1287 S Coast Hwy
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
(949) 376-9718
http://www.kyarestaurant.com
Dr. P and I went to K'ya Bistro for happy hour on Friday. We got there around 5pm. The place was completely packed. The host told us they were fully booked till 9pm, and they were not taking walk-ins. Seriously? But he told us they have a new dining area downstairs at their wine cellar. That area will open at 6pm for walk-ins. We really really wanted the food at K'ya Bistro. Fine, one hour wait then. By the way, they don't have the 1/2 off all food happy hour anymore. Now they have a new $5 happy hour menu.
We decided to walk around Laguna Beach for one hour. It was a really nice walk along the beach and shops. The sunset view was beautiful.
We passed by this auto shop with this special BMW gas pump. I wonder if it really works?
At 6pm, we went back to K'ya Bistro. A hostess took us to the new downstairs area. We had to walk around the hotel rooms to get to the stair. This area was a lot quieter than the upstairs main dining room.
Our table was right next to the wine cellar.
El Coto Rioja ($26.00)
Dr. P decided to just order a bottle of wine. Their wine prices are very good. Actually both the wine and food prices are great. I guess I liked El Coto Rioja a lot because I finished 3/4 bottle by myself. haha...
Cheese Plate ($5.00)
I love K'ya's Cheese Plate. 5 kinds of crackers, 4 different cheeses, fruits & nuts. Everything was really good, and went well with the wine. Great way to start a meal.
Wild Hawaiian Ahi Poke ($5.00)
Onion, seaweed, avocado, spicy soy
Dr. P insisted to order Wild Hawaiian Ahi Poke. I told both my sister and I thought it was a bit too salty last time we were there. He didn't believe me, until he tried it for himself. The tuna was fresh. I liked the creamy avocado, too. But the sauce was still too salty for our taste. We probably won't order this again next time.
Grilled Ribeye Steak ($10.00)
Roasted vegetables, green peppercorn sauce
Dr. P ordered Grilled Ribeye Steak for his main course. There were lots of delicious roasted vegetable underneath a piece of super tender ribeye steak. The steak was topped with crispy onion strings. Can you believe that was only for $10? The peppercorn sauce was a bit too salty for my taste. But if I just dip the food in the sauce for a little bit, it was quite good.
The steak was cooked perfectly. It was soooooo good!
Crispy Skin Wild Opakapaka ($7.50)
Lemon salsa eggplant tian
I ordered Crispy Skin Wild Opakapaka. Our waitress told us Opakapaka is a Hawaiian fish. I've never had it before, and wanted to give it a try. The fish was soft and flaky, but it had this particular taste that I didn't quite like. It has nothing to do with how the fish was cook. In fact, it was cooked really well. But I have to say, the skin wasn't crispy though.
Underneath the fish, there were roasted tomato, zucchini, and eggplant. I love the vegetables.
Three Cheese Macaroni ($5.00)
Wild mushrooms, pesto, truffle crust, Parmesan, Gruyere, Gorgonzola
For sides, I ordered the same things as last time because I enjoyed them that much. Three Cheese Macaroni was still good, but not as good as last time. I think last time the dish had a lot more cheese in it. This time it was a bit dry, but still yummy.
Sweet Potato Fries ($3.00)
Yummy Yummy Yummy Yummy sweet potato fries. Love the Chipotle dipping sauce, too!
Coffee ($2.50)
Dr. P ordered a cup of coffee to go with dessert.
Warm Apple Cinnamon Crisp ($4.00)
with Vanilla Ice Cream
Warm Apple Cinnamon Crisp with vanilla ice cream for dessert. I was pretty buzzed from the wine by dessert time. But from my vague memory, I think it was pretty good? haha....
K'ya Bistro is our #1 favorite non-Asian restaurant in Orange County now! Love the food. Will definitely come back soon. We want to come back to try their new happy hour menu. We will remember to make reservation next time.
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Have you ever been to Crescent Bay Park in Laguna Beach? I was married there in 1982---its a public park tucked into a residential area that overlooks Crescent Bay. From the edge of the cliffs you can see the dramatic coastline and often see & hear sea lions who are lazing away on the rocks below. Its a beautiful view and whenever I travel down Pch I turn off and visit it. The park is usually very empty because most tourists don't know about it because there is only one small sign on Pch that points towards it (its off of Pch about a 1/2 mile north of Main St). Please check it out and let me know how you like it
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the tip, Rich!
We'll definitely go check out Crescent Bay Park.
I'm thinking maybe go to the park in the afternoon before heading to K'ya Bistro?
That'll be a romantic day. haha...
Crescent Bay Park is more like a look-out point, but there is a short little walk to get to the beautiful viewing area overlooking the coast. It surprised me that the land wasn't used to build another large extravagant view-http://www.eileenlikestoeat.com---like the others that border the park (hooray for Laguna Beach for allowing public-access!). From Pch, just take the road (I forgot the name) all the way until the street ends and you will see the park (park along the sidewalk). Its GREAT for taking photos! But for strolling, Heisler Park is the most popular in LB. I have never ate at Las Brisas, which is the very popular upscale Mexican restaurant thats near Heisler Park---maybe someday you and Dr P can dine there and review it for us!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the suggestion.
I love the city of Laguna Beach. Definitely will go explore Heisler Park as well!