Eureka! Irvine Weekend Brunch: A great place to enjoy good company!

If you are looking for a new weekend brunch spot, Eureka! restaurant in Irvine is a great choice! Read below for 5 reasons that Eureka! restaurant weekend brunch is a great place to enjoy good company!

A SoCal Way of Life was invited to sample food at Eureka! restaurant in Irvine in exchange for my written review. However, all opinions stated here are honest and my own. This post also contains Amazon Affiliate links. A SoCal Way of Life earns a commission on all qualifying purchases made through these links.

I recently got to visit Eureka! restaurant in Irvine with the OC Mommy Blogger Tribe. I had never been to this restaurant and was unsure what to expect. All I knew was that others that had been to Eureka! were giving it rave reviews. So, I headed out to Orange County to sample some of their offerings to report back to you what I found!

1. The drinks are delicious

Eureka! Irvine Weekend Brunch: A great place to enjoy good company! — Left to right Instagram handles are: @monicaplus_2, @happiestjenonearth, and @raising_her_cali

I will start off by saying that I’m not a big drinker. I drink maybe one drink a month. That being said, I think that it carries a lot of weight when I say that these drinks taste as great as they look!

I personally ordered The Penicillin cocktail. I know what you’re thinking…that name does not bode well for the drink. But seriously guys, it was delicious! The Penicillin is composed of smoked whiskey, ginger, honey, and lemon. I am a fruity and sweet drink kind of gal. Reading this description made me think that it would not suit my taste. However, if you love mai tai cocktails and sweet drinks like I do, I promise you will love this one!

Posing at Eureka! Irvine — FYI: The other ladies were giving me tips on how to pose here 😉

Some ladies ordered the Valentine’s Day Special called, “Love Potion.” This drink looked almost to beautiful to drink. This cocktail is made up of gin, lavender, grapefuit, lemon, grandpoppy arnaro, and rose water. Sounds romantic, no?

Of course, there are also the standard drinks you might expect, like mimosas. However, even the mimosas are taken to another level. Some ladies ordered the Signature Mimosa Flight. This included orange, grapefruit, pineapple, and ginger-lime mimosas. I heard nothing but rave reviews.

If you prefer non-alcoholic drinks, one of the gals highly recommends the Signature Lavender Iced Tea. Just like the other drinks, this one looks just lovely! And if you think that lavender sounds like an odd ingredient, let me assure you it’s actually very delicious. I visited a lavender farm in Hawaii once and they showed us how all sorts of drinks and foods can be made with lavender!

Love Whiskey and Craft Beer?

Eureka! in Irvine has, “40 American craft beers on tap, over 40 small-batch whiskeys,” per their website. I might not be a drink connoisseur, but I do know that that’s a crazy amount of variety. I think it’s safe to say that you’ll find something you like when you enter Eureka! and place an order.

I personally asked the server taking orders to help me pick a drink. The incredible drink selection can be a little overwhelming to people that are not well-versed in craft drinks. I let the server know what I usually like to drink and he did an excellent job of helping me pick a drink that I enjoyed.

2. It has an open and modern feel

When you walk into Eureka! restaurant in Irvine, you will be welcomed into a beautifully modern space. I personally loved the beautiful lighting.

If you head out on a day with nice weather, ask to be seated outside! Unfortunately, it wound up raining most of the time that we were having our brunch. We made it outside for a few pictures and I fell in love with the setup. There is a beautiful long rectangular fire wall. I imagine it would be even more beautiful at night.

3. It’s a relaxed atmosphere

No stuffiness here! There is a fresh, yet relaxing vibe inside of Eureka! in Irvine.

However, I also didn’t get the feeling that we’d look out of place if we wanted to dress up a little for our brunch. I don’t know about you, but I feel this is important when I eat at a restaurant. I like to enter and feel that all are welcome and at home.

To further illustrate my point that it is a relaxed atmosphere, check out the servers’ shirts…

I noticed it within 5 minutes of looking around and it instantly warmed me up to this restaurant. If you haven’t noticed, I love cheeky humor. This place is the cool kid that doesn’t worry about looking cool. Eureka! knows it’s an awesome restaurant known for its delicious food and abundant drink selection. However, it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Points to you, Eureka!

4. The food is a fresh take on old favorites

The OC Mommy Blogger Tribe gathered at Eureka! in Irvine to check out the brunch menu. This brunch menu is unlike any other brunch I’ve ever had. The restaurant definitely puts some delicious creativity into its brunch menu selection. But, fair warning, if you are sensitive to spicy food, make sure to read the contents of each menu item before ordering! Eureka! definitely caters to the spicy food-loving crowd. But no worries, there are plenty of options that don’t have the spice factor.

All of the menu items that I had were a new take on old favorites. One was the french toast. My friends, this wasn’t just any old french toast. This is Bread Pudding French Toast topped with fresh berries and whiskey creme anglaise. I didn’t even realize there was whiskey in this dish. But let me tell you, if you ordered only one thing from the brunch menu, I would say order the Bread Pudding French Toast! This was definitely an all around consensus at the brunch table.

Spice Spice Baby!

There were also Mac N’ Cheese balls that were not your typical macaroni balls! I immediately reached for them when they came out because I figured they had to be good. Um…they were just, “Wow!” BUT…full disclosure…then the heat kicked in! I was fanning my mouth, reaching for water. It was like a cheesy sitcom (pun intended 😉 As it turns out, there is beer cheese sauce and Fresno chiles. Although I have major sensitivity to spicy food, I was seriously contemplating continuing to eat the Mac N’ Cheese ball. Then, I pictured my husband reprimanding me later when I’m in pain asking, “If you knew it would be a problem, why’d you eat it?” Because it’s freaking delicious, that’s why! 😀

My other favorite menu item was the Chicken Nachos. I was pretty much guaranteed to love it given that it contains black beans, chipotle sauce, crema, cilantro, and red onions. Warning: there are jalapenos! At this point, I learned my lesson from the Mac N’ Cheese balls experience, so I asked before biting in. I was pretty easily able to avoid the jalapenos. I’d say order them without the jalapenos if you are sensitive. I was eating family style and therefore did not ask for them to modify the menu for me.

There were so many other delicious brunch menu items. I have just highlighted my absolute favorites. Be sure to check out the full brunch menu at the Eureka! website. Here are some more pictures for food inspiration 😉

5. It’s central to plenty of shopping

If you want to get some retail therapy after some delicious food and drinks, Eureka! is located in the perfect location for that. Eureka! restaurant is located in the University Center shopping area. I took a nice little stroll through the area after our brunch to walk off some of the deliciousness.

Have you made your brunch plans for this weekend?

I hope that I’ve given you some food for thought while making plans this weekend! The food was so good, all of these OC Mommy Blogger Tribe ladies were taking pictures to share with their followers 😉

I definitely had a great time meeting up with old blogger friends and meeting some new ones at Eureka! in Irvine. Like the title says, having weekend brunch at Eureka! in Irvine is a great place to enjoy good company!