Team C&J
This Restaurant Is Permanently Closed.
Restaurant Rating
Cost Rating
Food Type
Mexican
28141 Crown Valley Pkwy Suite A, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
At Calo Kitchen + Tequila, everyone is treated like family. It’s this level of warm hospitality that makes an already great dining experience simply incredible. Laguna Niguel has no shortage of Mexican restaurants, but Calo Kitchen stands out.
Clemente Heredia, the owner of Calo Kitchen + Tequila, is a third-generation restaurateur, so he knows a thing or two about how to create a dining experience that turns first-time diners into repeat customers. For the Heredia family, this skill goes back to 1962 when Clemente’s grandparents opened their first restaurant.
When Clemente and his wife, Kathy, opened Calo Kitchen, they imagined a menu that was elegant but relaxed and would have food options that everyone loved. And it also had to have a great selection of tequila!
Today, Calo Kitchen + Tequila is one of the best Mexican restaurants in Orange County. This boutique chain has two popular locations, one in Laguna Niguel, where we dined, and one in El Segundo. The concept is so popular that Clemente and Kathy are about to open their third location in Costa Mesa’s glitzy South Coast Plaza.
Clemente and Kathy nailed the atmosphere at Calo Kitchen; the decor perfectly captures the upscale-beachy Orange County vibe while also paying tribute to the restaurant’s Mexican roots. The color palette is bathed in soft browns and neutrals, with stark pops of black and white.
Modern light figures illuminate the bar, and half-booth seating wraps around the restaurant. While there’s not a bad seat in the house here, we think you will enjoy the bar seating best. Not only do the bartenders provide excellent service, but the energy is great.
One of the most unique things about the menu at Calo Kitchen + Tequila in Laguna Niguel, and all of the Calo Kitchen locations, really, is how the dishes were conceived. Most restaurants that have multiple locations have a corporate executive chef turning out cookie-cutter dishes across the board. But, what’s great about this privately owned restaurant is that a number of the recipes come from Clemente’s grandparents and were featured in their first restaurant.
When you dine at this Laguna Mexican restaurant, you’re guaranteed to enjoy an experience that is anything but ordinary. While classics like Shrimp Ceviche, Carne Asada Nachos, and Crispy Beef Tacos are available, diners can also select unique items like Short Rib Enchiladas, Pork and Pineapple Tacos, Chilean Sea Bass with authentic salsa veracruzana, Camarones Mojo de Ajo made with juicy prawns and served with garlic butter, capers, and onions.
It’s no surprise that tequila is the star of the show at Calo Kitchen. The bar menu has seven specialty margaritas and close to two dozen sipping tequilas to sample. If you like an ice-cold cerveza with your Mexican food, this restaurant has got you covered. But if you’re a wine lover, the choices are a bit more limited. When we visited Calo Kitchen, the restaurant only offered a wine-by-the-glass list with ten selections.
On the wine list, you will find ultra-big production producers like Rombauer, Duckhorn, Daou, and Justin. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as many diners like a refreshing tequila or mezcal cocktail, or a frosty beer with their Mexican food. But if you’re really craving wine, you may want to pay the corkage fee and bring your own bottle. More on that below.
When you walk into the Laguna location of Calo Kitchen + Tequila, the first thing you notice is that this spot is jumping! It could be the food, or it could be the margaritas, but everyone we saw looked very, very happy to be dining here.
We wanted to be right in the midst of things, so we sat at the bar. We started with some crispy tortilla chips and fresh house-made salsa and paired that with a margarita and a glass of white wine.
It’s hard to say ‘no’ to fish tacos when they’re on the menu. They remind us of our time visiting Valle de Guadalupe and Baja’s gorgeous wine country.
The food and drinks were top-notch, and the staff was pleasant, answered all of our questions, and were generally just really good.
Calo Kitchen + Tequila has a corkage policy of $20 per bottle, with no limit on the number of bottles guests can bring. If you have guests in your reservation who only drink wine with lunch or dinner, it may be a good idea to bring a bottle or two to the restaurant. As we mentioned above, Calo Kitchen + Tequila only offers wine by the glass, so the choices are pretty limited for wine lovers.
Calo Kitchen + Tequila is one of the best Mexican restaurants in Laguna Niguel. The dishes are well executed, the cocktails are balanced, and everything is reasonably priced. Add this hotspot to your list of must-visit Orange County restaurants.
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