Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar

 

 

 

As mentioned in one of my other reviews, Irvine is the place to be for a chain establishment. Lazy Dog Cafe (LDC) seems to fit this category more and more as they successfully continue to expand.

It is ideally located near busy Jamboree Rd and therefore easy to find amongst the vast expanse of parking and shops known as the Marketplace.

Walking into LDC made me feel like walking into a giant living room in a cabin you might find at Disneyland with its oversized fireplace, faux timber, and big screen tv's. I don't know what it is, but I just didn't feel completely comfortable here. It might be the warmth and brightness of the interior compared to the dark, cool colors of a BJs.

The wait staff has been fairly attentive each time I've been here. One was quite witty with me on one occasion, which made for good entertainment for our group throughout the evening. The menu variety was good, the dishes were aesthetically pleasing, and the food was quite tasty. However the price for entrees seemed a bit high for the portion size. I might be biased being a huge eater, but I was hungry when I left and ate again when I got home.

The beer was good, but not great. As another reviewer pointed out, there are many taps, but not much selection. LDC beers are contracted out (Firestone Walker) and are decently balanced to please the average palate; however, the chocolate porter is one of their standouts. It would be great if they offered a local brewery or two to give it a neighborhood touch. Prices for beer are quite reasonable; a 16oz beer during happy hour is only $3.50.

Overall, LDC is a nice place to enjoy a beer while watching a game. However, I would plan on eating somewhere else if you're a bottomless pit like me.

Lazy Dog is starting to spread throughout SoCal. More restaurants are in the planning stages, but this Irvine location at the Marketplace just opened recently. And what better way to visit the Lazy Dog than on a lazy Sunday when I'm given an extended lunch hour.

There's a fireplace and a dozen or so tables outside, but I chose to sit inside, at the U-shaped bar. There are 35 taps at the bar, however you learn that one set of taps is the same as what's on the other side, so you're really left with 20 or so. Five of the taps are "house brews", which are contract brewed. Some other taps worth noting are Rogue Hazelnut Brown, Stone IPA, Coney Island Lager, Hoegaarden, Leffe, and Might Arrow Pale Ale. A dozen or so beer are in the bottle, among them are 90 Minute IPA, St. Bernardus Tripel, and Moose Drool. Nothing wrong with beer control quality, but standard shaker pint glasses hold your drafts. 22 ounce ones are also available.

The service was outstanding during my visit. Right as I sat down at the bar, the bartender acted very friendly to me. As I ordered my food, she accidently got it the way of a salt shaker on the bar. She then picked up the shaker and threw some over her right shoulder. Who saw that coming? A second bartender then introduced himself to me, and he even shook my hand in the process. What is this, cocktail hour? I wasn't mad, just VERY surprised.

I got my grilled cheese sandwich. Great stuff!Made with four artisanal cheeses, and with toasted sourdough cheese bread....just awesome. Now if I remembered to order Cajun fries instead of the plain old trans-fat free fries, I'd be in bliss. Finally, a third bartender come up to me and suggested trying some BBQ beef on top the grilled cheese sandwich. I'll consider it, but he swears it's the bomb.

As expected, I came out quite happy.

(One other fun note too: this was the first BA review of any type that when I was typing one, I felt an earthquake. I got to feel my mattress shake from the leftovers of the 7.2 quake sourced in Baja California.)

The restaurant is located in the (very) large outdoor shopping center in Irvine/Tustin called The Market Place. There is an outdoor seating area along with the indoor portion of the restaurant and a bar.

The restaurant is fairly nice by all accounts, particularly on the inside. The outdoor area is a place where people can bring their dogs--hence the Lazy Dog.

I am a bit unsure as to how to feel about this. We sat outside because it was a nice day, but some of the people were rather obnoxious with their animals and their attention to them (or lack there of). If nothing else, this was an interesting people watching experience.

The house beers are brewed by Bayhawk (Hefeweizen and Porter), and Firestone Walker (Blonde, Pale Ale, and Amber). They range from decent to not good. There are also about 10 other beers on tap with the usual BMC along with some more familiar craft offerings.

The food menu is rather eclectic with options varying from "Asian inspired" to the hamburger to pizza to salads. Normally with so many options, the quality suffers, but the food was actually pretty good. I had the Portabello Pita sandwich (good, but not outstanding) and my girlfriend had a chicken sandwhich that was quite tasty.

The prices aren't too bad for beer or food, either. I wouldn't mind stopping in here again, I just would opt to sit inside next time.