Hometown Restaurant

We've come to Hometown Restaurant several times now! The food is really affordable for being in Irvine, and always delicious.Don't expect too much in terms of service, though - the owner/waitress almost always seems like she has an attitude (one time she waved us off when we wanted to order, lol) but the food at its price and flavor makes up for it. Dishes comes out in a reasonable time. Seating space might be tougher for larger groups (5+) unless you've made a reservation.We have our go-to items we usually get, which includes some combination of beef, lamb, and fish. This time we ended up ordering:Pan Fried Buns ($6.95, 5/5)- These will take longer to come out, but they're delicious! Crispy on the bottom, with good flavor inside. Comes in a set of 5.Eggplant with Garlic Sauce ($9.95, 4.5/5)- Very classic garlic sauce flavor, eggplants taste fresh (not bitter). Good if you'd like to incorporate some veggies into your meal. Fish w/ Soft Tofu ($12.95, 4.5/5)- The flavor of this dish is more mild, but still tasty! Both the fish and tofu are super soft, and the underlying sauce pairs really well with rice.Cumin Lamb ($13.95, 5/5)- Their lamb is tender and the cumin/leek combination works really well with the lambBoiled Beef w/ Napa ($12.95, 4.5/5)- Similar to their lamb, their beef is tender and the flavor is pretty good. Personally I would want it to be more spicy but this is a good middle ground.Overall the flavor's great and the price is really hard to beat, which is why we've been back so many times!

came back and tried more of their dishes! shoutout to the waitress stephanie for giving us a free 年糕 dish for chinese new year! she seems rude at first but honestly she's rlly sweetordered:- special lamb casserole (酸白菜羊肉鍋): 10/10, so flavorful and authentic- eggplant (魚香茄子): 10/10, tasty and not too saucy

This place is a 3 in service, 4 in food/flavor, and a 5 in pricing especially in the current 2024 cost of food.Food comes out really quick and I haven't had anything that wasn't good the handful of times I've visited. One thing they do that not many other restaurants to in the US is that they will ask if you would sit with other smaller parties when it's busy but have no large parties for their larger tables. We were once sat with two other families and it was a little weird. I mean I didn't mind, but everyone just kinda whispered to each other instead of regular talking. I really wanted to be like "what you order looks good wanna try mine and I'll try yours? We have a lazy susan anyway!"

Ordered a couple of dishes over the phone for takeout. I tried to order fish in black bean sauce which I saw on the menu on their website but I guess they don't actually have it because I got fish in hot bean sauce ($10.95). It was a good portion for the price, full of fish, and slightly spicy. We also got Mapo tofu ($9.95), which was somewhat similar to the other dish except for the numbing from the Sichuan peppercorns. Overall, solid Chinese food at some of the lowest prices I've seen in Irvine!

Awesome Chinese food, reasonably priced, good portions and fast service. We especially love their honey walnut shrimp, which is big juicy shrimps with a crispy delicious coating that has a hint of citrus. Their kung pao chicken is excellent and fried rice delicious! We also love their Westlake beef soup, so good!! And the service is fast and friendly!

Shanghainese cuisine. Food came out of the kitchen really fast. Fried pork chops were quite lean without a lot of fat. Chicken with garlic sauce portion size was a little smaller than expected but had good taste. Honey walnut shrimp was the best dish with generous portions. Older lady there taking orders had a very sour bitchy attitude. The teapot had only hot water and I asked that we'd like tea and she wouldn't say why there's no tea, and she just said "no tea today". I understand how typical Chinese restaurant service usually is, but she took extra care to exude black juju today!If it weren't for the good food to make up for it, I would have rated this place only 2 stars.

One of the best places to go when looking for Chinese comfort food. They have a large variety of dishes and it's best to go in a group so you can try as many as possible. It's a small family-owned place and they always treat my family and I well when we go. The workers are very efficient and they checked on our table frequently to make sure we were doing well. I will give the disclaimer that sometimes when they are busier, they may appear less friendly but as far as service in a Chinese restaurant standards go, I'd rank this one pretty high.

Bad service and bad food. We came here because the restaurant next door was closed. The minced pork rice was too diluted because they added too much water. The dry pot was way too salty. Definitely one of the worst Chinese restaurants I've been to in Irvine.

This is a very great taste of food and very inexpressive place. They have fast service and you will get plenty of food. The owner is super nice.

这家餐厅非常有上海特色吃到了炒年糕和小笼包确实让我想家了‼‼.关于环境：环境普普通通生意很不错，位置比较紧凑关于服务：服务很不错哦虽然用餐高峰，比较忙碌但是出品的速度，和服务员收拾桌面的速度都很给力关于出品：上海炒年糕 9.95很大一份，足够两个人分享里面的用料也非常的足肉丝的量非常大物美价廉，想当的好吃小笼汤包 6.95皮薄肉厚，汤汁满满刚上桌的时候要等一会，否则汤汁烫嘴哈～.总体不错，人均10扶墙出[OK]#好吃不贵经济实惠宝藏美食 #吃货的日常记录 #尔湾美食 #尔湾中餐