La Rana — Restaurant in Laguna Hills

Where to begin? I really wish I had driven through this strip mall, when I lived in laguna Niguel! But better late than never!

First of all, if you're going to get tortillas...get the homemade ones! The flavor is nothing like the crumbly, bland store bought ones. They are thicker, flavorful and just delicious!

I had a bowl of menudo and the consistency of the broth was excellent. The tripe was cut not too small and wasn't huge and sloppy.

My chorizo and eggs were just perfect! Great flavor and you could taste the eggs and chorizo (not oily and runny)!

Okay, the rice. Often times the rice is an afterthought. Not here, it had seasoning and flavor. I was disappointed that my keto diet was slowly dying due to these delicious carbs on my plate!!

My friend, had the lamb barbacoa. I got a taste...I wish I had grabbed a plate to go! So flavorful! Very high quality...tender and juicy!

The service was excellent and the staff was friendly! All for an enjoyable experience!!

Wish I had know about La Rana before I left the area in 2019...but I'm close enough to visit the OC at least a couple of times a year. Bringing my girlfriend, next time.

Definitely...

I’m not sure how this place has received good reviews aside from their beans and rice. Being from San Diego, you would assume that Mexican food can’t change that much by less than 100 miles, and yet this place gave me a good surprise. Not only me, but my girlfriend and her mother whom are both from San Diego as well. The red sauce is nothing less than terrible, not authentic in the slightest and honestly barf worthy. The enchiladas are made from only white cheese (what kind of Mexican restaurant does that? 🤢🤮). Seriously, I would rather drive the hour back down to San Diego to have some actual Mexican food than eat here...

This is a small place that you might pass by, or might notice pizza next door and think "maybe I want pizza." DON'T SKIP THE FOOD AT LA RANA!!! We found this place by luck and will be coming back any time we're in the area. Food was outstanding and the drinks were good! Service was great and seating inside is limited. We had guacamole, menudo, enchiladas, burritos, guaraches, and even hard tacos (my little guy loves them! Everything was made fresh and delicious! When the salsas came out with our chips, I KNEW this place was special! You gotta go and try, don't miss out...