Last November, the ice rink in SunWheel Court opened at an Irvine Spectrum Center with no Din Tai Fung, no Holey Moley and less than two months of Mastro's Ocean Club. On Nov. 6 the rink opens again, and all three will be running from the first day of the season. For Quail Hill households, that makes the Spectrum's biggest change of the year easy to sum up. The center gained several new ways to spend an evening, and the shopping additions, though real, are smaller.
The rest of this post sorts out which openings matter for a weeknight and which can wait for a Saturday errand run. It also covers what's still marked "coming soon" and what the rink costs this year.
The Year in Openings, in Order
| Opened | Business | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 25, 2025 | Mastro's Ocean Club | Fine-dining steak and seafood |
| Dec. 12, 2025 | Holey Moley | Mini golf with drink service |
| Jan. 2026 | Columbia | Outdoor apparel and gear flagship |
| Feb. 6–7, 2026 | Din Tai Fung | Taiwanese dumplings and noodles |
| May 2, 2026 | La La Land | Coffee shop and cafe |
| July 2026 | Voluspa | Candles and home fragrance |
| Aug. 2026 | Timberland | Outdoor apparel and footwear |
The dates come from the Daily Pilot's report on Mastro's, the Daily Pilot's coverage of Holey Moley, the Orange County Register on Din Tai Fung and Irvine Company Retail's news page for Columbia and Timberland. La La Land's grand opening date is from the Daily Pilot and the center's event listing. Voluspa's is from the brand's own opening recap.
The first two rows and the fourth are the ones that change how a night at the Spectrum works. The others are good stores, but they're stores.
Three Places That Hold an Evening on Their Own
Mastro's Ocean Club is the most formal of the three. The Irvine Standard describes a 10,000-square-foot space with a wine-bottle-lined entrance and a bar and lounge in front of the dining room. It also says the Irvine location offers a WinterFrost American wagyu found only at that Ocean Club. It's one of nearly 20 Mastro's across the country. Before last fall, a meal at that level usually meant leaving the Spectrum.
Holey Moley is the newest kind of venue at the center. The same Irvine Standard roundup lists three nine-hole mini golf courses with pop-culture themes and servers who bring drinks to you on the course. After 8 p.m. it turns adults-only, with party and date-night specials. That 8 p.m. switch is what makes it an evening venue. Families have the early hours, and the late hours suit a night out.
Din Tai Fung finally gave south Irvine its own location of a restaurant that Orange County used to drive to. The Orange County Register notes that the first county location opened at South Coast Plaza in 2014 and the second at Downtown Disney in 2024. The Register also reported that the brand holds Michelin Bib Gourmand status. The Irvine restaurant sits at 812 Spectrum Center Drive, between Nordstrom and Target. When it opened, the Register listed regular hours of 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The opening period ran on reservations, and walk-in seating was announced for a later date. Today Din Tai Fung's FAQ says reservations are optional and walk-ins can join the waitlist at the reception desk. The Irvine location page offers the waitlist online as well. On a night that ends at the rink, the online waitlist is what lets you plan around a skate session.
The Rink Is Where Those Evenings Meet
The ice rink in SunWheel Court opens Nov. 6, and its schedule fits neatly around a dinner reservation. Per the center's rink page, regular sessions run like this:
- Sunday through Thursday: 2 to 3:30 p.m., 4 to 5:30 p.m., 6 to 7:30 p.m., and 8 to 9:30 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday: the same four sessions, plus a late session from 10 to 11:30 p.m.
General admission is $27 including skate rental, or $24 if you bring your own skates. Military members and seniors with ID pay $24. The online "Jump the Line" option is $45, and a season pass is $220. The arithmetic on the pass is simple. At the rental rate, it pays for itself on the ninth visit.
The themed Thursdays give the calendar its shape:
- Nov. 12: Jersey Night
- Nov. 19: Holiday Hats
- Dec. 3: Ugly Sweater Night
- Dec. 10: UCI Night
- Dec. 17: theme still to be announced
On Saturday, Dec. 5, Skate with Santa runs from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Glide & Groove DJ skate nights have special dates Dec. 21, 22 and 23. Skate with Santa is a skating session, separate from the Santa photo visits. The center hasn't posted 2026 dates for those photos or for the nightly tree show, and its event pages for both still show last season's schedule, which ended Jan. 4, 2026. Last year's dates won't carry over, so it's worth checking again in November.
Put the rink next to the three openings above and a December Thursday can look different from last year. There's dinner at Mastro's or Din Tai Fung, the 8 p.m. session on Ugly Sweater Night, and Holey Moley's adults-only hours if the night keeps going. Each piece is close to the others, and none of them existed together during last year's rink opening week.
The Retail Additions Lean Outdoor and Specialty
The shopping side of the year was steadier. Columbia's flagship store arrived in January, and Timberland opened in August. Their directory listings give Suites 734 and 735, so the two now sit side by side. In a village with the Quail Hill Loop Trail out the back door, an outdoor gear pair you can walk between saves a drive to a second center.
Voluspa, the candle and home fragrance boutique, opened in July at Suite 747, near the Giant Wheel. The Irvine Standard's early-2026 roundup also lists Gap back at the center with a new prototype store, Rolife's miniature-house kits and wooden puzzles, the K Photo La Vie self-photo studio, and Handel's Homemade Ice Cream, which opened in 2025 between Nordstrom and Target. Handel's now shares that stretch with Din Tai Fung, so dessert after dumplings is a short walk.
The best small-business story in the group is Isabelle's Cabinet, a Southern California fashion boutique that started as a pop-up and moved into its own storefront. Its general manager, Chelsea McDowell, told the Irvine Standard:
"Working with Irvine Spectrum Center as a pop-up has changed the trajectory of our small business."
La La Land, the cafe at Suite 756 near Old Navy, works best for a quick coffee before or after errands.
What's Still Marked Coming Soon
Three tenants are still waiting to open. Go Greek Yogurt, which serves Greek and frozen yogurt, is set for Suite 611. The center advertised a grand-opening event for Saturday, Oct. 24, though its store directory still showed "Coming Soon" just before that date. OLIVE YOUNG, a K-beauty and wellness retailer, is listed for Suite 824. JAXXON, a men's jewelry and accessories brand, is listed for Suite 631. Neither has a posted opening date on the center's new stores page, which also lists Go Greek Yogurt.
Of the three, only Go Greek Yogurt is likely to change anything before the holidays. The other two are retail and can wait for a Saturday.
I've lived in Irvine since 1977, and the Spectrum has changed many times since then. This year it added more evening options than shopping ones. If you're in Quail Hill and want to talk about how changes like these show up in what buyers ask about your part of the village, Chad Pape is glad to compare notes over coffee at La La Land before the rink opens. Let's connect.
