Orea Taverna & Wine Bar

I’m still upset this place has closed down. The original owner was great and it was slowly quickly becoming one of my favorite restaurants. It’s going to be a while before I can find a worthy replacement.

This is now closed. Bummer we liked it.
First owner was awesome.
2^nd tried to keep it going and did for a while.
It has now closed and a new owner is remodeling.
RIP Orea

Went by tonight for some take home. Was told 20 min. Guess what I did not think buy must have meant 35 min after I got there. Food was good but also found out once I got there they have been sold again and new owners are making a change. Will no longer be Greek food etc. People working did not know what it will be. Sad part to hear is that the chief that has been there for 21 plus years will not be needed now. Hoping he will be pick up buy someone soon. Looking forward to what is in store from what the new name means. Salt & Ash

Went here with a groupon last night and loved the food and wine selection. We ordered the eggplant, and it was excellent. I HIGHLY recommend it; the combination of lemon, onions (which added flavor without being overpowering) and tomatoes made this so refreshing and delicious. I also highly recommend the grape leaves – best I’ve ever had. The cured need dish, octopus dish, and calamari were not bad but the first two dishes were the real standouts.
The service was great as well. I’m surprised that this place isn’t more crowded!

Service was a tad slow, on a Tuesday night. One lady had the floor, with the manager or owner, somewhat assisting. She was phenomenal though. I forgot her name.
The food was delicious, the right temperature, great presentation, and reasonably priced.
Will definitely be back, especially with the amazing Groupon deal. I paid $ 22, for $ 40 worth of food.
They have a belly dancer, on Thursday, I’m told.

Very good food, relaxing atmosphere and the staff is very friendly. The only thing I would warn is that the portions are small and it’s pretty pricy. Otherwise, I do recommend, it’s great for a date or a business dinner. Dress is casual.

All of these recent bad reviews really made me nervous, but we had bought a Groupon and figured we’d take a chance. I’m so glad we did.
My husband and I just returned from a great dinner at Orea. We had a 7 p.m. reservation and were seated promptly. Our server, McCall, was attentive and helpful explaining menu items. She explained that everything is a la carte and on small plates meant to be shared.
We asked McCall if the salads were big enough for two to share, and she assured us they were. We ordered the broccoli salad, which was crispy cooked florets with lemon, fresh oregano, and sprinkled with crumbled feta. It arrived along with our entrees — octopus for my husband, and the gyro plate for me.
The octopus dish was tender slices, not that horrible breaded junk that has the consistency of rubber bands. It was lightly seasoned with lemon juice and was absolutely delicious. The gyro platter came with pita, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and a huge pile of sliced meat that seemed to multiply no matter how much of it we ate. It looked like we hadn’t touched it when we were completely stuffed. We were able to bring home enough for another meal.
The only drawback was that they were out of the Pinot Grigio on the wine list. Their list isn’t extensive, so I would say that a restaurant should be sure to have an adequate supply of the advertised wines on hand, as they didn’t have anything to take its place. We ended up sharing a carafe of the house California chardonnay, which isn’t my favorite wine on any day, but my husband said paired very well with the octopus.
I flat-​out asked our server why they were getting so many bad reviews on Unilocal.She said that two of their servers had quit at the beginning of the year, and the two remaining ones had been run off their feet trying to keep up with all the tables and even occasionally helping out in the back. They also had a new cook who was still learning, but none of those problems were in evidence tonight — everything worked great, and the food and atmosphere were wonderful.
They also had an excellent guitarist playing softly in the background. I was happy it wasn’t a belly dancer. While I appreciate someone’s ability to swing their flat abs around, I can’t stand that «hing-​diddy-​ding-​diddy» sound of finger cymbals clanging away while I’m trying to eat.
Orea is a quiet, intimate restaurant perfect for couples to have a romantic evening out. Please, please, PLEASE — KEEP YOUR KIDS AT HOME! This is not for them, no matter how precious you believe they are or how sophisticated their palates. The ambiance is not going to stay intact with your angels sitting there flinging hummus around or announcing their boredom. Save this place for that nice evening out when you finally realize you aren’t a bad parent for getting a babysitter.
Do yourself a favor — if the Groupon is still available for this restaurant, you can have a fantastic meal for not much money. We spent a total of $ 24 plus tip for $ 40+ worth of food and drink. Orea might be a tad expensive, but we went away completely sated, plus we have enough food for lunch tomorrow. Seems like a good deal to me.
We’ll definitely be back.

I’ve been here several times now and decided it’s not that good. The food tastes decent and the décor is nice. However, the food is overpriced and service is poor. This one time, we were seated for awhile, not sure how long since I didn’t put a stop watch on them but we asked a staff walking by that we’re ready to order. He sent our waitress over and she came over with slight attitude and said «what do want to order?» No «hi» or «sorry to keep you waiting.» Another time, we asked for recommendation between a couple dishes and the waitress said they are both good looking very disinterested. Another time, the rice came out with the salad rather than with the entre. Really? You think you should serve rice with salad? And they’re overpriced. $ 24 for 4 little mini lamb chops? Wow. Absolutely nothing else on the plate.
And the guitar player. What’s up with that guy? He plays so softly it sounds like he’s warming up or something.

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ESSENTIAL TIPS & EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
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# Orea is tucked at the very end of a secluded strip mall. The mall is weird. It’s kinda like it’s own sanctuary facing inside, instead of outside to the road. You see the Citibank? Citibank controls 2 of the 3 chokepoints to the mall. There’s 1 on Kraemer and 1 on Morse Ave. The regulators need to step in – the banks have too much power in the world!
# The inside of Orea is like a wider, elongated hallway — nice and cozy. The ambience is definitely there if you want to take a date. Perhaps a double date? I only saw two 2-​person tables there, not counting the 2 high tables near the bar.
# Service is slow and the food is even slower. It took about 5+ minutes to get acknowledged after I sat down. I twiddled my fingers until I got my order in after another 5 – 10 minutes. I dined alone and ordered the lamb chops and Orea fries. I estimate that it took about 30+ minutes to get the fries. I got my lamb chops 2 min later.
# The food quality is there, but the prices are far too high for what you get. Paying $ 24 for a lamb chop entrée is ridiculous when in reality, it’s 5 tiny lollipops with nothing else on the plate. This just raises red flags to me. Are they using 100% Australian grass-​fed lamb sourced from the top 10% of lambs? My feeling is no or else they’d advertise that on the menu.
# My verdict is that you should skip this restaurant and go elsewhere. Maybe Orea had its glory days when Zeus blessed it from Mt. Olympus. But with time, that glory may have faded away with its new owners. To summarize: the food is fine yet typical with portions far too small and prices far too high.
I stopped myself from giving Orea 2 stars. The taste of the food is what keeps me from rounding down, but that is just barely. The food isn’t 4-​star good, it’s simply a little better than typical 3-​star Mediterranean food. Also, I realized that I was way too patient with the restaurant when I dined there. I should have pointed things out
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MY EXPERIENCE:
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[SERVICE}
Let’s start with the service. You got a basic introduction from reading my point above. After I sat down, I noticed that 2 servers and the manager were moving around at a slightly hurried pace to cater to the tables. Each person tended to linger inside the kitchen for a while before coming out. They didn’t seem stressed, but maybe they were borderline understaffed though the restaurant wasn’t all that big. Eventually a server came by to bring me a menu. She had bit of a scowl and stoic demeanor which was off-​putting to me. Typically, I’m not bothered by these things. I may have felt this way because my dining experience didn’t start off well.
I spent a few minutes on the menu then tried to make eye contact with the servers for the next 5 – 10 minutes. I was just sitting there with my hands folded, wondering when one of them would come. The restaurant was nearly full, but remember that it’s not that big. All of the tables are in one long hallway. The servers didn’t look stressed as they were serving though I did notice them move swiftly at some points. I factored all of these things in my head and it still did not make sense to me why you could neglect a diner for that long.
The redeeming moment came when I was choosing a wine to drink. I asked my server a few questions and she was kind enough to let me sample and keep 2 wine glasses. It was a nice gesture.
[FOOD]
Now onto the food… only if it comes. For my meal, I ordered a glass of wine, fries, and lamb chops. My fries finally came after 30+ minutes of waiting. In retrospect, I should have said something because the wait time was excessive for fries. It’s an appetizer, hello? When I dug into the fries, they were typical. Fries with a tiny amount of feta cheese on top for $ 7. The cheese was only on top. Everything below was just regular fries. Also, there were a lot of tiny, broken pieces of fries which bothered me as that’s not the norm.
After 1 – 2 minutes, the lamb comes. 5 lollipops and nothing else. The meat on the 5 pieces measure roughly 1.5″ x 1.75″ x 0.5″ (length, width, height). I must admit that the meat was tender, but I can’t understand why they’re charging $ 24 for this. Are they serving the best 100% grass-​fed Australian lamb that money can buy? Maybe they do, but I didn’t see it anywhere on the menu. I hope that management re-​evaluates their operations and pricing. Until then, i don’t plan to return unless I have money and like throwing it around. Not counting the wine, I paid $ 31 for the food before tax and tip. My 3 stars are more than fair.

I don’t know when the management changed hand but this place is now a ‘tapas style’ restaurant. Tapas means ‘small plates’, And SMALL they are! EVERYTHING is a la carte!
The price for each dish is relatively high in comparison to the quality and quantity served. For example, LAMB CHOPS with 4 small lollipop chops is $ 24. OREA FRIES is $ 7.
Service is extremely slow. We sat there for at least 15 minutes before anyone came to greet us. They said they were short-​handed. But judging from the other reviewers comment, it seems to be an on-​going issue that has not been addressed.
Orea used to be very reasonably priced with great food and great service. Unfortunately I can’t say the same now.

Wanted food after the Bruery and found this place on Unilocal.
They give complimentary pita bread! Yummy.
GYRO POCKETS ($ 15)
Beef & lamb strips — lettuce — onions — mini pita — tzaziki
They give so much meat! The beef and lamb weren’t dry at all and everything worked together. Totally worth the $ 15!
LAMB CHOPS ($ 24)
Herb rubbed lamb chops — sweet peppers — lemon — tzaziki
Four small pieces of lamb. Lamb wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, but it was decent. Just wished the portions were bigger.
Two people surprisingly got full from this and we had leftovers!
They have a belly dancer around dinner time which is very unique. It doesn’t really add anything to my review though. I would have given it 4 stars with or without the dancer.
Service is better than average.

Outstanding Resturant! Delicious food, beautiful ambiance, exceptional service, and worthy another visit.
My family and I went for Girls Night to celebrate my sister’s birthday. Personally, I didn’t know what to expect except that it was Greek fare and my mom highly recommended the place. Because we had reservations we were seated immediately. After we got ourselves situated our server informed us their menu is served Tapas & Family style. Order several dishes at a time and share amongst the group to make most of the evening.
We ordered (and throughly enjoyed):
Tzaziki, we ordered it twice it was absolutely delicious
Octopadi, yes we have an adventurous palate
Sautéed Frog Legs, tender and full of flavor
Gyro Pockets, not my favorite only because you can get these anywhere
Asparagus Spears, same as above
and lastly Spanakopita, so flakey it’s a party in your mouth!
As you can see the menu is unique. The flavor were amazing!
THE DESSERT! DO NOT MISS OUT ON THEIR KATAEFI KREMA. It’s like eating a candied cloud.

I really enjoyed both the ambiance and food. You have to get the Orea fries no matter what. Lol
I’ll definitely be coming back :)

My boyfriend surprised with me a date night and he picked a place that combines two things I love: greek food and vino. It is located off a main street in Placentia in the corner of a shopping plaza.. . parking and entrance is located behind the building.
It was a small space, there was no one up front when we walked in on this Friday night but a man soon walked up through the restaurant and greeted us excitedly. He gave us our option to sit inside, at the bar area or outside on their lounge/​patio. We ended up going inside, but outside was very cute I might add. It had lights hung across the covering and low couches for a laidback/​romantic feel. The interior was lacking some warmth in my opinion.. . it needs some more wall art or textiles to add some character.
We ordered the Spanakopita, gyro pockets and the Melitzano. WAYYY too much food.. . I wish our server would’ve warned us! They give you about 8 pieces of the Spanakopita and a bowl full of Gyro. It was all very fresh and delicious. I also liked that they served the dishes as they were ready so that you could enjoy while hot and spread out your courses. The wine menu had very reasonable options for both glasses and bottles of wine.
They have live music on Saturday nights apparently, wish it was there on Friday to help warm up the feel.

Nope. Not for us,
We love greek food. However, this place is under new ownership and it’s not going to make it. Not in a family community like Placentia.
Take a lesson from the recently failed Sue Ann’s Kitchen. If you don’t bend a bit, you’re not going to last.
My family of four and I went for dinner on a weeknight. There was no one in the restaurant. My son kept asking if it was closed. We were seated and handed menus.
It’s no place to take kids. Not kid friendly. No kids menus. No small plates for the kids to order. They don’t even have rice. I would typically order my kids gyro meat, pita, vegetables, rice, and some lemon chicken soup. Waitress said sorry we don’t have gyro available like that and we don’t have any rice here or soup. No kid offerings.
Okay so we were just going to order two dinners and share with the kids. The dinners that are $ 20+ each don’t come with any sides of any kind. Huh?
With the difficulty in ordering… That’s when we found out that it was under new ownership.
The only thing it has going for it… Is its atmosphere. It is so beautiful inside and so romantic. I’d only recommend this place if you don’t have children and you want $ 25 a plate frog legs.
Sadly, the writing is on the wall for this place. It will not survive in a town like Placentia.
We will be spending our dollars at the Olive Pit in Brea or D Vine also in Brea.

Definitely a nice dining experience.
The Basturma Strips (air dried cured beef strips, olive oil, lemon, peppers) are amazing when you squeeze some lemon on. Tasted like really soft, fine, wet beef jerky that is similar to prosciutto, but with a denser texture.
Moussaka (eggplant casserole, seasoned ground lamb, soufflé cream cap) — a delicious casserole with the right amount of lamb.
This is a classy place that you don’t have to dress up for.
You can see the restaurant form the main street, but the entrance is in the back (parking in the front is for the post office only).
Menu change on occasions and website choices are not always up to date.

Orea is a quaint little Greek restaurant in Placentia. I went on a Sunday night and it was pretty empty.
Hummus: Nice and creamy. If you run out of pita, ask for more =) .
Calamari: Not quite what I was expecting. These are unbreaded and served to you in long sticks. Think calimari steak. The meat was tender and the portion was pretty large… too bad it was a bit lacking in seasoning. All I tasted was butter.
Gyro pockets ($ 15): This is the dish to get here. They give you enough gyro meat to fit about 6 pockets (just ask for more pita and tzatziki sauce). The meat is cooked nice and crispy, almost as if they were trying to cook bacon. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!
4 stars for the Gyro Pockets and the good service. Didn’t care much for the beer list nor their expensive wines by the glass ($ 8 and up!). There’s no charge for extra pita… so ask!
Note: They no longer have the lamb burger so don’t even ask about it!

Delicious food, quaint ambiance, and high end service.
The menu consists of a two page list of appetizers, sandwiches, hot entrees, and desserts. Some of the offerings are different from your typical Greek restaurant fare, although I am not sure how authentic they are. All menu items are served tapas style. This means, all dishes are placed in the center of the table for everyone to dive in.
Orea’s Greek Salad. The dressing was unique, lightly sweet. Lots of flavors and textures, it boasted of cucumbers, fresh mint, bell pepper, tomato slices, Greek olives, a generous portion of house-​made mild feta, and crisp pita chips. Generous enough to feed four. $ 6
Two orders of Paidakia Lamb Chop entrees (4 chops ea.). These are the lamb’s tiny prime ribs that offer 2 – 3 bites per chop. The chops are hand-​cut, fat nicely trimmed, well seasoned. Some were thick, others thinner, but extraordinarily tender. $ 24 ea.
One Chicken Greek Panini, with thin slices of what might have been half of a grilled chicken breast, tomato, basil, cheeses, and served with a magnificent creamy garlic sauce. Delicious, $ 12.
One bowl of plain basmati rice topped with a small handful of golden raisins and toasted pine nuts. $ 6
Everything had to be ordered separately. There are no sides offered with their entrees. No starter appetizers, no wine, one refillable soda, no dessert. We tried to keep it lean.
While everything was «date night» lovely, my son’s complaint a few hours later (that he did not feel filled after his meal) was echoed by each of us. With the slightly larger than tapas-​sized dishes priced as high as dinner entrees of other Greek restaurants, it made me feel slightly taken. And after watching some of the items going out to other tables, (like a tiny bowl of hummos that retailed around $ 6 but costs practically nothing to make) my disillusionment was complete. My «tightwad» kicked in.
Even with our «no frills» meal, our bill still came to slightly over $ 80.
The burning question. Would I return? Honestly, just a maybe, and certainly not with anyone who has a ravenous appetite and needed lots of plates to make a complete meal… unless I really loved them.
So, why the 4 stars? Just because I am feeling like a tightwad, I still loved the food.

This is by far one of the best dinning experiences I have had in awhile. This local establishment is a quiet and romantic location with food that won’t disappoint. My wife and I tried a number of items and were impressed by each one. On a quick side note, head chef and owner, Tony, found out it was our first visit and came out to greet us and welcome us; it was classy and I appreciated the gesture.
We started off with the Hummos, great. It was simple, but flavorful. It comes with some baked pita, as well as nice warm basket of pita for dipping. More if you need it, we did; didn’t want to leave any of the hummus, it was too good. Next we gave the lettuce cups with the tabouli filling a go. It was refreshing, the lemon gave it a nice zest as well. If you are looking to fill up and avoid the carb, boom, there is your item and it tastes great too! One of our favorite items was the Orea fries with the grated cheese on top. The fries had nice crisp, crunch to them. Finally, I finished (kinda, because at this point I’m filling up) with the gyro sliders. These are one of the closest I have found to tasting like ones we had while in Greece. So I would highly recommend them.
The meals are meant to be shared and passed around. We have a number of items we want to still try, including the saganaki which will be a must on our next visit.

Eh… I’m not feeling this place like the other Unilocalers.
We were just looking for a place to chill out with some wine and simple tapas type dishes so Orea seemed to be a good match. Had to get the saganaki because it seemed so popular and also wanted to try something different, so we decided to go with the quail. We later added the Orea fries. Got some red wine (I forget which ones) which went well with the food.
The saganaki was okay initially but it quickly hardened as the temperature went down. It wasn’t anything special after that. The quail was a huge disappointment. It didn’t feel properly cooked. It was my first time having quail, but it was mushy and somewhat undercooked in some parts. Overall, the meat just did not seem very fresh. Because we still had wine left over, we asked for the Orea fries, and sadly the fries were the best thing we ordered…
I have to also complain about the service here. The waitress there was noticeably overdoing it, and came to bug us like 10 times while we were there. Every few minutes she came by, as if trying to pressure us to order something even though I told her we were good each time. It was too excessive and felt like we were the only party she did this to, as if she wanted us to leave the place… Made us feel very uncomfortable. Relax, lady!