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Russell's Seafood Palace - CLOSED
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
13 reviews for Russell's Seafood Palace
13 reviews in English
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Review from Glenn G.
Huntington Beach, CA
7/26/2007
This was my first experience with Dim Sum about 2 1/2 years ago now. My asain co workers decided to take there "whitey" friend to some good places and started with this one. I must say this place has amazing dim sum. i've yet to try another place, mainly becuase i dont know of any other good ones, but i really like the food here.
I hear the place is under construction for awhile...i havent been by in some time since i switched jobs and no longer work over there. The service always lagged a little if you weren't there at rush lunch hour. Decor was old school but it used to be a steak joint so i guess this upgrade should do the trick. Cant wait to go back when its open again! -
Review from Raymond S.
Irvine, CA
11/15/2006
Local OC dimsum lovers, rejoice! Another Chinese restaurant has popped onto the local scene here in Irvine. Well actually, it's been around for over 2 years now. But yes, that mean's there is more hope for what's limited around here in terms of good Chinese cuisine. Well almost.
At first glance, Russell's might not strike you as a Chinese (seafood) restaurant. The inside and exterior facade obviously were left unchanged from what was once an olde wood and brick American bistro/pub of some sort. Heck, it's even located so obscurely behind all the corporate buildings nearby, you'd be hardpressed to even notice this place. Nothing screams "Chinese" except for the sign on top and the Asian staff.
I've been here a couple of times in the past and have only stuck around for dimsum. Russell's is much like Sam Woo as it offers seafood and traditional Chinese cuisine but as I've only been around for their dimsum, my rating is based only off this segment.
First up, there's two sides to the restaurant. One half of the restaurant is the more traditional push-cart variety where you get to pick and choose what you want as the carts roll on by. The other half is the sit and pick type where you pencil in your orders and have them deliver it to ya. Strange idea but hey, you get to pick whichever floats your boat.
Now onto the food. While it's welcome to have another place to eat dimsum without driving out of the area, Russell's has its faults. Namely, the food is a bit too oily/greasy compared to China Garden or Sam Woo's. And some of the dishes lacked much punch in the taste department. In other words, the food was only okay. Service was so-so and on a few occasions, the wait for service was pretty bad. I have a hard time satisfying my hunger even though I get full easily here. Perhaps it's the MSG or greasiness of it all?
On the plus side, the place is big and the prices are reasonable ranging from $2 to $5. And considering the horrendous wait in front of China Garden on the weekends, this is a nice alternative if you're impatient and also don't want to get up early to travel far. Give it a shot. Just don't expect to be impressed...much. -
Review from Anita L.
3/18/2007 2 photos
3.5 stars
I'd wanted to try this place every since Raymond wrote the review back in Nov 2006 but we never quite made it there until today. I came on yelp to see if there were other reviews since then and was a bit skeptical after reading David P's review. Nevertheless, we still went there for lunch today hoping for the best.
We were seated immediately. How lovely! At 12.30pm if we were going to China Garden, the wait would've probably been an hour on a Sunday. The former Irish pub is a weird place to house a Chinese restaurant but the extremely high ceilings helped lessen the noise level making it really quite comfortable. I could actually hear myself talk.
The dim sum trolley came by and we immediately recognized the dim sum lady. She used to work at China Garden. She automatically stuck up a conversation with us telling us that she left due to some issues with the boss and that one of the dim sum chefs from China Garden is now at Russell's.
The dim sum variety was definitely a lot more diverse than China Garden. There was just a lot more items both in the steamed and fried areas, however, the fried items left a lot to be desired. The fried tofu we got was hard and cold -- not a good idea to precook this sort of item and letting it make its rounds. Lil guy wanted spring rolls and they said they would make them right away. When they arrived, they were really delicious because it was fresh. I think they should do this with fried items which are to be eaten hot. Otherwise it just makes the whole thing really disgusting.
The steamed items were also okay. The har gow was so-so -- wrappers all fell apart -- the other steamed dim sum was also passable, although the cha siu of the cha siu baos were tastier than China Garden.
The food is no better and no worse than China Garden, but service was 100% better. Staff as well as managers were polite, quick to respond to requests and even came by to ask how everything was. At China Garden they couldn't give a rat's ass if you had a good meal. All they want is for you to eat, get the hell out so they can accomodate another party.
If you want dim sum and don't like to wait, definitely Russell's is the place to go (that is if you're not willing to drive farther than 10 mins). If you are craving dim sum and you don't wish to sit in a crowded restaurant with god awful toilets in case you need to go, then try Russell's instead of China Garden.
I'm not saying the dim sum is fantastic -- it's not. But, China Garden doesn't have the monopoly anymore because this place serves the same stuff (hey, their chef is there) and the service and atmosphere is hella better. -
Review from David P.
Cerritos, CA
1/3/2007
The food didn't kill me, yet I don't feel any stronger. Saltier, maybe. Greasier. Full, but unsatisfied.
Ray S. is right on about the very non-Chinese look of the place -- the place appears to have been an Irish pub and seafood joint in its previous life. That's actually problematic because the layout of the restauarant was created for people to walk through with trays, and the walk-through areas are too tight for large dim sum carts.
That can be forgiven if the food's got talent, but nothing on the menu stood out as being specifically worth mentioning -- it's very generic dim sum, so if you're looking for anything other than cheap and fast you may want to look elsewhere. They tend to go too heavy on the oils and sauce, and everything seemed to run a bit too salty. Sometimes, less is more.
(Very strange: We went on a college football Saturday, yet their widescreen on the wall was showing Beakman's World. I'm a fan of educational television, but would have preferred something a little more challenging.)
Russell's is a pretty new establishment, and it generally takes a while for any restaurant to find itself both in its food and service, so despite the two stars, I'm inclined to be forgiving of the place. We went when the place first opened, and I wouldn't mind going back to try it again in a few months. I'm in no hurry, though. -
Review from Kenneth R.
Berkeley, CA
5/25/2007
I had dinner here last night with a group of 10 people. I wavered between 3 and 4 stars before firing up my browser. And guess what? My rating coincides with everyone else's!
Everything here was quite good, but there was nothing that struck me as outstanding. Much of what we ordered came from the sea (a lobster, a whole steamed fish, braised clams,...), but there are beef, pork and vegetable dishes on the menu. I was on my way to the airport and was amazed that my journey from the dinner table to the security line took well under 10 minutes. (My stay in the security line was a bit longer.)
The people who run this restaurant seem very nice. They weren't getting much business -- Russell's was pretty much empty on a Thursday evening. That's too bad: this place is worth trying!Listed in: Asian cuisine: Solano Avenue…
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Review from Robert C.
Sacramento, CA
5/25/2007
It's Dim Sum. If you're into dim sum, this place will do you alright.
The food is nothing special. Not bad, not memorable. To the point, I almost forgot I ate here once, and only remembered when someone asked me how many dim sum places were around.
Again, there's nothing really memorable about this place. I've never seen it packed, I've never seen it empty. It's Dim sum, and unless you stay for an hour, you will still leave feeling hungry. -
Review from Alex K.
10/24/2007
There are two places in Irvine that serve dim sum. Neither of them are that great.
I agree with Troy H's review. China Garden is super busy on the weekends with the quality of the food just (in my opinion) a notch above Russell's. But when you build a restaurant by the airport away from all residential neighborhoods, Russell's staff is very attentive to your needs. -
Review from Eileen C.
Irvine, CA
7/8/2007
Good dim sum in Irvine. Really good if you know what to order.
I always get the fried tofu with abalone sauce (I never see this at other dim sum places). The texture of the tofu is very soft on the inside, almost liquid-like.
I also get the xiao long bao. Careful- they are always super hot and because the only way to eat it is in one bite, wait for it to cool a bit and you will be rewarded! -
Review from Fatty A.
San Francisco, CA
11/19/2007
Russell's Seafood Palace is GONE! The owner sold it and a new restaurant called Moon Palace resides here. My first impression of this place was its going to be another PF Changs. It had "asian bistro" on the window. Disgusting. Asians don't know what bistro means. But to my surprise the food here was really good. As a fat asian I know my asian food. I was surprised about the authenticity of the food. The asian cuisine here is a mix of cantonese and mandrin. It had a little bit of both. The peking duck with flautas and spicy lobster stir fry were really good. They also serve sushi here (random). The location, however, puts this place off the radar. I definitely want to go back and try some other dishes.
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Review from Ellen C.
3/19/2007
I love the decor and atmosphere. It isn't Asian, definitely not Chinese. It has this distant and faint feel of the roaring 20s--dark wooden beams, green and gold sconces, and themed wall accents and details. The current owners probably purchased this restaurant from a high end American or Irish restauranteur--this unique vibe raises the rating though it's out of place and I have to admit, old and is in need of some maintenance.
The food here I rated to be about a 3. It's not particularly great by any means but they have some dim sum and menu items that I've never seen at other dim sum restaurants including Chicken & Shark Fin Soup served in individual portions, a Mayonnaise Seafood fried something or other. They also have the traditional items like sui mai, daikon/radish cakes, etc. But nothing is quite spectacular and the prices here are actually somewhat expensive considering that there is so much competition around and this location is not exactly the most convenient or easy to find. But they've managed to keep the prices low enough that each individual person can still leave feeling satisfied for under $10 with just standard dim sum dishes.
Now the service is something else. I visit my parents on a monthly basis and we go to this dim sum place probably every other time I visit if only for the fact that the owners know my parents and there is never a wait here, which is hard to find at dim sum restaurants in Irvine. But even with the owners and managers knowing my parents, we can never count on good service. They oftentimes seem to be short staffed--cart pushers serve us water, used tables are left uncleaned for a good 15-20 minutes, and it's hard to wave down anybody within 5 minutes. The only time service is good is when the manager himself comes over and tends to our needs personally, otherwise if his attentions are scattered with some banging in the kitchen and a short supply of dim sum, you are ensured to go through a rough patch. Keep in mind that by the time we usually get there about 75-80% of the restaurant is full but by no means is it to the brim with a line out the door. Service should be much better.
Summary:
Atmosphere: 4.5
Food: 3
Service: 2
Averaged Out Rating: 3.16666666666666667
Sad for them, rounding down, 3 stars. -
Review from troy h.
7/7/2007
Great dimsum spot. Actually it's one of only a handful of places that serves good dim sum. China Garden is good off Jeffrey. But Russell's definitely has better service. Thnx Russell!
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Review from Lisa K.
Amityville, NY
2/18/2008
This makes me sad to hear Russell has closed. My family and I would occasionally visit on Sunday for dim sum. While others may complain about the lack of variety, I found that the siu mai and hargow suited me just fine! The texture was great and the wrappers weren't too thick. Compared to other Chinese restaurants, it had a little bit of sweetness to them which I liked. Guess we'll have to go to Little Saigon for some dim sum. Damn
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Review from Ken L.
Huntington Beach, CA
12/10/2006
My friend wanted to go here for his birthday so we made reservations for our group a few days in advance for the weekend. For a dimsum place in Irvine, it's not that bad. Kinda hidden out of the way in the business section of Irvine, you wouldn't even notice it if you were to drive by it. It's a pretty decent sized restaurant but doesn't have your typical Chinese restaurant decor. It does however have the typical dimsum carts circling the tables making their rounds. Since we had a big group, we were taken to an area that was raised from the main floor. This area is inaccessible to the carts so dimsum is ordered from a menu. Menu's have pictures for people who've never had dimsum and don't know what the heck to order, so it's very newb friendly. The staff was very helpful and prompt. Food was tasty but a few items came to us kinda cold. We also ordered a few non dimsum dishes that were good too. The salt and pepper fish was excellent. All in all, a good experience and would come back here again.
