Cafe Neff

YEP, Café Neff is closed and gone as of November. How many stars to give that???
The newly opened replacement in the same spot is Café Fresca. Completely upgraded from the front of the house to the back. New comfortable seating inside along with my favorite outside tables by the waterfalls. Great new menu I have only just begun to explore. See you there?

So apparently Café Neff is no longer as of Nov. 8 when I went to stop by for lunch. New place Café Fresca opening soon. Too bad.

Quality of the sandwiches is near top notch. Each sandwich comes with salad (house or potato). and are generally around 8 – 10 dollars each. From a food standpoint, I have nothing to criticize. The eggplant panini and roast turkey on cranberry walnut bread were both fresh, not too salty, and well presented. Four stars only because of the price otherwise I would give it a 5. For some people this might not be as big of a deal and frankly for the OC this might be the norm (I’m from out of town). I would gladly pay the extra few bucks over Panera or Corner Bakery any day.
The place itself is located in the design center and there’s a nice courtyard. Today, most people seemed to be sitting out there.

Café Neff! — Located in the Laguna Design Center
‘Walked in on a Wednesday, about 11am, and the place was empty.
(Insert sound of crickets chirping here)
Photo —
I thought, «Hmmm, I love the sound of crickets.»
Sonja greeted us as we entered, she was friendly, personable & very helpful in answering my usual plethora of questions regarding the menu.
We ordered —
White Chocolate Mocha (x2): Great
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Egg Salad Sandwich: Very good; not too salty
Egg Plant Sandwich: Great; awesome flavor
Photo —
Potato Salad: Good; not too salty
Mixed Salad: Very good
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Everything looked great, tasted fresh and very good service… ‘Definitely returning!
Grand Total: $ 28 (+ tip)
— Big Aloha!
Food: 4+
Ambiance: 3+
Service: 5
Value: 4

I stopped by Café Neff on July 11^th while visiting Laguna Niguel. It’s open to the public even though its in the Laguna Design Center!
All I can say is that my experience was FANTASTIC!
Service (Sonya helped me) was great and the scones and cookies are THE BEST I’ve ever had! The chocolate chip cookie I had was thick and perfectly baked so the middle was moist and tender… I wish I could’ve bought dozens of them!
I saved my blueberry scone for my morning coffee today… I’m happy I did because it made my morning! Sooo moist, fresh and delicious! Best café I’ve been to and best baked goods I’ve had in a while! My compliments to the chef!

This place is very hard to find but the food is very tasty.
I tried this place today because of excellent reviews. The breakfast was served very slow at 9:30AM, after ordering three breakfast meals, it took them 35 minutes to deliver our orders.
Burrito was pretty good and was in good portion.
My two other friends got scones as deserts and they enjoyed them. Only downside was that they had problem with tummy later. Both claimed it was the scone, but who knows.

This was an unexpected surprise. Great place to eat, The prices are slightly high for the kind of food they serve, but their outdoor dining room next to the waterfall makes up for it. There are a few shops around so you can do a bit of window shopping while there. Location is a little odd (maybe that’s the reason I found it after 11 years of living in the area) Parking lot is relatively small, but I did not have any issues finding a space.

The food is very good and so is the service; however, I had a
certificate, which specifically says it does not have an expiration date. They would not honor it. The male waiter was snippy (although he did apologize). He really didn’t care.
Advice: use your
coupons in a hurry at any restaurant.

This place charms. I stopped twice — Once for a cooling lunch of the Chef’s white gazpacho. Made of almonds, grapes, and cucumbers, it was silky love at first sight! The outside tables are in a garden of white roses, with a tall, sculpted water feature. My second visit was for a freshly baked, blueberry scone and coffee. Enjoyed inside, this day started at a comfortable wooden table surrounded by art books that the house displays like a well curated library.

P*H*E*N*O*M*I*N*A*L Chef, flavors, ambiance, service…
LOVE, LOVE!
Not only is the owner of this café prestigious, but his menu and delicacies are AMAZE. I don’t even like chicken salad, and I CRAVE their TARRAGON chick salad. I DON’T EVEN like SOY, and their homemade ICED MOCHA BLENDED FRAPPE W/​SOY IS heaven sent on a hot summers day!

Cute place, good food, nice indoor & outdoor seating options. Fountains & common areas need a little updating though. This is the «design center» after all:-)

Amazing food. The chef Edgar is not only creative with his flavors and plating but he also sets reasonable prices. The eggplant sandwich is amazing.

Home for the holidays, my mother and I dined at Café Neff for lunch one afternoon and had a lovely meal.
Nestled in the design center, you’d never know this restaurant was there if you weren’t looking for it, but the calming and lovely waterscapes and greenery outside make this feel like a bit of an escape.
The waitstaff was very friendly and attentive. Between the two of us we tried the chicken tarragon and the chicken ciabatta sandwiches and a bowl of the daily special tortilla soup. I loved the soup as it wasn’t your typically tortilla in a thin broth with chunks of chicken/​etc. but was rather a blended thick red bowl of creamy deliciousness. I’ve only had tortilla soup this consistence at Mayberry (formerly Terri’s) in Pacific Palisades, and that has been my gold standard for tortilla soups. Ok, so Café Ness wasn’t quite good enough to overtake the reigning champ, but they do get an A in my book. Both sandwiches and side salads were fresh and tasty. Although the volume of sandwich seemed a tad small for the price, but the prices do seem to be comparable to what you’ll find anywhere these days.
The only disappointment was that my mother’s coffee, although refilled promptly, was merely warm and not hot. Not being a coffee drinker I can’t really comment on that, but I do know how some coffee lovers really appreciate a piping hot cup. But other than that the lunch was great and I’d certainly go back.

Had the yellow tail bruschetta. It was great. My friends had the chicken tacos and were very happy too.

Great sandwiches (which come with a side). I had the grilled turkey & pesto on focaccia with the house salad, both were excellent. We ate there because it was our first time and we wanted to check out the stores afterwards, service wasn’t terrible quick, but I’ll be back and ordering to go many times in the future. Very good value for the price, around $ 10 per person.
Only downside to this place is that they aren’t open on the weekends and their kitchen closes around 3PM, but if you are looking for a quality sandwich at lunchtime in the area during the week then this place can’t be beat. If their location was better they would make a great weekend lunch spot too (there is a sign off of Aliso Creek Rd for the place, that is the suggested area to park).

My friend and I went to Café Neff this morning with our
coupon. It wasn’t my first choice but the place I really wanted to go to only accepted the coupon for dinner. My mother-​in-​law had mentioned eating here several times but never thought anything about it. I wanted a breakfast place, so I thought I’d try it. Am I glad I did. Their breakfast items are limited, but it was very delicious. I had the chorizo and egg burrito, and my friend had their breakfast burrito. We both enjoyed our meals tremendously.
Their biscotti is homemade and quite a difference from Costco biscotti, which is actually all I had to compare them to. Delicious.
I will definitely go there again without a coupon.

I have been meaning to try this place for some time now – finally got the chance to today.
Café Neff is nestled inside the Laguna Design Center (which is a cool place on its own – several unique home décor shops and whatnot). The café has outdoor seating surrounded by pretty fountains and plants. I felt as if I was in Europe – the waitstaff were kind of rude and took their sweet time serving us, but the food was delish and I wasn’t in a rush, so I didn’t mind the wait.
I ordered the Tarragon Chicken Salad sandwich with a house salad, which had bleu cheese crumbles and candied walnuts on top. The grilled chicken ciabatta sandwich with bernaise sauce was equally delicious.
Can’t wait to try some of their other menu items!

There are three tenets to a successful restaurant: great food, fair prices and friendly service.
Café Neff satisfies all three.
Set in the Laguna Design Studio, Neff caters to a certain clientele, both literally and figuratively. During my meal, I saw a catering cart being pushed out of the restaurant, destined no doubt for a lavish design session in one of boutiques located in the Center.
The menu is described in other reviews, I read them before coming, I imagine you will too. I ordered one of the specials, asahi-​chicken tacos with pomegranate sauce drizzled on top, with guacamole, pico de gallo and sour cream on the side. The presentation was as expected, but the tacos were awesome. The sweet pomegranate sauce, spicy pico and cool guac made every bite worth savoring.
The café is seat yourself, so to avoid looking out of place, sit somewhere you prefer. I preferred a table outside, and an added benefit of a café being in a courtyard is that it is never too windy to sit outdoors.
The bill for two lunches was 18 and change after tax, definitely reasonable.
I plan to come back again, especially when my mom is taking me to lunch. Thanks again for lunch Mom!

I owe many wonderful food discoveries to my mother-​in-​law (such as coq au vin, sautéed zucchini flowers), and Café Neff is certainly one of them. We were talking about brunch places and she mentioned some café inside the Laguna Niguel Design Center. After 5 min. of Unilocaling, I found Café Neff!
When we arrived, our very cheerful waiter told us the lunch did not start until 11am, so we decided to start with their cranberry scones, which were very yummy. Then we hung out long enough to order our lunch. I got the grilled eggplant sandwich on ciabatta and my mother-​in-​law ordered a house salad. The sandwich was really really good! This makes me extra happy because now I don’t have to drive to San Clemente (Guicho’s) to get an eggplant sandwich. I liked their salad because they did not doused the salad with dressing.
Besides the great food, their outdoor tables are surrounded by beautiful trees, roses and fountain art. We really relaxed and enjoyed the peaceful ambiance.
I liked the place so much that I took my hubby here in a few days. The great ambiance and staff were still there. I enjoyed their taco and potato /​cilantro soup. However, I discovered that their turkey Panini is just ordinary.
Café Neff is not a perfect place, but it is now one of my favorite places!

Awesome dog-​friendly hidden gem! This place is actually sort of hidden, but it’s worth the search. It’s nestled inside The Laguna Design Center on Aliso Creek Road. The entrance to Café Neff is directly across the street from Souplantaion. There’s a decent sized inside section and an expansive outdoor patio with tons of shaded and partially shaded tables. The patio is surrounded by fountains, rose bushes, flowers and art work. Great for anyone looking for a relaxing lunch outside. Plus, when you are done eating you can peruse the Design Center’s many home décor shops.
The chefs create daily specials, including tacos, soups, flatbread pizzas and salads. I usually bypass the specials and order the grilled eggplant sandwich because I love it so much. It’s on fresh baked bread with goat cheese and roasted red peppers. All the food is priced in the $ 8 to $ 11 range.
Café Neff is unfortunately only open Monday through Friday. It offers a limited breakfast of scones and muffins and a full lunch menu. It’s family owned and operated for something like 30 years. The owner does cater on evening and weekends. I’ve had the chance to try their catering on several occasions as well, and it’s always unbelievably tasty and fresh.
Oh, and did I mention the Carrot Cake. Best I’ve ever had! The light, fluffy and delicious cream cheese frosting makes it.