Cuisine
Open
Dinner nightlyFeatures
- View
- Romantic setting
- Reservations suggested
- Outdoor dining
- Resort casual
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 Most Laguna denizens like to keep their secrets about the best cliff-side coves and the top spots in hip neighborhood dining. Tabu Grill is just one of those dining jewels in Laguna’s rough surf. With its sleek slate-and-hardwood and chic bamboo-like Polynesian accents, it draws a sophisticated crowd. Managing partner Nancy Wilhelm presides over this modern beach space as Tabu’s “inspirational soul,” as she calls it. Some come here to sit around the exhibition kitchen and view the chef Kevin Jerrold-Jones and his sous chefs at work. Surrounded by the aroma of Prime steaks sizzling on the grill, they create contemporary California cuisine---mostly light, inventive dishes centered around fresh seafood, quality meat and vegetables. Three generous, delicate scallops show up on an appetizer plate, swimming in a sea of a subtle and tangy tangerine sauce. Or, try the tempura-style sweet pickled onion rings with a sesame and sriracha aïoli. The bone-in rib-eye with smoky flavors set against creamy organic mushrooms is the most flavorful cut of beef here, but you may want to think about the pork chop: a super thick, maple-cured cut with bacon-flavored corn succotash. Wilhelm and her crew change the menu seasonally, but always keep the flat iron steak---tender slices sitting on a bed of blue cheese macaroni surrounded by a rich Cabernet sauce. For dessert, try the creamy textures of the lavender and Tahitian vanilla panna cotta with passion fruit sabayon, from pastry chef Teresa Zamora. The primarily Californian wine list features a smattering of European varietals, plus all the de rigueur French Champagnes.
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