Salerno — Restaurant in Laguna Beach

Salerno’s was recently sold and remodeled. The homey look of panels, soft lighting, and lots of pictures has made way for a brighter, uncluttered look. Each person’s opinion on this change may differ but, more to the point, prior reviews may be outdated.

When planning a meal here the diner should keep in mind that this is Laguna Beach and therefore the place is small and can be a little cramped feeling; however the reservation system has worked very well for me. One simply leaves a message and gets a call back to confirm.

The quality of the food varies. The presentation and taste is OK but not any better than what you might obtain at a larger Italian chain, now that those places are serving real greens too. When we asked about the cheese types in the dishes neither the server nor the cook new the answer. This implies that the items are purchased premade. I think it is important for a chef to know the food. The portion sizes are a little sparse for my selections, but I don’t order meat dishes so that may or may not be applicable to those. I would suggest that the items I order are inexpensive to make and require a little more to give the same hunger satisfying feeling. Therefore the meatless dishes really should include a little more to satisfy the diner.

The entre price is at the $20 or more range, but then, you don’t go to a Laguna Beach Italian restaurant to get a bargain… or a good parking spot.

The service is… ambitious. That is to say, every time I go the server seems to be trying their best to keep up and show legitimate interest in you but is just a little overwhelmed by some inefficiencies in the floor plan and headcount. They can’t fit more servers, but they can’t seem to keep up either. A better method of getting the food from the kitchen to the servers without having to travel through the hallway would be good, perhaps the tiny little bar should be removed to support the food service.

My rating is lowered based on the lack of wow in the food and service, forgiveness is given for the close proximity to fellow diners and cost given the location. It is raised based on the good natures of the servers despite the challenges, the fact that the food is descent enough, and it continues to be a good place for dinner for two. I am sure...

I wish I could give this place a -10 star rating. I made a reservation to take my kids out for a well deserved dinner. We got to our reservation a little early and the two hostesses barely looked up to great us. We were informed that we were early--- and we should "walk around town". Apparently, we looked liked tourists. A family of 3 children with one black woman--- how could we be from the area- Laguna! We walked around and returned and again met with a cold tone of "You will need to wait for your reservation time." Meanwhile, others without my skin tone where being seated. At our reservation time, I walked up to the hostess and asked if it was now finally time and she said that "I'm sorry we must missed another reservation ahead of you." I told her thank you and walked away with my kids. It was disgusting and painful to be reminded in the most despicable way that somehow we were less than others. I don't care how good the food is here, I WILL NEVER RETURN TO THIS RESTAURANT. If you are a decent person, you wouldn't support such an establishment. I am a professional woman and have owned my own business and could never imagine such an appalling...

The service here was horrible. We came at 4pm, we were the only table. After the waitress brought our orders, she did not check on us once. No water refill, not even looking in our direction. The bus boy walked by, we asked for water refill, he looked confused "oh you want water?.." he filled one glass, and asked if anyone else needs water. You see 4 people with empty glasses on a hot day, of course we do. The waitress was either playing with her ear piece or playing on cell phone, avoiding looking at us. So we walked to the counter where the waitress still was on the phone not looking at us. We had to tell the bus boy we are waiting for the check. Even then, the waitress walked past us, then came back 5 min later and started offering more food or dessert. Just oblivious. No check, no apology for waiting. Do not come there, save your time. If we did not tell the bus boy to give us the check, we would probably still be sitting there. The food is very average...