AnQi

Reviews

• Janette L.

  star star star star star_border 4 June 2026

  Some friends of mine wanted to come here for a weekend brunch, so I made the trek and was pleased overall with the experience.
  
  It's located inside a mall, so you'll want to go in and head towards Bloomingdales. Making reservations is easy and I was seated quickly by the hostess. The waiter had already taken my friends' orders and brought my drinks quickly, but but it took a little while for me to get service for food. Maybe they assumed I wasn't ordering food since my friends already had it. I asked for drinks that would be both strong and look great on the 'gram and I wasn't disappointed. The waiter kindly pointed me in the direction of the "Ace of Spades." A tasty whisky drink topped with a lemon slice that is set on fire. Cool stuff.
  
  Anyway, once I did get the food, it was delicious. I ordered garlic rice (perfect level of garlic flavor), garlic noodles for my vegan friends to share as well, and sweet corn ravioli. I could not complain at all about the food, it was definitely worth the wait. All of it was the right temperature and seasoned to perfection.
  
  Knocking one star off because the service was oddly slow (maybe it was an off day), but otherwise friendly. I would definitely return.

• Yasaman J.

  star star star star star_border 1 June 2026

  Unfortunately for South Coast Plaza shoppers and fortunately for AnQi there are not that many good restaurants to dine at. So for me at least AnQi is a solid option whenever I get hungry/bored of shopping.
  
  I have yet to try their noodle bar inwhich they serve their famous noodles and pho and other dishes.
  
  Their famous garlic noodle is delicious but surprisingly plain and sauceless. The market salad is delicious and perfect for those of us who don't want to eat anything meat-y.
  
  The chicken peking was delicious and the thai basil sauce that was served in was just out of this World.
  
  The service can be somewhat slow but that gives you the opportunity to enjoy your meal w/o getting rushed.
  
  Considering that the last time I visited here was on Black Friday, they were offering a special menu. Having said that they wouldn't allow noodle bar dishes such as pho being ordered while sitting in the main dining area which is somewhat disappointing.
  
  Considering that the turnaround for restaurants in South Coast plaza is high, AnQi being opened as long as they have, demonstrates that they are good at what they do!

• Gina L.

  star star star star_border star_border 28 May 2026

  Quick summary: I wouldn't recommend eating at AnQi. The food isn't the best, the service isn't very friendly, and it's extrenely expensive.
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  I've never been to AnQi, but I've see the restaurant after shopping. It seemed like it could have soon good food. Because my sisters knew I wished to dine here, they made a reservation. After stepping into the restaurant, I was ecstatic! The interior decorations contained intricate designs. However, there is one thing I could critique. The lighting in the restaurant was rather dim. This might just a personal preference, but I enjoy eating in brighter settings. I'm not sure if others are bothered by this, but I am slightly bothered. Anyways, we order our food. I'm excited and I take a few photos. I order the crab, steak, truffle fries, and some lobster. When I are the truffle fries, I could tell that they were heavily seasoned. It was extremely salty. Next, I ate the steak. Yes, it was decent, but there wasn't anything special to it. There was no additIonal flavor that drew me in. Then, I had the crab. It was similar to the truffle fries, extremely salty. It was extremely disappointing because I was excited to eat the crab. I could barely even take a second note. Finally, I ate the lobster. I was able to eat it. It wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either. My sisters shared the seven spice salmon. They said that it was actually good. It wasn't the best salmon they'd ever had, but they enjoyed it. One thing to note is that it is slightly spicy. It's a very small amount of spice. If you're extremely sensitive to spicy food, I wouldn't recommend eating this. After, it was dessert time. It was actually my sister's birthday. We had the vanilla ice cream. The vanilla ice cream was made with liquid nitrogen, but it lacked creaminess. The flavor wasn't at all comparable to Creamistry, an ice cream store that makes their ice cream with liquid nitrogen. We also ordered the banana fritter oR something similar. It was decent, but it didn't captivate me with its flavor. Then, we had beignets. They were pretty good, and had a coffee syrup to accompany. They were fluffy and sweet. They were one of the best desserts there. Finally, the service wasn't the best. Our server wasn't friendly at all. She performed her job correctly, but she wasn't friendly.
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  Side Note: The food is extremely expensive and isn't worth the price.

• Madeleine C.

  star star star star star_border 25 May 2026

  The restaurant wasn't as packed as I thought it would be on Black Friday. We were seated in the back area of the restaurant, with more mood lighting and low tables as well as some "booths" created by placing cushions on top of a large glass base. We tried a number of dishes and drinks from their menu.
  
  SMALL PLATES
  Calamari: Just the right amount of salt and pepper, very soft and tender. Not spicy at all, despite the red jalapeno. The best appetizer we ordered by far.
  Chicken satay: Tender and juicy chunks of chicken breast. Subtle lemongrass taste, but not much of the expected flavors other than that. Cucumber and tomato pickle was the right amount of sweet.
  Filet mignon potstickers: Very thin skin, and very soft meat. A bit too sweet for my tastes.
  Sweet chili shrimp scampi: Shrimp was very tender with a strong lemongrass and mint taste. Just the slightest bit spicy.
  Sweet corn ravioli: This dish was texturally pleasing, with a mix of soft and chewy bits like a well-made wonton, but not sure what was going on taste-wise.
  
  PERFECT FOR SHARING
  Roasted cauliflower and roasted brussels sprouts: Brussels sprouts and cauliflower were roasted until a bit caramelized. Didn't taste much of the fish sauce vinagrette. Sweet potato and candied pecans were nice.
  Chef's market salad: Nice freshness but didn't taste the sesame vinagrette or manchego. Also came with heirloom tomatoes.
  Asian flair long beans: Everything you'd want in a classic green bean dish. Enough said.
  Kimchi fried rice: The bacon added good flavor, but not a strong kimchi taste. Rice was a bit sticky.
  
  FROM THE SECRET KITCHEN
  Roasted crab: Nice and peppery. There were some larger chunks of crab meat mixed in with the smaller bits.
  Roasted lobster: Others in my party commented on the strong garlic taste from the noodles, but I thought it had just enough garlic.
  
  Drinks were very good. I had the lychee martini, which was nicely sweet but strong, and the passionfruit cocktail (AKA the Forbidden Fruit), also strong but with a delightful real passionfruit flavor. Only complaint from tonight--several of our party ordered lavender mojitos, all of which came out tasting very different.

• Vicki D.

  star star star star star 14 May 2026

  This was a fancy hip restaurant. We heard about this place from family & friends and it did not disappoint. We ordered a variety of dishes to try.  Their Famous Crab was deshelled and ready to eat and tasty but pricey.  We also had the Lobster and Garlic Noodles which was also very tasty and pricey...lol.  Everything was delish but my favorit is the Roasted Pork Belly on Bun.  The Garlic Noodles is a must have.  We tried to order from the "Secret Kitchen" because they are well known for items in there.  Our service was very good as expected with this type of posh dining.  My children really enjoyed it and would like to come back.  It's definitely a great place to have great food and take your time eating it.  You should definitely make a reservation if your planning to have dinner here.