Lazy Dog Cafe

The Lazy Dog Cafe recently opened up in the former spot of French 75 at the Irvine Marketplace. The restaurant is a concept from the son of the founder of Mimi's Cafe (Chris Simms, son of Tom) and, like Mimi's the menu has a huge array of options (from lamb shanks to pizza to burgers to chicken and hummus salad).

The decor is a sort of Western ski lodge with dog pictures and themes everywhere. From the menu out front which is posted in the middle of an oversized fire hydrant to the beer taps which are dog bones hanging off of a fire hydrant.

I went on a Sunday morning with a friend, my wife, and our son. I was very tempted to order something from the brunch list, but in the name of academic honesty, decided to try the fish tacos.

The menu reads: AHI FISH TACOS
Seared Ahi tuna in warm corn tortillas with shredded cabbage, Island Salsa, and Horseradish Tartar Sauce. Served with steamed rice and black beans $9.95.

When the tacos arrived, they appeared rather large. Two big tacos with grilled ahi cubes, with the sauce, a healthy serving of shredded cabbage, and the salsa on the side. The steamed rice was just that and the black beans had grilled onions mixed in with them.

The tacos were relatively bland. The ahi was good, but rather bland. Rather than seared, it was fairly cooked through and there was no spice or detectable seasoning on the fish. The tartar sauce was very mild for having horseradish in it and with the amount of cabbage served in the tortilla, the taco was pretty boring. Not bad, just boring. The amount of "island salsa" given was barely enough to cover one of the tacos. I suppose that I could have asked for more, but I was caught up in the conversation and trying to take mental notes of the tacos.

A good salsa with some kick would definitely improve the tacos. After reading an industry news article about the menu, it appears that the tacos are a way to get more use out of the ahi which they buy for the Hawaiian ahi poke appetizer and Asian ahi tuna burger. While that is good food economics, it doesn't mean that the ahi cubes shouldn't be dressed up with some seasoning.

I will probably go back with the family because it is a solid, family-friendly, slightly upscale, casual dining place, but I will not be ordering the fish tacos again.

The Lazy Dog Cafe
Six locations in California with a Seventh coming soon to The Promenade in Temecula.
Website
13290 Jamboree Rd
Irvine CA 92602