Orange County Restaurant Week returns March 8 – March 14, 2026. The area’s largest culinary event features over 200 eateries. This year, more than 40 places across The Irvine Ranch at Fashion Island, The Market Place, Irvine Spectrum Center, and neighborhood and community retail centers, will participate.
On March 7, 2026, festivities begin with O.C. Restaurant Week’s exclusive VIP Launch Party at Marriott Irvine Spectrum. The ticketed event is an opportunity for guests to sample culinary creations by the region’s top chefs.
During the week, diners taste Orange County’s most popular dishes by ordering from specialty prix fixe menus.
A splurge-worthy premium three-course Izakaya feast at Sushi Roku at Fashion Island features sizzling A5 Japanese wagyu, a baked crab handroll or the chef’s selection of sushi. The dazzling carnival cake dessert with cotton candy is lit tableside for a spectacular social media-worthy finish.
Sushi Roku’s general manager Rafael Gutierrez looks forward to Restaurant Week, especially “the toro carpaccio,” he said. “The menu is all our fan favorites. At my location in Newport Beach, we take pride in having repeat guests. One thing I like to see during Restaurant Week is seeing a lot of new faces.”
Food enthusiasts are expected to dine out at least three times during the week. Many will try new places. “In its 18th year, it is the most celebrated culinary event in O.C.,” said Pam Waitt, OC Restaurant’s Week founder. The event raises awareness for the community and encourages people to dine out in Orange County. “It’s a fulfilling job. I get a lot out of that.”
Waitt also recognizes the value of local partners. Since 2013, “the partnership with Irvine Company Retail Properties has been great since they have so many outstanding restaurants in their retail centers,” she said. “Many of our Orange County restaurants call The Irvine Ranch home. Between the diverse dining options and the high profile of O.C. Restaurant Week, there’s never been a better time for diners to explore the local food scene.”
Lunch and dinner menus offered during the week encourage diners to try new places. At Herb & Ranch food hall by Top Chef’s Brian Malarky, lunch choices include ribeye and wild mushroom lasagna or salmon poke nachos. Specialty beverages include watermelon margaritas at The Market Place’s Cha Cha’s Latin Kitchen or an oak-wood smoked old fashioned at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar.
Sushi Roku’s Carnival Cake
Sushi Roku’s Toro Carpaccio
“This year’s specialty cocktail is really cool. I’m excited for this one,” said Jonathan Pierce, operating partner at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar at Fashion Island.
“The Smoked Old Fashioned is made with High West bourbon, Angostura bitters, and a house-made five-spice syrup. It’s presented in a smoke-filled decanter: smoke escapes as we pour it so you’ll get the taste of the cocktail and the smell of the smoke.”
For date nights, chefs across The Irvine Ranch inspire guests to dine out together. “We have a date night menu,” said chef Cesar Sarmiento at CUCINA enoteca, Irvine Spectrum Center. “I’m married and I love to go to new restaurants with my wife. So with that in mind, we created a menu with multiple course selections.” The first course diners share. “You share one of our most popular items. Then you both partake in a different salad and choose your own entrees, and finally you share a tiramisu. There’s nothing more romantic than sharing a dessert with your loved one!”
“Fashion Island and Irvine Spectrum Center offer a multilayered experience,” said Waitt. “Diners start with the Restaurant Week menu, then they can do an activity on-site, like the koi pond or Hijinx Hotel & Holey Moley Golf Club. Then there are ice cream shops that are doing ‘buy one, get one’ deals.” It’s a whole afternoon or evening centered on a meal.
Eighteen years later, O.C. Restaurant Week has significantly grown in popularity. According to the O.C. Restaurant Association, over 200,000 people dine out during the week. It gives diners the opportunity to explore new places, revisit favorites, and support the community.
“The fun thing is we get people who come in multiple times during the week,” said chef Sarmiento. “They come in to try something for Restaurant Week and they have such a great time that they come back and try more and more things. That’s the beauty of Restaurant Week: the affordable price allows you to have a meal out almost every single day.”
CUCINA enoteca
Great Maple
participating restaurants and menus across the IRVINE Ranch IN IRVINE, TUSTIN & NEWPORT BEACH:
Alton Retail Center
Alton Square
CORONA DEL MAR PLAZA
Crossroads
Crystal Cove Shopping Center
Culver Plaza
Eastbluff Village Center
Fashion Island
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar
Irvine Spectrum Center
Los Olivos Marketplace
Angelina’s Pizzeria Napoletana
Newport Hills SHOPPING CENTER
newport north shopping center
Oak Creek Shopping Center
Quail Hill Shopping Center
The Market Place
THE SQUARE
University Center
Venture Park
Galpão Gaucho Brazilian Steakhouse
