We were happy to be part of the closing night of this legendary restaurant. Have enjoyed it for 30 years. Sorry their service for this occasion was lacking, food was good albeit a little expensive for a buffet. We wanted a bottle of wine but the hostess disappeared.

Amazing as always.. so sorry to see you go. Enjoy Florida

We called to make reservations, and were told there was nothing available for the day and time we requested. However, we immediately got the time and day through "Open Table." When we arrived, no one was at the desk to meet us, even though two people who seemed to work there were chatting in the background....Pretty soon they noticed us, and got us seated...without even asking if we had reservations. The restaurant was about 20% filled, and throughout the evening, there was always seating. Our waiter was inexperienced, but nice. He had to take care of a lot of people. He told us that the restaurant was closing in a week, because the chef (who is the owner) will be retiring. Throughout our dinner there was a lot of confusion, plus the drinks were not properly addressed. Overall, the food wasn't worth the price, service was poor and atmosphere was dingy. Wonder why I was so excited to get the reservation in the first place....

The food was outstanding. We took our daughter and her husband there for their first time. They absolutely loved the food. We had such a pleasant evening. Thank you chef!

The place was awesome! Unfortunately, it is closing its doors after 30+ years... So sad to see them closing.

My date and I enjoyed the food and the service was excellent. I'm sorry they are closing down by August 15.

To bad Alan Greeley has decided to toss in his toque; truly an underappreciated creative chef with a personality to boot.

GT and Alan will be missed when he heads to FL in August.

So-so food and poor front-of-house for high prices. Bummer

I reserved a table for two to celebrate my wife's b-day. We called ahead a few days before to add another guest, and they said it was no problem since all of their tables were 4-tops anyways. However, when we arrived, the greeter looked very put out- "Oh, so now you want 3 guests?", finally pointing us to a table where we could seat ourselves.

Around 5 minutes later, the greeter came over to give us a third place setting. We waited another 5 minutes before he came by and reluctantly asked for drinks (still no waiter). I requested to know their current beer selection and he disappeared again for another 5 minutes, during which time we were getting a little frustrated. Finally he returns: Blue Moon and Stella Artois. I'm not a beer snob, but when you implore me to "Ask about our ever changing beer selection", you should have more than two megacorp selections.

The rest of the night pretty much went the same way. It took 1.75 hours to finish an app and entree course. Some food was quite good, but overall we were disappointed. Asparagus with lobster and truffles was under-seasoned, the asparagus overcooked into mush. My delicious lamb neck was served on clumped up pasta that didn't get separated while cooking. My wife's halibut w/ truffles was also bland and over-cooked. It's a shame since I brought my wife here because she loves truffles, and the Golden Truffle (!) failed to put them to good use.

Maybe they had an "off" night, but Golden Truffle should bring it up a notch, given their prices. Their greeter is a jerk- bad attitude and he even kicked my chair twice as he rushed around without any apology. The wait staff was nice, but never knew what we were waiting on. Glasses of water sat unfilled. The chef stopped by early on before we were fed up, and I really enjoyed his jovial attitude. But friendliness just isn't enough when your greeter is surly and the rest of the house can't get on the same page.

Dined twice at Golden Truffle last week and found each course delightful. Our server was very attentive and let the meal move at a leisurely pace, which was appreciated by my chatty friends. Alan's inventive cuisine, hospitality and philanthropic spirit will be missed in Orange County.

Alan Greeley is a consummate Chef and Host. We will miss him and The Golden Truffle when he closes his doors in August 2017.

It's a shame we waited this long to try The Golden Truffle know that they are closing in August. The food was awesome! Best bacon Spinach salad I've had in a long time! We will definitely be going back several times before Chef closes his doors. He is so friendly too! Unlike some of the arrogant chefs of todays culinary world, Chef Alan Greeley is old school and comes out to not only see his patrons enjoy his creations but chat with them too!!
Don't miss the opportunity to go before he leaves!

Went there because it's closing soon. Allen is such a creative chef and the food is so good, I hate to see it go.

Food and service were excellent, unfortunately it will only be in business for 6 to 7 more weeks. But I plan on going back at least once in that time frame.

Nice seasonal food in an old standby restaurant. Haven't been here in ages and it was a nice treat to see that it is still a favorite. Lovely truffle based specialties. The dessert of pot au crème was amazingly rich and decadent contrasted by a light strawberry sauce. Completely the highlight.

It doesn't much matter at this point as this restaurant is slated to close in August but in the event that you were thinking of an initial visit before then or even a return one, save your money.
The wine list is narrow and way overpriced by the bottle or glass. The names of the vineyards are undistinguishable so that you don't have a reference to their real value. I would say that their Cab equivalent (Malbec) is about $4.00 a bottle and you will get to pay $70 for it. By the glass, $16; a total rip-off.
As for the main dining room, it is connected to the kitchen in a way that the A/C cannot keep the room much below 80 degrees. The sweat pours from the servers flushed faces. They do have a 'wine cellar' room that is effectively air conditioned however, it's like siting in a dungeon and it reeks of old rancid spilled wine.
The menu tries to be inventive but fumbles horribly. We shared the Grilled Artichoke with lobster knuckle and the artichoke had been marinated in a lemon or vinegar that made it have an unpleasant taste and bite to it.
My wife had the soft shelled crabs which were over laden with sauce and on a bed of mashed potatoes; too inelegant for words.
I had the duck which I estimate had been cooked about two weeks earlier and was covered in a thick sauce of no credibility and also served on a bed of mashed potatoes. It was stringy and lacked that wonderful layer of fat between the skin and meat.
I can't remember having a worse dining experience in at least 20 years.

We couldn't miss another visit to the Golden Truffle where the Chef/Owner Alan Greely has announced that he will be closing in August to relocate to Sarasota, Florida. As expected the food, and Alan's company were both superb. We plan several more visits in the coming months.

Everything was excellent. The food was prepared beautifully. The ingredients were fresh. They gave us a complimentary pate appetizer. The blackened black bass was perfect, light and delicious. The Meyer lemon tart and cappuccino were a perfect finish to our meal. If there are any downsides it is the location and dated décor. Overall a lovely experience that was talked about the rest of the day.

The Golden Truffle is a hidden Gem. Alan is an incredible chef and his imagination knows no limits I hesitate to even write this because it may cause other to discover it. I have been going there for 35 years and it is my "go to" place for quality food. Alan even makes liver taste good. His Wednesday night specials are a terrific value.

Visited on a Saturday night at 7 pm and assumed that the restaurant would be very busy. When we arrived there was only two tables occupied. Only one other couple came in the whole evening. Ordered the lobster guacamole which was tasty but the chips were stale. We had two main entrees: veal piccata and mac and cheese. The mac & cheese was good but nothing special. The veal piccata was not what I expected. The veal was breaded swimming in gravy and mushrooms on top of mashed potatoes. Where was the lemon and capers this was more a Weiner schnitzel and not a good one. Service was good but very disappointed with the food.

Chef Alan is amazing and changes the menu regularly. My wife and I are foodies, so we know quality and this is it!

The food was great and service was so nice. The owner was there and was very friendly, as was our waitress. I look forward to next time!

When they emailed me asking where we wanted to sit, they should have in informed us that because it was New Year's Eve there was a fixed price dinner at $78 each . With half bottle of wine tax and tip final bill for 2 came to $260.00! Food was not that good. I had short ribs that tasted like it came out of my crock pot at home.

good was above average, but we love the chief who came to our
table and was very funny, we will come back just to see him.....

This restaurant really was wonderful service was on point chef came out to greet us and see how our meal was, it was really wonderful lobster guacamole, duck and swordfish amazing.

For$58perperson, thebuffetwaspathetic. Themenureadwellbutwasdisappointing. Theambiancewaspathetic. .makesmesad. I've drivenpassedforover20years, itwassad forthe$$

I visit about once a month - it is a place worth the drive, I wish it was closer to home. The food is consistently very good, the Pork chop was possibly the best I've had. The atmosphere is nice and staff top notch.

So, I am very sad to say this, because I swear this restaurant has been there for like 50 years, but it it was depressing. There were not more than 10 people in the whole place, and they ran out of menus. We had 7:30 reservations, and the place was practically empty - and we learned why.

My husband and I dined at the Golden Truffle this Valentine's Day weekend and had a wonderful time on the patio with excellent service and tasty, food!! Alan Greeley continues to produce some of the best food in Orange County. This is a hidden gem and we will definitely return!!!

Golden Truffle never lets me down. An appetizer of Ham-wrapped crispy fried oyster with avocado! This was unique and great. Smoked trout salad and John Dory were both excellent dishes as well.
Keep it up Alan

We had a beautiful meal and wonderful wine. The chef came out to great us and wish us a happy new year. A lovely little romantic spot. We will be back for sure!

We have been to Golden Truffle a number of times and have always enjoyed it and thought the food was great. We had even been there for another New Year's Eve and loved it. This time, the service was just fair and the food was not good. The onion soup was good, but I had the short ribs for my main course and they were inedible. They were so fatty, that all I could taste was grease. Dessert made up for some of this, but not enough. We will not be returning any time soon. Sorry about that too.

Hard to describe the Golden Truffle. It is a restaurant that beats to the rhythm of its own drum and we are glad. Delicious food that doesn't taste like every other restaurant in the Newport Costa Mesa foodie scene. We'll definitely be coming back!

Very short and eclectic menu. Signifigant other ordered a Tuna/Veal dish that was OK. I had a sausage plate that was OK. The most appealing item on the menu was NZ Lamb, we both should have had that.

Imagine guacamole with lobster in it! Most dishes offered are unique and delicious. Chef, I believe, is the owner. You won't be disappointed.

Danny took care of us and service was excellent. The wine choice was great and the food was fantastic. Presentation was very good. Again great surprise. The food is great. The area is changing and getting better. So I will return and I highly recommend it.
I had the Veal and it was very tasty.

I could have paid much more at other local restaurants for a halibut dinner and not had anything as good as I experienced at Golden Truffle. The attention to quality at GT is always evident. And every dish is beautiful to look at as well as a joy to taste.

I have heard of this restaurant, but was under the impression it was very expensive. I was pleasantly surprised when I brought a guest and three courses was less than entree alone at a restaurant we had dined at the previous evening. I had the hot bacon dressing salad and beef short-ribs, simply delicious, Will return again.

Absolutely amazing menu that changes constantly. The chef is also the owner which means so much love is put into it. Never have a complaint going here and the staff is so professional. I love it every time.

We have been thinking about trying the Golden Truffle for years so we chose it as our dining out night for OC Restaurant Week. It was a good choice! The first course was an eye popping beautiful plate of thinly sliced root vegetables. It was as good as it looked. Second course was also a cold plate consisting of two scallops and some colorful veggies. The scallops were a little tough and one of the veggies was too tough to eat, but overall it was ok. I ordered the lamb stuffed grape leaves. I love stuffed grape leaves and these were the best I have ever had. Large portion with lots of lamb and a great sauce! My husband had the roasted cod with lemon risotto which was also excellent! The fish was cooked perfectly. We enjoyed our evening and will be going back.

This place has decent food but is very overpriced. You will leave spending a lot of money and probably leave hungry. The service is horrible. Not a good dining experience. Would not recommend.