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Hello from Buena Park, California! I flew to Los Angeles for the week and spent a weekend in Buena Park – just 30 minutes from the city. Buena Park is a popular SoCal city in Orange County and is home to Knott’s Berry Farm, Soak City waterpark, and several award winning restaurants.
From Japanese ramen to Korean barbecue and Vietnamese pho to Korean coffee shops, here are the best restaurants in Buena Park!
Table of Contents
Yoshiharu Ramen
Our first stop in Buena Park was The Source – the new open-air shopping center with dozens of Asian restaurants and shops. We tried several restaurants here including Yoshiharu Ramen, Il Fiora, and Misoolkwan.
Yoshiharu Ramen is considered one of the best ramen restaurants in the OC and I can see why. The tonkatsu black ramen was incredible – the broth was super flavorful and savory with perfectly cooked noodles and tender pork. We finished off the entire bowl.
6940 Beach Blvd. Buena Park, CA 90621
Il Fiora
I love Italian food and my favorite comfort food is spaghetti and the Il Fiora Cioppino with mussels, shrimp, clam, scallop, calamari in a spicy tomato sauce was delicious. Ask for a seat on the outdoor patio.
6940 Beach Blvd. Buena Park, CA 90621
Misoolkwan
Misoolkwan is a really cool Korean pub with Korean pancakes, salads, fried chicken, kimchi, noodles, and rice wine. We also enjoyed the grill-it-yourself Korean bbq at M – the prime beef boneless short rib was so good!
6940 Beach Blvd. Buena Park, CA 90621
SUP Noodle Bar
I love Vietnamese food and pho especially so I was excited to try SUP Noodle Bar. Drawing inspiration from his childhood in North Vietnam, Chef Viet Ha adds his signature twist to classic dishes. I ordered the Pho rib bones that comes with two 4-hour braised beef rib bones, rice noodles, garnished with white onion, scallions, and cilantro. I also added on the shaken style where they add wok seared garlic scallions and red onions in bone marrow oil – a district northern style flavor.
One of the best bowls of pho I’ve ever had and the beef ribs were incredible tender.
5141 Beach Blvd. Buena Park, CA 90621, supnoodlebar.com
Miss Shabu
I love shabu shabu and hot pot so I was so excited to see that Buena Park has several options. Miss Shabu is an all-you-can-eat shabu restaurant so we made sure to come hungry – it’s $36.99 per person for dinner. Start by picking your broth – we chose the bone broth and the spicy seafood. Then we picked from premium meats like Black Angus USDA Prime Chuck Eye, Black Angus USDA Prime Brisket, pork belly, and organic chicken breast, clams, and salmon, vegetables, noodles, and more.
You can make your own dipping sauce at the table as well. We are so much and it was sooo good.
5450 Beach Blvd. Buena Park, CA 90621, missshabu.com
Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant
Knott’s Berry Farm is a 57-acre theme park with attractions and entertainment in four themed areas inspired by California’s history. This was my first time and I’ve always wanted to go! Knott’s Scary Farm runs September 22 to October 31, 2022. Knott’s Merry Farm is November 18, 2022 – January 8, 2023
You have to try a slice of boysenberry pie at the Ghost Town Bakery, other boysenberry-theme treats in the park and Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner for the famous Cordelia Knott’s original fried chicken.
Fun fact: the fried chicken dinners were only 65-cents back in 1934
8039 Beach Boulevard, Buena Park, CA 90620, knotts.com
Aburi Sushi
Aburi Sushi does have an all-you-can-eat sushi dining experience but don’t let that fool you into thinking the sushi is subpar because it’s actually really good. We had salmon tori sushi and tuna sushi along with bottomless house hot sake (they also have Sapporo draft beer).
8285 On the Mall Buena Park, CA 90620, aburi-payce.com
Gaucho Grill
If you’re craving a steak dinner, go to Gaucho Grill – a contemporary Argentine steakhouse where premium steaks are cooked in the Argentine “gaucho” method over an open flame.
5980 Orangethorpe Ave Buena Park, CA 90620
The Cauldron Spirits & Bar
Just in time for Halloween, we felt transported back in time to a 17th century French inspired white-themed pub at The Cauldron Spirits & Bar. Spell-binding cauldron, antique furniture, and creative craft cocktails – would highly recommend for a fun night!
Tip: The Knotty Kid cocktail has Boysenberry cotton candy with a magical splash of Smirnoff Vodka & lemon that melts before your eyes
8028 Beach Blvd. Buena Park, CA 90621, thecauldronbar.com
Smoking Tiger Coffee & Bread
For coffee, we stopped by Smoking Tiger – a local Korean coffee shop and bakery. When we first walked in, we were greeted with the delicious smells of garlic bread, freshly baked bread and coffee. Smoking Tiger makes all of their Korean pastries and breads from scratch every morning – the hot dog pastry was so good. We got the iced Tiger Latte – espresso mixed with brown sugar and caramel, frothed with oat milk over ice. Would order this again!
4600 Beach Blvd, Buena Park, CA
Porto’s Bakery & Cafe
Porto’s Bakery & Cafe is a popular Cuban bakery that opened in 1963 with a coffee bar and savory sandwiches. This is a popular spot so come early to avoid the line but even if there’s a line, it’s worth it. We had the signature Cuban sandwich with ham and cheese, iced cafecito, potato balls, and guava strudels.
Tip: Order extra pastries like guava strudel and guava & cheese strudel for the flight home
7640 Beach Boulevard, Buena Park, CA 90621, portosbakery.com
