Fantastic halibut. Small portion. But tasty. Order a second plate or plenty of sides. It’s nice that it’s here at the hotel, The food is fantastic. Great views. Tasty food. A special thank you to Sam the Manager! I appreciate your concern for customer satisfaction…
Eliza A.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Studio City, CA
Simply amazing. Came here last night for Valentine’s Day with my boyfriend & from start to finish our experience was wonderful. Superb customer service, beautiful upscale décor, and ample views of the water. My boyfriend got the salmon that was absolutely delicious & I had their scallops which were some of the best I’ve had. Wonderful gem in Newport. I’ll be back when I come back here for a mini-vaca.
Ginny D.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Huntington Beach, CA
Fine dining with a view of the Newport Harbor and exceptional service gets 4 stars! Started with Lobster risotto which was made perfectly with the right amount of flavor and generous portion of lobster. For the main course I had the scallops and they did not disappoint and husband had the filet mignon with the truffle shavings — probably one of the best I’ve ever had. Then definitely must try foie gras ice cream. It was just the perfect amount of sweetness to end an amazing dinner. Added touches of floral, décor, and pianist all added to the Romantic ambience.
Carol L.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Thousand Oaks, CA
This is one of the nicest restaurants we’ve ever been to. And we’ve been to many nice ones. The scallops, which are notoriously hard to prepare perfectly, were nonetheless cooked to perfection. They had a variety of wonderful unique cocktails on their Mixology menu. And some truly rare finds on the dessert menu. We had a poached quince, which turns out to be sort of a pear, that was incredible and so unique. I also like that they listened to my OpenTable request and seated us with a view of the water and in a booth. I really enjoyed myself.
Spencer B.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Newport Beach, CA
Just moved to California was looking for dinner on the water and came across this gem! Great food, great ambiance service was terrific prompt seating by the host constantly full beverages and quick food. Started with the chowder delicious. My girlfriend had the swordfish and I had the halibut both cooked to perfection. From the wonderful host to the service staff just awesome! Can’t wait to come back!
Jason S.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Costa Mesa, CA
Came here for my wife’s company work party. Valet with a validation in the restaurant was very nice. Setting is gorgeous. Floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto the harbor allow you to look out and dream of yourself on the front of your yacht, cruising down the channel at sunset. Bartender Sebastian was terrific, very friendly, helpful and attentive. Sincerely hope he doesn’t move back to NY. Service is on it. Timely, always refilling water and making sure you have fresh bread until your food comes out. We had the prix fixe NB Restaurant Week menu, and the squid tagliatelle was terrific, had the consistency of freshly-made ramen. Short rib was sorta dry and flavorless, but the polenta was perfect(not an easy food to prepare right), also, carrots were fresh and crunchy, not soggy at all. Dessert was a yuzu curd that looked like it was dropped on the plate, modern art-style. Very pretty, yummy end to a great evening. Beautiful place to take someone special for a night out, may have to check out Sunday brunch one of these days…
Pearl L.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Tustin, CA
My fiancé took me here to celebrate our 2 year anniversary. It was our first time there and it definitely won’t be our last time! The service was so great! The staff and our waiter were so helpful and friendly. The ambiance was really nice and classy. I had their scallops and all I got to say is WOW! The size of the scallops were pretty big. The quality of the food was great and it was all so delicious. We brought our own bottle of wine and the corkage fee was $ 25(just a little tip).
Roxanne F.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Irvine, CA
Classy restaurant inside the Balboa Bay Club. If you are looking for a restaurant to celebrate a special occasion, this restaurant is a strong contender. It’s decorated very elegantly and has a view of the Newport Harbor. The menus are huge and backlit to make them easy to read. They serve bread while you are waiting for your order. I’m not sure what type of bread it is, but it was definitely much better than the bread that’s given out at most restaurants. I ordered the ahi tuna and it was delicious. Perfectly seared. Our waitress was friendly and helpful. My favorite part was the live band that played in the corner. They played soft music wasn’t so loud that it overpowered our conversations. It made for an elegant dining experience. I do plan on dining here again to try out the harbor side outdoor dining area.
Sahar A.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Aliso Viejo, CA
One of my friends picked this spot for her birthday celebration, and what a great pick it was. First of all, valet is complimentary if you dine at the restaurant so that made things a lot simpler because we didn’t have to find street parking. The staff at Waterline was amazing. They were on top of everything, from making sure our water was filled to replacing utensils meticulously. Our waiter was really nice and funny. He made some jokes and really kept the celebration atmosphere up for us. The food was pretty good, we had the short rib flat bread which I thought was a bit too sweet, the calamari sticks which were okay, the ahi tartare tacos — thank goodness the sauce was on the side cause it were quite overpowering, the oysters which were good, and the lobster roll which was AMAZING. Their crab and corn chowder is extremely well done, we thoroughly enjoyed it. I had the scallops as my entrée and they were perfectly cooked, not overdone at all. It was a perfect pairing to have the chowder and the scallops because I wasn’t too stuffed after having both. I would definitely go back, especially for the view which was gorgeous. Next time we’ll just pick a less humid day!
Mui K.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Monterey Park, CA
Brunch review only! ***First of all, I think this place is definitely worth it if you’re in the area close by or if you’re staying at the resort. As for actually driving here, I’d only do it if I was planning on spending time in Newport already. +Food is fresh and tasty. It’s kind of like your typical resort food. High quality and high prices. +Seafood. Lobster and crabs oh my. +View and ambiance. +Plenty of parking outside the resort. –Expensive –Service wasn’t great when I was there
Dani S.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Santa Ana, CA
Great food, great service, nice view. The restaurant is located inside the Balboa yacht club resort, in the back of the building right on the marina so you can dine and stare at million dollar yachts at the same time. Dude and I came here for dinner to take advantage of the Newport restaurant week special: 3 courses for $ 40. We were seated outside on the patio, and even though it was cold outside, the heat lamps kept me warm. The menu was really good and had several options to choose from, so we picked different items and shared. The food was 5 stars in taste and presentation. We enjoyed every single bite of our food. Our server was definitely one of the most attentive, sweet, considerate, servers I’ve had, he anticipated our needs, and really took care of us. I didn’t even need to ask, and things were brought to us. Drinks were refilled constantly, plates cleared out not too fast, not too slow, timed just right. We didn’t feel rushed, or too slow paced. Definitely recommend this place!
Riza R.
Orange County, CA
Exquisite Views, Professional Service, and Creative Cuisine We celebrated an anniversary at this upscale restaurant located inside the Balboa Resort in Newport and were very glad we did. Our charming waitress, Crystal, suggested the lobster roll appetizer as a starter. It is a scrumptious creation of lobster and avocado rolled without the rice. Six delicious pieces are enough to satisfy as an entrée, served with a pretty flower. We also enjoyed the calamari fries and squash blossoms with two dipping sauces, a crab and corn chowder, and a cauliflower soup. When two entrees arrived, a braised lamb and the cod with shrimp, we had very little room to indulge, although both were delicious. We were treated to a very special dessert that included two peanut butter bars with raspberry sorbet. The view from our booth was of the big yachts parked right outside the window in the channel with the bayfront homes of Balboa Bay in the background. This is a lovely restaurant, reasonably priced, and very convenient. Treat yourself.