Cafe Hiro - Cypress - again!

This place has become my favorite restaurant in O.C. for good food, presentation, and price. This is probably the third time I reviewed this place for Chowhound, and the umpteenth time I've eaten there.

We were there on Friday and had a reservation at 7, but came late. About thirty minutes late. Unfortunately that was late enough that they gave our table away. But I thought that was fair. People with 7:30 reservations, who arrived on time, got seated right away. It's nice that reservations actually mean something here.

We waited an extra 10 minutes before an unreserved table opened up. We were given this table before another couple, who came before us but didn't have a reservation. Their system worked nicely, I thought. The couple in front of us got their seats shortly afterward.

A busy night, but the wait staff kept everyone happy.

We ordered one entree off the specials menu and one from the regular menu. The special entree for that night was SAUTEED MONKFISH WITH GARLIC RISOTTO AND SUNDRIED TOMATO ($15.00). We also ordered the OSSO BUCCO ($15.00).

The entrees came with their wonderful and creamy SWEET POTATO SOUP, which was light adobe red, and piping hot. A GREEN SALAD WITH GINGER MISO DRESSING came out afterward. Fresh greens, a spicy dressing, perfect for priming the tastebuds for the entrees.

The monkfish was alright. The white flesh was cooked just right, but lacked much flavor. The freakish giant bone that held the meat together was a little scary. This, as you might have guessed, was the first time we've had monkfish. The risotto was cooked correctly, but in my opinion, wasn't as creamy or full bodied as their usual mushroom risotto. My favorite fish dish there is still the Salmon Saiko.

The osso bucco was dreamy, as always. We love this dish. A big hunk of falling apart tender beef, in a pool of dark gravy (or is it a reduction). It came with a separate side of roasted potatoes and corn nibblets. The beef was perfect, eaten with white rice. I've heard some people comment that this dish was too salty for them, or too overcooked and soft, but for my money, this was the dish. Loved it!

The highlight of the meal was the special dessert of the night. CROISSANT BREAD PUDDING WITH CARAMEL SAUCE AND CHOCOLATE ($5). This simply is the best dessert I've ever had, anywhere! I hope they put it on the regular menu. It came on a large plate. A mound of warm, brown bread pudding, drizzled with caramel sauce and studded with melted chocolate chips. The combination of flavors just kind of melted in your mouth and filled your senses. Simple in origin, but elegant in flavor. Sinful but suprisingly not heavy.



We also ordered a GREEN TEA BLANC MANGER ($4.00). And it was just as good as always, but since we tasted the bread pudding first, it's now relagated to our second favorite dessert at Cafe Hiro.

Cafe Hiro
(714) 527-6090
10509 Valley View St
Cypress, CA 90630

P.S. I found some cool looking photos a fellow diner took on a recent visit to Cafe Hiro.

Cafe Hiro - Cypress - For the third time!

Yes, I know I write about this place a little too much. And I dine here, a little too much.

By now, I've brought just about everyone I know to this place. Perhaps, at times, I build up their expectations so much that I think some of them don't end up absolutely loving it like I do.

I shouldn't take it personally, I know. It shouldn't come as a surprise that everyone has individual and distinct tastes in food, just as they would in movies. As I cannot expect everyone to love one of my favorite films, "Tampopo", a quirky Japanese food flick, I should not expect them to like every restaurant that I like. After all, I don't think any amount of cajoling will ever get me to like Star Trek movies either.



As I accept this fact, I am unswayed from my opinion that Cafe Hiro is one of the best values for fine cuisine in Orange County. For $15, not only do you get an entree like the one shown above (Seared Diver Scallops on Risotto), but also a refreshing salad of greens in a ginger-miso dressing *AND* a sublime, creamy homemade soup of the day.

The seared scallops dish itself would probably set you back twice as much at restaurants in Vegas. And after spending exactly that much at such restaurants for mediocre food, I always come running back to Cafe Hiro, thanking my lucky stars that it is here in my backyard.

Sure, there are misses at Cafe Hiro, along with the hits. Their duck breast and the hamburger steak are the weakest and most disappointing dishes of the bunch, but everything else, in my humblest opinion, is spot on and perfect.

Their Steamed Wild Salmon, which seems to be permanently on the "specials" board, is almost Zen-like in its simplicity. Presented nakedly on a stark white plate, the pink salmon steak is flanked by four condiments, set neatly in a linear arrangement.

A wedge of lemon.
Sea salt.
A dab of mayonaisse.
A lump of grated green horseradish.

A saucer of yuzu dressing is also provided in case you require any extra "oomph".

The salmon is delicate and pristine; its essence and flavor unobscured. This is, perhaps, a calculated move by the chef. The other salmon dish they offer (Salmon Saiko) is, by contrast, bold and deeply infused with a dark marinade.

So there it is, my third and probably not the last post on Cafe Hiro.

Thanks for listening.

Cafe Hiro
(714) 527-6090
10509 Valley View St
Cypress, CA 90630

My Top 5 Favorite Restaurants: Cafe Hiro - Cypress

To start the new year and a new chapter of Monster Munching, I am counting down my top five favorite restaurants in the next few posts. And when I say "favorite", I mean it. Over the last year, I ate at these restaurants more than I can count. In fact, not only are they in my regular rotation, I visited all five again within the last two weeks of 2019. The next on the alphabetical list:

Cafe Hiro

Between Christmas Eve and the time I write this post today on January 13, we ate at Cafe Hiro three times. The first time was for their Christmas Eve prix fixe dinner, an annual tradition that we never miss. The second was for a weekday lunch when the restaurant offers free dessert if you get there and put your meal order between 11:30 a.m. and noon—a very narrow window of time that rewards you with $6 savings on the dessert on top of the discount you get on the blackboard lunch specials.



The third visit? It was this past weekend. It was a dinner decision made at the spur of the moment—one of the many times when one of us asks "What do you feel like eating tonight?" but we both knew the answer: Cafe Hiro.

To us, this restaurant is what Monk’s is to Seinfeld; what Central Perk is to the Friends gang.

So what more can I say about Cafe Hiro that I haven’t already said in countless posts on this blog? How else I can I convey to you, dear reader, that Cafe Hiro is the answer I give when people ask me “What’s your favorite restaurant?” (As a food critic, I get asked that question a lot). Do I need to write poetry? I already did that. Twice.

Cafe Hiro
10509 Valley View St
Cypress, CA 90630
(714) 527-6090