Longtime owners of the Hotel Laguna, the Andersen family, has extended its hospitality to Dana Point with the opening of their new restaurant, Two Left Forks.
Hotel Laguna’s Executive Chef Rob Hines will offer a menu featuring hazelnut-crusted goat cheese croquettes and bone-in short rib in the newly revamped bistro, 34212 Pacific Coast Highway, formerly Tavern On the Coast.
“We’ve designed this entire concept around being the go-to neighborhood restaurant destination that welcomes you with familiar warmth,” said Georgia Andersen, the restaurant’s operator and owner. “You’re part of the family here at Two Left Forks,” she added.
Hines will continue to oversee food operations at the hotel’s Ocean View Bar & Grill.
Andersen and her late husband Claes took over management of 65-room Hotel Laguna in 1985. When her husband died in 2011, Andersen became more involved and last year she handed the reins to their son, Stefan, now the general manager.
Their new venture’s name refers to culinary etiquette. “When you find two left forks next to your plate, you know your dining experience is going to be a step above the one-fork experience!” Stefan Andersen said in a statement.
His sister Katie Andersen also embarks on a new venture in May, opening a pet boutique, Puppies & People, Too!, in a store-front hotel shop. The store will offer a raffle on opening day, May 5,
The original Hotel Laguna dates to the late 1880s, though the current Spanish-style structure was built in 1930. Children of the late Richard Merritt, a fourth-generation Central Valley farmer, now own the hotel property he purchased in 1973.
