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Irvine, California · Open Sunday · 2026 Edition

Best Restaurants Open on Sunday in Irvine 2026

Updated · Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team

Irvine is a master-planned business city, and its independent fine-dining rooms keep weekday hours: the best of them close on Sunday. The reliable Sunday upscale tables cluster instead in the retail centres. Five that open, all confirmed, follow with exact hours.

Why Sunday looks different in Irvine

Irvine is unusual among dining cities because it was built around office parks rather than a downtown, and its kitchens follow the working week. The two rooms a local would name first for an occasion, the jazz-and-art Bistango on Von Karman and the omakase counter at Ootoro on Michelson, both close on Sundays to serve the weekday lunch and dinner trade. That leaves the dependable Sunday options in the city's two retail destinations, the Irvine Spectrum and Park Place, where national steakhouses and chef-driven rooms keep seven-day hours by design. Irvine has no Michelin star of its own, so the markers here are the steakhouse pedigree and the strength of the kitchen rather than guide recognition. The order below leads with the Spectrum's high-end steak and seafood room, then the churrasco hall, the wood-fired Italian, the Mexican and the regional Italian. Hours are checked against each restaurant's published schedule. Every name links to its full review. For the rest of the week, start with the Irvine dining guide.

The Sunday list

1. Mastro's Ocean Club

Steak & seafood · Irvine Spectrum · $90–$160 pp

Sunday hours: Sunday, from 16:00

The highest-end Sunday table in Irvine sits at 772 Spectrum Center Drive, where Mastro's pairs USDA prime steaks with a cold seafood tower and a live-music bar. Sunday service starts at four, and the order is the bone-in ribeye, the butter-poached lobster and the signature warm butter cake to finish. Expect $90 to $160 a head before the wine list does the rest. It is the Irvine room to book for a Sunday celebration or to impress a client, and the lounge runs a louder, walk-in-friendly scene if the dining room is full. Reserve on OpenTable for the prime evening window.

2. Fogo de Chão

Brazilian churrasco · Irvine Spectrum · $70–$110 pp

Sunday hours: Sunday, 11:00–21:00

Fogo de Chão at 623 Spectrum Center Drive runs its continuous churrasco all day on a Sunday, from eleven straight through to nine, which makes it the city's most flexible Sunday booking. Gaúcho carvers work the room with fire-roasted picanha, lamb and ribs at a fixed price, backed by a generous market table of salads and sides. A full dinner lands between $70 and $110 a head. It is the Sunday pick for a hungry group or a family that wants to eat at its own pace rather than a set seating, and the large room takes parties easily.

3. North Italia

Wood-fired Italian · Michelson · $45–$80 pp

Sunday hours: Sunday, brunch 10:00–16:00, dinner 16:00–22:00

North Italia at 2957 Michelson Drive brings a wood-fired, scratch-pasta menu to a handsome room near Park Place, and Sunday is a full day: brunch from ten, then dinner from four. The strozzapreti, the wood-fired pizzas and the weekend brunch plates are the order, with most meals between $45 and $80 a head. It is the easy, well-run Sunday option for a relaxed lunch that runs into the afternoon or an early dinner, and the bar handles solo diners and walk-ins well. Book the brunch slots ahead, as they fill first on a Sunday.

4. Puesto

Chef-driven Mexican · Park Place · $40–$75 pp

Sunday hours: Sunday, 11:30–21:00

Puesto at 3311 Michelson Drive in Park Place is the city's best Mexican room, open Sunday from half-eleven, built on its signature crispy-cheese tacos and a serious agave list. The kitchen takes the format well past the usual taqueria, with masa made in-house and a long mezcal and margarita program. Most meals run $40 to $75 a head. It is the Sunday booking for a livelier table than the steakhouses offer, good for a group or a casual celebration, and the patio is the seat to ask for when the weather holds. Reservations help on weekend evenings.

5. Il Fornaio

Regional Italian · Von Karman · $45–$85 pp

Sunday hours: Sunday, 17:00–21:30

Il Fornaio at 18051 Von Karman Avenue is the rare Von Karman room that opens on a Sunday, an Italian dining room and bakery that has held a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for its cellar. Its calendar of rotating regional menus, each focused on a different Italian region for a few weeks, is the reason to track it, and the house bread and the handmade pastas are reliably good. A Sunday dinner runs $45 to $85 a head. It opens evenings only on a Sunday from five, so it is the Sunday-dinner option rather than the all-day one, and the patio suits a quieter meal.

How to book a Sunday table in Irvine

Irvine runs on OpenTable, and a Sunday is rarely a hard booking here, with the exception of the prime evening slots at the steakhouses. Reserve Mastro's Ocean Club ahead for a Sunday celebration or to impress a client; it is the one Irvine room that carries real weight across the table. For a Sunday team dinner or a family gathering, Fogo de Chão's all-day churrasco is the easiest large booking in the city. North Italia is the move for a long Sunday brunch that drifts into the afternoon, while Puesto at Park Place handles a livelier group. Eating alone or early on a Sunday, the bar at North Italia is the better solo-dining seat, since the independents that would normally suit a counter meal are closed. Tipping follows the US norm of 18 to 20 percent.

Frequently asked questions

Which upscale restaurants are open on Sunday in Irvine?

Irvine's reliable Sunday upscale tables cluster in its retail centres rather than its business parks. The picks are Mastro's Ocean Club at the Irvine Spectrum for high-end steak and seafood, Fogo de Chão for Brazilian churrasco, North Italia on Michelson for wood-fired Italian, Puesto at Park Place for chef-driven Mexican, and Il Fornaio on Von Karman for regional Italian. The city's independent fine-dining rooms, such as Bistango and Ootoro, close on Sundays.

Is Bistango in Irvine open on Sunday?

No. Bistango, the contemporary-American room with live jazz at 19100 Von Karman Avenue, is closed on Sundays, as are several of Irvine's business-district independents that serve the weekday office crowd. Ootoro Sushi on Michelson, the city's omakase room, also closes Sunday and Monday. For a Sunday in Irvine, the retail-centre rooms at the Spectrum and Park Place are the dependable options.

Does Irvine have any Michelin-starred restaurants?

No. Irvine has no Michelin star of its own; the nearest recognition in Orange County sits in neighbouring towns, with The Ranch in Anaheim in the MICHELIN Guide and CHAAK in Tustin holding a Bib Gourmand. Within Irvine, the upscale Sunday choices are steakhouse and hotel-grade rooms led by Mastro's Ocean Club rather than starred kitchens. The list here is built on those confirmed Sunday tables.

What is the best Sunday steak in Irvine?

Mastro's Ocean Club at the Irvine Spectrum is the Sunday steak pick, open from 4pm with bone-in cuts, a butter-poached seafood tower and the warm butter cake. Plan on $90 to $160 a head before wine. For a different format, Fogo de Chão's continuous churrasco service runs all day Sunday from 11am, a fixed-price run of fire-roasted cuts carved tableside that suits a hungry group.

Where can I take a group to dinner on a Sunday in Irvine?

Fogo de Chão at the Spectrum is the easiest Sunday group booking, with its all-you-can-eat churrasco and a large room built for parties. North Italia on Michelson handles groups well with shared wood-fired plates and a Sunday brunch into dinner service. For a livelier Mexican option, Puesto at Park Place takes groups for tacos and mezcal. All three open across Sunday and take reservations on OpenTable.

Keep reading

Plan the rest of the week with the full Irvine dining guide, or by cuisine: the best steakhouses worldwide, the best Italian restaurants worldwide and the best Mexican restaurants worldwide. Comparing Sunday dining elsewhere in the West? See where to eat on a Sunday in San Francisco and Las Vegas. For the global view on Sunday and Monday closures, read where to eat well on a Sunday or Monday.

Hours verified against each restaurant's published schedule as of May 2026; confirm directly before travelling, as summer hours can shorten. Restaurants for Kings is editorial, not sponsored. Some reservation links may earn an affiliate commission, which never affects a ranking or a score.