Our downtown Santa Ana restaurants guide offers you a delicious, walkable journey through five of this vibrant city’s best cafes, breweries, markets, and restaurants.
Downtown Santa Ana buzzes with delicious energy.
It’s where colorful murals, twinkling lights, and the scent of sizzling street tacos fill the air.
It’s a walkable playground of flavors, perfect for hopping from restaurants to breweries to cafés, all in one vibrant stretch.
The best part? These hot spots are not just steps from each other. They are surrounded by art galleries, boutiques, and live music venues.
You can easily spend the day drifting from lunch to drinks, then linger over coffee before catching a show or exploring the local shops.
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About this guide
A large city dining guide can be overwhelming, so we’ve pared it down to five must-visit spots. These are some of the delicious stops I made during a recent press trip to downtown Santa Ana.
A rich cinnamon coffee with a pan dulce at Cafe Cultura is a great way to start any downtown food crawl.
At Alta Baja Market, the tang of Micheladas and the warmth of heirloom corn tortillas celebrate the best of Mexican and Southwestern traditions.
A few steps away, the hoppy aromas at Cerveza Cito pair perfectly with the buzz of conversation and clinking glasses.
Lola Gaspar lures you in with the smoky aroma of grilled meats and bold, housemade flour tortillas, and spiced cocktails.
Benchmark serves plates bursting with fresh California ingredients that look as gorgeous as they taste for an unforgettable al fresco dining experience..
Together, these flavors, sights, and sounds create the deliciously diverse heart of downtown Santa Ana.
Alta Baja Market
Vibe: part casual cafe, part community center, part Mexican wine shop and Michelada bar, part specialty grocery store. Alta Baja is a place that just soothes the soul. It’s a happy place that celebrates foods and crafts of California, Mexico and the American Southwest. This fun spot is part of the 4th Street Market, and if you’ve never had a Michelada before, THIS is the place to try one! Or two (or three!). They have several different flavor combinations.
What to order: a Michelada, Eat Your Veggies (hummus and veggie platter). Breakfast and lunch are served all day. They also have a granola of the month club!
Address:
201 E. 4th Street
Santa Ana, California 92701
Hours: 10am – 4pm (last order at 3pm)
Learn more and get the most up-to-date info at the Alta Baja website
Benchmark restaurant
Vibe: California casual chic. Think outdoor seating under the stars beneath acanopy of foliage. Lively conversations and lovely cocktails. Bold, flavorful bites.
What to order: Ahi tuna tostada, pork belly bao bun, fritto misto, Korean BBQ tacos. For cocktails: the Benchmark 75.
Address:
601 E. Santa Ana Blvd.
Santa Ana, California 92701
Hours: Wednesday 5pm – 9pm
Thursday 5pm – 9pm
Friday 11:30am – 3pm, 4pm – 9pm
Saturday 11:30am – 3pm, 4pm – 9pm
Sunday 11:30am – 3pm, 4pm – 8pm
Learn more and get the most up-to-date info at the Benchmark restaurant website.
Cafe Cultura
Vibe: Cozy, casual cafe. Great place to meet friends for coffee or breakfast/brunch, or to grab some delicious coffee and pastries to go.
What to order: The chilaquiles were amazing! I also enjoyed the churro waffles and the Cafe de Olla, their signature coffee which has cinnamon added. It was all so good.
Downtown Santa Ana Location:
324 W 4th St #B
Santa Ana, CA 92701
Hours:
Mon – Thurs: 7:00 AM TO 2:00 PM
Friday: 8:00 AM TO 2:00 PM
Saturday & Sunday: 9:00 AM TO 03:00 PM
Learn more and find the most updated information at the Cafe Cultura website.
Cerveza Cito
Vibe: Casual, energetic, happy party vibes. Cerveza Cito boasts being Santa Ana’s first brewery. The lively space hosts Loteria every Wednesday night, and Trivia Night followed by Karaoke every Thursday night. Great spot to meet friends for beers or Micheladas after work.
What to order: a Michelada flight and pitcher for the table. For food, look for the Sabor Cito food truck hours and grab some tacos from the food truck.
Address:
309 W. 4th St.
Santa Ana, California 92701
Hours:
Mon-Thurs 3 – 10pm
Friday 11am – 1am
Saturday 10am – 1am
Sunday 10am – 10pm
Learn more and get the latest restaurant updates at the Cervezacito website.
Lola Gaspar
Vibe: Cool bar and restaurant with casual outdoor space. The space is unassuming but the food is out of this world. Lola Gaspar has earned he Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand for the past two years.
What to order: Start with an order of guacamole and chips. Even the guacamole has the complex flavor and texture you’ll be dreaming about for days. And house-made chips are perfectly thin, crispy, and just the right amount of salt. My favorite, though, were the shrimp tacos. They were amazing!! All of the tacos are actually top notch here. And you can’t leave without an order of churros.
Address:
211 W. 2nd St.
Santa Ana, California 92701
HOURS:
Tues-Thurs 3pm – 11pm
Friday 3pm – 12am
Sat 12pm -12am
Learn more and get the latest updates at the Lola Gaspar website.
If you visit, please be sure to let them know that you read about it on Urban Bliss Life! And if you snap some pics, tag us @UrbanBlissLife and #UrbanBlissLife on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook.
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