Welcome to The Cottage Restaurant - a landmark home that has watched the ever-changing Laguna surf for more than a half century and serving as a restaurant for 35 years. The tall Monkey Puzzle Star Pine tree still shades the old-fashioned garden, which retains the casual pace of Laguna's earlier years. The building, characterized by its sweeping oriental roof lines, was constructed to "city standards" in 1917, when the majority of Laguna Beach was "board and batten" beach cottages.

The home has served as the residence for various early Laguna families, including the pioneer developer and civic leader, Joe Skidmore. In 1938, longtime resident Howard and LeClaire Planalp opened the doors to the public as the Laguna Vista Cafe. The World War II shortages closed the cafe, but it remained the Planalp residence until 1957. The public enjoyed breakfast and brunch in The Pancake Cottage for the next seven years.

In planning the opening of The Cottage Restaurant in June of 1964, many old features of the structure were discovered that had previously been removed. The original solid oak front door and the colored leaded glass sideboard doors were found in the garage, along with a Los Angeles newspaper bearing World War I headlines. Appropriate sideboards and Tiffany lampshades have been added in keeping with the vintage of the house. Our table lamps were originally made at the turn of the century by the Gorham Silver Company for the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. We discovered them in a small antique shop in Fallbrook, California.

Our foyer features a replica, made by our friend and neighbor Ed Sims, of an old sailing vessel that plowed the world's oceans. The theater seats found in our lobby served for 40 years in the Old Laguna Playhouse on Ocean Street, and were purchased after its close in 1969. On our walls are paintings representing current as well as historical Laguna artists.

While you are a guest at The Cottage Restaurant you are invited to view an extraordinary photographic collection in our lobby. Laguna's Official Greeter, Eiler Larsen is the subject of a series of character studies created over more than two decades by the late physician Ronald A. Greene. The individual photos have won acclaim in amateur contests all over the world. Dr. and Mrs. Greene and Eiler Larsen had developed a warm friendship over the years, and through it came this incredible series of photographic character studies.

In this Laguna landmark we feature home-style cooking in a Laguna atmosphere that is seldom found in the modern-day stainless steel coffee shops or velvet-plush dinner houses. We hope you'll join the growing family of friends that make their dining out "home" The Cottage Restaurant.