26860 Old Mission Road
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
Whenever I write about a restaurant in San Juan Capistrano, I feel compelled to start my review with the incredible dining scene that has emerged in this city over the last couple of years. It's truly unbelievable the transformation that this South Orange County city has undergone with its restaurants. I could be here all day listing the great places that have opened up since I started my blog nearly 16 years ago. But that wouldn't leave me much room to write about Tavern at the Mission.
The Tavern at the Mission replaced the local favorite, Cedar Creek, two years ago. It was bought by legendary OC restaurateurs, David Wilhelm and his business partner, Gregg Solomon. Wilhelm is the man behind many notable OC restaurants, French 75, Savannah Chop House, and Jimmy's Famous American Tavern, among others. David and Gregg also run the sister restaurant, Tavern House, in Newport Beach. Their menus are similar, but their are some slight differences between the menus.
When ownership changed from Cedar Creek to Tavern at the Mission, they immediately began updating the space with a muted Western theme, upgrading the bar area, and altering the flooring and walls of the dining room. They did all of this in stages, allowing them to remain open during the refresh. Their guests have responded to all the changes around here with a very positive 4.3-star rating on Yelp and a bustling dining area on most evenings.
The menu here features many of David Wilhelm's greatest hits from his past restaurants, including his French 75 onion soup, buttermilk fried chicken, and the prime rib French dip, which I first had at Jimmy's. Entrees range from $30 to $50 for dinner, and most sandwiches and burgers cost $25. There's also an intriguing special that runs Sunday through Thursday, which offers your choice of fried chicken or a petite filet mignon, along with soup and salad, for only $28. A good deal, but we were here with our friends Sunday and Anthony on a Friday evening, so that option was not on the table. Let's see if we ended up enjoying Tavern at the Mission as much as David Wilhelm's other restaurants.
We started off with the Garlic Cheese Bread ($7). The ciabatta was topped with parmesan and garlic butter, and served three to an order, which was awkward since we were a party of four. The bread was toasted nicely, but could have been brought to greater heights if the parmesan and garlic butter had been applied with a heavier hand.
I rarely get to have calamari because Katie isn't a fan of it, so I get excited when we eat with other people and they order it. Thanks to Anthony and Sunday, I was able to try the Calimari and Shishito Peppers ($21). Maybe it's because I haven't had fried squid for a long while, but I really enjoyed this starter. The pieces were bigger than most calamari, and the breading was nice and crunchy. The peppers were a nice complement to the calamari, and made even better when dipped into the spicy chili aioli. It wasn't particularly spicy, but I did enjoy the consistency, as it coated the calamari and peppers well. I found myself trying not to eat more than my fair share, which means I really enjoyed it.
Entrees were on their way out, so we'll start with Sunday's selection first: the Pan-Seared Mahi Special ($36). Every evening, they have their nightly fish, which is presented in the same way, regardless of the type of fish. This particular evening, mahi mahi was served over mashed potatoes and sautéed baby spinach, accompanied by a lemon butter and caper sauce, and garnished with a few olives. Sunday was not too thrilled with this, as she felt it needed more seasoning, and the mahi could have been a little more tender.
Anthony was intrigued by one of the specials, the Bavarian-Style Duck ($36), which was offered on the evening we were there. It was around the holidays, and this plate exuded the end-of-the-year feels. Two pieces of roasted duck were served in a Michigan cherry sauce, accompanied by Brussels sprouts, cornbread stuffing, and butternut squash puree. An old-school Christmas on a plate, if there ever was one. This was my first time sharing a meal with Anthony, so I'm not sure if he gets as excited about food as I do, or if he's just as hard to impress as I am. I don't remember him saying too much about this.
Katie is a big stroganoff fan, as her mom attempted to make an edible one multiple times while she was growing up. I'm not sure if her mom ever mastered it, but Katie gave this Short Rib Stroganoff ($38) a go this evening. The pappardelle was joined in the bowl with pearl onions, forest mushrooms, chunks of short rib, and a Dijon mustard sauce. She thought this was a pretty average version of this classic dish. She liked the tenderness of the beef and the earthiness of the mushrooms and onions, but wished the dish packed more of a punch in terms of flavor. I would have thought that the mustard would have been enough to get over the hump, but not according to Katie. She'd select something else on her next visit here.
I believe this is the first time I've had D's Honey-Buttermilk Fried Chicken ($34) at one of Chef Wilhelm's restaurants. I now know why he has it in every one of his restaurants that he opens and operates. The boneless fried chicken is breaded with a nice and crunchy outer crust, which, once bitten into, reveals the moist chicken inside. It gets even better with the thyme cream gravy poured on top. The mashed potatoes had an excellent consistency, neither too lumpy nor overly smooth. I even ate most of my green beans, which had a decent snap to them. A very satisfying meal.
Dessert was needed, and Anthony and Sunday ordered the Warm Carrot Cake ($16), and Katie and I had the Coconut Cake Supreme ($15). The carrot cake resembled the Pizzokie from BJ's, served in a cast-iron skillet and topped with ice cream and cream cheese frosting. It looked good-sized from across the table. We had the coconut cake, which is a cake that I've heard was a staple from this location's former tenant, Cedar Creek. It was good, and even if you are not a fan of coconut, you might like this one. The coconut is not too overpowering, but I wish the icing were sweeter. The scoop of vanilla ice cream was a nice touch.
Tavern at the Mission was a mixed bag for us on this visit. My chicken, the calamari, and the coconut cake were all highlights, while the garlic toast, stroganoff, and Sunday's mahi left something to be desired. I also felt that the prices were a tad too high for the amount of food that we received. It's not really an eat here every week kind of restaurant; it's more of a special occasion or date night spot. As has been the case in every David Wilhelm restaurant we have dined at, service was not an issue here. Our server was cordial and kept everything moving forward with minimal interruptions. I think I can say that the Tavern at the Mission is another fine option for a city that already boasts numerous outstanding restaurants.
Out of five mission bells (because while doing some research for this review, I learned that the bell tower of the nearby mission holds two of the mission's original bells, which date back to 1796, something I should have learned in fourth grade, but I was not a great student), five being best to zero being worst, Tavern at the Mission gets 3 mission bells.
For more information about Tavern at the Mission, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.tavernatthemission.com/