A restaurant Resource for Dining out in Laguna Beach
Brunching at Tamarind
Tamarind of London, which opened at Crystal Cove Promenade last year, is now open for lunch/brunch Fridays through Sundays from 11:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. (followed by happy hour and dinner). The unique and flavorful brunch, crafted by Executive Chef Shachi Mehra, features baked eggs with kidney beans spiced with garlic and Kashmiri red chili; keema baked eggs with minced lamb, cilantro and red onion; masala scramble flavored with garlic, red chili and cilantro; and a Delhi-style omelet with black pepper, onions, ginger and Serrano chili—all priced at $13 or under. Bar Chef Shanti Dutta has concocted several cocktails to accompany the menu, including the “Bloody Good” Mary, the Mangosa (Cruzan Mango Rum, Kesar Mango and Prosecco) and the Pimms O’Clock (Pimms No. 1 and lemonade with fresh muddled strawberries, cucumber and oranges).
In addition, new lunch items include a trio of Thali plates, each featuring a sampling of traditional Indian dishes—seafood, meat and vegetarian, all accompanied by the vegetable of the day, tasty black lentils, rice, naan and raita. Specialty salads are also showcased, such as the quinoa and avocado, lime leaf salmon salad, grilled shrimp salad and more. (7862 E. Coast Hwy.; 949-415-8865; tamarindoflondon.com)
Wine Time
The Wine Gallery will become Laguna Beach’s first wine bar, offering
small bites and selective sips.
Since opening his first boutique wine store in Corona del Mar more than 10 years ago, Chris Olsen has grown his vision into a first-class experience for wine aficionados. Described by Chris as a gallery, wine bar and kitchen, the Wine Gallery is slated to open in Laguna in late June.
A standout feature of the new Wine Gallery is the introduction of wine kegs to Laguna Beach. “It’s fairly new idea,” Chris explains. “Only some wineries are doing it, but it’s gaining momentum. Believe it or not, [keg wines] are just like the stuff that people are pouring by the glass,” he adds, noting that a good winery will know the logistics of developing a high quality wine from a keg. The Wine Gallery will offer four house keg wines—two whites and two reds—as well as weekly wine flights, three-glass flights and featured wines of the week.
The 150-seat space will also offer international tapas, artisan pizzas and other small plates from its full kitchen, while placing a focus on its handcrafted, limited-edition wines.
But above all, Chris, a Laguna local, is excited to bring this growing trend a little closer to home. “There are no wine bars in Laguna,” he explains. “I’m hoping to fill a niche here.” (1833 S. Coast Hwy. Ste. 110; lagunawinegallery.com)
Café Vienna Closes
Laguna Stand by Ends Its 10-Year Run
Joining the Royal Hawaiian in a rough month for restaurants, Café Vienna shut its doors for good after not renewing its lease at its south Laguna location. Café owner Ferdinand Lettner opted not to sign a fresh 10-year lease that would have included a recurring 3.5 percent rent increase every year of its terms.
The now-vacant space is slated to become a David Mainiero-owned pizza place, as he picked up the lease offer. David is also heading up Urbun, the new burger joint that will replace the former KFC on Coast Highway—assuming he doesn’t leave his wallet lying around again.
Café Vienna served breakfast, lunch and dinner since 2002, and the owner will continue to work locally, as he began working at the Aliso Beach’s Sands Café when it opened Memorial Day weekend.
A SAD ALOHA
On a Sunday night, May 20, the last rounds of beers and Lapu Lapus were passed around and enjoyed as the legendary local tiki bar, Royal Hawaiian, prepared to close for good after 65 years in business. The Hawaiian bar and restaurant faced a large revenue gap after losing its battle with the city of Laguna Beach over live music performances and noise control.
Owner Lyndon Douglas Cole explained, “There wasn’t any way to make this work out without music.” The restaurant ran afoul of local noise restrictions and faced the loss of its operating permits from the city if they didn’t adhere to municipal live music guidelines. The owner pointed to incredible profit losses as patrons would leave to go catch live music elsewhere as the primary reason that the Royal Hawaiian couldn’t keep its doors open any longer—explaining that other places in the vicinity such as the Sandpiper or White House picked up his former live music business.
The Royal Hawaiian was known for its stellar beach-adjacent proximity, its immersive island digs and its signature Lapu Lapu cocktail, made with two different types of rum, pineapple juice, orange juice and passion fruit juice.
World-Class Chocolate
A state-of-the-art facility opens for demonstrations and classes. Orange County is now home to a world-class chocolate and pastry institute. Qzina Institute of Chocolate & Pastry recently debuted in Irvine, offering a $3.5 million state-of-the-art training and research and development facility designed for chocolatiers and pastry chefs. Home chefs will enjoy baking and pastry demonstrations, and classes featuring the Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Lab, where participants can make their own chocolate from start to finish.
“Customers who visit the institute will be inspired and surprised with what they can make and learn,” says Qzina founder and CEO, Richard Foley. “The vision of the Qzina Institute is to provide a place for professionals to experience the best of the chocolate and pastry industry. Our goal is to help chefs expand their dessert repertoire and bring new creations to their guests.”
Qzina Specialty Foods is the premier importer and distributor of specialty chocolate, pastry and dessert ingredients in North America. This year also marked the company’s 30th anniversary and with the new facility, it hopes to bring chefs and food enthusiasts together to expand their dessert and pastry skills and explore new techniques. At the grand opening, the world’s largest chocolate sculpture was unveiled—a replica of a Mayan temple comprised of 18,000 pounds of chocolate. (9461 Irvine Center Dr., Irvine; 949-208-8462; qzina.com)
American
BJ’s Pizza and Grill
280 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-494-3802; bjsrestaurants.com
Broadway
328 Glenneyre St.; 949-715-8234 ; broadwaybyamarsantana.com
The Cliff Restaurant
577 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-494-1956; thecliffrestaurant.com
The Cottage Restaurant
308 N. Coast Hwy.; 949-494-3023;
thecottagerestaurant.com
Hennessey’s Tavern
213 Ocean Ave.; 949-494-2743
lumberyard
384 Forest Ave.; 949-715-3900; lblumberyard.com
Ruby’s Diner
30622 Coast Hwy.; 949-497-7829; rubys.com
Splashes Restaurant and Bar
1555 S. Coast Hwy. at Surf & Sand Resort;
949-497-4477; surfandsandresort.com
Stonehill tavern
One Monarch Beach Resort; 949-234-3200; surfandsandresort.com
Tommy Bahama Bar & Grill
400 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-376-6886; tommybahama.com
Tivoli Terrace
650 Laguna Canyon Rd.; 949-494-9650; tivoliterrace.com
Tivoli Too!
650 Laguna Canyon Rd.;
949-494-6044; tivoli-too.com
Belgian
Brussels Bistro
222 Forest Ave.; 949-376-7955;brusselsbistro.com
California Contemporary
230 Forest Avenue
230 Forest Ave.; 949-494-2545; 230forestavenue.com
Café Anastasia
460 Ocean Ave.; 949-497-8903
Blue Laguna
696 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-376-2583; bluelagunaoc.com
Cafe Zoolu
860 Glenneyre St.; 949-494-6825; cafezoolu.com
The Deck at Pacific Edge Hotel
627 Sleepy Hollow Ln.; 949-494-6700; deckonlaguna.com
K’ya Bistro Bar & The Rooftop Lounge
1287 S. Coast Hwy. at Hotel La Casa del Camino; 949-376-9718; kyabistro.com; rooftoplagunabeach.com
The Loft
30801 S. Coast Hwy.
at Montage Laguna Beach;949-715-6420; montagelagunabeach.com
Madison Square & Garden Cafe
320 N. Coast Hwy.; 949-494-0137; madisonsquare.com
Mosaic Bar and Grille at Montage Laguna Beach
30801 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-715-6420 montagelagunabeach.com
Nirvana Grille
303-101 Broadway; 949-497-0027; nirvanagrille.com
Sundried Tomato
361 Forest Ave.; 949-494-3312; thesundriedtomatocafe.com
The Terrace
340 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-494-8088; whitehouserestaurant.com
Watermarc Restaurant
448 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-376-6272; watermarcrestaurant.com
340 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-494-8088; whitehouserestaurant.com
Caribbean
Eva’s Caribbean Kitchen
31732 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-499-6311; evascaribbeankitchen.com
Chinese
Mandarin King
1223 N. Coast Hwy.; 949-494-8992
Continental
Dizz’s As Is
2794 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-494-5250; dizzsasis.com
French
C’est La Vie
373 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-497-5100; cestlavierestaurant.com
French 75
1464 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-494-8444; french75.net
Studio at Montage Laguna Beach
30801 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-715-6420; studiolagunabeach.com
Global Cuisine
Raya
1 Ritz-Carlton Dr.; 949-240-2000
Sapphire Laguna Restaurant & Pantry
1200 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-715-9888; sapphirelaguna.com
Italian & Pizza
Cucina Alessa
234 Forest Ave.; 949-497-8222
Gina’s Pizza
610 N. Coast Hwy.; 949-497-4421;
1100 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-494-4342; ginaspizza.com
Pizza Lounge
397 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-497-2277; pizzalounges.com
Polina’s Salerno Italian Restaurant
220 Beach St.; 949-497-2600
Ristorante Rumari
1826 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-494-0400; rumari.net
Romeo Cucina
249 Broadway; 949-497-6627; romeocucina.com
Ti Amo Ristorante
31727 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-499-5350; tiamolagunabeach.com
Z Pizza
30902 Coast Hwy.; 949-499-4949; zpizza.com
Mediterranean
Picayo
610 N. Coast Hwy.; 949-497-5051; picayorestaurant.com
GG’s Café-Bistro
540-108 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-494-9306;ggscafebistro.com
Zeytoon Cafe
412 N. Coast Hwy.; 949-715-9230;zeytooncafe.com
Mexican
Asada
480 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-715-5533; asadalaguna.com
Avila’s El Ranchito
1305 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-376-7040; avilaselranchito.com
Coyote Grill
31621 Coast Hwy.; 949-499-4033; coyotegrill.tv
Laguna Feast
801 Glenneyre St.; 949-494-0642
La Sirena Grill
347 Mermaid St.; 949-497-8226;
30862 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-499-2301; lasirenagrill.com
Las Brisas
361 Cliff Dr.; 949-497-5434; lasbrisaslagunabeach.com
Olamendi’s
1100 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-497-4148;olamendis.com
papa’s Taco
31622 Coast Hwy.; 949-499-9822;papastacosinc.com
Taco Loco
640-1B S. Coast Hwy.; 949-497-1635;tacoloco.net
Seafood
The Beach House
619 Sleepy Hollow Lane; 949-494-9707;thebeachhouse.com
Claes ovation
425 S. Coast Hwy. at Hotel Laguna;
949-376-9283; claesrestaurant.com
House of Big Fish & Ice Cold Beer
540-200 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-715-4500;houseofbigfish.com
Seafood/Steaks
maro wood grill
1915 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-793-4044;marowoodgrill.com
Mozambique Steakhouse & Coastal Lounge
1740 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-715-7100;mozambiqueoc.com
Rock’n Fish
422 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-497-3113;rocknfishlb.com
starfish
30832 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-715-9200;starfishlaguna.com
Specialty
Laguna Culinary Arts
845 Laguna Canyon Rd.; 949-494-4006;lagunaculinaryarts.com
Sushi
242 Café Fusion Sushi
242 N. Coast Hwy.; 949-494-2444; fusionart.us
katsuya
858 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-793-4030;sbe.com/katsuya
O fine japanese cuisine
30872 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-715-5551; ofinejapanesecuisine.com
San Shi Go
1100-303 S. Coast Hwy. (upper level);
949-494-1551
Thai
Laguna Thai by the Sea
31715 Coast Hwy.; 949-415-0924; lagunathai.com
Royal Thai Cuisine
1750 S. Coast Hwy.; 949-494-8424; royalthaicuisine.com
Thai Bros.
238 Laguna Ave.; 949-376-9979; thaibroslaguna.com
Vegetarian
Zinc Cafe
350 Ocean Ave.; 949-494-6302; zinccafe.com
LBM
