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Irvine eatery specializes in golf-cart delivery
August 21st, 2008, 8:00 am · 29 Comments · posted by Kristine Lu
These days, I’ll do anything to save time and gas. So, I was intrigued when I got a call a few months ago from the bombastic owner of Papa Chino’s in Irvine, which specializes in delivering hot food in golf-carts.
Say what? Golf carts?
Papa Chino had my ear. So I asked intern Kristine Lu to chat with Papa’s head honcho, Papa Dino. Here’s what she found out:
Papa Chino’s specializes in Italian, Mexican and Mediterranean food — and will deliver it to your home or office in a golf cart.
Radius restrictions do exist. Papa can only deliver within two-miles of the eatery, which is near John Wayne Airport. There’s apparently enough demand in the area.
About 75 percent of Papa Chino’s revenue is generated from golf-cart deliveries, said Dino Gulo, better known as Papa Dino. Dino is the catering manager of Papa Chino’s. His wife, Diana, is the cook. Her specialties: lentil-vegetable soup, chicken soup with rotisserie chicken and homemade Baklava.
Papa says those three items are “good enough to bottle.”
So, how long does it take to deliver these foods, and is there a minimum order?
“We deliver food to individuals in business no matter the size — one meal or 1 cup of coffee,” Papa said. “Depending on what is ordered and how far they are, it could be 4 minutes to 40 minutes.”
Tell us: Would you order food if it could be delivered by golf cart? Write in and let us know. Also, have you eaten at Papa Chino’s? Is it as good as Papa says?
More information on Papa Chino’s
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I just ordered the lasagna, meat balls and eggplant for a large office meeting. The food was delicious with very generous portions. I had plenty left over, even after everyone had stuffed themselves. I will most definitely be ordering from them again. They delivery was on time and everything was fresh and hot.
Hey O.C.
I love Papachinos Deli. They have
the Best Food. Excellent Service from
Chris at the Counter. Speedy Go-cart
service with a smile. Love the Lentil Soup.
Recommend you try it and see why
we order Papachino’s everyday from work.
I work over at Fletcher Jones Mercedes in Newport Beach, Ca and most of the employees order awsome food from Papa Chino’s Catering. Their grilled Chicken wraps and Falafel wraps are to die for.
Fletcher Mercedes just catered for all the salesman about 50 of us, to have Papa Chino’s deliver on Saturday 08 -23-08. We can’t wait, yummy, it’s like Mom’s home cooking. Everyone should try their food at least one time, then they will know why we always eat there. Their menu is so awesome, they are great. By the way, no has ever tasted any Baklava like Diana’s Baklava, all I can say is Oh My God !
I EAT AT PAPACHINOS ATLEAST 3 TIMES A WEEK. THE FOOD IS AWESOME ESPECIALLY THE MIDDLE EASTERN FOOD. THE OWNER CHRIS IS VERY NICE GUY AND HE MAKES SURE EVERYTIME I LEAVE SATISFIED.
THANKS CHRIS AND PAPACHINO STAFF
PAUL
PapaChino’s is the best! I love the Mediterranean food! The hummus is amazing! Healthy choices as well, which keeps me coming back for more. The staff always welcome me with a smile on their face. It tastes like home cooked meals and everyone at PapaChino’s makes sure you feel like your at home. If you haven’t tried this one of a kind deli your in for a real treat!
Sounds good. Can’t wait to try it. I love baklava and until now the only place I knew served it is Daphne’s Greek Cafe. Sounds like this place has a good variety of food.
I love this place, the Mexican food is authentic! The Chicken Enchilladas melt in your mouth. The baklava is not smothered with honey like most of the other places have. It is Great. I also order food to take home on the weekends. A must try eatery.
Everyone at our office loves this place. We order breakfast and/or lunch about 3-4 times a weeks. I love how personable they are. They know you by name. Their chicken soup is to die for. My family loves it so much I order it right before leaving work to take home for dinner. They now have mediterranean food. It is so good. The right blend of lemon and spices. Yum!!!!!! I love that I can also order online. No fuss no muss. The order is always accurate and on-time. From Papa Dino, Diana and Chris to the our favorite delivery guy, this place is 1st class in food and service, all they way!
I eat there several times a week. My favorite is their Huevos Rancheros. The food is good, the service is quick, and the people are super friendly. I recommend it to everyone in the area!
I eat at Papa Chinos everyday for breakfast and Lunch. The food, menu and overall atmosphere of the place is what you would expect from an upscale restaraunt (without the upscale prices). Considering that there are so many places to choose from to eat where they are located (by the John Wayne airport), it says a lot when someone says they eat there twice a day everyday (for the past 2 years). Chris (the owner) really has this business down to a science, the people are all extremely friendly, and the food is always top notch. Keep up the good work guys!!!!!!
Whenever PapaChinos delivers our food to us, we always get really good service with a smile. The food is always really good and very inexpensive! This is a great establishment!
I travel from San Juan Capistrano to eat at this rest., the food is great. I love the tacos and the chicken it is awsome. I would recommend to anyone.
I love ordering from Papa Chinos. I usually order breakfast it’s always hot when I get it and it’s & delicious. I also love that they carry Red Bulls, makes me very happy
Would totally recommend it.
Papa Chino’s Deli Express is absolutely wonderful! Thier prices are amazing, they deliver fast and have such a large selection of food. I never have to miss breakfast with such great convenience. They are a perfect fast food company that I will continue to utilize and recommend.
We order from here at least twice a week, most weeks more than that. The food is always delicious and the service consistent. In the rare event that an error is made, they are quick to fix it and apologetic. Its so convenient and with no minimum order, they are more reasonable that many others in the area.
i go to papa’s everyday. the mexican rice bowl is soooo good. i love all their food. even when i want something lite like a yogurt, its the place to go
I love Papa Chinos. I eat there at least 3 times a week. Food is phenomenal. One recommendation would be the chicken soup (my favorite). It’s great that they have a variety of food selection to choose from.
We order from PapaChino’s almost every day. We love their food, all of it. It is the best. We love the fact that they deliver right to our door. They are all so nice and the food is wonderful. Great food.
Papa Chino’s provides my company with Lunch for 100 salesman every Monday! and Saturday! The variety is amazing and the flavor is out of this world! Everything is so fresh and tastes so good. It’s hard to please 100 salespersons, however Papa Chino’s is doing a great job. Yessterday we had Wonderful Chicken Enchiladas with the works and last week we had awesome Mediterrean food, which the employees hav already asked for more! Their portions are large! Everything is great, I can call in a pinch and they will come with a great meal for my employees! I highly recommend them for businesses and Banquets, you can not get this quality of food most places at all and the prices are great.
This is a cute little family owned business that cares about it’s customers! I walk in and am greeted with a hug from Papa Dino & Diana, and their son Christopher. They whip up amazing meals for me each time I come by. Christopher is a wonderfully warm and cheerful young man, who when he delivers to my office, always has a great big smile on, no matter how hot it is out side or busy he is. I always look forward to see him he brightens my day! The prices for what you get is no comparison to anything around here! I occassionally buy my staff lunch or call Papa Dino for Birthday Lunches, and so forth and they are always there with amazing goodies! The Mediterrean selections are out of this world. Diana has some awesome recipes and her homemade Lentil soup is to die for, I recently had mahjor dental surgery and they kept me healthy with their soups! I recommend them to anyone and everyone, they are there for a simple sandwhich to a banquet.
I love this place!! I eat the breakfast burrito, and it is great!!
I am the world’s most picky eater, but everything I have tried (so far) has been great. The Italian food has just the right amount of garlic for that special taste; the Mexican food puts El Torito and other large restaurants to shame; and if you like burgers, oh my - they are so yummy. NOTHING is frozen; everything made fresh and from scratch every day. Yummy in my tummy!
The food is fabulous. My office is 2 miles away,and I drive over for lunch twice a week . The sandwiches are deli fresh and large. The hummus is delicious. The Baklava is better than I make at home. I take home 6 Baklava whenever there is enough left for me to order. it goes fast.
My law office orders food at least once a week. The golf carts make it easy and convenient for office meetings. My staff can stay at the office and wait for the delivery. Besides convenience, the food is excellent, and they have quite a variety.
We LOVE Papachinos! Fabulous food, fantastic prices and service right to your door! WHO COULD ASK FOR MORE??!!! A big smooch to Papa Dino and all the gang for the great food, great service and great prices - we’re customers for life!
We go to Papachino daily! The staff there is wonderful and Papa Dino is a kick!
Papachino’s is great! We order all of our office lunches from them. Their customer service is the best. They are definitely there to make sure you are happy with everything. My personal favorites are the chicken kabobs and the fish tacos as well as the salads. The chicken soups is the best ever!! But I always here great things about the Mexican Food. Basically you can’t go wrong with Papchino’s
Papa Chinos, just started selling the best beef kosher hot dogs and the best Angus Burgers for the money. They are the best hot dogs in this area. The hamburgers are to die for. A must try, worth the money.
I tried them out …. I have to say this is the worst food I have ever eaten in my life… The food was horrible. Their prices are not great. The food isnt all that great either. Most of it is bland. They catered a business meeting for my company. I was so embarrassed because the food was sub-standard. Its a shame they are in business.