Mouthwatering, and that’s just the view

Can you guess the magic mantra chanted by every real estate agent to every would-be restaurateur everywhere? Certainly, there is no location more spectacular than the spot on the cliff overlooking the sweep of Laguna’s Main Beach and the Pacific Ocean that is Las Brisas.

In the 1930’s, when there were no more than 300 people living in town and Pacific Coast Highway had only recently been extended down to Laguna Beach, Mr. and Mrs. Langlois had the foresight to build their soon-to-be famous Victor Hugo Inn on this prize piece of property.

All through the ‘40s and ‘50s, their guest book was overflowing with the names of Hollywood and European royalty. In the late ‘70s, the owners sold the inn to Larry Cano (founder of El Torito), who envisioned a high-end restaurant inspired by the food of the Mexican Riviera.

After remodeling, it was opened in 1980 and re-named Las Brisas after the famous Acapulco resort. The seating in the interior space is designed to give as many people as possible a breathtaking view. This is the place to impress your relatives and guests from out of town, whereas the patio has both “The Scene” and the scenery.

Our very pleasant and attentive waiter brought us a basket of nice olive bread and excellent warm, crunchy, jalapeno corn muffins, not those huge, overly sweet, cake-like things that pass for cornbread. These had real corn flavor and a dense texture.

The dinner menu is appropriately heavy on seafood and, with the exception of the guacamole, everything on the appetizer menu features it: seafood cocktails, ceviche, calamari, tuna tartar, scampi and crabcakes.

Ceviche is made from chunks of seabass marinated in tangy lime and orange juice balanced by sweet mango and spiced with onions, chilies and cilantro. The dish was very fresh-tasting with just a hint of heat.

Equally good were the crab and scallop cakes. Using small chunks of scallops is a brilliant idea, as they add a layer of flavor and texture to the well-seasoned crab mixture.

Traditional gazpacho is done with fresh vegetables, avocado, cucumbers and an untraditional tomato sorbet; while the black bean soup is elevated by the tableside presentation of add-it-yourself condiments.

Their house salad is topped with chunks of crabmeat, and a delicious julienne of pickled papaya in a pleasantly sweet dressing. The entrée menu is divided between favoritos de Mexico and especialidades. The more familiar favoritos include combination plates with seafood or meat enchiladas, tacos or tamales. It also has New York steak, red snapper Veracruzana, prawns, calamari, sole and fish of the day.

The especialidades kick things up a notch; what you might call Mexican cuisine rather than Mexican cooking. For instance, here the steaks are grilled with tequila truffle glaze and the charred rare ahi has fennel jalapeno mashed potatoes and tamarindo vinaigrette.

We chose El Topolobampo from the favoritos. This is a combination of the fish of the day with a seafood enchilada, vegetables and Mexican rice.

However, the seafood enchilada was outstanding with a generous filling of fish and shrimp in a mouthwatering tomatillo sauce. .

Desserts include old favorites such as chocolate mousse, creme brulée, profiteroles and cheesecake. The chef’s take on flan adds shredded coconut to the creamy custard. Most original is the berry tostada, a huge Florentine (a crispy caramel shell, chock full of sliced almonds) that was filled with vanilla ice cream, topped with a light strawberry sauce and strewn with fresh berries.

You can enjoy the picture perfect view all day long since they serve a generous breakfast buffet every day for the bargain price of $11.95 except Sundays when there is a brunch. Lunch is served Monday through Saturday.

Elle Harrow and Terry Markowitz owned a la Carte for 20 years and can be reached at [email protected].