C’est La Vie

Awesome food, beautiful atmosphere and view, and excellent service by Darin! We will definitely be back!

So I normally don’t review anyone unless I had the worse experience ever, which rarely happens! But in this case my experience was so on point and phenomenal that I must write a review! I am a OC local and venture to Laguna Beach often. This is the second time I ate here and the server, Bayan, definitely made our experience one of a kind! Not only was he on top of all our orders and serving us rt away, but he also had a great attitude and was entertaining! He had my friend and I laughing and enjoying our meal and atmosphere! Def going back more often because I had the best experience today!

I’m a big egg and breakfast person. I’ve lived here for years but only recently discovered how good this place really is. In the front they have probably the best breakfast sandwiches in Laguna beach for around the $ 10. La Sirena also make some killer breakfast burritos but I have to say I like this place a little more for the selection. The ham and egg croissant and breakfast wrap are delicious. They occasionally add cheese fries which are also good. I was also a huge fan of the pasta mama dish inside. I will definitely be regularly coming back.

Cool place… restaurant has an outdoor patio that looks out onto the beach. Reasonably priced, our food was amazing and we had even better service. Darren was our server ask for him when you’re here.

Lovely place. Food was delicious– I love my sea bass and the free bread haha. Chill vibe with live music on a Saturday night. Overall had a wonderful experience here. Street parking available.

Our first time to this restaurant, we had Doug as our server, he explained each dish and made some awesome recommendations. Start with the Clams and Mussels app, then the main course. Truly the best Sea Bass ever, so so good, my daughter has the Filet which is a juicy 8 oz cut very good as well. At the end Doug brought out a dessert tray that was way too much, he insisted we try the Tiramisu which we did and I have to say that it was the best we have ever had so far. I like the way we were treated and the attention to detail the Manager Antonio was always asking if we needed anything. My over all review is… You Must Try It! and you must ask for Doug.

This place was recommended by my step mother. It’s amazing! We got savory crepes and some desserts to go. I wish my stomach was bigger because the food is incredible and I want to try everything! Our server, TJ, was super helpful with my dietary restrictions and very friendly. Highly recommend!!!

Horrible, horrible experience with Manager Antonio «Tony». Wow, is he extremely rude and unprofessional. We are locals and have spent countless amounts of money at this restaurant over the years. We discovered they were offering Groupon and bought several to use. When we tried to use one we were treated as vagrants by «Tony» and even told at one point they are not a fast food restaurant because we tried to get our order to go. There were so many other rude comments I won’t go into. What a despicable embarrassment. Watch your P’s and Q’s with this establishment or forget going all together. Tip to the owner from what I’m seeing with other reviews, along with mine — find a new Manager ASAP.
*Also, I tried to write a previous review that was deleted. I will continue to write reviews and post if they are deleted. THAT is how important I feel people need to know this info.

Me and my wife were staying in a hotel near the beach, and wanted to go to a nice restaurant within walking distance. We checked on Unilocal and found this nice little place off to the side — with outdoor seating, which was a big draw. We ordered the Cajun Jumbalaya — made with tiger shrimp and chicken. Both meats were cooked perfectly and the Jumbalaya was to die for. Our server Doug was extremely helpful and helped make the experience more amazing.
Would love to eat hear again!

Fantastic food and an amazing atmosphere! I have been coming here for about 4 years now on my annual Laguna trip with friends and we’ve added this to our «must go» list of places to eat.
Their monte cristo sandwich is fantastic, as are their various seafood dishes. The sea bass, and their shrimp linguine are a favorite as well. Desserts are phenomenal; most notably their tiramisu!
The only reason my review was not ⁵⁄₅ is because their alcoholic drinks are expensive and not very good and sometimes their wait staff appear short staffed and so service is slow.

Love this place. Nice crossaints, baguettes, coffee, pastries.
Take your food to the beach next door, sit on the benches and enjoy an awesome breakfast.

Jumbo Mushrooms Appetizer — These are medium mushrooms stuffed with lump crab meat — This was not a creamy delicious fatty decadent app (which is my preference) but the crab is good quality and it tastes healthy-​ish as it is in a tomato base. ⁴⁄₅
Scallop Ravioli in Creamy Tomato Sauce — I am a sucker for a good pink sauce and I fell for this one hook, line, and sinker. It comes out on a long plate with an arrangement of about 8 raviolis and 8 scallops doused in a generous helping of the sauce. The ravioli were excellent and the scallops, although not particularly large, were supremely tender! Also — it’s a decent portion but not so large that you would take home leftovers. I sopped up every last drop of that sauce with the tasty crusty bread that the server brings to the table. It wasn’t unique or inspired but boy did it taste good to me ⁵⁄₅.
Salmon Sauvage — Salmon and sauce (lemon butter dill with grand marnier) paired well together. However, the mashed potatoes and vegetables are not particularly well prepared and overall very bland. If you could substitute out the side items then I would say the salmon and sauce alone rank a ⁴⁄₅. However, as the dish currently is plated it is ³⁄₅.
Mac and Cheese side — do not order unless this dish is for a child. It is creamy, yes, but it is completely devoid of flavor. My friend eating with me was skeptical but after a sample joined me in the opinion that this sauce somehow managed to be both creamy and bland. Leaving us. incredulous. It’s nice to have on the menu for kids I suppose but it needs to be revamped if it remains an adult side item ¹⁄₅.
This isn’t a trendy place, but it overlooks the ocean, service is attentive and price point is decent. Food isn’t fabulous but it’s oceanfront in a tourist town what do you expect! We went on a Saturday and a fellow was there playing acoustic covers of classic rock songs — at an appropriate volume I might add. I may consider returning to this restaurant with my parents if they come into town as they would be pleased with the ocean view and live music. If you dine here just make sure you do your Unilocal research as the food is a bit hit or miss!

Tony and Tanner are awesome! So gracious and made our visit memorable! Great drinks and dessert for a reasonable price. Thanks for the Absinte shots, Tony!

My friend and I were here for lunch today.
Two things to note about the Monte Cristo:
The menu describes the Monte Cristo sandwich as being served with strawberry preserves. It’s served with packets of Smuckers strawberry jam, such as is served with toast at Denny’s.
The portion size of the sandwich is small, about half to three-​quarter size of a standard slice of bread.
IMO, both of these factors are substandard, and make for a very over-​priced meal.

bon appetit — serious delicious French Cuisine
Clint our server recommended the pork-​chop.
Unbelievable crispy juicy tender flavorful porkchop blackened with Choron sauce &
grilled natural aged beef filet mignon, topped with melted Roquefort cheese, Cabernet Sauvignon reduction sauce.
and God know I am very honest with my review…
see how many other one star ;-)

I’m a little befuddled by the low reviews here. Everybody here from our waiter, (tall, thin, older gentleman), to the GM who kept checking on us) to the busboy who kept our water glasses topped off were first rate. I made a reservation but forgot to request a window seat. I asked for a window seat when we got there and we waited about 5 minutes in the bar area for a table with a view to become available.
Our food was delish. My salmon was cooked to perfection & the veggies and mashed potatoes were yummy. My hubs had chicken stuffed with spinach which he raved about. The bread and butter that was brought to the table was a little TOO yummy… I ate way to many slices.
For desert we shared the chocolate mousse with cream brûlée which was mouth watering. There was a piano player playing some relaxing tunes which made for a great atmosphere. We had a great little date night here and we would happily return.
If I remember my high school French correctly «c’est la vie» translates to «It’s life». C’est la vie is a nice little date night spot.

Service was awful! It was somewhat busy but nothing a restaurant couldn’t handle. Our waiter (tall, thin and older man) was so preoccupied or uninterested in being at work. He kept forgetting things we ordered. I asked if they had cream cheese (to add to my crêpe) and he said no. Then I asked the nice busser and he’s like yeah I’ll go grab you some! Manager took a percent off our or check but it was still a terrible experience. I’d never come back. Food was so-​so.
Outside patio has a nice view though. That and the other busser gives it 2 stars.

When we walked inside and saw the sign to «seat yourself,» we immediately ran to the patio to get a seat outside. This place is known for it’s beach view, so we wanted to get a good spot and take in the full experience this restaurant had to offer.
Alas, once the cold, tasteless bread arrived (without any bread plates) we became concerned that the view may be this restaurant’s only good attribute. I ordered the Café Panama, which is coffee mixed with a banana liqueur. The drink had no banana flavor and I wasn’t even impressed with the basic coffee quality. I told the waiter about my issue with the drink flavor and he said he would put more liqueur in it. He brought it back and it tasted exactly the same.
I attempted to order the roasted vegetable & Fontina omelet without the eggplant but the waiter advised me that it was «pre-​made» and he could not accommodate my request. I settled for the lackluster spinach & feta omelet, which was a complete disappointment.
After we got done eating, we had planned on having a few drinks and enjoying the patio view… but due to the high prices and tasteless food/​drinks, we just decided to go somewhere else.

Be prepared to have rude & condescending waiter/​manager…
Before coming in, I explained that we has a lunch groupon. We got there at 1030am. We showed our server our groupon and was told that we can’t order from the breakfast menu… only from the lunch menu.
That is fine. My husband and I ordered from the lunch menu. We got the Prime Rib sandwich with fries, asked for extra pickles, and coffee.
We accursed a $ 54.00 lunch bill. We had a Groupon for 40bucks for 4 people. Our server then tells us we can’t use the Groupon because there is only 2 of us. I said but we went over the 40bucks. I have a family of 4 and my kids are in school right now. They are 4 and 2. They won’t order a plate if they were here. They would just share a plate with us.
2 servers had to talk to us and argue and explain. I asked for the manager. He was our server. I asked for the owner and they said he wasn’t in.
The most annoying thing that was said by the server:
«The Groupon is here to bring you in, but not to give you free food.»
I said…” I’m not asking for free food. Our bills is more than 40 that is the Groupon credit.“
Why would u say that to Ur customer?!? We are paying customers. We have $ to pay even without the Groupon Deal.
we will not be returning. We gave them a copy of drivers license and paid the difference and tipped our server. They said they will just give us credit of 25 bucks not 40bucks…
Really. No. I paid the difference and gave our server (manager) a tip. And will not be recommending this place to our friends…
I can’t even say that the food was good when your the customer service was so bad… Horrible experience ever!

Just had brunch here with some coworkers. Checked in on Unilocal and got 10% off the bill
I had the blue crab chalupa. Needed seasoning. But it was good, the crab was legit, not surimi. I loaded it with Tabasco.
I also had two mimosas and a café mocha. Everything was good, service was attentive.