RESTAURANT REVIEW:

It was ironic that my friend Tania and I were talking about the television show “Kitchen Nightmares” shortly after we sat down at Z’Tejas. Or maybe it was prophetic.

The reality show is based on Scottish chef Gordon Ramsay, who is less than diplomatic when he attempts to turn around a struggling restaurant, many of which have myriad problems. It became apparent that Z’Tejas could be a candidate for an upcoming episode.

Our experience began when we walked in the door. The hostess was gone.

I thought she might be seating someone else, but it was a couple of minutes before she came back. I wasn’t really sure where she was, but OK, no big deal; a momentary blip, I thought.

The restaurant is split in two. There is a bar area to the left and a dining area to the right, as well as an open-air kitchen. We were seated in a booth nearest the kitchen.

There was a partition between us and the cooking area, which I thought was odd. What is the point of having an open-air kitchen if you can’t see in? While we couldn’t see the cooks, we could certainly hear them. The noise carried through to our table and was a combination of chatter and clanging plates, making our own conversation strained.

We were looking at appetizers to start off, though the corn bread they provide free would have been enough.

It was quite good, very moist and didn’t crumble much at all. We indulged ourselves with a small piece and then got the grilled shrimp and guacamole tostada bites. They were flavorful with the shrimp, pesto and cilantro on top of a sesame cracker with a touch of chipotle.

The problem was, while we were enjoying our appetizer, our server came with our entrees. That is a huge pet peeve with me. What made me even more frustrated was the plates were being put in front of us and we had to scramble to get our appetizer plates out of the way.

So now I am wolfing down the appetizer because I don’t want the main meal to get cold, and I’m doing a slow burn that I had to do it in the first place.

I’ve worked in restaurants, and it’s not that difficult to time it so the meal comes after the appetizer.

It’s better to have a little lag time in between than bring it before diners are finished with one course.

My entrée was the chorizo-stuffed pork tenderloin. There were four round pieces of pork that were tender and filled with the Mexican sausage. The cream sauce and roasted garlic were also a nice touch.

Tania had the Diablo chicken pasta. It was an ordinary dish, nothing to get real excited about. I didn’t think there was enough cotija cheese and far too many jalapeños.

Pet peeve No. 2 occurred shortly after our meal was served. The waitress didn’t come back to check on us and my Diet Coke and Tania’s iced tea sat unfilled for quite a while.

Pet peeve No. 3 followed almost immediately after. The table next to us had left, and the busboy was clearing it. Now I have a symphony of clanging plates on the left of me and to the right. We asked for the check and got out as soon as we could, feeling very unsatisfied. I want to write it off as a lone bad experience, but there were too many bad habits that I can’t dismiss.

Address: 3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa

Phone: (714) 979-7469

Cuisine: Southwestern

Specialty dish: Fresh fish special offered daily; fish depends on market

Alcohol served: full bar

Dress: casual to dressy

Family friendly: kids menu has about six items

Credit cards accepted: American Express, Visa, MasterCard

Rating: **

JOHN REGER is the Pilot’s restaurant critic. His reviews run Thursdays.