Sundried Tomato Café

Had the signature soup and it had a good flavor, just too creamy for my taste. The chicken spring rolls totally underwhelmed. A good friend loved the food and I thought it was just average at best. Totally underwhelmed.

All good things must come to an end. Sundried Tomato is closed forever. And no one is more unhappy than me. They rinsed their wine glasses and swept their floors for the last time on October 27, 2013. For 12 years Young Company has had the pleasure of being their neighbor and we have enjoyed hundreds of meals with clients and family there. It is not all that often that your favorite outdoor café is the place next door. The soups, salads and burgers were always fresh with outstanding flavor only to be surpassed by their excellent service and pleasant ambiance. We will miss you Sundried Tomato. Hope to visit you in your San Clemente or San Juan Capistrano store someday.
Adiós,
Bart Young

What a cute little café! Sundried Tomato Café is tucked away in a corner of Forest Ave in Laguna Beach, just down the street from Festival of the Arts and a short walk from the beach as well.
The service was great, staff is very nice and checked up on us often (but not TOO often, if you know what I mean). Came here a beautiful Friday afternoon for lunch, while the place is small, it wasn’t too packed and we were seated right away.
Ordered the oven baked artichoke for an appetizer, it was pretty good. Being an artichoke enthusiast, I really like the fact that they had Parmesan cheese between the petals. The tarragon aioli it was served with was delicious as well. Also had the signature sundried tomato soup, great hearty taste. Highly recommend if you like tomato soup, this one has a great elevated taste to it.

Was looking for something lite to share with my man, so we just ordered the soup and ½ sandwich.
The sundried tomato soup was nice and creamy. My tastebuds were in heaven and I didn’t really want to share, luckily he ate most of the chicken club sandwich and I got the soup!

HH 3 – 7 pm daily (didn’t have much of a food selection on their HH menu; they need to offer more)
Tuesdays 50% off Bottles of wine. Score!
Came here on a Flavors of Laguna tour & tried their signature dish:
Creamy Sundried tomato soup 4 stars
Very creamy w/​gorgonzola cheese sprinkled on top. Delicious & filling; would have been perfect if we had some bread to dip into it. =)
Ambiance & décor: B+
Service: B
Overall, will come back during HH to check out some more dishes. 3.5 stars

This café came highly recommended, so I stopped by on a late Saturday afternoon. Very tasty food, but make sure you’ve got time to kill. No one seems to be in much of a hurry here, so check any expectations to eat quickly at the door. The honey cilantro chicken sandwich is definitely a great pick. I don’t know what they cook the fries in, but they were amazing, and my efforts not to eat the whole stack on my plate completely failed.

Came here for our last lunch in Laguna. Specifically sought this place out based on the soup reviews. I ordered the bowl of tomato soup and hubby ordered the chicken hatch chili sandwich. I have to say if you like a very creamy thick tomato bisque, you will LOVE this. Hands down best tomato soup ever! i wanted to buy some to take home but they don’t sell jarred versions. Please start!!! My hubby really enjoyed his sandwich too. I didn’t give 5 stars b/​c it is quite expensive for a relatively small bowl of soup. The sundried tomato butter was good and a nice touch, although the bread wasn’t the best as it was a bit dry.

My friends and I went to dinner at Sundried Tomato Café for OC Restaurant Week, and entire 3 course dinner for $ 20!!! Our waitress Kim was so helpful and fun to talk to, we really enjoyed her services! Super friendly!
I had ordered the Creamy sundried tomato soup for starters– this was absolutely delicious, i wanted to lick the bowl clean! I recommend this soup to all! Then for the entrée I had chose the Mary’s Natual Half Chicken– two large chiken pieces marinated with preserved lemons, garlin and rosemary. Over a bed of green beans and mashed potatoes! This dish was also really good, but didn’t necessarily WOW me. Finally for dessert the optionw as a chocolate espresso brownie sundae, where you can’t go wrong with that!
I would definitely come back here! :)

Went here for the Restaurant weak in OC, Started with the Creamy Sundried Tomato Soup, i had to be one of the best tomato soups i have had! for my main dish i got the Prime Sirloin Coulotte Steak i enjoyed it but not my type of steak, everyone else on the table that tried it said it was good and for dessert they gave us a brownie with ice cream.
The restaurant was really nice we had a table outside and the waitress was down to earth and helped us out with everything we needed.

I’m seeing some of the no-​so-​great reviews here and I’m not quite sure what’s up. I’ve been here twice and I think this place is pretty darn awesome.
First off, get the soup. You won’t be sorry. It’s heaven in a bowl. So very good. I think a place that is known for tomato soup is probably also pretty good at making the things that go well with tomato soup. So I’ve had sald and a grilled cheese here and really enjoyed both.
The service has been good both times. Friendly and attentive. Perhaps it’s because I’ve come at lunch? We’ve never been for dinner so I’m not sure if it gets really crowded or what.
But seriously, did I mention the soup? It’s that good. If you’re in the neighborhood give it a try.

The best! I have been going to this restaurant since 2002! My 50^th birthday was celebrated here and my partner and the staff made it an evening I will never forget… Fabulous service… Outstanding food !
Hugs! Susan

Thoroughly enjoyed my pesto chicken sandwich with a cup of their famous sun-​dried tomatoes soup. Simply delicious.
Have the meal outside in the patio with a glass of lemonade :) completes the lunch.

Tale of two plates.
It seemed like a no brainer that I try their signature creamy sundried tomato soup, so I ordered the «Sundried’s Comfort Combo» which comes with that soup + grilled asiago cheese and tomato sandwich. Because it lacks meat, I opted to add applewood bacon for $ 2, for total of $ 15.
Man, that sandwich was the saltiest sandwich I ever had. This is one instance where the bacon should’ve been left out. The sandwich was already salty as hell from the cheese so the bacon just made it very hard to eat. To make things worse, the sandwich seems to have been drenched in butter before being grilled so it was pretty greasy and was no doubt a very unhealthy sandwich. As for their signature soup, I felt it was just too creamy. I admit it tasted good but the pairing of the unhealthy sandwich with the heavy soup is not what I had in mind when I envisioned coming here.
On the other hand, I got to try half of a Prime Angus Sirloin Cheeseburger ($ 13). This was a completely different story than the soup & sandwich. Because the burger was one of the blandest burgers I’ve had. I don’t know what was worse, the bland burger or the salty sandwich. Why couldn’t they make something in the middle? Well it doesn’t really matter, I’m pretty sure I won’t be coming back to this place; it definitely wasn’t worth the money, time, and stomach space.

I was expecting to love this place since I love it’s sister location in San Juan Capistrano, but hell no. Great location in Laguna Beach, although it is a bit small. Lots of regulars at happy hour and the place fills up quickly.
The baked brie didn’t taste like brie and was so greasy. The happy hour specials are well priced, but BEWARE! The say «Wines $ 5» on their tiny menu, but no where to they specify which wines by the glass are $ 5. So without being told I kept ordering a $ 10 glass of wine thinking it was half that price. No wonder when we asked for only one last glass for my girlfriend and I to split (at the end of the night (it was our third and we were trying to slow down) the server/​bartender bamboozled us into both ordering one. At that price, of course he wanted us to drink as much as possible. Needless to say, it was the most expensive happy hour I have had in awhile.
Then let’s discuss how when we asked the manager, Jamie, if it would be possible to double their happy hour crowd some day with a large party we were told that the management will now allow happy hour pricing beyond their 10 seat bar and their 6 seat bar tables. So needless to say, they aren’t getting my personal business again and they sure as hell aren’t getting my group’s business, either.
Glad to know that business is doing so well for them that they can turn more of it away.

SOO GOOD!
The bff and I came to Laguna Beach for the local scavenger hunt thing. It was a super fun experience but neither one of us was in it to win anything lol. So we decided to find a nice local joint to grab lunch before heading back to the pier for the final meet up.
We were recommended this place by a local shop owner, and i have to say, she knows what she’ talking about.
We started with their bread with sundried tomato butter, I have never put so much butter on my bread before. fluffy, flavorful, creamy, SO GOOD.
The Mini Rustic Jars is a MUST. I’m so glad the bff ordered this for our appetizer, I think i would’ve been ok just eating this for lunch. Layered Sundried Tomatoes, Pesto, and whipped goat cheese dip, served with crispy, garlic-​y, perfectly seasoned flatbread. I think this is the best appetizer I’ve had this year. Or EVER.
By the time my entrée came, I was already pretty full from the bread and Rustic Jars, but my chicken pesto sandwich was really delicious, and I think it came with a side salad, apple pecan if I remember correctly.
I don’t have anything to complain about Sundried Tomato, except I think I lost an earring during my overly excited phase of eating the appetizer.
If you are in the area, COME MUNCH ON THE MINI RUSTIC JARS.

This is going to be a regular spot for us. They have seating inside and out. The menu offers everything for every type of diet and taste. Service is superb!
DOG Friendly (outside) A+++
They even brought a doggy bowl for my pup :-)
We ordered…
House Pinot Griggio (From Italy) — Perfection!
Sundried Tomato Cream Sauce over Bow tie pasta — Delicious!
Rare Ahi Tuna with Mashed potatoes and Spinach — Delicious!
Everything was perfect. My husband and I ended up eating out of each others plates since both dishes were perfectly made. Our waiter, Daniel C. was very attentive and friendly.
Great service, great food, nice little spot and they are dog friendly = Perfect for us!
Very clean. They do add candle light to the tables around sunset. So this would be a perfect spot for romantic dinners. It’s equally good for groups (family/​business meetings/​friends).

I have to start by saying — i LOVE tomato soup … not so much a fan of raw tomatoes but the soup I just cant get enough of.
So I was looking for a place near by the office where I could get a nice cup for lunch and I stumbled upon this little gem. I read their menu and noticed they have this Tomato Soup + Gorgonzola bits in it which my sister makes for me occasionally and i am absolutely obsessed with.
Unfortunately didn’t have enough time to go for lunch that day but I decided to keep it in my wait list and go on a weekend when I had some time.
Went there on a rainy day which was perfect! the soup was DELISH! Just like my sister makes it! I was in heaven! Not to mention they bring you bread with sundried tomato butter that i had with the soup and it was probably the most amazing thing ever.
I took a friend with me and he ordered the «Ultimate» Prime Angus Sirloin Cheese Burger and it was really good! the fries were really tasty as well!
Great place! they even has some funny chalk writings on the walls.
I would definitely go back a few times over — especially now that its getting colder again!

This is a cute, casual date place for the day!
Had their half soup and half sandwich combo.
Sundried Tomato soup was pretty bomb. It was very heavy, but tasty and creamy. My brother really liked it! Tried the Honey Cilantro Pesto Chicken on their baguette and it was yums! I just didnt like the cheese they used. left an unsuitable aftertaste. Otherwise the baguette and chicken was great!
Oh! The complementary bread and dipping sauce – sundried tomato is delicious!!!
Also had the sundried tomato, chicken and veggies over bowtie pasta! It was overflowing with sauce though and the pasta was a little overcooked! But its overall pretty good!
I wanted a mojito that day, but the waiter was kind enough to tell me that their mint wasnt fresh and it wouldnt have tasted good. So I got my first martini and I regret to inform you all that I dont remember the name of it. It was pretty damn delish and fruity.
Enjoy! ;)

Another Restaurant Week trip! Their menu looked absolutely delicious and, unlike some other places, they included items that were also well-​reviewed here on Unilocal.
First course — the sundried tomato soup and the blackened chicken sprint rolls. Two totally different dishes, but if I had to choose between the two I would go with the soup. It is one of their signature items, and for good reason — it will be hard to go back to Campbell’s after this.
Second course — the bowtie pasta and the filet tournados. Between the two, the bowtie pasta was a bigger portion and more well-​coated with their wonderful sundried tomato sauce. Both were good dishes, but the bowtie pasta was excellent!
Finally, my biggest disappointment with this restaurant came at dessert. Both my friend and I were looking forward to the Chocolate Pot d’Crème listed on the Restaurant Week menu. Instead, the runner (not even our server) came up to us and unceremoniously told us, «We’re out of the chocolate dessert so you’re getting lemon sorbet.» I was surprised that they didn’t offer us a choice of a different dessert, or even apologize for being out. Plus, like most lemon sorbets, it was pretty run of the mill. This is the biggest reason for the 3-​star rating. Additionally, service was a little on the slow side.
Overall, the experience was a good one, but definitely «A-​OK» and not «Yay! I’m a fan.» I would love to come back to try regular menu items, as we were debating on whether or not to do the Restaurant Week deal. But seeing as some of their most popular items were on the Restaurant Week menu, we figured we’d get a taste of their best.

An adorable little restaurant right on the Laguna Beach strip, this place really embodies the very idea of having a cutesy dinner with your girlfriends, a la Sex & The City!
We came on a Monday night, so parking wasn’t too terrible & plenty of free meter spots were open. The restaurant itself is quite small, with a few tables indoors & a few outside on their heated patio. We came in a party of 8 & were seated promptly & treated very well. The staff even offered to take pictures for us, major bonus points!
On Monday nights they have a Wine & Dine menu special, where you can have a 2 course meal for only $ 15! They start you off with a mixed basket of breads (white baguette & olive loaf) with sun-​dried tomato butter, delish! We ordered some crispy truffle fries ($ 7) & beef tacos w/​blueberry-​radish salsa ($ 10) for the table, both of which were good, but not rave-​worthy.
For my meal, I had the sun-​dried tomato soup & the creamy sun-​dried tomato, chicken, veggies over bow tie pasta. I came to a place called Sundried Tomato café, of course I have to try their namesakes! And boy am I glad I did, both were just bursting with sun-​dried tomato flavor, just the way I expected it to! Both pasta & soup were so rich & creamy, there was no way I could finish this beast of a meal. There was so much food, not a single person left without take out boxes. Now that’s a big bang for your buck, suck it recession!