The Cottage

While in Newport Beach visiting a friend, her mother suggested driving the short drive to Laguna Beach to go to The Cottage-- we should have just stayed in Newport. While it's very cute and charming looking, the service was horrible and the food was nothing special at all. We were seated inside, next to the fireplace, which had a fire in it, and I really thought it was going to be great, because of the ambiance. However, two tables were seated after us, obviously in our waitress's section and they were attended to first, with someone, obviously a busser or hostess, getting their drinks. When our waitress finally came, we told her we needed just a few more minutes but could we start with some drinks? She said "Oh, someone is supposed to do that," and she turned around and walked away. Umm excuse me, isn't that your job just as much as it is theirs? You're our waitress! I'm in the restaurant business and the way she went about everything was unacceptable. All down hill from there. I was hoping for orange juice but I could tell it was not fresh squeezed and my friend's lemonade was worse quality than powdered Country Time mix. Our waitress was not friendly, and took forever to come to our table, especially to bring the check. Maybe we just ended up with the single horrible waiter, and while I could mention her name, let's just say The Cottage needs to reevaluate a lot of things. The "cottage fries" were nothing more than frozen steak fries and the quiche Lorraine was solid Ham and probably the worst I've ever had. The rolls were definitely from a bag and way too sweet. Way too big of a hype for this place-- save your money, far too overpriced for the quality of food. more

NO VIEW HERE, BUT THE ATMOSPHERE AND BREAKFASTS ARE GREAT!! I LOVE THE "SURFERS SPECIAL" FRIENDS RAVED ABOUT THE DINNERS HERE, BUT I HAVE ONLY HAD THE REALLY KICKED BACK BREAKFAST. SIT OUTSIDE!!! more

I have been eating at the cottage for 43 years. It has undergone changes but some how stayed the same. The Food is always good, it is always clean and thank goodness no one has tried to "modernize it, it is a familiar friend and my favorite place at the beach.. I do miss the Omellete Melvin, it no longer is on the menu. It is not a fancy place, but the locals all know it I am sure. I come from the inland empire just to enjoy the "familiar" feeling. I don't think a place has to be the "Ritz" to be special. I don't think I will ever stop eating there or at the very least stopping by for a cup of coffee. more

Coffee tasted like lightly flavored water, pancakes had a chemical taste, chicken fried steak as equal to Denny's, waiters and bus boys seemed busy but it took 10 minutes to get a menu. Our waiter seemed to be the most experienced but spoke very broken english and was impossible to unterstand. Asked what the bread choices were and we couldn't understand and asked that he repeat, so he spoke loud but still heavily accented so we guessed. Our difficult drink order, three waters, two orange juices, two coffees and 1 coke arrived missing the coke which we had to order after our food arrived from another waiter I think doubles as Napolean Dynamite. The flys on our food can't really be blamed on the staff. I left a $1 tip more

I took my parents here for lunch on July 7, 2006. This was the worst experience I've ever had at a restaurant in Laguna Beach. The hostess was very unpleasant and not qualified for the job. The waitress, although it was her first day apparently did not have any training whatsoever. She was totally lacking in her position as well. The ONLY person that knew a little bit about what they were doing was the bus boy. On top of all of this the food, which was not breakfast was absolutly HORRIBLE!!! For a restaurant that advertises "the best food in town" they certaintly do not have it. Combine all of these things and you have an aweful experience for my parents and myself whom were vacationing from Texas. Pros: The "garden" courtyard to dine in. Cons: The waitstaff and the food. more