Cuisine:

• Brew, Pubs, Microbreweries
• Pub
• French
• Californian

Haven Gastropub Description:
Haven Gastropub rocks Old Towne Orange's normally sleepy restaurant scene. The interior is lively, noisy and contemporary with its big picture windows, wood floors, stone walls and flat screen TVs. The draw here, however, is the reasonably-priced international microbrews on tap and in bottles, as well as the cuisine by chef Greg Daniels, who formerly cooked for such OC restaurants as Napa Rose and Tradition by Pascal. Chef Daniels brings his Cal-French sensibilities to a menu full of comfort food favorites like French onion soup, macaroni and cheese with black truffles, braised short ribs, and mussels in a beer-and-cream sauce. Another standout is the pizza-like chorizo flatbread with sautéed crimini mushrooms, roasted peppers and fresh mozzarella. For those seeking a more healthy meal, try the radicchio and frisée salad, which comes with goat cheese, cherry tomatoes, a truffle vinaigrette and a poached warm egg on top. The signature burger features mostly ground chuck, but also a fair amount of pork fat, along with pickled red onions, roasted peppers, wild arugula, St. Agur cheese and a buttermilk-and-caramelized onion bun. Even the desserts have a gourmet edge, like the house-made caramel ice cream sandwiched between two chewy chocolate cookies sprinkled with fleur de sel.