A Secret Spot in Orange - CLOSED

Mascarpone's

1448 E. Katella Ave.

Orange, CA 92867

Mascarpone's has been on my list of places to try for so long that I can not even remember how it got there. I am sure it was an email from a reader or a recommendation I received from someone while we were out. It's a good thing I had written it down because I would have never known this place was here. I had driven by it about a hundred times and almost drove past it even when I was looking for it.

For 23 years, Mascarpone's has been the secret, in-the-know Italian spot for Orange's locals. Located in plain sight on busy Katella Avenue, it often gets overlooked because it does not have a flashy sign, parking is off the street (in the back of the restaurant), and it has almost no web presence. Luckily, we were not deterred from finding this place, and we arrived at about six on a Saturday night.

The first thing I noticed after entering Mascarpone's was the drapes that adorned the ceiling. I'm not sure of the meaning of these, but they did seem odd. We did not have a reservation but were seated immediately. The restaurant is very dark, and an older crowd inhabits it. They have two separate dining rooms, with kitschy knickknacks adorning some of the walls. The menu is pretty straightforward Italian. Let's take a look at some of what was on that menu.

First, there was the complimentary bread basket that was placed on our table. I always enjoy it when a restaurant adds something special to the breadbasket, and here, the special addition was that they served garlic bread instead of regular bread. This bread was served steaming hot and had a little crunch to it. The garlic was very noticeable here. We went through two baskets of this bread.

I am not usually a big fan of Bruschetta, but most reviews I read highly suggested this as the appetizer to get here. The reviews were correct. This had a great taste and was not overloaded with tons of tomatoes. The onions and garlic were the stars here, and I also enjoyed the Gorgonzola. It was one of the best bruschettas we have had.

The entrees here all came with soup or salad. All four of us chose the salad. This was a good dinner salad. The lettuce was fresh, but the blue cheese dressing really set this salad apart. It was very creamy, and they must have added extra blue cheese to the dressing. The flavor was spot on. My Mom had the Italian and also stated that it was good.

Let's start with my Dad's meal, the Scampi Carmelo. This shrimp dish was served with steamed veggies and fusilli pasta. My Pops said the vegetables were cooked well, and the pasta was done to his liking. He also added that the shrimp burst with flavor. Simply put, he was delighted with his meal choice that night.

Katie shocked us all when she shied away from a shrimp dish here, ordered this Fusilli dish, and added chicken. This dish combined tomatoes, white wine, and mozzarella. Katie called this dish "delicious". The chicken was very tender, and the sauce was very flavorful.

I have been on a veal kick lately—okay, not really a kick—but this is the second time in a row I have ordered it in an Italian restaurant. Here I got the Vitello Saltimbocca. The veal here was a little overdone, but the sauce was good, and I liked the addition of the capers. I would also have to agree with my Dad that the vegetables were cooked well and really fresh. It was a pretty good plate of food here.

Last but not least was my Mom's dinner, the Spicy Arrabitata with spicy sausage added. My Mom really liked this dish. The sausage kicked the plate up flavorwise, and she felt the pasta was cooked well. I liked the sauce on this; it was not too acidic and had a nice mellow flavor. I ate the leftovers a few days later, and they were still very good.

Above is a picture of my Mom and one of the guys at Mascarpone's, (sorry I forgot to write down his name). Anyway, this picture shows the warm and friendly atmosphere at Mascarpone's. We had never been to this restaurant before, and all four of us left feeling like we had a good meal cooked by friends. The food was really fresh and came out piping hot. The service was spotty. There were some long delays getting our entrees and settling the check. The prices were reasonable, and the portion sizes were decent. Well worth the journey to find this hidden gem.

Out of five tiramisus (because the main ingredient of that dessert is mascarpone, and I hear that they have a pretty good one here), five being best to zero being worst, Mascarpone's gets 3.5 tiramisus.

For more information about Mascarpone's, head to their website here: https://www.ristorantemascarpone.com/