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Interior - Il Girasole, Costa Mesa, CA

Il Girasole

4.6
4.6
51 Reviews
$50 and over
Italian

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 5 times today
Experiences are available.
  • Good for special occasions
  • Innovative
  • Neighborhood gem
Il Girasole, now open at SOCO & The OC Mix in Costa Mesa, CA, brings a refined, modern Italian dining experience to Orange County. Named after the Italian word for "sunflower," the restaurant embraces a family-owned ethos, with a menu inspired by classic Italian flavors elevated through fresh, high-quality ingredients. Enjoy a variety of beautifully crafted dishes, from handmade pastas and creative flatbreads to thoughtfully curated seafood and meat selections. Each dish is prepared with a focus on authenticity and quality, delivering a dining experience that balances traditional and contemporary Italian cuisine.

Highlights from the menu include unique offerings like wild striped bass, duck, sea urchin risotto, and handmade pasta with truffle enhancements. Il Girasole has quickly become a must-visit destination for both Italian food aficionados and those seeking an elegant yet welcoming dining environment in Costa Mesa.

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Price
    $50 and over
  • Cuisines
    Italian, Contemporary Italian
  • Hours of operation
    Lunch Daily 11:30 am–2:00 pm Bar Mon–Thu, Sun 11:30 am–9:00 pm Fri, Sat 11:30 am–10:00 pm Dinner Mon–Thu, Sun 5:00 pm–9:00 pm Fri, Sat 5:00 pm–10:00 pm
  • Phone number
    (657) 218-9439
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Neighborhood
    Costa Mesa
  • Cross street
    Sunflower Ave and Hyland Ave
  • Parking details
    Public Lot
  • Public transit
    Bus 43 stops at Harbor Blvd & Sunflower Ave
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Full Bar, Gender Neutral Restroom, Gluten-free Options, Late Night, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Experiences

  • 4 course Il Girasole Experience

    $98.00 per person

    Multiple dates available
    Join us to an exclusive 4 course menu created by our culinary team check the menu here https://www.il-girasole.com/menu

What 51 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.6
4.6 based on recent ratings
  • 4.6Food
  • 4.5Service
  • 4.7Ambience
  • 4.3Value

NoiseModerate

Loved For

  • North Orange County

    Best Ambiance

  • North Orange County

    Innovative

  • North Orange County

    Great for fine wines

  • North Orange County

    Italian

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Il Girasole in Costa Mesa is a "modern Italian restaurant" celebrated for its "excellent food" and "attentive service." Guests rave about the creative menu and beautifully presented dishes like the "pasta with burrata" and "black cod." The "inviting ambiance" and "exceptional desserts" make it perfect for special occasions. Highly recommended!

51 Reviews
  1. Anita

    VIP

    Los Angeles

    2 reviews

    3.0

    2 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    Dish sizes are extremely small. Set menu restaurant which is not my type. Limited selections.

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  2. PAMELA

    VIP

    Orange County

    271 reviews

    5.0

    271 reviews

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Over THE TOP ‼️❣️👏🏻🌟 Just go for yourself and see! From the gracious Proprietor to the formidable Hostess, this place sings SUCCESS. Fabulous atmosphere with great food and guests like me who are wowed and returning soon. Did I mention the menu? Cocktails? WINES! Plates…….better have a Rez

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  3. Alex

    Orange County

    3 reviews

    1.0

    3 reviews

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1
    The worst restaurant experience of my life. Changed the menu to a 3 ($75 per person) or 5 course($145 per person) menu just days before Valentine’s Day. Zero of the items we wanted to try were on the menu anymore. Staff and kitchen were entirely unprepared for this. After an hour and fifteen minutes after we were sat, we still hadn’t received our first course. All of the tables around us didn’t have food on their table at all either. Servers were non existent, management and owners were in shell shocked (multiple guests stated there were hard shells in their crab dish) and guests were starved. We decided to cut our loses at 9:45 on Valentine’s Day with no food being served to us yet and go next door to Arc. Thank god they were able to fit us in because Il girasole was an absolute nightmare fever dream of a restaurant.

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  4. OpenTable Diner

    Orange County

    1 review

    1.0

    1 review

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 2
    Super slow with food coming out. Had a 2 1/2 dinner

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  5. Jessica

    Orange County

    3 reviews

    3.0

    3 reviews

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 4
    I’ll start off by saying the food was delicious! Every dish we had was great and delicious. We did order our steaks medium and one definitely came out on more medium rare but it was still good. However, the service and wait was a little ridiculous. First of all, the hostesses were not very welcoming. We got seated just before 6:30pm, and we didn’t get our first appetizer for over an hour. I get that it was a busy day (Valentines Day), but I’d expect the restaurant to be prepared especially considering it was a prefixed menu. Another hour passed, and we didn’t get our entries until AFTER 8:30pm, over 2 hours after we sat. It was at that point we asked for our dessert to be brought out to shorten our wait and thankfully we did because it came out right after we finished our entrees. We did not leave the restaurant until 9pm, and saw many parties outside waiting to be seated. We brought up our concerns to our waiter and he just said a quick sorry and said “you know the kitchens backed up.” Didnt really seem sincere at all. Again, I understand it was a busy day but this was something that could’ve been prepared for in advanced. It was a prefixed menu and they knew all their reservations were booked up. After complaining at the end, our waiter didn’t offer any sort of compensation or even apologies for how excruciatingly long that dinner was. Overall food was great but I would never come on a busy day again.

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  6. Kory

    VIP

    San Diego

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Despite the kitchen running slightly behind from the packed house, the staff more than made up with it by going out of their way to make sure our Valentine’s Day experience was superb.

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  7. Laura

    VIP

    Orange County

    2 reviews

    2.0

    2 reviews

    Dined 7 days ago

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    The restaurant ran out of dishes. The steak was overcooked. Salad was tasteless. Sauce on the fish stew was underwhelming. The service was great though. This was our second visit. The first time was amazing so was really disappointed this visit. Lasagna didn’t taste the same as it did when we came the first time.

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  8. DAVID

    Orange County

    1 review

    3.0

    1 review

    Dined on February 9, 2025

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 2
    Dining was on the patio. Music was a bit loud and distracting (louder inside). Service was very uneven - staff would disappear for long periods, at least for us. Example - ordered an appetizer, waited for a long stretch, staff inquired, appetizer finally appears followed within 2-3 minutes by main course, so little time to enjoy appetizer. Meanwhile, the table next to ours was seated after us but received their orders before ours. And the patio heaters blew their circuit (overload per the staff). Food quality was good. Again, long stretches of feeling forgotten - never asked if we wanted a refill on the wine. Maybe there is a staff shortage? Overall, I am unsure about returning.

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  9. Daniel

    VIP

    Orange County

    23 reviews

    5.0

    23 reviews

    Dined on February 8, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Every dish we tried was outstanding. The dry-aged beef was exceptionally tender and well-prepared. The lasagne is h like any other we’ve tried. The service was impeccable.

    1 person found this helpful

  10. lina

    Orange County

    22 reviews

    4.0

    22 reviews

    Dined on February 6, 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    Food was little slow to come out considering we were the only 8 people party table & another 2 party table .

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FAQs

Il Girasole is rated 4.6 stars by 51 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 5 times today
Experiences are available.
Google Map for Il Girasole

3321 Hyland Ave, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Cross street
    Sunflower Ave and Hyland Ave
  • Neighborhood
    Costa Mesa
  • Hours of operation
    Lunch Daily 11:30 am–2:00 pm Bar Mon–Thu, Sun 11:30 am–9:00 pm Fri, Sat 11:30 am–10:00 pm Dinner Mon–Thu, Sun 5:00 pm–9:00 pm Fri, Sat 5:00 pm–10:00 pm
  • Price
    $50 and over
  • Cuisines
    Italian, Contemporary Italian
  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    Public Lot
  • Public transit
    Bus 43 stops at Harbor Blvd & Sunflower Ave
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Full Bar, Gender Neutral Restroom, Gluten-free Options, Late Night, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Wheelchair Access, Wine
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