Oak Laguna Beach

Absolutely amazing! First time at Oak tonight and my husband took me for my birthday dinner. Appreciated the touches by the staff from the birthday cocktail napkin - to the delicious dessert!

The wedge salad was a perfect starter, the sea bass was as delicious, and I really enjoyed the berry mocktail. 10/10 and I look forward to our next visit!

Visited during happy hours. Our server was too busy to serve guests at the bar. She barely took our order then, we didn't have a chance to see her after that.
Our happy hrs burgers and fries were not freshly hot even there was not many guests. I am wondering foods were sitting before it get served right away.
We disappointed about Calamari appetizer. It used be the shape of long strips but they changed to small ring shape, just like other places, it is not a special anymore.
The parking wasn't bad, we found the street parking near by.

Overall good evening. Service carried the rating! I usual go to Oak for lunch and dinner was good but not as outstanding as the several times I have had lunch there.
So on 4/6/24 Dinner with a good friend from out of town and her husband celebrating their marriage. The Hostess put special celebration decorations on the table! So so sweet. The server, Javier, was Fantastic!! He let us talk and take our time. Drinks excellent -especially the Oak Old Fashion. Calamari very good, Salmon very good, Duck special good but not great. Artichoke Fettuccine needed extra sauce - just ok once we got
extra sauce.
Fun celebratory dessert with sparkler was a very nice touch.

I didn't get to eat here, but this review is based on the service and ambiance. Our party had reservations, and we were told to wait upon arrival. No big deal, but when they took us to our table, it was the only one outside in a literal wind tunnel. There was no vibe, no ambiance, and it was a very sterile space.

When we arrived the host said our table would be ready shortly and made no mention of us sitting outside or giving our table away due to being late. We were 15 minutes late and only received one text message to check in when we arrived. We were never called. It appeared as though the weather left them short on tables. Things happen and we were late but the way it was handled was extremely disappointing. No offer to help us find a space at the bar or get a drink. Simply deal with it. We left and ate elsewhere.

Despite of our server's terrific service and cool ambience, the foods we ordered were below our expectations.

Berry spritz did not have any sweets that should come from either the lemonade or the berry purées,

Oak Street Classic Meatballs were ok but nothing special about it, none of the foods on Nana's Chicken plate were seasoned well except the fried chicken, and the sea bass was cooked in perfection but wasn't seasoned at all. Mashed potatoes bedded under the sea bass were great but the orange jícama relish and lemon mustard sauce were not seasoned and they felt out of place. When you eat them with the sea bass, all three did not blend together.

There are plenty of parking spaces and you can get a validation from the restaurant.

Restaurant is located on the second floor right across the dominos and right above another pizza place. The seating is cute inside and outside u get a cute view of the ocean across. We opted to sit inside bc the sun was gonna be on us if we sat outside, I wish they had something overhead bc the view would've been nice but I didn't want to be sweating while I ate. There is also a nice sized bar inside, didn't try any drinks but it looked like there was a good variety.

The food was pretty good. My main course was the shrimp tacos and my husband got the sea bass. To me the tacos were ok, $19 for 3 shrimp tacos seemed kinda high considering I didn't think they were that good. My husband got the sea bass which was about $45, he liked it, I think it lacked some seasoning.

What really won me over tho was their clam chowder. Filled with lots of clams and packed with flavor but had an extra creamy cheesy flavor. Even my kid loved it. Another thing that won me over was their calamari, it was breaded perfectly not too thick with the batter and it came with a nice slaw that balanced it all out. They also served it drizzled with siracha aoli that was super bomb and I suggest asking for extra on the side.

My kids ordered from the kids meals, the fries were a good amount and they were well seasoned steak fries that we all shared lol the chicken nuggets were too fancy for my kids tasting but they liked the plain buttered pasta.

We also tried the donuts and ice cream. The donuts were made fresh but it tasted a little too doughy for me, the ice cream had some graham topping that my kids loved. Overall good spot after the beach. Parking is minimal on side streets, although I did see there was a structure u can park in with 2 hours validation.

Wanted to try the Appetizers I had the last time I was here.

〰〰〰〰〰〰〰 C A L A M A R I 〰〰〰〰〰〰〰
〰〰Signature Slaw | Pickled Chili | Sriracha Aioli〰〰
〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰

〰〰〰 C R I S P Y A H I T U N A T A C O S 〰〰〰
〰〰〰〰〰 Mint-Chili Sauce | Jicama 〰〰〰〰〰
〰〰〰 Cucumber | Cilantro I Wonton Shells 〰〰〰
〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰

Service was Great, their Servers were attentive

Ambiance was great with the Street Side Completely Open

Cold Outside but I sat on the Patio since I had a Jacket on.

Nice to have ceiling heaters and Vertical standing heaters for their customers sitting outside. It was a chilly Evening.

I'd return here for Just these Appetizers they're so Good!!

Still the Best Calamari I've Ever Tasted!!

Made a reservation for 8 on a Saturday for a friend's birthday. The hostess had asked if we were celebrating anything special and to my pleasant surprise, they decorated the table with happy birthday napkins and a little birthday hat. I love these small extra gestures because they really do go a long way for me in terms of customer appreciation.

The restaurant wasn't too busy at 1pm on a Saturday so you can probably get seated quickly without a reservation. It isn't directly next to the ocean but you get a nice ocean view so beautiful spot to eat at !

I got the Lagunarita (with torched lemon foam) to drink and chilaquiles and chicken and waffles. The Lagunarita is apparently their house made margarita and it was yummy but not really my preference. I did loveee the lemon torched foam though! As for the chilaquiles and chicken and waffles, both dishes were super yummy! Definitely recommend ordering - it's a perfect combo of sweet and savory with the two dishes.

We went here for OC restaurant week and were able to snag a great table overlooking the ocean. The starter beet salad was a bit underwhelming but as a beet fan, I still loved it. The tomato bisque was the highlight of the meal for sure!! Very creamy and rich. Only problem was that the little grilled cheese was too good to only have a tiny piece of, we wanted more. The mimosas were pretty and what you would expect. The chicken and waffles were not as great as the chicken wasn't seasoned enough. The waffle was cooked perfectly though! We also had a berries French toast that was absolutely incredible and we ate it before even thinking about taking pictures! The service was great and everyone was very nice.

The food, ambience and service were great. The service was fast and attentive and the food tasted fresh.