• The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 31 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 31st anniversary: Happy 31st Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    Free memberships for every 50 subscribers!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $24,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $24 Million dollars
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    Tens of thousands of subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

Restaurant recommendations near Newport Coast Villas

LisaH

LisaH

TUG Lifetime Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
3,988
Reaction score
676
Location
SF Bay Area, CA
We are here for the weekend and look for recommendations of good breakfast and dinner places nearby (Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, etc). Open to any suggestions. :)
 
You must get gelato in Laguna Beach, the owner makes it herself, the Friday special flavors are sublime. Thursday evening is Art Walk, $5 for bottomless cup :)

http://gelatobydolce.com/

None of the restaurants really stood out there, the French bistro has nice pastries but they don't open until 8am, we sat on the boardwalk and had coffee after a morning walk on the beach. We enjoyed the $10 lunch special at Greeters Corner, sit on the back patio, the red snapper was grilled perfecto!


Sent from my iPad Gen 4 using Tapatalk HD
 
Last edited:
Rubys Shake Shack in Newport Coast
Javier's in Newport Beach
House of Big Fish and Ice Cold Beer in Laguna Beach
Las Brisas in Laguna Beach
 
Last edited:
If you take the resort shuttle to the beach, there is a great breakfast place right on the beach. The shuttle runs every hour.

Just walk toward the beach when you exit the shuttle.

If breakfast takes less than an hour, you can walk on the beach and take photos of birds. That is what we did.

Be sure to bring a jacket on the shuttle. The air conditioning on the bus is turned up too high.
 
^ Beachcomber on the beach at Crystal Cove was great. There's a long wait, though. We had lunch there a couple weeks ago and the wait was over 2 hours. They give you a pager and you can walk to the tidepools with it. We tried for breakfast a couple days later, but the wait was over an hour and we ended up with lunch again.

They use local farm food. It's pricey, but the food and service warrant the prices. Not to mention the view. We saw some dolphins pass by while we were there.
 
A couple of weeks ago we also enjoyed The Beachcomber, and aimed for sunset dinner. Knowing there would be a long wait on a Saturday MLK holiday weekend with perfect weather, we drove, as the hourly shuttle stops at 4PM, and only goes at 6 and 7:30 after that. (better check the schedule to be sure) We got there about 3:30, had a beautiful long stroll on the beach, and were called after less than an hour and a half. Excellent Newport Coast Restaurant Week 3 course menu made dinner quite reasonable, and the $15 state park charge for parking at the lot across the highway is waived with receipt.

They do take some reservations, but 70% are saved for walk ins. All our sunsets that week were spectacular, but that night was the one of the most fun! They do have outside picnic tables if you want to sit down to wait.
 
Last edited:
When we went to the beach breakfast, there was no wait at all. We just walked up and were seated.

Who knows why we were apparently lucky. We went on a Fri morning in Jan. This is probably not a busy time.
 
The Crab Cooker on the Newport Peninsula. It's also a fish market. Very popular and very casual.
 
Thanks everyone! DH and I already took a walk this morning to Crystal Cove Beach but somehow did not find the restaurant. That's OK. Our friends are still sleeping. When they get up, we will drive there.
Any good restaurants that are known for steaks and seafood? Friends came from Hong Kong. Apparently, good steaks are not easy to find and very expensive there.
 
LisaH said:
Thanks everyone! DH and I already took a walk this morning to Crystal Cove Beach but somehow did not find the restaurant. That's OK. Our friends are still sleeping. When they get up, we will drive there.
Any good restaurants that are known for steaks and seafood? Friends came from Hong Kong. Apparently, good steaks are not easy to find and very expensive there.
Click to expand...

You have to go south down the beach9assuming you enter the beach at Newport Coast Road and PCH) past the old vacant shacks. You will see the restaurant on the beach and the Ruby's is up the hill by the highway in that same area.

I bet it's really nice there today. I love walking that beach in the morning and in the late afternoon.

Five Crowns, which is not too far away North on PCH about 2 or 3 miles, is a place for meat(more prime rib than steak). It's been there for about 50 years.
 
LisaH said:
Thanks everyone! DH and I already took a walk this morning to Crystal Cove Beach but somehow did not find the restaurant.
Click to expand...

DAman said:
You have to go south down the beach9assuming you enter the beach at Newport Coast Road and PCH) past the old vacant shacks. You will see the restaurant on the beach and the Ruby's is up the hill by the highway in that same area.
Click to expand...

Yes. It's in the historic district. If you ask anyone around there where the historic district it, they will give you directions. There are beach cottages for rent via reserveamerica. There's a gift shop and small museum. The Beachcomber has a bar attached to it. There is a parking lot across the highway, but we parked rather far and walked the beach.

Crystal Cove state park is 3 miles long. It's easy to go there many times and never see all of it. When you go into any parking lot, you can get a map of the entire park. Here are some links to the historic district.

http://www.crystalcovestatepark.com/how-to-find-the-park/historic-district-photos/


http://www.thebeachcombercafe.com/_crystalcove/index.aspx
 
We stayed in Newport for two days on the way to Hawaii. Our niece who lives close by recommended the Rusty Pelican as a great place for dinner. http://www.rustypelican.com/ They do serve steaks, but everyone in our party ordered seafood. It was outstanding.
 
LisaH said:
We are here for the weekend and look for recommendations of good breakfast and dinner places nearby (Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, etc). Open to any suggestions. :)
Click to expand...

You are lucky that weather turns exceptionally good today;)

The restaurant at Crystal cove is great. It is on your right right before you step into beach sand.

Enjoy your stay...
 
brigechols said:
Mastro's has great steaks and seafood.
Click to expand...

I don't think you will find a better suggestion than Mastro's in Newport Coast for steak or fish. It is expensive though. If you can't get in there they have another one by South Coast Plaza. Also another suggestion would be Capital Grill at South Coast Plaza. Another place would be Flemings at Fashion Island. All these place you will need reservations on the weekend, and probably also during the week. For an inexpensive steak go to Outback Steakhouse. There is one in Newport/Coasta Mesa area. Also you might want to go to Gullivers by the airport. Excellent prime rib.
 
Last edited:
NCV is our home resort so we eat out there alot. We recently found a great place on the pac hwy SOL Cocina right next to 333 on the harbor. Wonderful Baja style food.

We also almost always have at least one meal at the Beachcomber
 
Last edited:
If you are going to clog your arteries at one of the steak houses recommended, at least give the opposite end of the spectrum a try at Dr. Andrew Weil's True Food Kitchen at Newport Center. It is outstanding.
 
It's a highly competitive restaurant area. It's pretty easy to get good food.

I'll cast another vote here for the Beachcomber at Crystal Cove. Wonderful for breakfast and dinner! We've never had lunch there, but I would think that would be just as good. The Beachcomber at Crystal Cove is located in the Historic District of Crystal Cove State Park. If convenient parking is a high priority for you, then this is the wrong place. But if traveling back in time and having a well-prepared meal right on the beach sounds good, then the Beachcomber is perfect.

We've been to Newport Coast Villas many times. As good as the restaurants in Coastal Orange County are, the place we eat most often is our balcony. There's a Trader Joe's Market at the Crystal Cove Promenade on the inland side of the Pacific Coast Highway on the way to Laguna Beach. As at all Trader Joe's Markets, there's a well-edited selection of high-quality foods (including produce and cheeses) and beverages (including beer, wine, and liquor) priced below what comparable items cost at a regular supermarket or Whole Foods. And there are things you won't find anywhere else. Package sizes are reasonable for vacation meals (not Costco-sized).
 
The Beachcomer Cafe is great for breakfast. Try the macadameia nut pancakes! Superb!

Also like the Tommy Bahama restaurant in Laguna Beach.

There are several good chain restaurants at the local mall to the north. Every store known to man, too. I think it is the Fashion Mall.
 
WJS said:
If you are going to clog your arteries at one of the steak houses recommended, at least give the opposite end of the spectrum a try at Dr. Andrew Weil's True Food Kitchen at Newport Center. It is outstanding.
Click to expand...

I second True Food, also at the Fashion Island mall is Canaletto for great Italian
 
Take a drive down to Dana Point Harbor. You can find a couple good options there. The scenery is what makes it.

Drive to Balboa Island and eat at Wilma's for breakfast. You can even get an original frozen banana when you are there. Although two places claim to have the original. I laugh at that every time I'm there.

For nicer groceries and some really good prepared food go to Bristol Farms. It is like a Fresh Market type place. It is right near Fashion Island and Corona Del Mar.

I've been to NCV three times and I find that going to Laguna and just wandering around is a good way to get a vibe of what is going on. The shuttle used to drop off and pick up there.
 
In Laguna, there are two restaurants which we drove by for years and never stopped because they are kind of hidden. Turns out both are good with unmatched views. "The Cliffs" is at the top of the hill south of downtown. The front of the shopping center looks really run down but the restaurant in back is very nice with a great patio. The other Deck on Laguna Beach seems to be part of a other restaurant but was hopping when we were there on a sunny weekend. It is just a block further south and on a side street near Laguna Surf.

We also really like Nic's in Laguna on the main Hwy with only a so so view but great food.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top