Sorrento Grille and Wine Bar

We went out to dinner recently at the Sorrento Grille and Wine Bar. A quiet dinner this was not.
Though the restaurant, and particularly the 2^nd floor where we sat, has very romantic lighting the open-​floor plan, 2-​story restaurant was just booming noisy the Friday night we went. Still, it does have a lot of energy and is a FUN place to go.
We appreciated the eclectic dinner options and the generally reasonable pricing (for Laguna Beach). Good place to people watch, especially from upstairs. Downstairs you can see the cooks at work in the open kitchen which is a novel concept but actually a bit distracting.
Go to Sorrento Grille for a memorable, trendy, tasty and energizing dinner.

This place has pleasant staff and great service. It’s a great place for a romantic dinner or hanging out. There’s a second floor that is more intimate and private. You can see other patrons on the first floor. The bar is on the first floor, where it is more noisier than the second floor. They have great happy hour items, and is close to the beach. Overall, a nice local restaurant.

My husband and I have walked by this place many times and wondered about the food. We usually end up at 230 Forest which we love but we needed a last minute dinner reservation on Saturday since we bought last minute tickets to the Pagaent and 230 Forest was not available. It was very busy and quite loud. I went with the Prix Fixe menu and my starter was the calamari. It was delicious. I had the steak as my main and it was gigantic. I only had a couple of bites. My husband enjoyed it very much the next morning for breakfast. The watermelon and lemon sorbets were delightful for dessert as was the salted caramel ice cream my husband had.

The food and service are just solid and have been for many years. Came back recently after a long hiatus and ordered a few glasses of wine. Had the orrechiete pasta with fennel sausage, broccolini. We also had chicken with couscous and spinach.
Each bite was better than the last. I find chicken boring but this was very moist and flavorful. The spinach and couscous was a great accompaniment. The standout was the orrechiete. Al dente, buttery, peppery, pasta perfection.
The service was perfect, no premature clearing of plates (pet peeve), no kitchen flubs, friendly but not overbearing. I won’t wait so long to return.

It is just too bad they are closing (or have already closed?) Because I absolutely LOVED this place. I mean what’s not to like? OK, apart from the bad parking — you have to find street parking — there is little I can complain about Sorrento Grille.
The décor reminds me of a room you’ll find in an Italian villa. I love the coziness of it and the open kitchen where I can see my food being prepared if I’m sitting at the bar.
The shrimp and the clams are my all time favorites and the beers are pretty darn good.
I’m sorry to see this place disappear :(

Quick Update. Everything is as good as it sounded in my first review except it even got better. Now their happy hour is all the days they are open in a week, 5 to 7pm instead of 5 to 6pm. the $ 4/​$ 6/​$ 8 food deals are still on, and i ran my calculator, and you pretty much save almost 50% off the regular price, but the portions are the same as the regular price menu during regular hours. and the price is good throughout the restaurant
My fav on the HH menu:
steamed manila clams with linguica sausage (ask for more toast at no cost — you will need it to soak up the sauce) — $ 6 –Deal!
herb and chile fried calamari with spicy harissa aioli — $ 6
Herb shrimp with capers and potatos — $ 8 — I cant tell you how good this dish is… the capers are the hero of this dish not the shrimp and its awesome!
$ 6 well drinks (the bartender John has his own line of vodka Ion which is pretty good and famous in its own way, 10 times distilled, with electrolytes — he works with a nutritionist to design these alcohols — he could be easily the most favorite bar tender i have seen in OC!)
the sad part of all this now — everything ends on July 1^st boo :(but I dont blame them. what i hear from them is that they get lot of tourists in July and the place is really small. But we have to wait and see. if Amar opening the new restaurant right across is gonna make any change, but sorrento still holds a special place in the restaurant scene for me and their food is seriously good and the place is unpretentiously awesome!
so if you been thining about give them a try before the HH goes away end of the month!

The «ionized Martini» is everything you would expect. Smooth, strong, just enough Martini to get you lubricated. Very nice. I had two and don’t remember much else. :-)
Oh, except the risotto. It was vegetarian, done in a small pan by itself, and so aromatic and delicious. I don’t know how others feel about this restaurant, but I will definitely come back next time I am in Laguna beach.

Solid 4 stars.
I always forget about this place while in Laguna because it is a little bit off of main street.
Came here with my dad after everything else was packed and we both were glad we did.
Once we arrived, we were seated promptly at a high top table and went right to a few beers.
The special flatbread of the day was duck confit with caramelized onions, arugula and I think it was goat cheese.
Anything with duck confit is going to be delicious and this did not disappoint. Everything worked very well and the onions added the perfect amount of sweetness.
I got a salad, but am not too sure of what it was. I think it was arugula with pancetta and blue cheese. The salad was good. Hard to mess up anything with pork in it.
Since I was craving a steak I got one of their most popular dishes, the tuscan style ribeye. When the steak came out, there was arugula and parmesan on top of it with also some marble potatoes on the bottom with a rich sauce.
The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare. It was tender, juicy and delicious and the sauce added another dimension of flavor. Potatoes were also good. Highly recommend the ribeye.
The service was also really good. All of the hostess’ were very welcoming and helpful.
Overall Sorrento Grill is one of the best restaurants in Laguna Beach. The menu has a lot of different options and I appreciate they have a list of three or four specials daily. I am coming back in two weeks so I will have to update my second experience.
Try it out!

5 stars. The Salmon dish was amazing. Their special tonight, the wild snapper was delicious. The coupling of ingredients is so unique and genius. I felt like I had traveled to some small town in Spain where the chefs had all the time in the world to prepare the dishes and full of passion. It’s apparent they use top of the line ingredients.
Foodies, you will not be disappointed!

Sorrento is that place you can go for any occasion. Date night with your girlfriend (not necessarily a 1^st date), great place to take your parents to eat and even celebrate a birthday. The service is fantastic and the ambiance is very calming, classy and inviting.
Now to the important stuff:
Started off with the:
Meat and Cheese plate: nice presentation. Had 4 different types of cured meat including prosciutto and 3 other types of salami. All were delicious and went very well with the blocks of Parmesan and another white cheese.
Calamari: Calamari is one of those dishes that everyone does and very few people get right. Sorrento’s get’s 5 stars. My idea of good calamari is large thick pieces of calamari whether they are breaded or friend. These are fried with a cornmeal crust and the meat melts in your mouth. Its served on a bed of arugala and served with a side of their spicy harisa aioli. BUT… its so good it doesn’t deserve to be dipped… its better plain.
For Dinner we had a great bottle of Château St. Michelle Pinot Nior that went perfect with our two dishes. By the way there was 4 of us :)
Orecchiette Pasta– House Made Fennel Sausage, Garlic, Chilies, Broccolini, Parmesan. DELICIOUS! I mean it’s tough to go wrong with fennel sausage… but this pasta is made perfectly. Not oily, beautiful presentation and the taste and texture of everything is amazing. 2^nd time having this pasta and it seems to get better every time.
Seared Scallops– Bacon, Mushrooms, Parsley Gnocchi, Parmesan Cream. Some of the best scallops I’ve had. Cooked to perfection, golden brown on the outside and perfect texture on the inside. The thing that impressed me the most about this dish is what was served under the scallops. The medley of mushrooms, parsley gnocchi and bacon was out of this world. Honestly amazing.
I have been to Sorrento’s probably 10 times and every time I am never disappointed. Solid gold. Sorrento’s continues to be a staple of not only Laguna but of Orange County must eat restaurants.

Sorrento Grill is nestled in the little shops of Laguna Beach.
Upon reaching the restaurant you smell an incredible aroma coming from the restaurant that makes it so you can’t wait to try the food.
There is a parking lot located next to the restaurant, if it is full good luck finding somewhere else to park. If it’s before 6 PM you’ll have to pay but if it’s after 6 PM you’re golden!
The restaurant is small, tables are very close together, making it difficult
to get to your table without seriously inconveniencing the table next to you.
The food is good, and the outside aroma meets up to your expected standard but not entirely impressive.
I’m glad I tried it but don’t really feel a need to go back any time soon.

I’ve been wanting to try Sorrento Grille forever and finally had the opportunity this past weekend. The end result? Definitely mixed feelings and a little bit underwhelmed. Whilst the meal had some definite high points, the service was disappointing.
Let me explain…
Hubby and I were accompanied by another couple. We all shared oysters and a cheese/​charcuterie plate to start. Excellent. To drink, I ordered a vodka martini (on the rocks with a twist) and it tasted mostly like vermouth. Yuck.
I had the potato leek soup and then the salmon for my entrée. With a little additional salt and pepper the soup was very nice. Perfect consistency and with a fried quail egg and bacon as garnish, it was also interesting. My salmon however was not a hit. Overcooked and the «vinaigrette» it came with was so hurt-​your-​teeth-​sweet it almost made the entire plate inedible. The chorizo and potato garnish was nice but couldn’t make up for the syrupy sauce that drenched most of the plate.
We made reservations and were seated very promptly. The hostesses were very nice. Our waiter was not. He rushed us to order. He lacked any kind of warmth, sincerity or courtesy. I don’t like to be rushed when I eat. Especially at a fairly nice establishment. We weren’t dawdling and there were plenty of empty tables around us. I’m not sure where they found this guy but he is definitely not representative of the nice restaurant that Sorrento Grille seems to otherwise be. Too bad, really.
The restaurant itself is nice looking inside. It was fairly busy but not in a noisy or claustrophobic way. Entrees were in the $ 25−30ish range. Parking can usually be an issue around the restaurant so give yourself a few extra minutes to find a space.

Portions are small but very good. Shrimp pasta was delicious, not very spicy, but still very good. The scallops entrée was also very good. I tried some of the filet and it tasted great as well. Prices are a tad high for the portions but it is Laguna and the food is good. There’s a late night happy hour that’s supposed to be good and pretty cheap, but I haven’t been to it yet.

I am writing this review about a year over the last time I visited here. But I just joined Unilocal!
Sorrento Grille was a great dining experience. My husband and I had reservations for our 22^nd wedding anniversary and we were treated so nicely and special I must say! We were seated upstairs and immediately greeted by a very attentive waiter.
Ordered a beer and their martinis, can’t remember which one, but no complaints.
We ordered an appetizer that was I think it was some sort of a mozzarella caprese, grilled caesar salad, gnocchi, and the roasted halibut. Wonderful, wonderful and wonderful.

I’ve only had the pleasure of going to promotional nights here when I lived a block away.
I always visited Sorrento when they had the happy hour special. I believe it was half off appetizers and perhaps some drinks. I’ll never forget the kobe beef burger, served with blue cheese on a toasted garlic bun. absolutely ridiculous. Being happy hour, the burger itself was about 6 bucks.
Every once in a while, this place will have some super special night.
I happened to attend a special dinner course:
Five courses not normally offered, each paired with a beer made by Stone Brewing Company (
). If you’ve never had Stone beer, I would highly recommend. It’s one of the best craft breweries in California (but that’s a whole new review in itself).
The menu —
1. Mini cheese burger (white cheddar) + Stone pale ale
(4 stars. burger was juicy, nice light beer to start things off)
2. Pigs in a blanket served with sweet and spicy pickles & house mustard + Levitation ale
(5 stars. Pigs were insanely delicious, beer is one of the best Stone has to offer)
3. Fish and chips with curry aioli + India Pale Ale
(3.5 stars. Fish were HUGE, and at this point, I was getting pretty full. The aioli was a revelation. Beer is best IPA I’ve ever had.)
4. Braised Wild Boar — heirloom potato purée, roasted radishes, globe carrot chips and braising liquid + Stone Smoked porter.
(5 stars, dish of the night. At this point I was pretty buzzed, but the boar was out of bounds. I’ve never had boar, and I hope it tastes like this every single time. Very tender, falling off the bone. Porter was full of flavor and helped wash down the meat and potatoes perfectly.
5. Chocolate turtle cake with spiced whipped cream + Old Guardian Barley Wine Ale.
(4 stars. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but the cake was satisfying. Whipped cream was perfect texture and provided a nice sharp contrast of flavor to the cake. The wine ale was like 11% alcohol per serving, so I only had one glass. It went down surprisingly smooth for having such a high alcohol content).
Cliffs notes:
Always be on the lookout for promotions and happy hour deals. The taste and food quality far exceeds the prices on these nights. A truly great value.

The food here is hit or miss. It’s either gonna be good or it’s going to be bad (or should I say confusing).
Note the symbol (HH) stands for happy hour item… I can’t say enough about the happy hour, it is such a great deal.
Calamari (HH) — A little salty, but it was nice and meaty. Pretty tasty.
Sauteed Sweet Chili (HH) — Interesting… but confusing. The crispy bacon-​like prosciutto was a nice touch, but the cheese in there didn’t work. It made the dish super salty and strange… frankly because it was crappy cheese.
Summer crabcake (HH) — Very confusing. It’s a blend of different flavors that don’t go well together. Ever tasted pesto, scallion vinagrette, and lemon aioli at the same time?
Herb Shrimp (HH) — fantastic! This dish was delicious. It is packed with rich garlicky flavor. And to boot, its only 3 dollars for happy hour. I should have just ordered 5 of these guys and a side of bread.
Braised Boneless shortribs — Braised pretty nicely. Still a LITTLE bit on the tough side but it was decent. The flavor was pretty good.
Straganoff — The most SOUR and tangy straganoff I’ve ever had. Way too much dijon mustard and sour cream … If they lightened up a little on the mustard, it would taste pretty good.
Linguine With Spicy Shrimp — Tasty. The sauce was spot on. Fresh and savory flavor.
Grilled Fish Sandwich — The day’s fish was Ahi. I didn’t like this sandwich one bit. The fish had a terribly BITTER char on it. Made it taste like I was eating fish fried in an old burnt pan. I really don’t recommend you to order this.
Service was good but spotty. The server was nice, if he was actually there. My friends and I found ourselves waiting to order drinks from him multiple times (unless you consider us alcoholics haha). However he was cool because he let us have happy hour prices at the table.
My recommendation is if you come here to eat, come here for the happy hour. They even have HH on fridays! (after 9). Can’t go wrong with some herb shrimp and $ 3 microbrews. 3 stars for the dinner, 4 stars for the happy hour.

My fiancé and I went here for a pre-​Valentines Day dinner. (We never go out actually on Valentine’s Day – expensive pre fixe dinners and couples making out with tongue at the table are not my scene!)
The meal was excellent. We had two of the special tapas– the peppers and the scallops. The peppers were an amazing deal for only $ 3 and the $ 5 scallop was absolutely perfectly cooked. I’m extremely picky about how my scallops are cooked, so trust me. We also had the flatbread of the day (lamb sausage), which was quite good, and split the filet mignon, which was great and they split onto two plates without asking and for no charge.
The only lackluster dish was the garlicky shrimp. The shrimp were overcooked and dry. And the other bummer – they were out of blood orange juice, my current obsession, so I couldn’t get a blood orange mojito.
Overall, great meal, and the restaurant has a nice vibe to it. Five stars and can’t wait to go back! Maybe for happy hour, it looks like they have great deals.

Turns out my wife gets wind that this place is offering 50% off the menu between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. daily. Sounds like a real bargain but what I wasn’t aware of was that it included the wine menu as well. «I’m there!» We made reservations for last Friday. As advertised, the venue was offering 50% off everything they had on offer, what a fantastic deal. You would think given the discount offer they would skimp on the food quality or service, no way, top notch all the way.
I would highly suggest making a reservation if you elect to take advantage of the offer, the place filled up within 10 minutes. I ordered their rustic flat bread as an appetizer and ordered the filet mignon. Both dishes were cooked to perfection, I could not flaw them. The rustic bread was very clearly hand made fresh, with quality ingredients. The filet mignon perfectly tender and juicy. I thoroughly enjoyed both dishes.
The restaurant is warm and very relaxed. The staff was fantastic, for it being busy, we were well taken care of, from the restaurant manager checking in with everyone, to the waiter, to the bus boy. Fantastic experience, highly recommend!

I realized I haven’t put up a review in ages. I suppose my benefits to contribution ratio is still the same. Ballin’ on a budget has a new meaning lately and I haven’t been able to eat out. Usually if I find a new place by using Unilocal,I like to return the favor and post a review. But if you don’t eat out you can’t review. I suppose I could put up a review of each Del Taco I eat at…
Dining at Sorrento Grille was a positive experience.
I can’t remember a time when I’ve had better grilled lamb. Usually Greek restaurants make fantastic lamb, but Sorrento takes the cake. Speaking of Cake, I had their chocolate thing and it was great! On the contrary, their filet mignon was only satisfactory.
I wish I could have more to say other than the food was good. I can’t say it was the best ever but for a solid dining experience I wouldn’t hesitate to come here again.

I had the Wood Grilled Caesar Salad as an appetizer. at first I thought it was weird that the waiter handed me a knife and said «this is for your salad». I was like. geh? a knife for my salad? uhhh… okay. but when it came out I understood. It’s like these two WHOLE romaine lettuces. It didn’t look appetizing and I was going «oh no. what the heck did I order» but after the first bite I was hooked! it was SO good! Everything was perfect, the flavoring, the smokiness. delicious!
The Filet Mignon ‘Stroganoff’ was odd. I did not really enjoy the sauce but the meat was tender and wasn’t cooked well-​done (thank goodness!). I guess that was the only bad part of the meal was the sauce. =(
The dessert was super good too! «The Avalanche”– brownie with ice cream and whip cream. My friends didn’t realize there was brownie under the ice cream until after they finished the ice cream and was like «hey. there’s a brownie in there.» oh. they’re funny.
The restaurant had a really nice vibe to it. It was really dark in there but it wasn’t a super quiet restaurant. everyone was having an extremely good time. =)
I’d come here again for that wood grilled Caesar salad, since my boyfriend works at the pharmacy down the street. yay!