3 Best Restaurants in Santa Ana, Central Valley

One of the Central Valley's trendiest restaurants stands out with its daily fish and meat specials, including starter carpaccios of salmon, octopus, and beef. The sea bass and jumbo shrimp combination plate comes with a sauce of chopped fresh tomatoes, white wine, and garlic. Surf and turf is pricey, but includes grilled tenderloin and jumbo shrimp with a side of buttery spaghetti and asparagus. Lunch specials are a good value here. Service is as polished as the ample chrome, and there's usually at least one waiter who speaks English.

This airy eatery with a huge floor-to-ceiling, wall-long picture window makes a bright place to start your day with a variety of inventive breakfasts. There’s gallo pinto on the menu, of course—this is Costa Rica—but hearty pancakes, egg, and toast dishes beckon from the menu, too. Wash it down with a variety of fruit juices and coffees. Lunch gives way to more conventional fare—burgers, wraps, and salads.