Knowlwood Restaurant

Cool breakfast spot right off the 405 on Sand Canyon Ave in Irvine. Inside and outside seating available. Very spacious inside, nice and interesting decoration and a pool table. Plenty of parking. Good atmosphere, relax and enjoyable. Food was really good, tasty and good quantity.Why 4 stars instead of 5? Because the cashier said I could substitute my toast for a pancake. But she didn't say that it was extra. Not a big deal, but I would have liked to know because ordering!

This place was mediocre at best.Not very clean to start off with and tables were not cleaned off regularly.My husband and I ordered two simple breakfasts and waited over half an hour for our food.Pancakes were not cooked enough and were stodgy. My hash browns were very greasy and had a slight taste of cheese! Not sure why that was unless the oil was old. The cashier said my husband could substitute a pancake for the toast for his breakfast and upon checking the receipt she had charged for the pancake!We were just passing through and stopped here to eat. Would not eat here again and would not recommend.

I was in the neighborhood at breakfast time and gave it a try.Honestly, the omelette I ordered was just so-so. It had a lot of cheese, which I think spoils an omelette. If there's a next time, I'll ask them to hold the cheese altogether. In an event, it came with a choice of potatoes and a choice of toast. The service was excellent - attentive and on the ball. At breakfast time, it's sit down, which threw me for bit as one ordinarily orders at the counter, and they call your number when the food is ready.The atmosphere is nice. The building was a sizable barn back in the day, so it's roomy inside.

Housed in one of the few true historic buildings in Irvine, family breakfast at Knowlwood feels like one of the few things that got my teenagers out of bed on a Sunday morning. It's barely changed over the years and I'm so glad it hasn't. My wife and I typically split a Scramble or the California Omelette and the Breakfast Burrito almost always gets ordered by at least one of the kids. Lunches and dinners are also treats; be sure to include something special like an Ice Cream Float and/or the Irish Nachos.

My recommendation is to come for the decor with low expectations on the food. I really wanted to like Knowlwood, but the food was very underwhelming. What went well:-Super cute decor and overall vibe (but slightly disjointed) -Loving the stage with disco ball and all the things to look at -Great pool table -Delicious fries and ranch -Great prices What can be improved:-BLT - bacon was not crispy (as requested) and the mayo or spread was really overpowering - the sandwich itself just did not taste great -Fried Zucchini - all around strange -French Dip - could barely eat it - not flavorful I'm always happy to try somewhere new and in this case I might go back for the fries. I'm also really curious about their shakes too.

In the area for business and a coworker and I made the drive to Laguna Beach. We wanted to grab a bite on our way back towards Whittier. There was lots of traffic and we were hoping to eat and wait out the traffic a bit, but we had already left Laguna Beach. A quick search showed this on our route. Finding it was very easy and it's a nice lil theme concept, very well decorated with a comfortable feel. This is a fast food kind of vibe - you order at the counter, get your food when its called and find seating where you like. They have tables, booths and a nice lil patio out front. I was really hungry and not quite sure what I wanted... Pictures online showed the burgers were big like restaurant style and that's not my preference so I went with a cajun chicken sandwich, no tomato, sauce on the side, an order of sweet potato fries and an order of fried zucchini (had to try it!). Coworker did get the regular burger (not 8oz) and it was a normal thin style burger, so I think the big one must be the 8oz version.My chicken sandwich came out with tomato, no big deal I removed it, it was 2 pieces of chicken and juicy. The bun was not desirable - maybe whole wheat? Overall I did ate everything, but I felt like it was good, not great. Not quite "good fast food" level. That's the main reason for 3 stars versus 5. Everything is priced separate (like no combo meals) so I would've preferred it be great for the price. I had a dessert craving so I did try to order a milkshake to go for the road when we were leaving, sadly they were out of ice cream :(Note to include that service was good. The employee who took our order was friendly and kind. She was patient while I asked questions and made some recommendations which I appreciated.Would I eat here again? - absolutely if I was in the same situation I was in on this day. Would I go specifically to eat at this restaurant? not likely...

Quality and portions have got down hill. I've came by 3 times now and all 3 times have been disappointing. I believe they are under new owners which could be the reason why, possibly cutting down on quality and portions. The veggie omelette vegetables taste very dehydrated now, they used to taste very fresh. This third time was my last time. I've been coming here for years and sad that I had to find a new place.

Average food.The fish and chips had such dense fish it was like chewing steak.The fries should be ordered well done.The fried mushrooms had too thick of a coating around them.The milkshake is average.Next time I'll have to try a Pastrami Burger.

I have no clue why this is rated so low?? Really great breakfast burrito, you get bang for your buck here. It's a diner, so it's not hoy paloy crazy good, but it's exactly what I was going for! My bf got a cheeseburger and was very happy with it :). We actually took the bike trail right up to it and stopped in. And look at that interior! So wacky and fun! Had to snap a picture. Definitely recommend.

I give it two stars and here's why...Knowlwood is a nostalgic restaurant for most people: my husband use to come here as a child often. It's a memorable place and we were happy to find there was one left standing. We went on a Saturday (7-6-24) evening around 5 pm. Some would say that's dinner time, some would say that's too early for dinner. But we have two little little kids so eating out late isn't in the cards for us. I order on Uber eats so the food can be ready for us by the time we get there, and it was! Upon entering, we don't see any guests. We're the only guests in the entire restaurant. Kinda strange for an American restaurant on a Saturday evening. I grab the food from the girls who are deep into chitchating with each other. We sit down at the clean booth and dive into our food. I bit into the zucchini sticks we ordered only to find raw batter. My husband takes it back to ask them for a new order to which he was greeted with attitude. The girl in the front even asked to see the raw batter like we were lying. They huffed and puffed but remade our order and didn't apologize. When it was done they yelled out "zucchini" on the loud speaker. My husband asked for ranch but the girls first ignored him, then looked at him, finished their conversation, THEN huffed and puffed to give him the ranch like it came out of their pay check. Remember, we were the only ones in the restaurant!! Why have so much attitude? I surely can see why the place would be empty if the customer service is terrible. The burgers we got were decent. They put way too much sauce to where it's all falling apart. The restaurant was clean. (That's were the two stars came from). But honestly, you're better off spending your money at the Denny's next door, or go somewhere else. NORMALIZE returning your food if it's not edible. OH AND THEY BURNT THE ZUCCHINI STICKS the second time around to make a statement. Well here's my statement,Please focus and train your staff on JUST AVERAGE customer service!!! We're not even asking for spectacular service. Maybe this is why you are empty on a Saturday night!