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Gulliver's

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stvchin
stvchin
First Reviewer
3 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
1
Review
3
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Gulliver's

  • June 17, 2006
  • Rated 3 of 5 by stvchin from Tustin, California
Gulliver's

Gulliver's is an 18th-century English restaurant specializing in prime rib. It's located directly across from the front of John Wayne Airport in Orange County. I hadn't been to Gulliver's before and I had a gift certificate, so I decided to treat a friend to a nice lunch there. It's located off MacArthur and the 405 freeway behind El Torito and near the International House of Pancakes.

We were seated rather quickly, since we arrived just as they opened up at 11:30am for lunch. Our waitress seated us at a booth. The booths are made of dark wood with a padded seat. The waitress moved the table a bit diagonally for us to slide into the booth. As we looked around the restaurant, it suddenly dawned on me that the name referred to Gulliver of Jonathan Swift's book, Gulliver's Travels. It was quite dimly lit in the restaurant, and had old sailing ship models and other Olde English paraphernalia handing on the walls. We even saw a picture of Gulliver being tied down by the Liliputians. All of the waitresses were dressed up as Olde English barmaids too.

The lunch menu featured steaks, sandwiches, salads, and seafood. It was somewhat pricey, as a sandwich went for around $10 while a lunch steak goes for $15. I ordered the chicken cordon bleu lunch special while my friend ordered the filet medallions.

A basket of warm sourdough bread and cheesy bread sticks came out along with a ramekin of butter. The sourdough bread was good, but the cheesy bread sticks were actually a bit dry and tasteless.

Our orders came out rather quickly. My friend's filet medallions looked quite good, and there were three medallions of filet mignon, along with sauce, veggies, and mashed potatoes. My chicken cordon bleu came looked good, with white sauce, veggies, and mashed potatoes. (I tried taking photos, but the lighting was quite dim and I was borrowing a camera and didn't figure out how to set the flash, sorry.)

The portions were quite large and the food tasted great! I tried my friend's filet medallions and was surprised at how tender they were.

By the time we were done, the restaurant was almost completely full. I would say 90% of the customers were business diners, as some had out papers and were discussing work matters while waiting for their lunches.

Due to my own personal tastes, I didn't care for the hard wooden backs of the booth seating, nor the dark environment. It was slightly pricey, but you get what you pay for. Our bill came out to $40.21 with two lunches, a coffee, salad, and soft drink. Slightly pricey for lunch, but the portions were fairly large. The food and service were good.

From journal Dining Around Orange County

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