Moreno's - Review #3 (Brunch)

Moreno's Mexican Restaurant 4328 E Chapman Ave Orange, CA 92869 (714) 639-2181 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Ask.com's Citysearch Official Site

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This review may be setting a new record at this blog. It is the first restaurant that has been reviewed three times . . . and all by guest reviewers. Phil gave us our original review of Moreno's but then we lost his pictures. Later on Matt gave us another review of Moreno's and fortunately we still have his great photos. Now Johnny Automatic is back with a report on brunch at Moreno's. If you want to see all this coverage at once just click on the "moreno's" label at the end of this entry.

Moreno's is a staple in Orange having been around for almost 40 years. It's a landmark for that reason and because part of the complex is a historic old church that serves as a banquet hall these days. Most of the dining occurs on there big shaded patio. It gives any visit a real fiesta feel to it. You also can dine indoors. Recently I was invited to a big birthday bash held during Moreno's Sunday brunch. Like a lot of Sunday brunches they serve cheap sparkling wine with the meal. Nothing kills a day quicker than a big Mexican Champagne Brunch - a couple glasses of champagne and the carb heavy Mexican food almost always is followed by a nap that lasts until evening.

Carnitas burrito served wet

While some of us had the complimentary sham-pagne, others enjoyed margaritas. They make a very good marg here. We enjoyed beverages along with chips, salsa and escabeche.

Albondigas soup

Chorizo enchiladas

For Sunday brunch they have their full menu plus some breakfast type items all running $11.95. Technically these are the dishes that come with the free champagne, but in a big group they offer it to everyone. The breakfast items include classic Mexican offerings like Huevos Rancheros, machaca and chilaquiles along with American style omelets and other egg dishes. Several people in our party ordered the omelets which were well prepared and served with the standard rice and beans.

Cheese enchiladas

I ventured out to try a specialty of Moreno's - the chorizo's enchiladas. I had high hopes for this dish but found it unbelievably bland. There really was nothing special about this specialty. But it seems I just made a bad choice on a menu full of items that others all enjoyed. The best part of my meal was the albondigas soup that started it. It was a very good version of this classic.

Chicken Fajitas

Bacon and cheese omelet

The halibut steak and chcken fajitas looked especially good and the people ordering them seemed to enjoy them quite a lot.

Omelet

Halibut Steak Platter

Lots of big groups fill the tables for Sunday brunch, many celebrating events. There is a live mariachi band playing throughout the patio all of which lends a real party atmosphere. If you want to get the gang together and have a celebration then Moreno's is a great place to do it.

See the unedited photo album at

Today's Register

Today's Orange County Register has a couple of items of interest to readers of the blog here. First up is an article on pan dulce (Spanish for "sweet bread") that is gaining a higher profile here in the county. The article mentions OC Mex Food favorites such as Taleo, Moreno's, and Taco Rosa.

Also, the Register's fast food blogger, Nancy Luna, discusses Qdoba, the gourmet fast casual Mexican chain found in Los Angeles and elsewhere but not yet in Orange County, and two days ago discussed El Pollo Loco moving their corporate offices from one OC spot to another.

Moreno's - Review #2

Moreno's Mexican Restaurant 4328 E Chapman Ave Orange, CA 92869 (714) 639-2181 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Ask.com's Citysearch Official Site

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Here's the first guest review by Matt Moore, a co-worker at my last job, who promises more reviews from the North County area:

One of my good friends had a small birthday celebration at one of his all-time favorite restaurants; Moreno's in Orange. He grew up only a short distance from the restaurant and has fond memories of going there throughout the years with his family. Family is a pretty strong theme at the place. Moreno's has been family run since it opened in 1969. On this night there were several large families taking advantage of the large open patio, which is unlike anything I've seen before. The building Moreno's occupies is over 100 years old and was built as a church for the Quakers. It seems to have been modified over the years to more closely resemble a mission. Needless to say, the atmosphere at Moreno’s is quite amazing.

As far as the food goes, Moreno's starts you off with chips, salsa, and an assortment of vegetables (bell peppers, carrots) covered in cilantro. The chips and vegetables are good, the salsa was a bit on the pasty side, but it was still pretty tasty. As for entrées, I ordered a chile rellano and tamale combo plate. Unfortunately, our server delivered a tamale and cheese enchilada plate instead. I didn't bother to correct the mistake . . . I like enchiladas too! Other plates at the table included the beef taco/chile rellano combo, chile Colorado burrito, and an a la carte cheese enchilada. We also had some margaritas and since it was my friend's birthday, he received a free serving of flan. They were going to give him a sombrero, but he asked them to keep the hat away from him.

We were all satisfied with the food. When I asked my friend what he thought of the meal, he said, "It's Mexican food." That pretty much sums it up.

While the food didn’t stand out compared to the likes of Taco Rosa or Gabbi’s, Moreno's atmosphere must be experienced to be believed. I will certainly return just to relax on the patio and imagine myself in a town south of the border sometime in the near future.

Here's more of Matt's photos from his visit to Moreno's (I love the shot of the fountain; Matt makes nighttime shots look good):

Click the "moreno's" label below to read our complete Moreno's coverage (three reviews so far):

Moreno's Mexican Restaurant - Review #1

Appetizer: Fresh made tortilla chips with salsa and guacamole
Entree: Chile Colorado Plate (#22)
Drink: Diet Pepsi
Dessert: Flan

Phil Pico, who was the photographer for the first review of Las Barcas and was present for the first review of Normita's Surf City Tacos has submitted his own review for Moreno's Restaurant in Orange:

Well, in celebration of several family birthdays today my family got together to celebrate at a long time favorite of my fathers, Moreno's in Orange. At first glance the place gives you the impression of old Los Angeles. There is ample parking and it's pretty easy to locate off of Chapman Ave. After parking a clue to finding the main entrance is to cut through the front patio.

Once inside there are several rooms available, so wait to be seated. The staff are very friendly and helpful. The atmosphere is reminiscent of Nana and Tata's house when a family function is about to begin. After being seated we had fresh-made tortilla chips with salsa and guacamole and ordered our drinks. Also on the table are a couple bowls of vegetables for those of you wanting to spice things up (muy caliente!). We placed our orders promptly, I chose the Chile Colorado (#22 on the menu), my nephew's fiancé chose vegetable-beef soup, and my niece's fiancé chose the Carnitas (see below). All combinations come with tortillas and your choice of soup or salad; I had the Albondigas soup and it was hot and quite tasty! For those of you who like Spirits my mom and dad had margaritas (fish bowl sized) and my sister had the sangria (topped with fruit).

Our food arrived before the first basket of chips was gone. The Chile Colorado was real good! The portions were large and I had to get a take-away box because I couldn't finish it all. My nephew and his fiancé were very impressed with the Vegetable-beef soup and I didn't hear my soon-to-be-nephew (Rob) complain once about the Carnitas. After the plates were cleared the staff arrived and adorned us with sombreros (the birthday people). They sang us a special birthday song and presented each birthday person with a complimentary birthday flan. We had a great time. My parents often go there for the morning brunch and rave about how good it is. The only drawback that I had about the whole experience was the Salsa. I asked a waiter for some salsa fresca and he replied they didn't have any (what?!). We stayed long after our food was gone and continued to socialize. We arrived at 4:00pm and were on our way out by 6:00pm.

Out of a possible five speedy G's I give Moreno's a four (salsa cost 'em a Speedy, sorry!)

UPDATE: Here's a slideshow of pictures from our other reviews on Moreno's. You can see our complete Moreno's coverage by clicking on the "moreno's" label below: