50 Forks Restaurant

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Lunch: Monday-Wednesday 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Dinner: Monday-Wednesday 6-8 p.m. (but not offered year-round.)
Restaurant is not open when school is not in session. Please call 714.429.0918 for reservations.

Artful Food.

50 Forks will delight, excite and satisfy you. The Art Institute of California-Orange County’s student-run restaurant, is a California bistro that draws inspiration from culinary regions across America. Students demonstrate the skills they’ve learned through The Art Institute of California-Orange County’s culinary arts program and apply their experience in our real-world restaurant environment. The restaurant is a final passage prior to graduation for final-quarter culinary arts students.

"We designed 50 Forks to be a progressive American-styled restaurant that features the freshest ingredients, friendly and knowledgeable service all in a unique environment where great food is the hero," says Culinary Arts Academic Director Paul Yarmoluk. "Managed and operated by culinary students, 50 Forks allows students to practice the theory and culinary artistry they’ve learned and honed over the past two years in an exact restaurant experience from back of the house operations in menu creation and food preparation to the front of the house in service staff, managers, bartenders and money handling."

Before they graduate, The Art Institute’s Culinary Arts students are required to run all facets of a fully-operational restaurant that’s open to the public. The restaurant is under the direction of two professional chef instructors. The chef faculty oversee every menu selection and overall food quality, temperature and timing as well as the front-of-the-house restaurant operation from customer service and traffic flow to menu pricing and managing the P & L.

50 Forks accommodates more than 50 guests in a casual, stylish setting within The Art Institute campus on Sunflower Avenue, in Santa Ana. The restaurant features comfy chairs, natural light, a fully-equipped professional exhibition kitchen where guests can view students at work and a 20-foot culinary arts mural painted by local artist Jan Le Doux.

All take a back seat to the food. "Big flavors and aromatic pairings with premium ingredients and contemporary presentations embody the cuisine of 50 Forks," says Yarmoluk.

The menu can be described as high value and quality for great prices. The average lunch entree costs $7. Menu specialties include: tortilla shrimp toast, wild forest mushrooms, seared filet of sea bass, grilled jumbo prawns, and seared filet of beef.

Click here to download the Fall 2007 Menu