Brea, CA in Orange County is surrounded by great restaurants--from awesome ethnic restaurants in La Habra, Rowland Heights, and Garden Grove to college haunts in Fullerton and Pomona to family fare in Anaheim to more upscale and seaside eats up and down the South Coast only 20 mins away in Newport and Laguna Beach.
Brea itself though has so much shopping (and the chains that go with it) that good eats can be hard to find amidst the malls, cars & palm trees. And especially when you just want to go for a work lunch, you really don't want to drive more than 5 or 10 mins. Brea proper is not exactly a food mecca, but you can still eat pretty well and avoid fast food.
Here's a short list of places I like to go to grab a bite and you won't find a mega-chain name in the bunch.
- Mammalucco's: 2500 E. Imperial Highway, Ste 100, 714 672 0555. The best, most authentic NY pizza I've had outside of NYC and this from a New Yorker. It was started by a New Yorker and many of the customers are transplants. Grab a slice for lunch and you won't regret it. They have a decent-sized dining room too if you've got company.
- Olive Pit Mediterranean Grill: 2445 E. Imperial Highway, 714 529 3200. Delicous kabobs, spanokopita, dandelion greens, hummus, baklava, and the like. Way better than the other "Greek" places in the area.
- Taps Fish House: 101 E. Imperial Highway, 714 257 0101. Upscale restaurant and brewery. Great for dinner too, but the perfect business lunch spot because it has something for everyone in addition to seafood (pizza, burgers, salads).
- Olivia's Bistro: 159 E. Imperial Highway, 714 871 3757. OK, this is actually in La Habra, but it's right on the border and worth the extra 5 min drive. Cute place with very tasty Vietnamese food. I especially love their crepe. SO GOOD. If you really need to stay right in Brea, go to Pho 99 or Pho Tay Bac which are both in Brea proper and great for a quick Vietnamese lunch.
- Corner Bakery Cafe: 103 W. Imperial Highway, 714 257 9208. Paninis, salads, and soups. Located in downtown Brea.
- The Hat: 1210 E. Imperial Highway, 714 257 9500. Known for their huge, dripping pastrami and burgers, this Orange County tradition is strictly a to-go joint unless you like eating at dark, greasy spoons on your lunch hour. Also, probably not a good choice if you've got a presentation to do in the afternoon. :)
- House of Tandoor: 600 S Brea Boulevard, 714 529 2695. Tasty and inexpensive Indian lunch buffet, I hear. I went once for dinner and the masala dosa was good.
- Tacos San Pedro: 17475 Imperial Highway, #A, 714 572 1171. Right over the Brea border in Yorba Linda, this teeny taco dive is admittedly not the cleanest, but their tacos are pretty good, especially so close to Brea.
If you have a tad bit more time, grab a real Italian sub or the best chicken salad sandwich ever to go from Claro's Italian Market in north La Habra, or drive down to Fullerton and stand in line for homemade Mexican at El Camino Real or pretend you're in the West Village at the cute & chic Rialto Cafe (also super for brunch).
