Not only was it an adventure for us to arrive to The Olde Ship in Santa Ana it was also our 1st and then 5th choice of meals last night. Mrs. DanGarion and I invited my parents out to dinner but first we had to run an errand. When we first left EatinOC headquarters, I couldn’t remember the name of another restaurant in Downtown Santa Ana so we were determined to have dinner at The Olde Ship for our first time, but after we were done with our errand we had changed our minds and decided to head to Original Mike’s in Santa Ana for the first time. Unfortunately when we arrived at Original Mike’s there was a sign on the door that said they were “Closed for Cleaning”… We have some questions in our minds as to what type of cleaning they could be doing, was it the type of cleaning you would normally do during your closed hours, or was it the type that is required by the county health inspector, I guess we will never know. After that failed attempt I remember the name of The Crosby and we headed down Broadway, unfortunately no one ever told me how to actually locate The Crosby. Where the heck is The Crosby?!!? We drove around in a circle a couple times and I even saw their address 400 N Broadway, but the business at that address didn’t appear to be open. Then we thought about going to Z Pizza, but that would have been a trip all the way to South Santa Ana and it was already starting to get late. This then led us back to our original plan of having dinner at
The Olde Ship in Santa Ana, and what a delicious decision it was. This particular location of The Olde Ship has been in business for about 8 years, while their other location in Fullerton has been in business for 15. Inside is a nice older looking pub style look, that sort of is like a real English pub, although I think the bar was a little small. Overall it was real nice inside and I liked their current Halloween decorations throughout the establishment. I got a pint of Old Speckled Hen ($6.50)
to start of the night, they have about 13 selections of beer on tap, along with about 10 bottled selections from the UK, I did not see Bud or Miller on the menu!
With four of us ordering you would think there would be four meals for me to share and review, but honestly, I only can share 2 meals, since everyone other then myself ordered basically Fish and Chips ($14.95)! The pieces of Icelandic Cod fish are large and from my understanding of those that ate them were really good, the chips were English cut chips that were nice and crunchy, also along for the ride was a cup of slightly bland cole slaw, and tartar sauce.
My dad ordered the Whitby Platter ($15.95) which is the cod along with 3 large prawns, English cut chips and cocktail sauce. I on the other hand got their Monday dinner special of Prime Rib of Pork
served with “bubble & squeak” ($19.95).
The “bubble & squeak” is basically a type of potato cake with some other veggies in it (onion, not sure what else) it was nice and crunchy on the outside while moist on the inside. In addition I got some fried chunks of potatoes that were perfectly cooked to crunchy perfection, some most likely boiled veggies (carrots and peas), a side of gravy, and a side of apple sauce! The pork was just amazing, I’m not sure what they cooked it in, but it had a sort of sweet taste on the outside, and it pulled off the bone to perfection.
Service was great, our waiter Dustin took care of us and was very nice. When I asked him if he had a preference on their ales and told him I usually get Smithwicks or Newcastle, he suggested the Old Speckled Hen, and it was a very solid selection. I’m really glad we ended up where we were going to go originally. The Olde Ship in Santa Ana is definitely a treat and a good place to check out if you can’t afford a trip to England. I already want to go back again to try more of their menu! Also wanted to note they are British owned and operated. And for those wanting more information on British things in the Orange County area check out The British Grocer as well as BritWeek.
Visit 10/13/08 for dinner
[rating:4] – I can’t give a 1st visit a 5, but I can highly recommend.
The Olde Ship
1120 W 17th St.
Santa Ana, CA 92706
714.550.6700
Open daily 11am – 11pm
Sundays open 9am – 11pm
Live Entertainment on Fri & Sat
Weekly Soccer shown
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