California Pizza Kitchen at Laguna Niguel — Restaurant in Laguna Niguel

So...my husband and I have been back several times and have had a completely different experience! We are on first name basis with both the bar waiter and manager! Food is always good and service is excellent. Thank you CPK!

Service is subpar. Food is still great but not a great experience with service. Maybe waiter is green I don't know.. Thought I would give the waiter a bit more grace. I asked for napkins as he gave us one between us. I didn't get them and then he put this pile in front of us bringing napkins to someone else. I asked for bread with my soup. Finished my soup before I got the bread. Never brought our bread. When our food came, he asked if we needed anything. I said napkins. He pulled out napkins from the bag and gave them to us. Our food came with 2 spoons. He didn't think to give us forks. I had to ask for forks. The whole time he served us he had a frown on his face.

UPDATE: May 9, 2025

I was looking forward to going to CPK. I had forgotten the last time I was there what happened. Tonight it was Friday night, 25 min wait so we went to the bar. The seats we ended up sitting at had food and dirty dishes. The dishes had been sitting there for 35 minutes the person sitting next to me said. It took another 30 minutes of asking for someone to clean our area and someone else's before it was. Then ordering went relatively fast, but still it took time. Then the wait for the food. By the time we got our food I had been sitting at my seat for over an hour. The food was good but we never got bread...again... but then when we tried to pay, that took time, when they got our bill with the card, we sat there for another 10 to 15 minutes or more. Everyone around us was getting served or paid attention to but us. It was weird, like we were invisible. Finally I had to ask about the bill. They found it sitting next to the cash register after they had cashed out multiple customers. What a shame, I now don't want to go back...I got to the restaurant at about 5:10 pm and left at 6:45 right after we paid the bill. It was supposed to be a quick meal at...

Horrible experience. I know CPK is a casual location and not fine dining but this was rough. We ordered water 3 times throughout our dining experience and didn't get it until our check. Each time we reminded that we were waiting on waters the server said ok great or perfect, never apologized. I don't know if bread and oil is still offered at CPK, but none of us were offered at any of the tables around us with the same server. When ordering food, she mentioned that sauce/oil is normally given on the side when taking our order so that was expected. When the food came with nothing aside from the main plate to which we had to wait 5 to 10 minutes for her to come around and act as if we never mentioned the ranch or oil when taking the order. Now part of the problem is also the robot servers they are using which means your food arrives without a server to ensure everything is there. The robot "kitty" server thing stops in between a group of tables and displays a table number for that table to get their food. As Guests, we don't know that we are table 144 etc so everyone kept checking what food was on the robot. We also ordered alcoholic drinks, mine came in a tall narrow glass with loads of ice and a half of a pineapple slice so it was really made for use with a straw. When asking for a straw the server turned away and said "sure" (I think), while walking away. She came with stir straws that don't even extend half the length of the glass of my drink. The restaurant had normal straws as the tables around us were given straws with their waters that we didn't even get yet. We also tried to check in to our CPK rewards, she took the number, but still didn't use it to check us in when we got the check. Couldn't say whether we just had a bad server or if service is just rough overall at the location. We did hear the Hostess' at the front talking about how bad the busser was and that he takes forever and they have to stand there and stare at him... Overall, just a huge disappointment as we were looking forward to finally having...

I got here a little after 4:00. There was no one waiting when I got here, three employees at the front desk, and six empty booths. The tables were not cleaned, though. Two employees left the front area. Kendall was left to wipe down the tables. It took her about 10-15 minutes to clean three (no dishes, just wiping down the tables) and she grumbled to another employee, “She only wants a booth.” It was not busy or rush hour, so I didn’t feel like that was an unreasonable request. By the time I was seated, there were six new parties who needed to be seated. I’ve been here several times, and I have had similar experiences each time…there are several people standing around, talking, and they wait for someone to come in to begin preparing for any new guests to arrive. Should there be six booths that need cleaning at the same time at 4:00 pm? There is so much that happens behind the scenes, though, that it’s quite possible instructions are not clear for employees (from management) about who is responsible for what, and when. My server, Layla, was lovely and attentive. The food was delicious. I worked in the service industry as a teen and young adult, however, and was taught…you only get one chance to make a first impression, so make it a great one. The first impression here could use some improvement. I think management is mostly responsible for making sure training is adequate for these young adults, so someone has dropped the ball here if I’ve had this many unpleasant first impressions. I will only try one more time here before I go back to the CPK on Marguerite. It’s a further drive, but they have top-notch service, from beginning to end!

UPDATE: Spoke with a blonde, short-haired manager with a blue and white striped shirt who gave many excuses as to why service may be less than optimal at the transition hour of 4:00. She did say that only one host(ess) should be at the front during that time, then talked with Kendall behind glass where she mouthed, “I’m sorry.”

I will...