Nick's Laguna Beach — Restaurant in Laguna Beach

This was one of the overall best meals I have ever eaten! I had dined at South of Nick's in San Clemente this past summer and fell in love with their butter cake and wanted to take my husband to Nick's in Laguna Beach to try out their menu. We started with the lightly fried "Bacon Deviled Eggs" and "Castroville Artichokes." The eggs were unique (and delicious) and the artichoke was cooked to perfection. We were sitting by the kitchen and got to watch all the food being expo'ed when my husband noticed a loaf of sourdough bread being served with the "San Francisco Cioppino" so asked the manager, Brandon McDonald, about it and then had our waiter (Christopher) get us a loaf. We eat Boudin's sourdough bread on the wharf quite often, but my husband dubbed Nick's sourdough bread as some of the best he's ever eaten. We also ordered the "Buttermilk Fried Chicken" which was really good but the star of the meal was the "Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass" and the sautéed spinach! We finished our meal by splitting the signature "Warm Butter Cake" and even had Christopher wrap up two other cakes and ice cream to go for our children who we were going to get from the airport. Special thanks to our server and the manager who were helpful and made the experience even better. I can't wait to visit Southern California again JUST to dine at Nick's!

EDITED APRIL 30, 2022: We were in Southern California and decided to head to Nick’s for lunch before driving to Las Vegas and was able to order from the breakfast menu. We love their lunch/dinner menu but decided to order their avocado toast as an appetizer. It did not disappoint and was the BEST version of avocado toast that I’ve ever eaten! The chilaquiles also looked amazing but we were eating Mexican for dinner. I added two more pictures. I also added photos of the Petite Bistro Plate and the Rib Eye Melt that my daughter and son-in-law...

My sister reserved a table for two for me and her on 3/8 at dinner time. She had reserved it about 2 weeks ahead of time. It was for my birthday. It was VERY busy that night but that is a good sign. We got our table and ordered drinks and an appetizer. She had wine and I skipped the alcohol and had a Diet Coke. At the last minute her and I decided on the Fried Deviled Eggs. What was that we wondered? Oh what a delight! It came out pretty quickly and we ate as we chatted above the loud chatter. Beautiful little works of art each egg looked with its fluffy filling and each egg on top of a cloud of filling. And the outside of the egg was fried ever so lightly and carefully so it had just a hint of perfect crisp in each bite. We then ordered dinner. My sister ordered some kind of fish dish which she said was good. I ordered the Chicken Piccata with a substitution of one of its side dishes. I substituted a “high-carb” item for cauliflower and my sister and I were delighted to see this side dish of baby cauliflower that looked like little trees with tiny white flowers. They had no problem doing that. It was good as well although the chicken kind of looked like a thin chicken fried steak and not a regular piece of chicken. As we were asking for doggy bags and my sister refilling her wine, she mentioned my birthday again and the waitress mentioned what they had that might fit into my dietary requirements. I need low to no sugar which ruled out just about everything. I did also mention that my sister had just had her birthday yesterday too. Then off the waitress went to put in the last drink order. When my sister was given her wine, we were BOTH given a birthday card from the restaurant signed by all the staff! That was the best dessert ever! What a sweet touch to a...

20 November 2024 Nick’s Laguna Beach Want a five star experience? Please read this. We love Laguna Beach and were married there in 1982. We return almost every year to celebrate usually eating at Splash @ The Surf and Sand where we had our reception and honeymoon. Before relocating to Santa Cruz, we lived there for a few years. This year to make our anniversary date, we wanted to try something different, more local and reasonably priced. In my opinion, the Surf and Sand while excellent has become overpriced. The local ABnB manager suggested Nicks. It was a wonderful experience with an awesome staff! For dinner we tried the Bistro Plate. Petite filet mignon with bistro salad. On super special occasions if I have beef it’s rare. The meal wa excellent. We let the staff know it was our anniversary, and they provided a small desert to cap off the meal. The Nicks can get crowded, so you’ll want to make a reservation. It’s on the South Coast Highway. (It’s the PCH to me.) The Wyland Gallery is across the street… parking can be challenging during peak hours, especially on weekends and/or holidays. We stayed local and walked. It was superb and reminded me of “old” Laguna before the Montage and hyper growth of OC. Casey was our awesome server. He allowed me to take his picture. You’ll see him in the pics. Look for him very friendly and a great asset to Nicks. 5 star service. We shall return. I highly recommend Nicks...