TAPS Fish House & Brewery

While waiting for our flight we popped in for a final beverage and bite to eat. Excellent service, delicious food, ample choices, on-site Japanese chef for the sushi choices. Little pricy but it’s an airport so to be expected.

Worst experience in an airport restaurant ever! Traveling on business and see Taps, which appears to be the only sit down place to eat and looks appealing. I was kindly greeted and then sat at a table. The server greeted me at the table and asked me what I wanted to eat and drink. I kindly asked her if I could have five minutes? She came back in 30 seconds and asked me what I wanted to eat. When I was forced to order something, I ordered a grilled cheese. I was informed that they could not sell me a grilled cheese because “I am not a child and it’s on the kids menu.” (First time for everything) I asked to speak to a manager, and when she greeted me at the table, she came at me aggressively, and I reacted with an attitude because I was perplexed that would not be served a grilled cheese cause it’s on the “kids menu. I offered to pay for a cheeseburger or anything just to get a grilled cheese. She “profiled” me and I said… I could lose with my attitude. I said, maybe use this as a training moment to make things better for your staff and restaurant. She told me she was PERFECT and to leave. The reason I asked for 5 minutes was because I was informed my father was dying and call I was on was hospice. I told the manager and she told me she “did not care.” I of course was crushed at this moment. She (Abigail) said she was calling the Sheriff and having me arrested. This is the service that you get here. I spent zero dollars and would never step foot near this place again. Carl’s Junior is the best option over this classless place.

He made a perfect rotation, and you know how I am about a fashion. It’s because I don’t know how many reviews I’ve done on, but it’s been a lot. Very friendly pool area a little bit of everything not too loud.

I started with the creamy beet and goat cheese salad. It was huge! It was fresh with lots of beets and goat cheese. Served with a slightly sweet poppyseed dressing! Outstanding! I ordered The Blackened Mahi Mahi. I was a bit confused because underneath it said shrimp and scallop enchiladas with cilantro rice topped with pineapple salsa. I am not confused any longer! It was a beautiful plate with a large scoop of cilantro rice with a few peas and carrots throughout for color and crunch. A generous portion of perfectly blackened Mahi Mahi set on top. The fish was crisp and so moist inside. When the menu said enchiladas I wasn’t quite sure OMG delicious 🤤 mouthwatering small shrimp and scallops with it a creamy pabalno sauce. It was refreshing, spicy, in a good want more kind of way: The server Leslie was attentive, darling, quick and I was never rushed. She was just so cute! Managers Vanessa and Marae were outstanding! Thanks Ryan for reviving my favorite restaurant 😍

Brand new restaurant by Gate 15 in Terminal C. Good Palomas and Cadillacs. Bartender is very cool. Sushi was great. Friendly Staff No electrical outlets to charge devices.

I've been here a couple of times before my flight back home and I was shocked how good the food was. I had a great burger the first time and sushi the second. They are quick and I like the staff.

Hands down, best breakfast burrito anywhere!!! That is my go to item I order for breakfast, and Tapas did not disappoint! It’s large enough to share with 2 people, but perfect if you are extra hungry! Can’t wait to order it again on my next trip! (FYI - I already ate half of the burrito before remembering to take a picture…that gives you a reference as to the portion size!)

If I could rate them 10 stars I would. The service was nice and the food was even better. Compared to most places that overcharge and under deliver, this was one of the best places I've eaten in an airport that was worth the price. The food tasted authentic, we had sushi, tacos and a burger. Needless to say I was not disappointed and we enjoyed it so much we forgot to take a picture but we definitely cleaned the plates. I'd recommend everyone try this place despite the negative reviews.

Completely in awe of Taps at the Orange County Airport. I have walked by this restaurant multiple times on previous trips, however found my flight was delayed and I was hungry at the same time so decided to stop by. i was impressed by the interior and the fact that although it is completely open to the main terminal thoroughfare, I still felt I was transported to a modern gastropub. I was seated within a few minutes and my eyes were fixated on the Breakfast Burrito which contains fried potatoes, jack cheese, Mexican chorizo, scrambled eggs on the inside with pico de gallo, roasted poblano salsa and bacon on the outside. Everything tasted fresh and all the flavors working together came as a bit of a surprise to me. After dissecting the burrito couldn't help but notice the meet was scrambled into the egg before it was cooked and from my experience this helps with a close to even distribution of the ingredients. I couldn't have been more impressed with the expedient service by Stephan who also frequented the table with water refills, the quality ingredients and how they all worked together to create the best breakfast burrito I have had anywhere in Orange County, let alone in an airport....and at an affordable price no less. This will be my go to airport restaurant from here on out and should serve as a destination restaurant prior to people flying out to their actual destination or if they have time after they arrive from wherever they are coming from.

I came here for breakfast before 7 AM and there was a stereo speaker on, absolutely blaring rock music throughout the restaurant. I don't know that very many people want to hear blaring rock music at 7 AM over there coffee and breakfast burrito. It's ridiculous. I'll let the hostess know my feelings, but the music was never turned down. Along with blaring rock music, there is a loud talking from all the guest because you can't hear one another and less you're shouting. It is a nightmarish experience early in the morning. The menu is full of Mexican spicy foods. There was no regular eggs and toast on the menu. Not impressed with anything about this place.

This place sets the bar high for all airport restaurants! We'd never flown through John Wayne/Santa Ana before and had a lengthy morning layover before our flight to Mexico. I knew we'd be hungry and have time to kill so I did some research on best places to eat. Let me save you from such work: This is the place! Super friendly and prompt service? They've got that. Big open, updated space with highboys, bar seating and regular tables, all within view of several big screen TVs? Check! Grab-n-go options? Yep. Diverse and yummy menu? You betcha. He opted for elevated bagels & lox while I went for a slightly personalized sushi roll, made to order. Breakfast sushi you ask? Yes! And some bubbly. Hello vacation! This place was so good we came back on our return trip. More personalized sushi for me (rainbow roll sub salmon for hamachi). Absolutely KILLER Bavarian pretzel with mustard and beer cheese for him, served piping hot. Seriously maybe the best pretzel I've ever had. Did I mention so good?

Probs the best airport food I've had, hands down. The portions were wildly large and the food itself was delicious. It's an airport lounge so be prepared for a small wait depending on the time of day but it's definitely a stop I'd be willing to make.

Delayed flights are never fun - I was stuck in my terminal for a couple of hours and decided to have lunch. Thanks to Yelp, I searched for a sit-down restaurant and discovered TAPS as the highest-rated option in my area. The seating consisted of mostly high-top, bar-style tables and chairs, with some near the front offering outlets for charging. My server quickly asked for my order, but I needed a few minutes to scan the menu. I had the following: * Beet salad - gigantic portion, made-up of mostly lettuce but the beets and goat cheese were delicious. * Grilled salmon bowl - this was surprisingly prepared well. I was a little nervous about eating "airport" salmon, but I actually enjoyed it. They have a to-go section on the side if you're in a hurry, but overall, I'd only recommend this restaurant if you have time to kill.

Had extra time before my flight (God bless JWA) so I stopped here to check emails and kill time. I had a beer and the poke bowl; the beer was served in the perfect glass and temperature, and the poke bowl was extremely fresh and flavorful! I know airport food has its reputation, but this place really exceeded my expectations. I hope thy keep it up! Great job!

I was happy to grab a bite here before my flight to San Jose and the menu has selected out of gluten-free options like salmon which looked great on the menu. I asked for medium rare but it came out a tad over medium. I just ate it because I didn't have time to send it back. It was good enough to hold me over.

Gave this place another shot while I was traveling out of SNA and tried the sea bass dish this time. Unfortunately I didn't have enough time to dine in, and had to get it to go, but it was a great on the plane meal. The fish was cooked to perfection and melted in my mouth. The seasoning was great and was served over a bed of rice. They're known for their seafood so definitely give this place a try!

Very poor experience enabled by poor management. A staff member allowed my family and I to sit with food from outside. Management sent another staff member to our table to tell us we couldn't have outside food. Once it was explained to that staff member than another one said we could, that staff member returned to say "the manager is asking you to leave." No, the manager is asking their staff to ask us to leave - the manager couldn't even come do it themselves. When approached to explain, the identified manager couldn't even make eye contact to respond.

Great service, delicious poke bowl :P Would def hit this place up again to kill time before a flight.

If you frequent John Wayne airport, you saw the signage that this location was coming but was delayed for over a year. I honestly started to wonder if it would open at all. I spent a weekend in Disneyland, and I wanted a nice early dinner before my flight. The menu indicates the vegetarian items, and I was happy that the waitress advised that they can omit the chicken and bacon from the Grilled Chicken Chopped Salad to make it vegetarian. As I initially wanted a breakfast sandwich since it is usually the easiest to make vegetarian, but the menu didn't indicate when they stopped serving breakfast (11am). Always appreciate the flexibility to allow me to have a vegetarian dish that is delicious! The Grilled Chicken Chopped Salad was at a price point of $19 and was so huge! Even with omitting the chicken and bacon, I felt the salad was very hearty and well worth the $19. All the vegetables were fresh and I'm very glad to have stopped as the service was friendly and the food was prepared quickly with plenty of time to arrive at my gate before boarding. Lastly, I loved how comfortable dining area was as it felt like you were dining in a taproom versus an airport. Definitely worth checking out and I can confidently say this is the best dining in Terminal C.

Had to leave a 2nd review because this place is that awesome. Have been back a few times since my first visit and can't say enough good things about this place. Breakfast burrito was amazing, Bloody Mary and High Frequency double IPA were top notch. Service was quick and super friendly, thanks Krista & Jerry! And the good tunes were the little icing on the cake! See you again soonish, TAPS!

Stopped in before my flight, had a lox bagel and one "it's lit" cocktail. The lox bagel was fresh and the cocktail was nice, enjoyed the pour. I ended up leaving my jacket and walked out of the restaurant. One person from TAPS recognized me and walked over to hand me my jacket while I was walking around in the airport! I really appreciate the consideration and thankful for the service! Needed to shout them out because that was over and beyond.

Yummy yummy in my tummy RODNEY ROCKS woooo hooo so much fun and never a dull moment.

This location, inside the airport, is relatively new, but carries on the TAPS name and part of their menu (but under completely different ownership). I do not have a flight today, but I used an AirPass to get past security and try the new TAPS location at Orange County Airport. Not yet open three weeks, there do not seem to be any reviews anywhere, so I may be the first. The menu is relatively small compared to other Taps locations, but you'll find airport usuals on the menu. They have a sit down sushi bar in addition to a regular bar here. There is a steak on the menu, but being an airport, they are not allowed to have steak knives, as they could be taken aboard a plane. So good luck cutting your steak with a dining knife. I tried the drinks and the sushi, and salad. All were amazingly good. I think this may be the best choice in restaurants if you are at the airport. The TAPS brand name is very popular for OC residents so I wish them well. Service was great. They have wonderful staff here who are prompt, professional and very fast.

Maybe the best airport meal I've ever had. If you're traveling through OC check this place out!

Just had a delicious airport breakfast with lovely service. Totally unexpected to enjoy the food as much as I did, it wasn't just "delicious for the airport" but actually quite good.

Sushi was meh. It was fresh but just ok and expected for an airport. The whole time we were there I was trying to figure out why the bar tender was running the whole dining area for the most part. My drink went empty mid meal and stayed empty for about 10 minutes which was super frustrating. During that time I had a server speaking to the hostess in front of me and another server speaking to a server behind me as she prepared silverware and napkins. As you can imagine I was losing my patience internally. If it wasn't for the bar tender's friendly personality this would have been 2 stars. It's a nice restaurant for an airport with good seating but they need to figure out the staff and their priorities.

Seriously the best food and service I've ever had in an airport. I had the chop salad, my girlfriend had the shrimp, and we both loved it. Quality ingredients, good beer alongside it, and reasonably priced. Also, I wish I'd noted her name at the time (we ate there last week flying out of SNA), but the server was absolutely wonderful. Given the number of 2.8-or-below rated places in SNA, choosing TAPS is a no-brainer. Great food, great drink, awesome staff.

Joseph is the backbone of this establishment. He had a smile on his face the entire time despite being full to the gills of clients. I will only come back for this service!

ON WEDNESDAYS WE WEAR PINK Ketel One peach & orange botanical vodka, elderflower, cucumber, lemon

Airport food that's way better than airport food! This is our first visit to Taps and we had about an hour before our flight. Service was good and the food was outstanding! I like how we were seated to provide most privacy and all of the customers were well separated until they couldn't be. I had the beet and goat cheese salad with blackened chicken and it was spectacular! World highly recommend! Grace had a ceaser salad and chicken wings. She said she would definitely order the wings again and she is a bit of a wing snob. We shared a pretzel which was plenty big enough for 2 or more. We will be back and hope to be able to order from the breakfast menu. Breakfast ends promptly at noon so plan accordingly!

Good food, good service, beers were great, nice and cold! The only thing I wasn't a fan of was that it was a bit pricey. I guess it's just how it nowadays, but it was a bit expensive. Regardless, we enjoyed our drinks and meals!

Understaffed, one server and a manager at 615pm on a Wednesday? The only Terminal C bar open and there's no servers to staff. Big Miss.

I think this is legitimately the first time I've ever had a decent meal at an airport. Not only was the food delicious but the service was amazing. Airport service everywhere is the absolute worst... I'm in shock. I ordered the Chorizo Skillet Breakfast and had them substituted shrimp in place of chorizo. (no consuming any red meat, or poultry). They made the change, it was an up charge of $6 tho. Great meal, great service, clean area.. highly recommend. Didn't feel like an airport.

Let's go Joseph! Talk about a place that was understaffed but if you looked at Joseph's face you wouldn't be able to tell, he was smiling and working hard.

Joseph was really amazing tonight. Was really attentive to every guest at the bar despite having to deal with covering for a call off. I worked in hotels for 6 years and Joseph does really well under stress compared to even some of the best I've worked with. Great composure, delivers proper verbiage, and wonderful customer service!!!

The lady working the front cash was funny and helpful, recommending a solid breakfast burrito. It was incredible! The potatos were perfect, the eggs were prepared well, and the green sauce had a subtle kick to it. Top 10 burritos Ive ever had, and I have had hundreds, and this is in an AIRPORT! Also at a price tag of 14$ I was expecting way less food. It was hefty! Love love love Looking forward to travelling through here again to eat there again. Excellent on all fronts.

Service was great, but the bar stunk!!! I think it was a bad sewer issue. Kinda ruined the vibes.

New restaurant at John Wayne SNA airport at Southwest terminal. Amazing service, nice decor, bar and great food !

High protein dinner at the airport...success! Nicely done spinach salad, roasted beets, avocado with roasted salmon. Delish! No wait time, good ambience..for an airport :p There are some fruit flies flying about.

For an airport restaurant at John Wayne Airport this was great. Food and service. I had the clam chowder but others around me had other food that was told amazing.

I try to avoid airport food at all costs because generally, it's ridiculously expensive, bland, and underwhelming when it comes to taste. I was pleasantly surprised that the menu here is creative, reasonably priced, and full of surprises. My server Rodney was attentive and knowledgeable, helping me make the best choice from the menu. Honestly, I wasn't expecting much. I'm happy to say I was very surprised that the food was cooked FRESH and it was delicious. I'm only sorry I didn't take a picture to share. The prices seemed on par with regular--non airport--restaurants and the menu has a large variety of items to choose from. I will definitely be back.

Wow. Easily the best food I've had at any airport and I travel a lot! We ordered the calamari & chop burger. The calamari was perfectly cooked and very fresh which is rare. They put extra horseradish in the cocktail sauce too. Now I want more excuses to flight into SNA.

Chelsea did a wonderful job and provided excellent customer service prior to my flight!

Was very much so looking forward to dining here, as I made many fun memories at the Tustin location. However, this TAPS has an apparent inability to update their menu pricing, which is reportedly out of their control. To charge $6 more per drink on a bill (as compared to what is on the menu) is not the end of the world. However, TAPS has been open for far too long to have this kind of issue with their menu. I was told that their hands were tied, as the airport controls their pricing. Maybe this is a sufficient reason to update your menu pricing? service and food were good. Being essentially defrauded on my bill, however, will sadly mean that I will never be back to one of my favorite establishments. If any member of TAPS feels like responding to this, don't waste your time. Once a proud customer, never again.

I decided to give Taps a try and let me tell you I was not disappointed. The food and drinks were great and the service was even better. Joseph was the one taking care of me and let me tell you, it's some of the best service I received at a restaurant. Will definitely be back here

What a pleasant surprise! New fish house with sushi at the airport! I got the hamachi roll it was good! Super fast and friendly service. Love the seating and layout!

I had the poke bowl and it was delicious. I got the sauces on the side as I was afraid it would be too spicy and the darker red sauce was amazing. Hubby got the taps sushi roll and he loved it! Lots of spicy tuna inside. So happy to find the brewheim beers here as we loved visiting the brewery! The POG seltzer is so refreshing!

I ate here based on Yelp reviews, and ordered the chilaquiles to-go. It was delicious! It came out quickly and was piping hot. Good value for an excellent airport meal. Friendly staff.

Seriously what a gem, especially for the airport! The breakfast burrito was amazing. For 14 dollars it was huuuge!! Wasn't greasy at all, wasn't salty, you can tell the verde was made from scratch. And Steven was awesome. The woman working to go was equally as awesome. I'd come back even if it wasn't at the airport!

Ok hostess is rude. Asked if there is seats at bar and told me no idea. In the meantime the hostess has to check you in to sit at the bar! It's crazy. Got some chicken wings and they were cold. Burger was good. Not a good place. Not cheap.

The loco moco was yummy!! So happy for this new option for dining! Yay! Excellent service from Garrett and Gus!! I will be back!

My colleague and I are from Dallas, and we decided to pop in and check this place out at John Wayne Airport. I had the fish & chips, and my colleague had the shrimp tacos...along with a few of the best bloody Mary's I have ever had. I dont usually leave reviews, but this experience was so unique, I felt I had to. If I return to this airport, I will not even think twice about where to go.

Great food! Great service! Thank you Rodney!!! The breakfast sandwich was delicious!!! Thank you for taking such good care of us! Everyone was super nice. Fast too!

If you are a frequent traveler through John Wayne, Taps is with a visit. Why? Rodney. My day was rough prior to my visit, but Rodney's continuous smile and positive energy, along with superb service solidified my return next time I am here.