Finney's Crafthouse - Laguna Beach — Restaurant in Laguna Beach

I live and work in Laguna, and so like most locals have been very excited to try out Finney's, even more so because several of my favorite customers and good friends have all had great things to say over the past week since opening!

I was NOT Disappointed.

Arriving shortly after work my name was taken for seating *(party of 1) at 4:20 pm, and I was told to expect about a 15-20 minute wait, for what appeared to be an extremely busy Sunday afternoon Happy Hour in Laguna Beach. The Joint WAS PACKED. Wall to Wall, with seating for about 100-120 people I guessed, including the bar where it was standing room only.

20 minutes later I was seated and then met by Jordan who was both bright, eager and friendly as well as confident in his training and experience to date as he smoothly set my ice water and simultaneously took my order of Bison Burger and Fries with a Cadillac Margarita quickly and coolly.🤙🤙😎 🍹 My beautiful and deliciously refreshing Cadillac Margarita came within 2 minutes, allowing me plenty of time to both take in and enjoy the renovation and remodel of the historic White House to Finney's signature decor and watch the staff deftly move and serve the masses of hungry diners and drinkers.

The teamwork, coordination and communication was amazing to behold, as each staff member not only executed his or her job duties but also covered one another and helped each other continuously in order to quickly turn tables. Super Cool. 🍔 My burger was quite literally THE BEST BISON BURGER I have Ever had.

Hands Down. Prepared Perfectly medium rare, and topped so amazingly deliciously well that it required absolutely nothing added.

The initial bite was pure gastronomic heaven in every regard; taste, texture, consistency. Perfect and Incredible. 🍟 The French fries likewise were phenomenal. Soft on the inside while golden Crisp on the outside with a light toss in seasoning Makin them both yummy and hot.

All in all, I was impressed. 👍 Everybody was super smiley and happy to be there which was obvious, the vibe was super fun and chill while the music was the perfect mix of classic rock and pop rock for both fun and backgrounds.

I think I will go every Sunday after work until I have tried everything...until about the end of August, I reckon.🤔🤔 😋🤤🤤 I feel that the pricing was quite reasonable, (for Laguna) which allowed me to leave a 30% gratuity, I figure is split among my server, the bussers and food runners as well as I hope,...

We’ve been coming to this spot in Laguna Beach since it opened (about a year and a half ago, I think).

It quickly became one of our favorite local hangouts. In the beginning, the service was fantastic, the food was great, and the staff made you feel welcome and recognized. There was a warm, friendly energy that kept us coming back.

Lately though, things have really changed. The last two times we visited, the service had gone noticeably downhill. The waitstaff seemed indifferent, and we were left waiting for drinks without even a simple acknowledgment. Most disappointing was the new bartender, someone we hadn’t seen before, who was not only rude to us but also to several others around the bar. It created a really off-putting atmosphere.

That said, on our most recent visit, we were lucky enough to have Tyler as our server, and he completely turned things around. He was attentive, friendly, and brought back the great energy we originally loved about this place. It honestly made our night.

We’re hoping this is a sign that things might be getting back on track, because we’d love to keep coming back to what used to be one of our favorite local spots.

*Please note: Service rating was 2 stars but because of Tyler we are...

We we're really looking forward to eating at Finney's in Laguna Beach after I went to Oceanside location and was blown away by good food and service. LB was a different story. The hostess seated is right away and the waitress came right over and asked us what we wanted. No introduction and we barely had our chairs pulled in. We said we needed a minute. She left and returned within 1 minute to see if had we made up our minds. We said not yet. That was about the last we saw of her. She served all the tables around us never checking in even when we tried to get her attention. Tables were turning over in her section when she came back for our order. In the meantime a couple came in and sat next to us with 2 dogs in a stroller thing. The waitress petted them and oogled over the dogs then returned to the bar to grab drinks without washing her hands. Jacob, a young waiter, who must have just clocked in came over, greeted us and made sure we had everything we needed. He even reminded us that happy hour was about to end if we wanted to order anything else. Jacob saved the night. Perhaps our waitress was tired or had a bad day however that got rolled onto us. We'll go back but I hope the unnamed waitress is in a...