Raya restaurant at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel offers amazing food and stellar service in a refined setting with a stunning, 180-degree view of the Pacific Ocean.
Chefs Richard Sandoval — the king of Nuevo Latino cuisine — and Melissa Gerlach have created a divine Latin-based menu with diverse world influences. You might find a Peruvian dish with a Japanese twist, or a Mexican plate infused with Korean flavors on this ever-evolving menu. Everything here is impeccably fresh: herbs from the chefs' garden complement a selection of farmers’ market produce and locally raised meats.
The Orange County restaurant has an extensive wine list, as well as a wide selection of seasonal custom cocktails from the in-house mixologists that are worth sampling. The inventive cocktails can also be sipped at Bar Raya next door and while overlooking the ocean on the outdoor terrace 180blu.
Combined with the servers' in-depth knowledge of the menu and unobtrusive attentiveness, the stellar food makes Raya an unforgettable dining experience.
Chefs Richard Sandoval — the king of Nuevo Latino cuisine — and Melissa Gerlach have created a divine Latin-based menu with diverse world influences. You might find a Peruvian dish with a Japanese twist, or a Mexican plate infused with Korean flavors on this ever-evolving menu. Everything here is impeccably fresh: herbs from the chefs' garden complement a selection of farmers’ market produce and locally raised meats.
The Orange County restaurant has an extensive wine list, as well as a wide selection of seasonal custom cocktails from the in-house mixologists that are worth sampling. The inventive cocktails can also be sipped at Bar Raya next door and while overlooking the ocean on the outdoor terrace 180blu.
Combined with the servers' in-depth knowledge of the menu and unobtrusive attentiveness, the stellar food makes Raya an unforgettable dining experience.
Our Inspector's Highlights
- Raya is an elegant restaurant at the luxurious Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel in an affluent stretch of Orange County, Calif. It attracts all sorts of locals and vacationers, so it makes a great spot for people watching.
- Breakfast is our favorite time to dine at the Orange County restaurant. As you watch the mass of local surfers hit the water through the floor-to-ceiling windows, dig into flavorful dishes like the Cuban Sunrise, an open-faced sandwich topped with a fried egg, carnitas, Manchego and chile hollandaise.
- Service is just as smart and crisp as the white — or black napkins — placed in your lap at the start of dinner. Raya goes one step further by offering dark napkins to avoid leaving you with white lint all over your navy blue suit or little black dress.
- Raya’s stunning pan-Latin cuisine makes its quite popular, but because the restaurant is so perfectly located high on bluff, every table offers an ocean view.
Things to Know
- Raya, the high-end Latin restaurant in The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast hours are from 7 to 11:30 a.m.; the lunch menu is served from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and dinner hours are from 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings.
- For later dining, a limited selection of the most popular dishes from the Raya menu items is available at Bar Raya, open until midnight Sunday through Thursday and until 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
- The dress code at Raya in The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel is resort casual. Shorts, T-shirts and sandals are fine at this ocean-view restaurant, especially during the day.
- In the evening, diners, who might include local residents, executives and hotel guests, tend to dress up at the Orange County restaurant. It’s not uncommon to see people wearing suits and dresses on weekend date nights.
Getting There
