Situated on the cliffs of Laguna Beach, venerable Mexican seafood restaurant Las Brisas has a new patio menu worthy of a drive down PCH. With starter choices like guacamole, seafood cocktail, skillet nachos and charred asparagus, you can’t go wrong with a drink, your favorite human and the incomparable view.
The seafood cocktail is especially notable. It includes a crab claw, shrimp, oyster and octopus paired with a tasty sauce and just enough spice. The skillet nachos are well balanced with a thin pepper jack cheese sauce, black beans, pico de gallo and cotija sauce. They layer the ingredients among the chips, making one wonder why more restaurants don’t take that simple step.
Entrees are also solid, with salad choices, a burger, grilled salmon, and ahi tuna burger. Las Brisas specializes in seafood but their beef burger comes out perfectly cooked to order and juicy. I tasted a Laguna Pearl cocktail which paired with everything – two types of Patron, Hennessy, house-made sweet and sour, and a black salt rim.
If you leave room for dessert, you’re in for a treat – vanilla ice cream with agave-glazed seasonal berries in an almond Florentine bowl which is just savory enough to be a perfect complement. It was the hit of the night.
Las Brisas is an Orange County landmark, on the beach in the heart of Laguna since 1979. No visit to the area is complete without stopping there, and what better time to try their new patio menu than summer?
