Valhalla Table

Valhalla TableValhalla Table
Valhalla TableValhalla Table
Bar, Eatery

2981 Bristol Street
Costa Mesa, California, 92626
United States

// CLOSED //
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.27
Reviews:
4
Ratings:
4
pDev:
15.22%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews.
Ratings by msmezher:
Photo of msmezher
Reviewed by msmezher from California

4.2/5  rDev -1.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.5
Valhalla Table is one of my new favorites in Orange County. House-made, gourmet sausages is the main draw, followed by the beer, and belgian style fries. The service was particularly impressive, one server who mentioned that she was vegan had tried all of the sausages and was able to make good recommendations despite having a meat-restrictive dietary preference.

With about 10 different sausages, of different regional styles and meats including lamb, wild boar, buffalo, duck; and the usual suspects beef, chicken, and pork as well as a few vegetarian options there's quite a range of flavors available. The belgian fries come with a sauce of your choice, i prefer the garlic and pesto mayo's. Their draft selection is good, 8 craft or microbrews, and their bottle selection is even better with somewhere around 30. One problem: I don't like to order bottles at a restaurant as I like to order something I couldn't enjoy in the comfort of my own home, so this doesn't add much to the experience for myself. As for the atmosphere its fairly simple with sheet metal and wood all over the place. I like that there's a variety of seating arrangements, stools at the bar, bench seating, chairs at a bar-hall type table, and tall tables.

Final thoughts: Valhalla Table delivers high quality food with ice cold craft beer, at a really reasonable price (6-7 for sausages, 3.5 for a hefty plate of fries, and 6-10 for pints on tap). I've been in 5 or so times since hearing about the place in July, and will definitely be going back regularly.
Sep 14, 2010
More User Ratings:
Photo of HaggisIBM
Reviewed by HaggisIBM from California

4.95/5  rDev +15.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5
My local, so I am not bias.

Eight beers on draft and another 40 bottle beers with no crap among the 48 beers! What's not to like about this place.

The food is great. My favorites include the beer cheddar soup, the duck sauasge tacos, the currywurst, and the lamb brat.

When The VT first opened, some of the staff did not know much about beer. However, most of them now know their beer. (Excluding new employees))

I ask for a proper beer glass and one that isn't chilled when ordering a beer.

The beer selection is awesome. Something for every beer lover can be found either on draft or in a bottle or a can.

There are some unique bottle beers as well. One being an IPA from Japan.

I highly recommend this place.
Dec 29, 2010
Photo of DoubleJ
Reviewed by DoubleJ from Wisconsin

3.25/5  rDev -23.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 2.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
Did somebody say gourmet sausage, Belgian fries, and craft beer in one spot? Well, count me in! I took the trek down to Costa Mesa earlier to find Vallhalla Table in part of a new looking commercial area. There's parking in the center, but there wasn't a total abundance of it when I arrived around 12:30. Even more surprising was the fact it wasn't packed inside.

The dining area isn't really big, but space is utilized well. Very abstract looking on the inside. Big windows look out at Bristol, a small L shaped table sits where you place your order and seating for four, and a TV is perched at one side of the restaurant. Metal and wood are the favorite materials of decoration.

Right where you place your order is the beer and food menu. 8 beers are served on-tap, and about 30-40 options from the bottle. No "crap" in the selection, with offerings like Maharaja, Mardesous 8, Stone IPA, and Allagash from draught. The bottle offerings include the new Noble Ale Works, Mission, Xingu, Anderson Valley, Mad River, Lagunitas, and Chimay. My Mardesous 8 was fresh, but they managed to botch the serving of the beer; chilled shaker pint glasses should not be used for Mardesous 8. Argh! Ironically, I saw a few other pieces of room temperature glassware on display, including a Delirium tulip.

Not much service was needed for my stay. I ordered my food, got my beer, got my food in 5 minutes, and was cleaned after when I finished.

As for the food, it's as good as the beer available. I had a wild boer sausage which I liked, and the Belgian fries were fine. It won't make me forget about Wurstkuche in Los Angeles, but the portions are a little larger while being similarily priced. Sausages go for $6-7, Belgian fries at $3.5, and a 16 ounce Mardesous 8 went for $10. I was shoked at first about the Mardesous price, but then found out how much I was getting.

The overall score won't indicate it as much, but I do like Valhalla Table. And because it's not horribly far and on the way to the beach and Hi-Times, I'll be back for a second visit.
Jul 23, 2010
Photo of opwog
Reviewed by opwog from Minnesota

4.7/5  rDev +10.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 5
Great addition to the OC beer scene. From memory, I believe that it was 8 taps and maybe about a 25 bottle beer selection. For the area (down the road from South Coast Plaza, located at The Camp on Bristol), this is the best beer selection that I am aware of. As far as staff, I have visited twice so far and the guys behind the bar were very friendly. Beyond the beer selection is the perfect food pairing and the real focus for Valhalla...their homemade sausages! I haven't tried any of the "classics" yet, but on my first visit I had their duck/bacon/jalapeno sausage and on my most recent visit I had the Balinese wild boar sausage. Each time adding their sambal balado (Indonesian style salsa), which I highly recommend. Classics are $6 and specialty sausages are $7 and they are good sized and well worth it, but it is all ala carte so check out their sides, as well. Beer prices were also reasonable and all prices are tax inclusive, which is also nice.

A sparse, almost obsessively clean, yet still comfortable room; I can tell that they will eventually have to rethink the set up for more seating, maybe even extending the bar. Also, being in The Camp immediately brings to mind hipster hell, but I think that the food selection (which does include vegetarian options) and focus on beer seems to be bringing in a much more diverse crowd; from neighborhood people to local office/retail workers to beer geeks, who all balance out the 20 somethings who remind you that the Lab and the Camp undeniably target the youth demographic. Definitely worth visiting if/when you are in the area.
Apr 27, 2010
Valhalla Table in Costa Mesa, CA
Place rating: 4.27 out of 5 with 4 ratings