Bodega Laguna in Laguna Beach, California serves creative Mexican cuisine in a fun, vibrant atmosphere. While this spot is a new addition to the Laguna Beach restaurant scene, it opened in September 2023, its future in this trendy part of Orange County looks bright.

The Atmosphere & Location

Bodega Laguna is located right off the Pacific Coast Highway in downtown Laguna Beach in the space that formerly held a Tommy Bahamas, and the old Laguna Fish Co. It’s also worth mentioning that the restaurant is right across the street from one of our favorite Laguna Beach hotels, Hotel Laguna.

Owner of Bodega Laguna, Ivan Spiers, a celebrated Orange County restaurateur who also owns Mozambique, SkyLoft, and Ristorante Rumari, went all-in on the Mexico theme and purchased every single piece of furniture, glassware, and plates from south-of-the-border. All of the decor you see inside of the restaurant, that has been directly sourced from Mexico too. 

The dining area is bright and colorful, and there is plenty of bar seating, a generous number of four-top tables, and a few couches, if you come for happy hour or the late night menu.

There’s a Gift Shop On-Site! 

La Tienda, the restaurant’s retail space, allows diners to purchase vibrant home goods like pillows, couch throws, candles, and color glasses. You can also find t-shirts and purses in the shop. If you know someone who just can’t get enough of visiting Mexico’s Valle de Guadalupe for wine tasting, we guarantee they would love something from this gift shop.

The Menu

If you frequent the beachy parts of Orange County, then there’s a good chance you already know the prices here can be a little steep sometimes. With that in mind, we were pleased to see that everything on the menu was reasonably priced for the area, especially when you consider all of the fresh seafood on offer. 

The menu features a huge selection of crudo, with offerings like Spanish Octopus Ceviche, Ahi Torre, which is served with crispy tortilla chips, avocado, cucumber, onion, mango aji amarillo puree, and Halibut Ceviche.

The PCH tacos at Bodega Laguna are a favorite with the locals. And, if you want a heartier meal, you can’t go wrong with a sizzling platter of fajitas, Halibut a la Veracruzana, a thick cut of spicy tuna steak, or lobster tacos.

Vegetarian Menu Options

Vegetarian options are limited on the menu, so if you follow a plant-based diet, you may want to take a look at the full menu before dining. When we dined, we noticed just two vegetarian entrees, the Portobello Mushroom Fajitas, and the Charred Mushroom Tacos. If you hold the sour cream and the cheese, it appears you can make both of these dishes vegan. 

Happy Hour & Weekend Brunch

The vibe in this restaurant makes us think their happy hour and weekend boozy brunches are bound to be pretty good. The happy hour selection of food items is robust, compared to some other restaurants that only offer four to five small bites. 

Come to the Saturday or Sunday brunch for Eggs Benedict, Braised Carnitas and Scrambled Eggs, Breakfast Burritos, and nicely priced drinks like Bloody Marys ($7), Mimosas ($5), or Michelada ($5).