Best Fine Dining Restaurants in Dana Point / Monarch Beach

Wow, what an incredible lunch experience at RAYA! First off, I have to rave about the service - everyone from the host to our servers made our first day at the Ritz Laguna so special. The staff was incredibly attentive and friendly, taking time to walk us through the menu and make great recommendations. You can tell they really care about making sure you have the best experience possible. The food was absolutely outstanding! We started with their guacamole with spicy crab which is a must-try - trust me, it's not your regular guac! The skirt steak was cooked perfectly and so flavorful, and those truffle fries on the side were addictively good. I went for the seafood enchiladas which were incredible, packed with fresh seafood. Even the kids' menu impressed us - my daughter loved her mac and cheese (and she's pretty picky!). The passion fruit mojitos were fantastic too - super refreshing and not too sweet. Perfect for a lunch with that amazing ocean view! The menu has tons of variety, and based on everything we tried, you really can't go wrong with whatever you choose. The staff's knowledge of every dish really helped us make great choices. We loved our lunch experience so much that we already booked dinner reservations for later this week! If you're staying at the Ritz or just in the area, definitely make RAYA a priority. The combination of incredible food, amazing service, and beautiful setting made it a highlight of our first day here. Worth every penny for such a special dining experience!

We made reservations for our anniversary. We were seated at our table and proceeded to the bar to order some happy hour cocktails. They were strong and delicious. Our server was very kind, funny, and helpful with us making our menu decisions. I had the prime rib and my husband had the prosciutto wrapped salmon. Both were amazing. My husband had the fixed price meal with soup, the salmon, and lava cake for dessert. We were comped a delicious slice of mud pie for our anniversary dessert. The food and service were overall excellent, and the views are unmatched! We will be back for happy hour in the bar!

Incredible service from Chris and great food from the kitchen

Vegetarian food was great. If more choice it would have been better. Loved the service and presentation of food.

Innovative menu: maitake mushroom starter, picanha steak and ube cake all excellent. Service attentive and also excellent. Good prices fair with 20% obligatory service charge added to bill automatically. Will go back.