Irvine: Prego Ristorante

This restaurant is not located in a typical place, but nestled at the base of one of the many Irvine Corporate buildings off Michelson and Von Karman, just a stone’s throw away from John Wayne Airport. Since its in a corporate area, parking is is regulated.  You have a choice for valet parking for $4 or self parking (and get your ticket validated by the restaurant).

My boss took us out to lunch, and we had 11:30 reservations on a Tuesday. When we walked in, our table was ready.  We were to the left of the hostess station, just behind the bar and their newly renovated “sports bar” area.  The restaurant is well lit, with natural sunlight as well lights from the 6 plasma televisions mounted on the wall.

I was surprised, however that the restaurant did not offered us the “express lunch” as posted on their web site http://www.pregoristoranti.com/express-lunch but was given the dinner menu.  Well, just because lunch was on the boss didn’t mean I should go crazy.

I opted to stick with pasta, and had the Pappardelle Rustiche, a homemade, large flat pasta, similar to say lasagna noodles but not as wide.  It was topped with tomatoes, garlic, mushrooms, rucola (which I mistook for spinach) and EVOO, extra virgin olive oil for $18.  It was a meatless pasta, and yet had plenty of flavor. I think if it had meat, like a sweet Italian sausage, or bolognese sauce, the dish would have been even better.  Overall a thumbs up.

For dessert, the boss said for us to order something so I went with the White Chocolate Ganache with berries and pistachio cake.  Simply light and amazing. It was the prefect end to our lunch.

My coworkers ordered soups, other pastas, and one even had the chicken.  They all seemed pleased with their choices. Service was good, and drinks were refilled often.  The staff did not rush us, and boxed our food to take home.

The prices were not terribly expensive, but can run around $25-$40 a person.  They have an outdoor area for dining, which today was exceptionally nice. For this experience, I was pleased with the visit and would recommend coming back.