With its various and seemingly overwhelmingly delicious meal options, I truly believed that Elbows Mac n’ Cheese would be a cheese-lover’s galore. While it wasn’t the least unpleasant, I found myself wondering if I was getting what I paid for.

Located on Birch Street in Brea, Elbows comes across as a hole in the wall, but with a orange and yellow macaroni colored theme, the restaurant certainly made me do a double take. As the warm, cheesy aroma of the food inside made their way in my direction on a cold day, I was excited. Everything about the place screamed toasty, cozy comfort food.

I ordered a combo, which included half a melt and a soup, and I decided to get the “Signature Four Cheese Melt” and the “Tomato Basil Soup.” Someone from my party ordered the “Living Fajita Loca,” a Mexican-themed macaroni bowl, while someone else of my party ordered a “Fun Guy,” a macaroni bowl with mushrooms and chicken. We also shared an order of “Truffle Fries.” Our piping-hot orders arrived in less than 10 minutes.

Upon arrival, my order did not look very appetizing. It was a small, brittle sandwich with little substance between the slices of bread.

Essentially, it was a grilled cheese with tomato soup. My sandwich was as appetizing as it looked. My melt had little flavor, and most of the cheese was dripping out of the sandwich. My soup was sour and full of flavor, but had a light, creamy taste that was quite impressive to me.

The fries were extremely savory, with sprinkles of garlic and butter throughout. However, I was most delighted by the “Fun Guy,” which was creamy and hot and almost too good on the cold, rainy day. The sizes were reasonable, with just enough food to quench my hunger. The “Living Fajita Loca” was a close second, with a rather spicy cheddar flavor that was complimented by fajitas in the dish.

All in all, I felt that Elbows had a lot of potential, but it didn’t seem to want to make the effort to deliver. Though a promising premise, I was less than happy with the overall quality of the food.