Gabbi’s Mexican Kitchen

Always amazing food! My favorite is the Pozole fish stew and jalapeño margaritas. Worth the price!

i loved the place. It’s part of Orange Old Town surrounded by antique stores. Parking can be a problem. We overheard our customer complain about waiting over an hour to be seated in the evenings but we didn’t have a problem because we sat at the bar and it was great! The bartender was super fast and the service was wonderful. No complaints. I ordered the Carnitas nortenos and my wife ordered the green pozoles which was a seafood stew with green soup. The carnitas portion was good and the beans and rice was so-​so. It was good but not outstanding. Think I’ll order something different next time. The energy at the place was amazing, I could imagine that it was probably a great place after 6pm. The drinks selection was primo good. Great draft beers and margueritas. The thing was stood out was the endless refills of chips and salsa.
The restroom gets a B+…clean and no waiting. Lots of soap and hot water

Decent place but really underwhelmed by the experience. Service was slow, and drinks and food were priced quite high, by any standard. I tried the duck carnitas tacos, and found the meat to be un-«ducky» in flavor and texture. I would guess it was simply moist shredded pork carnitas. I also had their touted guacamole, and was again quite let down by it. Nothing special, but still good, like the duck. I couldn’t eat a large section of the guac though, as it was brown and ruined. For such a small portion, how could they possibly not take note of bad avocado in the dollop?
The corn tortillas were notably good, but everything else just good, and not standing out in flavors. The best part was the décor and ambience, the worst was the parking. (20 minutes to find a spot.) Gabbi’s has some great concepts and presents a nice atmosphere, but falls short of expectations on the food. If a table is hard to get, there should be a reason. It’s definitely not the $ 13 small, plain bloody mary.
Three stars because it’s good. I was hoping for great, or at least to be surprised.

Made a reservation a week in advance for this place. I was called by the hostes 4 hours before my reservation time to say that they are closing early and won’t be available for dining that evening during the time I reserved.
Very poor, very short notice. Because of this I will never be dining there again, there are too many other good restaurants to try. They lost my recommendation to all of my friends as well as my future business.

Este lugar es bueno. El ambiente es muy agradable y las comida tambien. Lo bueno aqui son los tacos como plato fuerte y como aperitivos las gorditas y taquitos dorados. Por que digo que solo los tacos por que ya probé casi todo y no convencen algunos platos. Por ejemplo el pozole de camaron es muy simple y muy fishy, las enchiladas verdes son algo amargas como de un restaurante comun y corriente en US. La cochinita pibil nada que ver con la real cochinita pibil. Le podria dar cinco estrellas solo por lo que me gusta, pero la ultima vez que visite en compania de unos amigos nos dieron dos tacos en vez de tres que es como normalmente viene el plato tres tacos y frijoles borrachos. Talvez no tenían mas tortillas o ingredientes por que era algo tarde, pero eso no se hace. Se me olvida la salsa y chips son buenísimos!

Cute place and amazing food, especially the ceviche.

The ambiance is wonderful.
The small food portions & the fact that my chicken enchilada order was both bland & cold, was a big miss.
Overall — it is completely over-​priced & our service was sub-​par… they needed to have more servers & they made a big deal about splitting our check.
I had been here once before about 2 years ago & didn’t have a favorable impression; I figured I’d give this place another go to see if things had changed. They had… the prices went up.

We love this place! The food is outstanding and the service is friendly and very attentive! The atmosphere is a very cool vibe, too!
Get the Puebla Tacos with their homemade flour tortillas! Oh. My. God. They literally melt in your mouth! The piping hot churros are fantastic and served with caramel and chocolate dipping sauces! It’s fairly small inside so I would definitely make reservations! It’s on the pricy side, but in my opinion, worth every penny!

Honestly the food had no flavor whatsoever and it took a good 45 mins we had to have 3 round of chips and the tiniest salsa ever. There was only one other party there as we came after lunch between dinner.
It was a celebratory lunch so I couldn’t complain but I will never come back.
The interior is fun and all but the food was definitely lacking.

Go ahead and tell me another restaurant you know of that can be sold out most nights without the presence of a sign.
No sign? They don’t need a sign. They’re too busy making fresh and interesting flavor combinations for the sake of your mouthgasms. Gabbi is one sassy lady and whoever the heck she has putting together the wine list is a God among lesser sommeliers. This place has a New Mexico sparkling and a dry furmint on the BTG list. Hot-​diggity-​dog that’s some forward thinking. I’ll keep throwing my money at them. Because I know they wont waste it on a sign. They don’t need one. Restaurant game ON FLEEK.

From the moment I got seated, I had a wonderful service. Our waitress Gigi Gabriela was wonderful & on top of things even though the restaurant was really busy around 1:00 pm.
They gave us chips and salsa. The chips were crispy! not soggy nor oily. Just great. The salsa was great thick not runny, a little spicy.
My friend ordered the Shrimp Enchiladas. It came with a side of white rice & black bean soup. The enchiladas had a green salsa that was delicious.
I ordered the Mole Coloradito. It came with a side of white rice, kale chips, and plantain empanadas filled with beans and cheese. It also came with flour and corn tortillas. The food overall was delicious.
My friend and I also ordered the Granada Margarita. So good… Got a buzz from it.
I would definitely recommend this restaurant to other friends & will be back again to try their other food from their regular menu or brunch menu.

Gabbi’s is a gastronomy experience in re-​created traditional Mexican dishes using local farms when available. The taste is out of this world – well, out of Mexico!
The service is impeccable. A host of waiters are swinging by and bringing the food that looks like art served on contemporary plates. Looks and tastes delicious! See my pics!
The ambience complements all! It is a rustic old building off the circle in downtown, historic Orange. Towering walls of old rustic brick with large wooden beams, along with modern low hanging lights creates a comfortable dining atmosphere. There is a wall filled with contemporary glass art.
Really really! Traditional Mexican meets American creativity in the mex-​food and ambience. Every time we’ve been here for lunch or dinner was great!
This time in we loved the quesillo en salsa verde (artisanal oaxacan mozzarella coated in panko, green chorizo, chicharrones, corn tortillas). And carnitas norteñas (braised berkshire pork, pico de gallo, guacamole, chicharrones, handmade tortillas). I believe Berkshire is heritage pork! Wow!

If you’ve never had, or maybe could never find, gourmet Mexican cuisine, well, here it is! This place is great. Beyond delicious. I have to go with LUSCIOUS! My love and I have been to Gabi’s on a few occasions. We live 100 miles away. So, just going is a treat. Every time we’ve been, we’ve left in amazement. Our last server was David. His service is wonderful and charismatic. Lots of smiles and hand movement. A very comfortable setting in Old Town Orange. We made reservations for 2pm, got there at 1pm, and they were able to accommodate us immediately. We were just letting them know we were in the area, and before we knew it, we were being seated!
The menu isn’t overwhelmingly huge, but packed with luscious offerings from stem to stearn. I believe it to be reasonably priced, but your lookin at $ 25 a head minimum with an appetizer, and no drinks from the full bar. It’s well worth it, and I look forward to the day we go back.

Gabbi’s in Orange from the outside is dark and easy to miss, but on the inside it’s beautiful with brick walls, romantic lighting and was nicely decorated for the holidays. The atmosphere is more upscale and romantic. I came here on New Year’s Day for my sister’s birthday dinner. We had made reservations, so we were seated immediately. Our server was super friendly and explained the specials in extensive detail, which was helpful to know the exact flavors that go into these dishes. He was impressively knowledgable of the food they serve, and made it easy for everyone at our table to feel confident in what they were ordering. Very attentive and provided an excellent dining experience.
One of the specials included scallops, muscles, chorizo and calamari in a spicy creamy sauce which was much like a spicy stew. It sounded interesting to me, so my boyfriend and I decided to split it because it was a large portion, and we both weren’t extremely hungry. It came on a wooden platter in a large bowl with two pieces of thick bread on the side. Beautiful presentation and extremely tasty seafood with a spicy kick. Exactly what I was looking for from the start. It’s a bit pricey but you can definitely taste the quality put into it. I would definitely come back for another special occasion or a nice date night. Delicious!

OMG Shrimp and spinach enchiladas!!! WTF
So good and I usually don’t like seafood in my enchiladas. Get this dish you won’t regret it. Service was great location perfect. I also had the chicken taquitos, really good as well.

Great food at a good price. I ate here about 5 years ago when they first opened then again a few months ago; and both visits were consistently good.
Enchiladas Suissas were very good. The Guacamole was different and authentic. The Ceviche was delicious.
The service was amazing. We didn’t have a reservation and the hostess clearly made an extra effort to squeeze us between two reservations.

I am afraid I have to agree with a few of my fellow Unilocalers regarding this restaurant.
Food: Was like 3 stars. Although the food was flavorful, the portions were pretty small considering the prices. I mean yes, if I was dining at a steakhouse, I would understand that you have to pay good money for steak dishes persay, but when it comes to good and hearty mexican food, you can’t charge the customers $ 26 for a small piece of meat along with small side of beans and rice.
The best part of my meal was actually the chips and salsa. The chips was fresh and warm and the salsa was tasty but not too spicy. It was just great, except that they bring the salsa in the smallest salsa dishes I had ever seen in my life which brings my review to the service part of my dining experience.
Service: The service was nothing spectacular. As I mentioned since the salsa was brought in these tiny dishes, After going through like 4 «tiny portions» of salsa, I was hoping that our waiter would get the message and bring the salsa in a bigger plate… You know, doesn’t that sound like a common sense?!! But nope, that didn’t happen.
One thing that I got annoyed by was that upon us walking into the restaurant, the hostess notified us that «no outside food or drink is allowed». I mean I would understand the food part, but not even a coffee?!! I had to leave my coffee by the hostess until I finish my lunch which is sooooo lame…
I will not be back to this place and I will gladly UNBOOKMARK it…

Traditional Mexican food with a modern twist!
They use ingredients NOPALES (cactus), HUITLACOCHE (corn smut) and ACHIOTE (annato seeds) in their cooking that you wouldn’t find in a regular Mexican restaurant.
All the food we had were delicious!
We had…
–CHIPS and SALSA– Complimentary. Chips were hot, crispy and not too salty and the salsa had a bit sweetness too it and a touch of heat.
EMPANADAS de VIENTO $ 13 Puffed fried tortillas stuffed with shrimp, cactus, chorozo, crema and queso fresco. Never had anything like it. We enjoyed it a lot!
–CAMARONES AL GUAJILLO $ 23 It has perfectly cooked shrimp, calamari, garlic rice, corn, brussel sprouts in some kind of mole sauce. It’s so comforting. I don’t recommend it if you’re really hungry. The portion isn’t too big.
–PUERCO PUC CHOC $ 20 pounded pork loin marinated in adobe achiote.
.It came with a side of black beans, garlic rice and plantains with a drizzle of crema. I was hoping for slices of tenderloin, but it was still cooked properly. It was delicious with their house made flour tortillas.
Service was amazing. Our server Jessica was very sweet and knowledgeable with the menu and recommended her favs.
This review could have been 5 stars if their drinks were good. El Hubby got their HOUSE MARGARITA blended and El Hubby said «Ortega 120» in Redondo Beach has way better Margaritas. He said it was watery and didn’t have enough alcohol O_​o. However, El hubby enjoyed their GUAVA BEER and recommends it!
Located in Downtown Orange. It’s not big, but there’s ample seating. Make a reservation. Plenty of parking in the back.
We will be back for another date night!

tl;dr: Gabbi Patrick’s non-​gringo Mexican food in a fun, festive ambiance. Great temperate flavors, signature shrimp enchiladas are terrific. Perfect for a date or catching up, always busy but I never knew the name of the joint till recently…
Always busy whenever we passed by, this sit-​down Mexican restaurant with the anonymous façade draws you in like Sergio Leone’s «man with no name» character. With a welcoming patio and equally attractive bar with a great cocktail list, this place attracts couples and celebratory groups alike in a relaxed, hip environment. Chef Roberto at Babita endorsed Gabbi’s when we dined there a couple years back and I can see some similarities…
We came with a couple of friends who recommended this place near the Orange circle. The four of us walked up without reservations on a Saturday around 530pm and seated us after a few minutes with the stipulation that we would have to give up our table for a reservation at 730pm which would later turn out to be a non-​issue. Delighted with our apparent good fortune, we proceeded to peruse the menu while munching on the fresh warm crispy tortillas and salsa. Service was attentive throughout keeping our ice teas never half-​empty, our waiter was friendly and helpful pointing out some of their signature menu items as well as some featured off menu specials; we would wind up taking several of his recommendations…
The Ceviche Veracruz is a featured item that we shared as an appetizer. This ceviche is quite a bit different than Peruvian ones which are citrus sour and tangy, the serrano-​cilantro flavor from the sauce is tasty without overwhelming the individual components. The Canadian ling cod highlights this dish and had a fresh, firm bite to it. As with all of the dishes we had, the flavors seemed natural to the ingredients and less dependent on the presence of chilies for superfluous spiciness. Chef Carlos Garcia (RIP), formerly of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations fame once asked: «why do Americans like Mexican food sooo spicy…» I would have to agree as it isn’t necessary…
Our friends seemed to enjoy their selections from the menu. The Ensalada de Aguacate skirt steak salad is similar to the Arrachera but in a lighter salad format. The Puerco Poc-​Chuc kurobuta pork loin was flavorful, a little bbq smokiness to it with the adobo achiote marinade and conveniently sliced into thin medallions, served with plantains, garlic butter rice, and black beans, and a spoonful of habanero salsa if you want some heat. It’s kinda nice to find a Mexican place that offers black beans instead of the tired old refried beans…
We ordered the seafood Pozole Verde with the intent of sharing between my wife and I, made even more convenient by the restaurant by dividing the portion. After one taste I immediately offered the second divided bowl to our friends so that they could share, it was delicious. I could taste tomatillo and onions in the broth, but there was also lots of fish, littleneck clams, and shrimp, hearty enough to almost call it a stew. Of course it wouldn’t be pozole without the white hominy, but there was also plenty of fresh arugula, avocados, lime, and sea salt to round it out. Served warm it can be a reasonably lighter meal in itself but we found to be great for sharing so you can add a separate texture to your meal…
If you’ve never, you must try their signature Enchiladas de Camarones. So bomb, the shrimp inside is plump, buttery, briney tasting probably made so by butterflying and sauteing in butter with sea salt. The tortilla is so gentle it’s almost crêpe like in consistency. It has spinach and cheese, but the poblano sauce is so creamy smooth it’s like fresh icing. Maybe the best item on the menu…
A traditional Mexican Independence Day favorite, the seasonal Chile en Nogada is a personal favorite of mine and here they do a wonderful job. It’s a chile pasilla pepper stuffed with a sweet picadillo mixture of minced meat, fruit, and nuts. The nogada sauce is usually a more bleached white in color to go with the red pomegranates, and green pasilla to represent the colors of the flag. They finish nicely with a sprinkle of edible flowers and maybe even saffron…
Even though I’m late to the party with it having over 1000 reviews, It was an awesome first meal at Gabbi’s that I know won’t be my last. Word is that there’s going to be a second Gabbi’s opening up soon, I can’t wait (or can I…)

I love Mexican food and I love all kinds of it. Authentic, Americanized, fast, casual, fancy — it don’t matta. I can appreciate all variations of it. I would say Gabbi’s is an interesting one. It’s sort of a mish-​mash of Americanized/​authentic/​casual/​fancy. It offers some of the standard Mexican fare Americans love, like chips/​guac and tacos. But it also offers some authentic and elegant entrees (see their menu). This place reminds me of Javier’s but not as foo foo shi shi. The ambiance is a lot more casual but still has that upper scale Mexican food w/​great libations.
My girlfriends and I ordered margaritas (house, skinny, and jalapeño) and their guacamole to start. The house salsa is fantastic but the guacamole could’ve been better (tasted under seasoned). At $ 10 for a small ramekin, I’d probably skip it and just ask for more salsa next time.
The entrees we ordered were as follows:
Shrimp enchiladas — really good in a spinach and cheesy sauce. Lots of shrimp!
Puebla tacos — it was the one with bacon. I remember cuz the bacon flavors were overpowering — it also had Portuguese sausage and carne asada but all I can remember is bacon! Still, good tacos.
Conchinita plate — this was a braised Korubuta pork served w/​tortillas, garlic rice, and beans. Excellent! The accompanying habanero salsa was served with a warning by our server but pffffft… didn’t phase me.
Service was friendly and our waters were always filled. The total for 2 rounds of 3 cocktails, 1 guac app, and 3 entrees came to $ 175, after tax and 20% tip. It ain’t no Del Taco prices but worth it for fancier Mexican food.

Gabbis. Sweet spot for a date night or just a spot to grab a drink with the girls. It’s small and cozy inside. The tortillas are made in house and are fresh! Met a couple of nice people here at the bar on our last visit.
My overall rating would be a solid 3 stars. I want to like this place, I do. But the drinks are ok and so is the food. I love that the tortillas are fresh, I just wish their tacos as a whole was better. The chips are suppppppppppppper salty and it made me want to drink water instead of their cocktails… So, if we’re in the area we might pop in for a drink, but I would not consider this my first choice for dinner. Love the vibes though.

Vaya que este lugar es coqueto, para empezar está es una excelente locación en Orange County, en una calle llena de tiendas de antigüedades, restaurantes y galerías, una visita a Gaby’s Mexican Kitchen toma un par de horas por lo bueno de su ubicación que vale la pena pasear por el barrio. El diseño del lugar es relindo y se siente como si estuvieras en un restaurante en Coyoacán en la ciudad de México, esa sensación te da. El menú es más mexicano que el mole pero a la vista de un chef, que en este caso es Gaby a quien puedes ver en el restaurante y seguramente se va a dar el tiempo de pasar a saludarte. La comida es muy, muy rica, he escuchado a gente decir que es un poco caro pero por la experiencia del barrio, del lugar y de la comida la verdad vale la pena. La variedad de comida es muy buena y lo relevante es que el menú incluye platillos de diferentes regiones de México, para darte una idea puedes pedir un Poc Chuc yucateco, un platillo muy difícil de encontrar inclusive en México.

Yays
Arrachers
Tacos de Carnitas
Platanos estilo Vera Cruz! (Fried plantains, crema, queso fresco)
Salsa!
authentic
service
ambiance (dinner)
sign-​less and mysterious outside
quaint neighborhood