Amar Santana, who earned his first Orange County fans as the executive chef at the former Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale’s, is returning to South Coast Plaza next year with a third food concept.

The “Top Chef” finalist, owner of fine dining venues Vaca and Broadway, recently signed a deal to take over the large space once occupied by Z’Tejas Southwestern Grill. In an exclusive interview with the Register, Santana said the new concept is like nothing he’s ever done before.

THE HALL is a global marketplace with two European food stands selling French baked goods, sandwiches, salads, Mediterranean dishes, coffee and fresh juices. Each menu will be made to order in a fast casual setting. Busy shoppers can also find grab-and-go meals.

“I’m going to have to learn how to put down my tweezers,” Santana said of the new casual venture.

The 7,850-square foot restaurant space, vacant for two years, will be gutted and opened up so shoppers can enter the food hall from Carousel Court.

Most of the space will have communal seating — a mix of high-top bars, low tables and couches.

“Were going to make it fun and comfortable,” Santana said.

One of the walk up food stands will sell French pastries, coffee and ready to eat sandwiches.

“People can come and grab and go,” he said.

In the back of THE HALL will be a Mediterranean grill serving shawarma, hummus and baba ghanoush.

“It’s going to be light, fresh and healthy,” Santana said.

Santana is also planning a full service bar with a menu of crudo dishes, housemade charcuterie and cocktails.The lounge, set up near a 1,000-square-foot patio, will offer a more elevated experience with servers.

The food hall also will have a small retail section to sell Vaca-branded products such as housemade chorizo and other specialty Spanish goods found at Vaca.

Santana said he and his business partner Ahmed Labbate are still fleshing out details. Like he did before opening the Spanish-themed Vaca, Santana plans a lot of traveling and eating before finalizing menus. (Note: Santana spent a month researching cuisine in Spain before opening Vaca, which is wildly successful.)

Nabbing a star like Santana is a much needed coup for South Coast Plaza, which lost its most high profile restaurant and chef when Marche Moderne relocated earlier this year to Crystal Cove Shopping Center in Newport Beach.

Santana returns to South Coast Plaza after leaving Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale’s in 2011. The restaurant has since closed. Santana and Labbate opened Broadway by Amar Santana in Laguna Beach six years ago. In late 2015, while competing on “Top Chef,” Santana opened Vaca near the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

His restaurants are some of the busiest in Orange County.

THE HALL is slated to debut in late 2018.

Mix Mix Kitchen Barin downtown Santa Ana is celebrating its one-year anniversary with a specially prices four-course dinner. (Courtesy Mix Mix)

Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Tart at Mix Mix. (Courtesy Mix Mix)

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Nutella French Toast — a new brunch item on at AVEO at Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point. (Courtesy Monarch resort)

Mix Mix Kitchen Barin downtown Santa Ana is celebrating its one-year anniversary with a specially prices four-course dinner. (Courtesy Mix Mix)

Mix Mix Kitchen Barin downtown Santa Ana is celebrating its one-year anniversary with a specially priced four-course dinner. Shown: new dish, Shrimp Lumpia (Courtesy Mix Mix)



Crispy duck leg at Mix Mix. (Courtesy Mix Mix)

Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point has added new brunch items at AVEO. (Courtesy Monarch Beach Resort)

Spotlight on Chefs

Mix Mix Kitchen Bar in downtown Santa Ana is celebrating its one-year anniversary with a specially priced four-course dinner.

Chef Ross Pangilinan, formerly of Leatherby’s Cafe Rouge, opened Mix Mix last year in the old Little Sparrow space. No doubt, opening anywhere in downtown Santa Ana is tough, especially in a space that saw a critically-reviewed bistro call it quits.

“When it comes to owning a restaurant, there’s no such thing as smooth sailing. That being said, it seems as though we’ve had something to celebrate since the day we first opened our doors,” Pangilinan said in a statement.

The anniversary special is a $40 four course meal and diners can choose one dish from each section of the menu: Snacks, Small Plates, Plates and Dessert. Selections include new seasonal offerings such as Shrimp Lumpia with grilled pineapple and tomato salad, Crispy Duck Leg with butternut squash ravioli and Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Tart.

The culinary operations at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo are now headed by Executive Chef Tom Capretz.

Capretz, formerly at Montage Laguna Beach, is tasked with overseeing the kitchens that support O’Neill’s Bar & Grill, as well as all private and public events such as golf tournaments, banquets, and weddings.

Capretz is an Orange County native who studied cooking in Florence, Italy. He’s also worked at the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Niguel and Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill in Las Vegas.

Collin Thornton, executive chef at AVEO Table + Bar, tasked his new chef de cuisine with creating a new brunch for the seaside restaurant.

Donald Lockhart, who recently joined AVEO at Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, has scrapped the old buffet style service. Lockhart said the new a la carte menu allows AVEO to showcase “the vibrance and seasonality of our ingredients through beautifully plated dishes.”

New menu items include Crispy Duck Confit Hash with truffle vinaigrette, Peekytoe Crab Cake Eggs Benedict, and Nutella Crunch French Toast topped with rum-flambéed bananas. Still, Lockhart knows he has to play to loyal diners who love a good omelet station. So, made to order omelets remain. Also, the buffet brunch will return on select holidays.