Number of people dining: 2
Pro: Nice wine selection
Big Cons:
Exepnsive for location and ambience provided.
Ordered filet rare; first one came out medium; sent it back; came back medium-rare (I kept that one but would have preferred they got it right)
Sat inside because the car wash next door was loud
Lots of gnats (at our inside table); landing in my wine, hovering over my food
Server was not paying attention very well; too much effort to get her attention to 1) send back steak cooked incorrectly and 2) get our check.
Small Cons: Wait staff communication:
Bread came out and we said we didn't want bread; then later a different person brough us bread.
Asked person who was collecting plates from table for a to go box; it never arrived. Â I had a plate of left overs (an obvious amount). Â When server picked up credit card, she didn't offer a box, so asked her (my second request) for a box.
Conclusion: Don't eat here but they have nice wines to taste...bring a fly/gnat swatter with you.
Always a good time... Dig this place.  Staff is always very friendly.  Wine pours are hearty (thank God!).  My wife and I generally share a salad, entree and dessert and we have a glass or two of wine.  A nice night out - never too stuffed and no leftovers - just right. The patio is the place to go - take a good look at the 3 paintings on the wall.... scandalous but fun!  Last night we had Scampi pasta  (linguine w/ tiger prawns) and it was spot on.  Light yet filling. We had the Tannins salad (extra garbonzo beans) and it was great.  We've been here enough times to say the food is always good, service is ALWAYS friendly... and the desserts are VERY tasty.  Throw in the occasional Groupon that they usually do and score - win/win.
Review Source:First, this restaurant  needs a major baby wipe.  The one star is even too much! Â
We went in during the week and there was hardly anyone there. Â So that usually means there might be more of a chance of better service. Â The waitress was nice enough but she kept forgetting to brings items we ordered. Â
I ordered the sea bass special which was recommended highly by the waitress. IT WAS AWFUL - THE FISH SMELLED OLD, AND TASTED CHEWEY. Â We had to return it back to the kitchen. Â The pizzas we ordered were decent. Â The filet steak we ordered was decent but not the temperature we requested. Â FINALLY as we're sitting, a LARGE RAT runs out past our table and under one of the seats. Â When we brought this rodent issue to the attention of the wait staff, they tried passing it off by explaining their trash bins are right next to the particular wall we sat next to.???? Â Not very reassuring and very much a concern. Â To end this hell night, the waitress automatically charged the tip to our bill, guaranteeing a tip we did not intend or want to leave. Â NEVER GO HERE!!!!
Tannins hosts our business networking group, Net 10 Networkers every 2nd & 4th Tuesday. Â They have been wonderful to our members and are helping to promote business in the local community. Â As an added bonus, their wine cellar is an awesome place to host a meeting, their wine list is outstanding and their food is well presented and prepared. A very accommodating group of restauranteurs that we appreciate very much. Thank you Gerardo & Tannins for being so great to Net 10 Networkers. We appreciate you very much.
Review Source:We have frequented this Tannins in past however, my last visit left me quite disappointed. Â The calamari appetizer portion was half what it used to be for the same price and my pasta dinner was also half the size for the same price. Â Come on now....pasta? It's cheap...there's really no need to skimp on that! Â Unfortunately, with so many other excellent Italian restaurants around with better portion value, we won't be visiting Tannins.
Review Source:My family has been going to Tannins for a VERY long time - since it opened. Â We used to go a lot more than we do now. Â I think our trips to Tannins decreased when the chefs changed.
Anyways, we went last night for my dad's birthday. Â There were eight of us, and they gave us a nice table in back room so that we could be loud, hear each other and not make a scene:) Â That was really great. Â The dinner on the other hand......lackluster.
We started with some calamari. Â It was nicely cooked and came with a tomato sauce for dipping that was really watery. Â That will be a theme on the evening - watery tomato sauce. Â The bruschetta was good, and the burrata was REALLY good. Â Big piece of burrata (my favorite thing) and big pieces of tomato and basil. Â That was one of my favorites of the night. Â The cheesy provolone was like a queso dip but was completely hard and impossible to scoop out of its skillet. Â Fail.
I had a cup of white bean soup that tasted intensely of bay leaves - someone left the bay in for too long. Â It overpowered the rest of the soup and ended up with a woody floral taste. Â Fail.
Dinner was spaghetti with meatballs. Â Again, super watery tomato sauce so no good. Â The meatballs tasted pretty good, but it seemed like two were meat and one was pork - weird. Â Again, fail.
The service was spectacular - our waiter got everything right, checked on us regularly and didn't forget about us in the back room. Â Can't say I will be back, or maybe I just ordered the wrong things?
Tannins has great ambiance, I like the bar area and seating in the wine room. I came here for an office lunch and ordered The Rio - hot pastrami, melted swiss, tomato, lettuce, onion and spicy mustard served on toasted marble rye. I love love love pastrami, and I thought this sandwich was great. The pastrami was warm and tender, and all the toppings went perfectly, they even grilled the onions at my request! Great place for lunch, and as I would imagine, great for dinner as well.
Review Source:Nice ambiance. Been eating here for years and really want to love it, but please...could there be a new menu or new dishes soon? It's time for some changes and some fresh recipes for us frequent visitors. PLEASE. Want to come more and love it more, just need something different. Thanks.
Review Source:This is an excellent Italian restaurant! They have new chef in the kitchen and  appetizers and main courses were delicious.  My wife and i had seafood pasta and pan-seared scallops which we enjoyed very much. The staff were very attentive making sure that we were enjoying ourselves even though the there wasn't an empty seat in the house.
I will definitely be making Tanin's one of my regular stops.
This is a decent Italian restaurant in So OC. Â We've been coming here for years. Â The food is good and they have a respectable wine list.
One of my favorite dishes is their Chicken Marsala - chicken sauteed with butter, sliced mushrooms, marsala wine, topped with basil and served with sauteed veggies for $16.95 (see attached photo). Â I also love their Linguine with Seafood - linguine with clams, mussels, calamari, and shrimp in a white wine sauce for $19.95 (see attached photo). Â They also serve complimentary garlic bread with a fantastic yogurt sauce! Â My husband loves their pizza. Â Sometimes they have discounts on their appetizers and pizza during happy hour.
The restaurant is not that large in size, however they have a couple of interesting rooms. Â One is the wine cellar room - my favorite! Â The bar is small but quaint. Â They have outdoor seating as well, with heated lamps. Â The parking is limited. Â They're located in a strip mall and the parking lot is usually filled, however you can also find parking at the top level.
If you're in or around San Juan Capistrano, this is a good overall Italian restaurant.
I called the health department about the flies(see my previous review) and the woman that took the case called me to tell me she was ALREADY investigating the fly problem. She said when she visited there were flies/gnats all over the restaurant! I called the restaurant and spoke to a manager that said they had "already hired two pest control companies to get rid of the flies but that since they left the back doors open frequently the flies could not be stopped."
Funny because both my fiance and myself noticed the back doors by the restroom wide open and thought maybe the flies could be coming from a dumpster area out back... guess we were right. Since they obviously have a major ventilation system error and bad customer service, I wont be back.
My husband and I came here for lunch on a Living Social coupon. We live nearby, but not in SJC and had never heard of this place.
It was a weekday and it was later than a normal lunch time, so the place was fairly deserted which must be the best time to go. We picked a table by the window and our waiter was very nice and attentive.
We ordered the Brushetta and I got the pesto pasta with grilled chicken (it says fried or something, but you can also get it grilled.) My husband got some sort of sandwich and fries and we ended the meal by splitting a cannelloni.
We were really impressed with the food, the waiter, the wine and the cleanliness of the place. It was a wonderful way to celebrate some good news we got that day.
I'm still somewhat mixed aboiut this place. Â The wine selection is very good but I'm not sold on the food at this point.
I think the service was outstanding though. Â It does get very crowded, which is a good sign, but they seem to be able to accomodate the crowd without a huge drop off in service.
Overall, not bad, but I need to enjoy a better wine/food pairing to be sold.
For a place that offers up so many half price coupons, I was a little hesitant when the hubby bought one through Living Social. We waited till probably the last possible moment (like most of these coupons, and yes - I'll admit I accidentally let some expire) but ended up going on the last possible night.
I was a little turned off by how long it took to be acknowledged by the hostess. And even after we were seated, it took the better of 15 minutes before we were seen by our waitress.
Thankfully, things got better after that. We ordered a wine flight to share and a couple of appetizers. The calamari was fantastic. For my entree, I ordered the Chicken Pict. While not as good as my own, it was pretty darn good - lots of grilled veggies and a very light sauce. I could actually count the points for Weight Watchers without going crazy.
Overall, very good. The ambiance looks a little deceiving from the outside (it's next to a car repair garage) but inside the little patio walls it's actually quite pleasant . Tannins also looks like this would be a great place to check out for wine tasting events. Â Now that I know, I will definitely take advantage of one of those 1/2 price entree coupons in the future.
Okay before I start, you should know that I'm a huge fan of olives of any kind, size and origin. So when the waitress brought over a basket of fresh out-of-the-oven garlic bread with olive butter spread which tasted exactly like olive purée mixed with butter, I felt like I had died and gone to heaven, kid you not!
Anyways, back to business, my friends and I are from NY and we had decided to stay a few days at the St. Regis. and wanted to try something local. Our waitress Monica was very friendly and personally changed our waters after we had asked her for no ice. I ordered the raved butternut squash ravioli, and my friends had the meatballs & ravioli, veal Parmesan, and tannins pizza.
The first few bites of the butternut squash ravioli was delicious, but it soon became too sweet, and I wished they had added something else to the dish to balance the flavors; i.e. vegetables. The veal parmesan came with an ample portion of vegetables but the meat was a little tough. The meatballs & ravioli was standard. And the Tannins house Pizza appeared similar to a margarita pizza. This place probably deserves a 3.5 for ambiance and well-trained staff but the food did not impress me.
First off, I want to state that the parking at this place was tight and people were double parked and spilling over to the car wash next door. I eventually found a spot among a sea of others that were hunting for spots too.
When I got inside it was considerably full and they asked if I had a reservation. I had called earlier in the morning and was told I didn't need one for 2 people on a Tuesday night. I guess it's my fault that I should have insisted on one, as there were nothing but reservations for 2 people on the log book.
We were seated outside near a heater, but then was later informed the heater was broken. That made the seating a little chilly as it was a table next to the entrance and had people walking by all the time.
I used the $25 for $50 worth of food from the Living Social coupon that I purchased and everything seemed to go smoothly.
We ordered the butternut squash ravioli, the fried calamari, tomato bisque soup and the penne pesto.
The bread they served was a mix or plain bread  and some baked garlic bread. This was accompanied by a creamy olive dip. The garlic bread tasted great but it was a bit soggy on some piece.
Next came the calamari, and that plate was great, no over breaded and there was plenty of large pieces that were not over cooked either.
When i got the soup it was good to start, but then I started to find that there were large pieces of fibrous part of the celery stalk in every bite that i could not just swallow and it got stuck in my teeth.
The entrees came and the presentation was great. The ravioli was sweet with a very strong butter flavor...maybe too strong...and they swam in the browned butter sauce.
The penne pesto was very good. It was not over sauced and it had a very good amount of tender well cooked chicken on top.
The meal left me full but I was not fully impressed with the food. I don't know if I'll return anytime soon.
So,
-1 star for the parking
-1 star for the communication from the staff about seating and where i got seated.
-1 for the food that seeming was okay but could have been better.
I was here earlier this week, all I am going to say is that I expected more. Â After I looked at the pictures online and the company website and the fact that it was located in South County, I figured it would be a bit more upscale and nicer. Â Don't get me wrong, it was ok, but it did have a slight bar and grill feel and less of a wine bar feel.
The seating arrangement is weird, we sat next to another couple, their table was about 3 inches away from us, they were having wine, enjoying themselves, I also learned that after dinner they were on their way home for some adult time...so no privacy.....anywho...the décor is ok,  nothing fancy, the waiting staff was super nice and helpful.  They made suggestions on wines and on the menu and checked in on us regularly.
As for the food, I had the pork chop and my bf had a pasta, he didn't like his pasta, I failed to taste it so I cant say. I liked my pork chop, it was seared nicely and sat on a bed of spinach with a mango sauce and chunks of mango along with it. Â I liked the mangos, I added a pic if you want to check it out.
Will I go here again? Perhaps not, it is out of the way, and I drove from north county to south county specifically for this place, its not bad, if I lived in the area I may stop by again...but since its out of the way I will be passing on future visits.
We went to Tannin's for dinner tonight on a $50 for $25 Groupon. Â About the best I can say about dinner was the portions were good sized and the restaurant has a decent collection of moderately priced wines by the 3 oz. and 6 oz. glass.
We were seated in a smallish room lined with wine cases, but it was very noisy and it was tough for the waiters to enter/exit due to the placement of the tables.
In general, we both felt that the dishes all lacked flavor and seemed "washed out". Â The mussels we had as an appetizer were mostly tasteless in a parsley laden broth with overly crisp french bread. Â That was a contrast to the bread plate at the beginning of dinner which was cold and a bit stale. Â It was served with an olive based sauce that looked like blueberry cream sauce.
My wife's salad was good, but nothing special, and my cream of artichoke soup was overly flavored with lemon and was not passed through a sieve, so it had little prickly bits throughout. Â I thought the two floaties on top were croutons, but ultimately they're still a mystery to me.
My wife's chicken piccata was tender and the veggies were cooked well, but the piccata sauce again lacked flavor and she needed to add fresh squeezed lemon. Â My pork chop in bourbon sauce (which the waiter said were never overdone) ended up being dry, and the bourbon sauce wasn't reduced enough so it was more like a weakly flavored bourbon broth.
All-in-all, most of the dishes lacked complexity (all one-note), and there was little depth of flavor (sauces were not nearly concentrated enough and lacked depth). Â The one dish that did have a lot of flavor was my soup - which could have used a lot less lemon (overpowered the artichokes so much that it was tough to tell what the soup was if not for the unstrained prickly ends of the artichoke).
Our bill with four glasses of wine came to just over $100 although we were over-charged for the wrong glass of pinot (the one on the bill wasn't even on the wine list). The prices would have been reasonable to a bit on the high side if the quality of the food had been on par with our expectations.
Tannins is down the street from work, so it's really convenient for a group of us to come for happy hour. They have a very good HH deal. The food is decent, mainly the appetizers and pizzas, the olive spread that comes with the bread is amazing! There are TVs by the counter usually with games on.
If you are looking for a quiet romantic dinner or family time, avoid this place on a Friday night, the happy hour crowd gets big and noisy! I'm usually part of the loud HH crowd, feel kind of bad when there's a family with little kids trying to have a nice dinner one table over... but when the restaurant has a good HH deal, expect this type of atmosphere. There are more private tables in the back rooms for larger parties.
Parking gets crazy in front of the restaurant, but EXTRA PARKING SPACES ABOVE STREET LEVEL! Take a right when you enter from Ortega Hwy, there a ramp that goes up above the shops to a 2nd parking lot, stairway access next to Starbucks.
Wonderful service! We went on a Friday night - our anniversary.
The appetizer bread dipped with some kind of olive butter - delicious! We started with the calamari and asparagus soup - also delicious. I was actually full when our main course arrived. Filet Mignon was wonderful - tender, perfectly made to my husband's specs. I asked for a grilled salmon with the caesar salad - also very good!
Full or not, we still ordered creme brulee - wonderful with berries.
The restaurant is a little out of the way - I only knew of it because of the car wash and starbucks... And I'd come again.
Went here last weekend with the mom and step dad. My moms friend had recommended the place and we were looking for a place to eat on a Friday night. Never having been here before we didn't realize that is was going to be REALLY busy. The 3 of us ended up waiting for about 30 minutes, which wasn't terrible. I do, however, think the hostess need a lesson in etiquette because when I tried putting our name i she shortly said "You DON"T have a reservation? Well, then you're going to have to wait for a while." Rude!
Once we did finally sit service was very much slow. We waited for our waitress for quite some time and no one brought water or bread. By this point we were pretty hungry. When she finally did arrive she took another 10 minutes to bring us our bottle if wine, and that waiting FOREVER for her to come back trend continued all night. Food also took a while to come out.
As for the food, most of it was delicious. Unfortunately their calamari was horribly over cooked and we had to return it. Which was sad really, the marinara sauce was quite delicious and the calamari looked good lightly covered in flour/ seasoning. Their Tannins salad is super delicious! I got mine without capers, though. Mixed greens, avocado, garbanzo beans, FRESH tomatoes (I can tell. I'm a tomato snob!), red onions, and their house dressing were a great mix. Â My seared scallops were also pretty good, aside from the fact that there were only 4 of them. My step-dad's herb-crusted fillet was also super delicious. However, mom's veal Marsala was very sub par and lacking in many ways. She kept on stealing our food.
Over all, would go back again on a night when its NOT busy. They have some really tasty sounding dishes along with some classic ones I would like to try.
More like a 3.5 but I'm rounding down for reasons stated below.
Came in late on a Sunday night after a crazy chain of events that started with me being underdressed (too frumpy casual) for my pre-Valentine's Day date (she was resplendent in red dress,beautiful make-up and looking at my like I was a slob). Â Kids, when making last minute dinner plans, communicate clearly with the other party what their expectations are.
Next, the excellent MV persian place I wanted was closed for a private party so we high tailed it to destinations unknown. Â Was going to Laguna or San Clemente but my friend recommended Tannins.
And this is another tough review...food was very good...really enjoyed the mozzarella caprese, chicken picatta and the special Valentine's puff pastry. Â They had one of my favorite white wines, the 2007 Tangent Ecclestone (a crisp, fruity white made with stainless steel fermentation by a certified sustainable winery) on the by glass list. Â Service was fast and efficient plus they let us linger after closing.
However, the 6 oz pours did not look quite look like 6 oz. and the wine of the week, an Australian Pinot, was served at room temperature which almost made it undrinkable. Â For a wine bar to sell a red not at cellar temp is just inexusable. Â Â Â Â
So what was probably a four star evening gets downgraded because you are a wine bar, serve your wines correctly.
Ate here a couple times, food was great had the penne pesto with blackened chicken, absolutly amazing will definetly keep coming back, make sure to make a reservation if your planning to go friday or saturday as it tends to get busy. On our latest visit we sat at the bar with Gino bartending, we came for a quick drink and ended up having dinner and a few drinks. Definetly recommend to go during ginos bar shifts as he keeps you entartained, laughing and gives great service
Make sure to try their home made desserts, we had the carrot cake and tiramisu. By far the best ive had
Bartender 5 stars
Food 5 stars
Parking 3 stars
Dessert 5 stars
Tannins can get pretty crowded, so if you're a stickler for fast, responsive service, you'll be disappointed if you eat here during a busy night - and they are busy a lot of the time.
One thing Tannins has going for it is that they mail out these glossy coupon cards locally, which make the place a pretty great deal. Â They also deliver, and the cost to get their pizza delivered is actually competitive with most other delivered pizza in San Juan Capo. Â For this, I highly recommend Tannins delivery - they are quick so the food stays hot when it arrives. Â For this, I rate them the #1 delivered pizza you can order in San Juan Capistrano.
Pro: Good service, great lunch specials.
Con: Crazy entrance location, parking madness, and pointless outside seats.
Been coming here for years with clients for a nice quiet environment to chat. Good wine selection to get people a bit nuts before a meeting, then all sugared up by their desert selections.
Try the Tannins salad with fish, San Juan Sandwich, and ask for fresh grilled veggies.
I have to admit, this place is not located in the best of locations. It's kind of tucked away in a little strip mall next to the 5 freeway. Don't let that fool you though. This place has excellent Italian food and a most impressive wine list. It is on the small side. There is a small bar and small dining room. There is also a small outdoor patio. The cool thing about this place is that there is a separate bar-like area where you can sit and watch the kitchen staff prepare some of the pasta dishes. There is also an ultra-cool Euro-chic nightclub/lounge upstairs called the Ibiza Lounge which deserves a review of its very own. The restaurant ambiance is warm and cozy, yet bistro-like. They have their very own brick oven where they are making fresh, tasty pizzas. They have the Cellar in the back that is set up for larger parties and is quite cool because it houses many, many wine bottles
The menu is comprised of tasty homemade Italian food of generous portions. Their chicken marsala is excellent as are their seafood dishes. The pastas are tasty, especially their fettuccine alfredo. My favorite part is the basket of delicious hot bread. There are 2 kinds: Â focaccia and garlic bread. They also have a creamy olive spread for the bread as well as the classic EVOO and balsamic vinegar. They have a full bar but what you want to come here for is the wine, after all, it IS a wine bar. They have an extensive wine list and have different flights for you to try to sample their most popular offerings. The dessert menu contains many tasty desserts including my all-time favorite, tiramisu, :-)
This place is great for families, large celebrations (The Cellar in back is great for that!), and for dates too! The staff is great and they always take good care of you if you are a regular.
We've been coming to Tannin's for a few years now and the food and service remain consistently high.
The pizza is a great bargain if you're on a budget. And the olive spread served with the bread is really tasty.
They do charge an excessively high corkage fee to discourage people from bringing their own wine so don't bother. Their wine selection is quite good and the servers usually know what they're talking about in providing advice.
Nice italian restaurant with a wine bar and night club kind of place upstairs. Â The calamari was 5 star and the linguine with seafood was quite good. Â There was a good wine selection with reasonable prices by the bottle but very spendy by the glass. Â The veal piccata was 4 star and the scallops were also good. Â The lasagna was okay.
4 dinners with 9 glasses of wine came to $200 with tip.
This is a good place to go and relax, impress girlfriends, bring important clients, etc as it is an "insiders/those in the know kind of place." Â
It's in a strip mall and not impressive from the outside, but once you go in, it is a very nice place. Â Buy wine by the bottle and you'll save a lot if that works for your group. Â One appetizer of calamari will easily feed 4 people.
Great wine bar and restaurant! We have dinner there once every now and then and both the food and wine are great. Â Start with the Tannins salad which is quite unique. They also have a great pasta selection which is very tasty. Â The butternut squash ravioli is just amazing. Â They also have a good selection of pizzas that are top notch.
We get the pizza delivered almost every other week. It is quite a bit more expensive than other delivered pizza but well worth it. Â A couple of the pizza's are my favs -- the Italian Delight and theTannins, which is a quattro fomage, or four cheese....
Yes I would like some cheese with my whine.
This is a great little wine bar/restaurant located east of the 5 freeway off of Ortega Highway, next to the car wash.
I really enjoyed this restaurant overall, I have had lunch and dinners at this establishment and have not had a bad experience yet. Â The meal prices are very fair, and the wine is not outrageously over priced. Â We found some very good wineries represented in their wine selection. Â
Most recent experience, we had a party of 6 for dinner and were placed in the "wine cellar" which was just their back room area where they kept their available wine selections. Â Let me start by commending their amazing olive spread that they provide with the bread. Â It is absolutely amazing. Â The spread of appetizers were all delightful, and the main course was even more amazing. Â The table had a dinner spread from fish to fillet and everyone complimented their choices and the taste. Â
I would highly recommend this restaurant, the food is well priced, the live music is a plus and the experience is very much worth its value giving Tannin's its deserved 5 star rating.
I give this place 5 stars for the following reasons -
1. Outstanding dinner
2. Delectable desserts
3. Random clientle that make you ask yourself "are you for real?"
4. Wine tastings with great pours and decent pricing
5. Upstairs lounge for the older crowds to be "hip" after the restaurant starts to wind down.
My only complaint, the wine bar closes too early.
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