Live Local Love: Redlands Restaurants Weekend Staycation

Can you go to Ireland, Thailand, Mexico, and back to Redlands in one weekend? Yep! We got to experience all of these unique cultures within a mile of our home at four fabulous Redlands restaurants. 

4 Redlands Restaurants Perfect for a Weekend Staycation 

What makes this roundup of places to eat in Redlands even better? They’re all within walking distance of one another! So, there’s no need to hop in a car as you restaurant hop. Whether you live close to town, rode the Arrow Train from Los Angeles or made it a road trip to the City of Oranges, these eateries offer a central hub for noshing and toasting.

1. The Three Stags Irish Pub

Host: Nick and Jack, owner and son. The family is from Dublin! They were so welcoming and sat with us to eat and drink. During our meal they shared the story of how they started and the origin of the Three Stags name — their last name is Robinson and on the family crest are 3 stags!

Mission: Bring Ireland to Redlands with affordable classics, as well as elevated originals. 

Order: Start with the “Cheapshot” Cocktail — a drink which was curated from the Chamber Cocktail Contest. The Robinsons found out about the contest just four days before they opened. They named the cocktail ‘Cheapshot,’ because it’s made with crowd favorites including — citrus from Redlands, Amaretto, vanilla vodka, and some other homemade syrups.

They also offer off-menu mocktails. You have to ask your server for the current offerings. Recently it was a mango passion fruit spritz with a cardamom syrup. However, when it comes to mocktails they can do anything. 

The pub prides itself in its scratch-made syrups. So don’t expect fancy lemonade. These craft mocktails rival their fully loaded sisters. 

On the food front, the fry-based shareables pair well with cocktails. Among the sure-fire wins is the classic Irish nachos and the “Spice Bag”. The spice bag is a traditional Dublin late-night snack that includes Chinese flavors with Irish ingredients. A brown paper bag is served to you filled with both chicken strips and fries covered in a spicy plethora of seasoning. 

Other Notes: The Three Stags Irish Pub mainly serves Irish beers on tap — including Guinness the traditional way. This thick and creamy pour takes a whole 2 minutes to serve. Despite the wait, the drink is widely popular. They sell three times the amount of Guinness than any other beer on draft.

Beyond Guinness, you’ll also find a selection of other old world beers, along with classic mainstays. Harp is their second best-selling beer. 

Happy Hour is weekdays from 2:30 - 5 pm. It includes $2 off all draft beers, a $10 premium margarita, and a discount on a few appetizers. They also have a $15 lunch special throughout the week. 

Love a good taco? Don’t miss their Fish Taco Tuesdays features fish tacos made with the same premium cod they use with their fish and chips. 

Other events include live music throughout the week featuring a wide variety of articles. A weekly book club also meets every Thursday. 

The book club was started by a regular and is currently focused on Irish literature for the time being. When available, the book club has invited a notable writer to come and read. Nick personally prints out custom book markers for the club based on the type of book they’re reading that month.

2. Aroi Mak Mak

Host: One of the owners, Kop, and a few servers. They were all extremely generous and we found ourselves begging not to be served another dish. Frankly, I still feel full!

Mission: Bring a flare to classic Thai food, as well as a focus on the street culture and food variety of Thailand. 

Order: Begin with papaya salad and pork belly. These are two of our favorites and did not disappoint. The pork belly is like “meat candy”. The sauce that it comes with is a great compliment to the fatty pork pieces, with a tart fish sauce with a bit of spice. The papaya salad was quite the opposite — a fresh classic salad that went great with the pork belly. 

Another great salad is the cucumber salad. It has crushed cucumbers, herbs, tomatoes, and fried shallots.

Be prepared to eat if you ask about the shareable crowd favorites. Some of these include chicken wings and deep-fried mushrooms. 

As far as drinks go, be sure to check out the slushy on a rotating tap. Currently, the offering is called the “Silent Geck”. It is bright green and super refreshing for a hot weekend. 

Another cocktail favorite is the “Band Ra Chan”. It comes in a tall glass and features a savory-sweet combination of flavors including Papaya, Cucumber, and Chinese celery. Aroi Mak Mak’s mocktail is called the “Jai Yen”. It is a fun, light drink made with green tea syrup. 

If you want to mix things up, let the staff choose your cocktail for you. This can be an interesting way to get outside your comfort zone. Staff picks might include the “Golden Triangle,” a bourbon and Chinese 5 spice beauty, or the “Sorry, Sorry, Sorry,” a Thai spin on margarita that’s served in a small bowl.

Other Notes: The entire restaurant, even the bathrooms, are so vibey! There are a lot of gluten-free and vegetarian options. And, you can add your desired spice level to every single dish. 

By Redlands standards, they are open pretty late (the kitchen closes at 10 pm on weekends), making this a good place for a later-evening date night. Want to jazz up your visit even more? They often have DJs on the weekends. Be sure to call in advance if you want to hear some tunes. 

Looking for something ‘off-menu’? Ask your server about the peanut noodle fried tofu with red curry! Other menu favorites include the Branzino fish — which is plated as a whole fish! 

3. Don Orange

Host: Server and manager.

Mission: To bring a sexy, scratch kitchen restaurant to Redlands. 

Order: It’s hard to go wrong with a cocktail here. The Passion Mule is a bright, slightly sweet libation. But the winner for many is the Hibiscus Margarita — it comes rimmed with dehydrated Hibiscus and sugar. It’s simply put, a yummy and pink drink you’ll want to keep sipping! 

The fresh mocktail is a mix of blood orange, grapefruit and watermelon mint that’s bright and tangy.

Other Notes: While best known for their beef birria cheesy tacos, the vegetarian starters shouldn’t be overlooked. The “Taqueria de papa” is a crowd pleaser. It features a blue corn tortilla filled with a cheesy mashed potato mix. The finger food comes topped with a fun and spicy slaw and an avocado jalapeno sauce. 

Another plant-based winner is the Portobello & Spinach Quesadilla Roll. This hearty app is filled with spinach, cheese, portobello mushrooms, and poblanos chiles. The flour tortilla is crisped nicely offering a great contrast in texture from the creamy filling. 

They have a specialty brunch menu as well as a small late-night menu that is made to reference street tacos. 

Themed nights also happen throughout the week, including Margarita Monday, Taco Tuesday and Happy Hour Monday- Friday from 2-6! 

Keep an eye out for their Cedar Agave location. It’s a Mexican and Lebanese fusion Boutique restaurant with a capacity for just 44 guests. They plan to be open for dinner from 5-10 and then become a lounge.

4. Darby’s American Cantina

Host: Server and manager.

Mission: To bring a sexy, scratch kitchen restaurant to Redlands. 

Order: It’s hard to go wrong with a cocktail here. The Passion Mule is a bright, slightly sweet libation. But the winner for many is the Hibiscus Margarita — it comes rimmed with dehydrated Hibiscus and sugar. It’s simply put, a yummy and pink drink you’ll want to keep sipping! 

The fresh mocktail is a mix of blood orange, grapefruit and watermelon mint that’s bright and tangy.

Other Notes: While best known for their beef birria cheesy tacos, the vegetarian starters shouldn’t be overlooked. The “Taqueria de papa” is a crowd pleaser. It features a blue corn tortilla filled with a cheesy mashed potato mix. The finger food comes topped with a fun and spicy slaw and an avocado jalapeno sauce. 

Another plant-based winner is the Portobello & Spinach Quesadilla Roll. This hearty app is filled with spinach, cheese, portobello mushrooms, and poblanos chiles. The flour tortilla is crisped nicely offering a great contrast in texture from the creamy filling. 

They have a specialty brunch menu as well as a small late-night menu that is made to reference street tacos. 

Themed nights also happen throughout the week, including Margarita Monday, Taco Tuesday and Happy Hour Monday- Friday from 2-6! 

Keep an eye out for their Cedar Agave location. It’s a Mexican and Lebanese fusion Boutique restaurant with a capacity for just 44 guests. They plan to be open for dinner from 5-10 and then become a lounge.

Show Your Local Redlands Restaurants Some Love

What’s another great way to support your local Redlands restaurants? In addition to being a regular patron, tag them on social media when you visit! An @mention with a positive review plays can go a long way in supporting small businesses. 

Plus, you can make your mention go even further by tagging About Redlands to get your post re-shared!

The restaurants showcased here provided complimentary drinks and food to our guest contributors. About Redlands works incredibly hard to support all of our local businesses. If you have a business you would like showcased, please send us a note on social media or an email. We’d love to talk to you about being highlighted on our blog!