Where to eat in Laguna Beach
A practical, unhurried restaurant guide to the village at your doorstep. The dinners we book ahead, the lunches with feet in the sand, the breakfasts that ease into the day, and the rooftop where the sunset still does most of the work.
Laguna's restaurant scene is small but serious. A handful of village classics that have been here for decades, a handful of newer rooms with a view, and the local counters returning guests find on their second visit. Most of what is worth the trip sits within a ten minute walk or a five minute drive of Sunset Cove.
What follows is a short, opinionated list, organised by the moment rather than the cuisine. First-night splurge. Slow lunch on the sand. Morning coffee with the village still quiet. Sunset cocktails before dinner. The local counter for the night the group wants something easy. Every place below is one we are happy to book for you.
Live ratings and a fresh quote from a recent visit are pulled in from Google on each card. Click through to read the full set of reviews, see the menu, or open the listing in Google Maps.
Occasion 01
For the anniversary, the proposal, the long-awaited reunion. Two rooms that earn the evening, both reliable for celebrations and small groups.
15 min by car
Special-occasion dinners
One of Southern California's most decorated dining rooms, a cliffside Forbes Five-Star room with a sweeping ocean view, a deep wine list, and tasting menus that move with the season. The walk through the gardens from the Montage lobby is part of the evening; book early seating to see the light on the water.
5 min by car
Special-occasion dinners
A village mainstay on the corner of Forest Avenue. Candle-lit, comfortable, the kind of dinner that runs a little long because nobody wants to leave. Reliable for celebrations and small groups, and consistently the meal returning guests cite as the best of the trip.
Occasion 02
For the slow afternoon between a beach walk and a nap. Two rooms with the water in view, one on the sand and one above the bluff.
Walkable from the villa
Ocean-view lunches
Feet-in-the-warm-sand seating and the easiest seat in town with the water in view. Lunch is best here: fish tacos, chopped salad, a glass of something cold, and the cocktail program is steady. The walk down Sleepy Hollow Lane from the villas takes the place of a starter.
5 min by car
Ocean-view lunches
The terrace above Heisler Park, with the prettiest view on the Laguna bluff and a menu of Mexican-inspired coastal seafood that has earned the postcard setting since the 1930s. Sunday brunch is the move; sunset cocktails on the patio are the alternative.
Occasion 03
For the slow start. Two places to pick up a coffee and a pastry box on the way back to the villa, or to sit in a courtyard while the village wakes.
7 min by car
Morning and coffee
A bright cafe-and-market with a planted courtyard, where Lagunans start their day. The breakfast plates are simple and well done, the coffee is honest, and the corner of the village is quiet at that hour. Walk to Main Beach after and the morning is set.
5 min by car
Morning and coffee
The bigger morning option, a few minutes north of the village. Organic coffee, a full breakfast menu, and the kind of patio that fills early on weekends. Bring back two coffees and a pastry box and have a slower morning above the cove.
Occasion 04
Two rooftops with two characters. The early seating at one and the walk-in at the other, both worth the climb up the stairs.
5 min by car
Sunset cocktails
A small rooftop bar above La Casa del Camino with the longest view in the village. The reason to climb the stairs is the sunset; the food is small plates done well. Book the early seating in season; the late one fills with locals at golden hour.
6 min by car
Sunset cocktails
A livelier rooftop, central in the village, easier to walk into without a reservation. Best for the second drink of the evening or a stop on the way to dinner. Panoramic views, casual energy, a good cocktail menu and a kitchen that runs late.
Occasion 05
The nights when the group is sandy and tired and wants something easy. Two ends of the spectrum: a seafood window onto the cove and a fish-taco counter loved by everyone in town.
Walkable from the villa
Casual and coastal
Upstairs from The Deck on the same building above the cove. Quieter, a little more grown-up, with a window onto the water and a steady catch of the day. Best at golden hour, when the light catches the back wall. The walk back to the villa is the easiest of any restaurant in town.
5 min by car
Casual and coastal
The local counter that every returning guest ends up at, eventually. Fish tacos, blackened shrimp, vegan options too, eaten at an outdoor table, ideally with a beer, after a long beach day. Cash-friendly, no reservations, no ceremony.
A few small things
A short list of the things returning guests learn on their first visit. Nothing complicated, all worth knowing.
01
From June through October, weekend dinner tables at 230 Forest, Las Brisas and Studio are gone by Wednesday. Book the first and last nights of your trip before you arrive. For everything in between, we are happy to call ahead.
02
Both restaurants share the building at the foot of Sleepy Hollow Lane, two minutes on foot from your villa. The walk down is gentle. The walk back, especially after dinner, is the shortest and most useful of any restaurant in Laguna Beach.
03
We are happy to book your tables, suggest the right room for the night you have in mind, or arrange a private chef in the villa for nights you would rather stay in. Write to us a few days before arrival and we will set it up.
Why a stay with us makes the difference
Sunset Cove Villas sits at the quiet northern end of Laguna Beach, on Sleepy Hollow Lane above Cleo Cove. Two of the restaurants on this page, The Deck and Driftwood Kitchen, are at the foot of the same street. Four more are a five minute drive into the village. Studio at Montage is the longest drive, and still inside fifteen minutes.
That cove address is the part guests come back for. Mornings begin with coffee on the veranda above Cleo Cove. Afternoons unfold on the public sand below. Evenings start with a sunset cocktail on the shared rooftop and end at a corner table at a restaurant we have already booked for you. The villa is the constant, and the village rearranges itself around it.
If you would like recommendations tailored to the size of your group or the occasion of the trip (anniversaries, family reunions, small weddings, slow honeymoons), write to us a few days ahead and we will plan dinners and lunches into your stay.
See the villas
Stay above the cove
Eight oceanfront villas at the quiet end of Laguna Beach, with direct beach access onto Cleo Cove. See live availability, or write to us for whole-property stays and dining tailored to your trip.