Bardega, Cory Danger and Matt Sharp’s bar-bodega concept tinged with ’70s nostalgia, finally has an opening date. The Laguna Hills restaurant is slated to open Friday, Dec. 12.
The much-anticipated venue will also focus on boozy cocktails as well as low-ABV and zero-proof drinks. In addition to a dining room and bar space, patrons are welcome to pop in to visit the bottle shop and deli for grab-and-go items. Hence the name Bardega, a portmanteau of “bar” and “bodega” (the term New Yorkers often use for their corner stores).
“We wanted to create a place that feels instantly familiar yet completely unlike anywhere else,” said Sharp, in a written statement. “From the design to the drinks, Bardega celebrates individuality and connection.”
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Menu highlights, created by chefs Kiel Anderson and Ted Fleury, at Bardega will include a Chicago Red Hot featuring an all-beef frank served on a poppy seed bun and topped with Chicago-style yellow mustard, diced onions, sweet relish, tomato slices and sport peppers; Glazed Ribs, riblets lacquered with a sweet-and-spicy reduction; and a Beef Dip sandwich with tender beef layered with caramelized onions and melted provolone on a toasted baguette, served alongside horseradish sauce and au jus.
Bardega beverages will include a Spiked Root Beer Float featuring a root beer reduction, bourbon, vanilla cream and chocolate bitters and the Royal Wednesday, a citrusy gin paired blended with royal butterfly cordial and elderflower foam, to name two.
Danger and Sharp, who met years ago while attending Aliso Niguel High School, wanted to open a venue that combines bar, market and restaurant, but also a space that’s inclusive for those who either do not want or cannot drink booze. “The palette for drinkers is changing,” said Danger in a June 2025 interview, “and we’ve seen it happening in recent years. They want to drink healthier. If that means no alcohol or lower ABV [alcohol by volume], or even less sugar, we want to fill that niche.”
Danger is best known as the founder of Golden Crown Barber Shop and former co-producer of MUSINK, billed as the nation’s largest tattoo and music festival, while Sharpe is a noted restaurateur, bar consultant and owner behind hospitality agencies like Intelligent ABV Holdings and Lifted Spiritz Agency.
Bardega will be open daily from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m.
Find it: 24781 Alicia Parkway, Suite A, Laguna Hills; 949-484-9980