2. Chiang Rai
Northern Thai
The facade is aggressively nondescript, which means most people walk right past a Northern Thai restaurant that the Michelin Guide has quietly noted. Inside, the room goes full color and quirk. The menu is long, but the Chiang Rai Local Food section is where to spend your attention. The kitchen defaults to gentle heat, so speak up if you want the real thing. The khao soi here swaps the usual chicken for thin-sliced raw ribeye, finished tableside by the hot broth.
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Rank 3. The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar
Californian New American Wine Bar
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Rank 4. Fonda Moderna
Modern Mexican
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Rank 4. Taco Mesita
Mexican