The Gossiping Gourmet: Wine and friendly neighborhood ambiance at Bacchus

I think Bacchus Bar & Bistro is the kind of place we would all like to have in our neighborhood: casual and friendly with good food and live music at a reasonable decibel. It is located in the Quail Hill Village Center and has indoor and outdoor dining.

The interior décor consists mostly of wine bottles filling attractive shelves everywhere in the room. A high ceiling with open beams and strings of little lights, as well as various wine barrels scattered around the room, completes the pleasant atmosphere.

The eat-in bar takes up one end of the dining area, while tall tables for two and regular tables with nice leather chairs complete the picture. Comfortable sofas in the front greet people as they enter. Umbrellas cover the outdoor patio.

The menu features starters, cheese boards, salads, flatbreads, small plates, sandwiches and desserts, all created by Chef Charity in her small kitchen. The long listing of wines offers more than 350 bottles and 60 varieties by the glass. Bacchus also has craft beers on tap and 20 microbrews but does not sell hard liquor.

Patrons may choose among nine cheeses on the cheeseboard menu, along with eight kinds of charcuterie, to construct their own cheeseboard. They also have a choice of six condiments — including apple mustard or fig jam, balsamic glaze, glazed nuts, house-made olives, honeycomb or pesto — and can choose from three kinds of bread (plus one gluten-free option), kettle chips, gluten free chips and water crackers.

Salad lovers will need to decide if they want the roasted beets with arugula, burrata cheese, truffle vinaigrette and Marcona almonds or perhaps the kale and faro salad with broccoli, dried cranberries, pistachios, sunflower seeds, balsamic glaze and orange sherry vinaigrette

My companion and I began with Rioja braised lamb quesadillas with manchego cheese, smoked peppers, white bean puree, red pepper yogurt sauce and radish pickles. A large tortilla was folded over the delicious filling, which had spicy notes and many textures that complemented the shredded lamb. The yogurt sauce was drizzled on top.

Continuing with the Mexican theme, we selected pork belly tacos, which came three to an order, with chunks of meaty pork belly drizzled with a wonderful spicy/sweet soy reduction as well as some crunchy shredded cabbage and kimchi salsa. A sprig of cilantro provided a garnish.

For heartier fare, we chose a lamb burger that had a thick, juicy patty topped with feta cheese, roasted tomato, pickled red onions and cucumbers and was slathered with a delicious tahini yogurt sauce, all piled high on a tasty brioche bun. It was very good. We were also tempted by the lobster grilled cheese with brie, cheddar and mayo, but my arteries cried, “No!”

From the flatbread menu we chose the cured meats variety. This consisted of salami, spicy soppressata, chorizo, marinara, mozzarella, parmesan and sliced banana peppers. This was not as good as our other dishes, because the meats were sliced very thin and became indistinguishable from one another under the mozzarella and tomato sauce. Which is not to say it wasn’t good, but just not as good as our other selections.

We finished our meal with one of the three desserts, a butterscotch pot de crème. It was rich and creamy with a subtle butterscotch flavor. Whipped cream and fried puff pastry cookies completed this desert.

Bacchus has wine-tasting events Wednesday nights and live music Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Its wine club costs $50 a month and offers a variety of discounts on a selection of wines from around the world and discounts on the bistro menu and wine accessories.

This is really a local social gathering place that features good food in a casual atmosphere.

TERRY MARKOWITZ was in the gourmet food and catering business for 20 years. She can be reached for comments or questions at [email protected].

BACCHUS BAR & BISTRO

Where: 6735 Quail Hill Parkway, Irvine

When: Lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays; dinner, 4 to 8 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays, 4 to 10 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 5 to 10 p.m. Saturdays; call for bar hours

Prices:

Food: $4 to $13

Desserts: $6

Wine:

Bottles: $24 to $595

By the glass: $8 to $19

Information: (949) 502-4600 or https://www.bacchusbarandbistro.com