Saturday night, for my dad’s birthday, my parents and I and some family friends ate dinner at Savoury’s in Laguna Beach. Thought I’d whip up a quick review of this Asian-fusian eatery:

Savoury’s is located in a small hotel (La Casa del Camino Hotel) in South Laguna Beach. The view isn’t great, but the interior decor offers pieces of art, dark wood chairs and white-linen tables. Attire is nice-casual, and there is a (rather good) bar. Here is a partial menu.

I started off with a Tuaca lemon drop, which was *really* good. My mom said her infused-vodka lemon drop was the best she’s ever had. The wine selection was comprehensive and pretty reasonable. Instead of a salad, I had “Carribean Dumplings,” which were beef and plantain wontons with a coconut curry dipping sauce. Very tasty, albeit fried. Also sampled were the Vietnamese duck Spring Rolls with 3 dipping sauces – awfully good.

For my main course, I had the Mongolian BBQ’ed short ribs topped with wok-friend vegetables atop Batsamati rice. Very nice, full of flavor, tender, with a great sauces. Further, the portions were not enormous, so I was able to actually finish my dinner without wasting anything. My mom had the same thing, my dad had the rib-eye, Lucy had halibut and Don had some sort of crackled cat-fish concoction – all raved.

For dessert, we ordered a dish of sorbets – coconut, mango and berry. Reeaaally good, fresh, just the right thing to balance the beef dinner. And since it was my dad’s birthday, they brought out a chocolate souffle topped with vanilla-bean ice cream – a bit small, but nasty nonetheless.

Overall, I really enjoyed my meal at Savoury’s, as did my family and friends. I’d recommend it, but do be warned it’s a bit pricey (~$24 per entree). Finish the evening off with a trip up to the roof for a view of Laguna, and you’re all set!