The Deck on Laguna Beach and Driftwood Kitchen served their last guests on Monday, Sept. 7, Labor Day, after more than a decade above the sand at the Pacific Edge Hotel. The site does not have a replacement opening soon. The hotel's redevelopment is still in design and permitting, with no reopening date announced, and that leaves Laguna with very few places where you can eat casually right on the beach. Most of the remaining sunset tables are on cliffs and rooftops, and the casual seats closest to the water are spread out across town.
Why the Sleepy Hollow Lane seats went dark
The closing was not about money. In a statement reported by the Laguna Beach Independent, management said that more than 50 Laguna restaurants had closed for financial reasons over the past decade, and that this was not one of those cases. Both restaurants closed so the whole Pacific Edge Hotel property at 610–668 Sleepy Hollow Lane could be redeveloped.
The restaurants built up a real track record. Driftwood Kitchen opened in 2014 as the more formal, ocean-to-table partner to The Deck's open-air boardwalk lounge. Over the years the two served close to one million oysters and ran ten years of Sip & Shuck events that raised money for local nonprofits. The Deck's website now has a single farewell across its main image: "We Will Miss You. Thank you Laguna for 14 Amazing Years."
A long runway with no date on it
When the Pacific Edge project returns, it will look different. The property has changed hands and plans more than once:
- 2017. Highgate and Morgan Stanley bought the property for $57.5 million.
- Aug. 10, 2021. The City Council approved a full remodel. Per the city's project page, that plan added 25 hotel rooms, kept the two oceanfront restaurants with a net gain of 14 seats, and added a new 63-seat café.
- August 2024. Dune Drifter, an ownership group, bought the property for $80 million.
- November 2025. The Planning Commission voted 5–0 to modify the 2021 approval. The changes included revised restaurant and café allocations, an automated parking structure with access from Sleepy Hollow Lane and Coast Highway, and an overall room count that will go down. Foster + Partners is the architect.
- July 2026. The city's weekly newsletter said a hearing on a lot-line merger needed for the renovation was recommended to be tabled while issues were resolved.
The 2021 seat counts are a useful reference point, but they are no longer the plan of record. The revised application changed how restaurant and café space is divided, and no published source names a new restaurant operator for the oceanfront space. In her Nov. 2025 write-up for Best of Laguna Beach, Diane Armitage wrote that major excavation was not expected until after Labor Day 2026, after design review and detailed permitting. Her summary of the schedule:
"This is a long runway, not a fast break. Nothing is happening overnight."
The restaurants closed on Labor Day itself, right as that window opened. The approved scope includes a new hotel building and a subsurface parking garage, and no reopening date has been published.
Where you can still sit at sand level
The Independent's oceanfront dining guide described The Deck as literally an outdoor deck on the shoreline that welcomed beachgoers in boardshorts with an all-day menu. Two places still put you about that close to the water.
Splashes at Surf & Sand Resort is the closest match. The Independent describes it as sitting so close to the waves you can taste the salt in the air. Indoor tables face floor-to-ceiling windows, and the oceanfront bar opens directly onto the surf and sand. The resort is taking reservations this month and has a list of fall dining events. Splashes is more formal than The Deck was. The bar is the better fit if what you miss is a drink at the water's edge.
Lost Pier Cafe on Aliso Beach is the barefoot option. The Ranch at Laguna Beach runs it as a surf-shack café on the sand, open daily from 8 a.m. to sunset, with portable fire pits to rent for the evening. Check before you go. Stu News Laguna reported that during the Oct. 10 high tide from Tropical Storm Rachel, surf pushed cement benches and trash cans into the Aliso Creek Beach parking lot, and they were later moved by tractor to the back of the lot.
The cliff and rooftop tables
The rest of the sunset map sits higher up. You give up the sound of waves at your feet and get a wider view of the horizon.
| Spot | Setting | What the official page lists |
|---|---|---|
| The Cliff Restaurant | Multi-level patios, 180-degree whitewater views | Sunset dining; weekday happy hour 3–6 p.m. |
| The Rooftop Lounge | Fourth floor of La Casa del Camino, 1289 S Coast Hwy | Panoramic Pacific views; weekday happy hour 2–5 p.m. |
| Mozambique | Rooftop dining room with ocean views | Weekend brunch, happy hour, reservations |
| The Loft at Montage Laguna Beach | Two ocean-view patios | Dinner daily, 5–10 p.m. |
| Las Brisas | Patio at 361 Cliff Dr. | Panoramic coastline views from dining rooms and patio |
| C'est La Vie | Outdoor patio at 373 S Coast Hwy, overlooking Main Beach | Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily |
Each of these offers a different kind of evening. According to the Independent's guide, The Cliff has live music on weekends around its firepit outside the summer season, which makes it the most likely of the group to feel like the old Deck on a cool November night. Mozambique also runs Ivan'z House Live, a concert venue, so a dinner there can run into a show. Las Brisas is known for brunch and sunset margaritas over Main Beach. Its website listings were last updated in 2023, so call ahead to confirm hours.
One well-known downtown oceanfront name is still missing from the list. As of November 2025, Hotel Laguna was vacant and its leasehold interest was in a receivership sale, Best of Laguna Beach reported. So two of Laguna's best-known waterfront hospitality sites are on hold at the same time.
Main Beach after the storm
Rachel also hit the downtown end of the map. Stu News documented flooding and berm protection at Main Beach during the Oct. 10 high tide, plus broken glass panels at Bluebird Canyon Beach. That damage may well be repaired by the time you read this. But anyone planning a walk on the sand before dinner at Las Brisas or C'est La Vie should look at the beach first instead of assuming it looks the way it did in September.
Getting to a sunset table without parking
Most of these spots are along Coast Highway, and the city's off-season trolley runs there. From Sept. 8, 2026, through June 25, 2027, the Coastal Route connects North Laguna and Heisler Park with downtown, South Laguna and Mission Hospital, continuing to the Ritz-Carlton in Dana Point, every 20 to 30 minutes. The city's free on-demand shuttle, Laguna Local, covers the trips the trolley does not. The city page says bike transport on it is temporarily suspended. Check the city's trolley page for current times before you count on a ride home after dark.
The stretch of Sleepy Hollow Lane where The Deck stood will look like a construction site for a while, and the next public milestone is whatever comes after the tabled lot-line merger hearing. Until then, Splashes and Lost Pier Cafe are the closest you can get to the water with a drink in hand. The Cliff, The Rooftop Lounge, Mozambique, The Loft, Las Brisas and C'est La Vie are the places to watch the sun go down from higher up.
If you live near Sleepy Hollow Lane or are thinking about what the project could mean for your own coastal property, Winston West offers a calm, private conversation about how these redevelopments tend to play out. Schedule a Consultation.
