When it comes to creating a concept for dining experiences, Cynthia Vigil and Chad Reinhardt go all in. I got my first taste of that with Benny & Mary’s, which made Orange Coast’s Best New Restaurants list in 2024. And the dynamic duo hit the nail on the head again with Story.
For starters, the space is filled with eye candy and boasts a dramatic and sophisticated, yet whimsical, vibe artfully curated by Vigil, who worked for a time in fashion technology. High-back booth seating is upholstered in a deep, teal-colored velvet, with dining chairs covered in a dark floral print (also on velvet). Red draperies (in a crushed velvet) hang from the ceiling to the floor, and the chandeliers appear to hold two, maybe even three dozen lights shaped like candles. Keeping on theme with the restaurant’s name, stacks and rows of hardcover books dot the interior on shelves and seating partitions.
But all of that means nothing if the food doesn’t match up. It does here. My taste buds delighted in the menu’s blend of Asian and Mediterranean influences, like the Miso Butter Noodles, spaghetti-style pasta drenched in a luscious white miso butter sauce spiked with chili flakes, with a generous helping of mushrooms cooked in garlic and mirin tossed in for good measure.
But there’s plenty more to choose from, fancy fries seasoned with Parmesan and garlic or loaded with shredded braised short rib, melted cheese, avocado salsa, and other goodies, garlic shrimp, pork belly bao folded with spicy gochujang aioli, cucumber, shaved carrots, and scallions, plus a selection of salads and pizzas baked in a wood-fire oven. Try the chicken with pistachio pesto. The menu boasts it’s the best damn pistachio pesto you’ll ever taste.
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