Legado Bar + Kitchen
30065 Alicia Parkway
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
There's not too much that I like about the holidays. Not to get too much bah humbug on ya, but my real job is in retail, and the holidays make people lose their minds. It's like they haven't bought butter all year long, and they just stare at it endlessly as other people are trying to get into the case. The holidays also bring in people that have never been in a supermarket before. No, we don't have tennis balls, and why would a supermarket carry sporting goods? That's just one example, and I have much more I'm saving for my upcoming book that I plan to write after I retire.
Anyways, I bring this up because there are very few things that I enjoy about the holidays. There is a newish tradition of Katie and I go out with her parents a few days before Christmas that I really like. It's a time to reset before the craziness at work, and they let me pick the restaurant we are going to eat at. This has been going on for probably five years now, and for this years pick we went to a restaurant near her parent's house, Legado Bar + Kitchen.
Legado has been open since April of last year. This used to be a Pick Up Stix, but it's pretty unrecognizable from those days. Once you walk in the door there's a u-shaped bar, and behind that, there's a view of the happenings in the kitchen. The dining room is pretty narrow but comfortable enough. Table spacing was good, and you did not feel like you were eating right on top of other customers.
Before coming to Legado, I checked out their menu, and it kind of intrigued me, and with all the places I have eaten, that does not happen too often. Almost all of their menu allows you to pick a full or small-sized portion of your entree, pasta, salad, or starter. This is great for someone like me who is a big eater and can get two small entrees so I can try twice as much. I was also interested to see how they pull off such a varied menu. For a small restaurant, there's a lot to choose from. 16 appetizers, 8 pasta choices, 11 salad options, and 13 entrees. Let's see how our first Legado experience played out.
Up first is the small-sized Wedge Salad ($7). This was a pretty traditional version of a wedge. Iceberg lettuce, cherry tomatoes, red onion, crumbled bacon, and a liberal amount of blue cheese dressing was included on this. Katie's mom Lynn had no qualms with this wedge. She loved the freshness of the produce, the salty bits of bacon, and the tinge of flavor that the red onion provided. A winner in her book.
Katie's dad Dennis was also fond of this 3 Cheese Heirloom Stack ($9). The three kinds of cheese used in between the sliced tomatoes were gorgonzola, goat cheese, and fresh mozzarella. This stack was finished off with some red onions and a cabernet vinaigrette. Dennis praised the fresh tomatoes here, and also liked the uniqueness of this salad, with the use of the three kinds of cheese. He'd get this one again.
I think Katie and her family think they are aspiring hand models or something, as they always manage to get a hand in the pictures. Not off the salad portion of the menu, was Katie's selection of the Ahi Tartare ($9). This starter had a lot going on with it. It was formed in a mini-tower, with layers of ahi, cubed mango, cucumbers, red onion, avocado, and a streak of a sweet Thai chili sauce across the plate. She really liked this starter, as the tuna was fresher than she imagined it would be, she liked the different layers and what they added as far as taste, but she was not really too big of a fan of the tuiles, the baked wafer that this came with. It was too sweet, and a bit awkward to go along with this appetizer.
Back to the salads, and of course, my choice this evening would be the Caesar Salad ($6). This might look like a pretty boring version of a Caesar, but it left me satisfied. It had good-sized pieces of shaved parmesan, crunchy croutons, and just the right amount of Caesar dressing. Nothing too crazy or out of the norm, but I enjoyed this and would order it again.
Not content with just a salad alone, I was the only one at the table to order an appetizer as well. There were plenty of options but I zeroed in on this House Made Meatball ($8). This 4-ounce meatball was made with ground beef and then is doused with marinara and some parmesan. Not bad, but nothing really made this stand out either. The meatball was not crazy tender or seasoned enough to make it stand out. The marinara was fine and I liked the inclusion of the shaved parm, but this meatball was nothing that got me too excited.
Entrees were up next and we'll start with the Pappardelle Carbonara ($11) that Katie got. I was surprised that the small-sized portion of this was as big as it was. It was the perfect size for Katie. This was a classic presentation of a carbonara; bacon, egg, and grated parmesan cheese topping the pappardelle noodles. Katie felt this was fine, but it lacked a pop of flavor and the egg was overcooked in this. She would get something else on her next visit to Legado.
Chicken Piccata ($12) is a favorite on menus across our county, and this was what Katie's mom went with on this evening. Not to ruin the rest of this review for you, but as far as the rest of the entrees went, she was the only one of the four of us that loved her entree. Again, this is the small-sized portion, which was a very large chicken breast with a lemon cream sauce and capers covering it. She found the chicken to be tender and was a big fan of the interaction between the lemon sauce and the capers. She might have found her go-to item at Legado on her first visit.
I've never really been a fan of Beef Stroganoff ($13),(too many experiences with my mom's lackluster version growing up, sorry mom), but Katie's dad is very fond of this comforting dish. The version here is served with pappardelle noodles, mushrooms, and cut up steak. I'm not sure what kind of steak they used in this, but it was not the most tender of beef. The sauce was okay according to Dennis, but it did not really overwhelm him as being the best stroganoff he has had.
I took advantage of the small-sized entrees at Legado, and ordered two different things, the first being this Homemade Meatloaf ($11). This meatloaf gets a lot of praise on Yelp, but this was overcooked and rather dry. The crust of the meatloaf was pretty tough to get through and the center parts were not much easier. The brown gravy did not add too much flavor and did little to moisten this up. The best part of this plate was the mashed potatoes, which were fine but nothing special. I used alternating forkfuls of the potatoes to help me finish off this disappointing meatloaf.
I was hoping for a better result with my second plate, the Short Rib ($15). It didn't happen. It's really a shame when a short rib is not tender and flavorful, and that was the case with the one on this evening at Legado. The beef was tough and the same gravy that was used on the meatloaf failed to give this an extra pop. The mashed potatoes were okay, but the best part of this plate was probably the crispy onions topping the bland short ribs. Beef might not be the thing to get here.
Dessert would be our last hurrah at Legado, and we tried two of their six house-made offerings. The better of the two was the Chef's Bread Pudding ($10). Bread pudding is a tricky dessert, as a lot of them are either too moist or to dry. This one was just right. It kind of reminded me of the cinnamon roll that I love at the OC Fair. A nice crust and softer inside. I was sad that Katie's mom had picked this, as I would have abandoned my selection, the Peanut Butter Mousse ($7) for it. The mousse was heavier than it should have been and the peanut butter flavor kind of got tiresome after a few bites. Maybe a drizzle of chocolate would have helped keep me interested in this dessert.
Our visit to Legado started out promising, but after the salads, the meal went downhill fast. Maybe they were having an off night, but the entrees that we got were nothing above average, and not anything that we are excited to return for. I liked the variety of the menu and the fact that you have the option to pick your entree size, I just wish the execution was better. Service was spot on this evening, even with a pretty full house. Our food came out in a timely manner and our server could not have been nicer. Even though Legado failed to impress it did not damper one of the few traditions that I enjoy about the holidays.
Out of five masks, (because there used to be an annual professional wrestling event in Mexico called Legado, and many of the wrestlers participating wore masks), five being best to zero being worst, Legado Kitchen + Bar get 2 masks.
For more information about Legado Bar + Kitchen, head to their website here: https://www.legadobarandkitchen.com/
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