A Crystal Cove — Restaurant in Newport Beach

This was my first visit to "A Crystal Cove" restaurant, and I had high expectations based on what I had heard from others. I was particularly looking forward to experiencing the fun atmosphere with a DJ playing music and a lively bar area where people could socialize and meet new people. However, when my friends and I went there for dinner last Saturday night (reservation was at 9:15pm) we were disappointed to find that:

1. lively ambiance and music we had heard about are NOT present at this restaurant any longer: there was NO DJ playing ANY music at all. As we were leaving the restaurant I’ve approached the manager to inquire about the lack of music. He explained that they had stopped providing the entertainment due to some issues with intoxicated individuals causing problems.

2. the food was MUСH OVERPRICED considering it’s quality and the lack of expected lively ambiance.

3. the QUALITY OF FOOD was disappointing. We decided to try the “Charred Octopus" dish, which was described as coming with "chorizo picante, roasted potatoes, confit tomato, aji Amarillo sauce, and red onions." To our surprise, the portion of octopus was very small, consisting of a few small cubed bits of octopus, few pieces of slices of small potatoes AND an abundance of…SAUSAGE slices! 🤨 (Sausage meat is not mentioned in the dish description and it seems strange the chef thought adding the sausage to the sea food dish was a good idea). The taste was absolutely awful, failing to meet our expectations. In addition to the disappointing octopus dish, we also ordered a dozen of “Oysters on the Shell." These turned out to be the smallest oysters I have ever encountered. They were so tiny that eating them was simply tasteless.

4. upon receiving the bill, we discovered an ADDITIONAL SURCHARGE labeled 'employee benefit.' This separate charge was unexpected and should be taken into consideration when reviewing the overall cost of dining at this establishment.

I CANNOT RECOMMEND this place as the lack of music on Saturday night, coupled with the overpriced and unsatisfactory food, makes "A Crystal Cove" restaurant NOT GREAT CHOICE for night out on...

Just wow.

Upon driving up valet was extremely accommodating allowing me to park in the front. Thank you!

Upon walking in we hit the bar first before deciding on a table. The bartender Jared was outstanding. Extremely professional and helpful. Really made the dining experience better.

After we had an appetizer. Spicy Tuna and some drinks. We decided to have dinner and asked for a table.

We ordered the filet mignon, Mac n cheese, potatoes and burger.

Filet mignon. Cooked absolutely perfect. Medium rare to perfection! Seasons well. With a good light sauce made from the steak juices.

Burger. Asked for medium rare and that's exactly what I got. Cooked and seasoned very well. The fries were fresh and amazing. We had asked for ranch. But they don't serve ranch here. They had a sour cream base dill sauce instead. And it was very light and tasty. Went with the fries and burger well.

Potatoes. Not overly salted at all. If anything you'll need to add your own. Which is a good thing. You can always add but you can't remove salt.

Mac n cheese. Sooooo rich in flavor. One of my favorite Mac n cheeses I've had in the area.

Yellowfin spicy tuna. Served on tempura eggplant chip. It's SOOOOOOO good please get this you won't be disappointed.

Service was outstanding. Atmosphere is rich, wealthy, healthy and lively.

Would I recommend this place? Without a doubt. We've been to the original location on pch. And it's good as well. However that location is super loud and crazy. This location is more of a fine dining romantic dinner place. The other location is more of a bar that has good food lol.

Go and try it out! If you like steak and some really good appetizers and sides? Can't go wrong here.

Decor: upscale and modern.

Service/staff: excellent no issues.

Food: far above average.

Bathrooms:...

After hearing so much about the scene and the ‘working class’ that was rumored to frequent the latest addition to the Crystal Cove center, we were a little apprehensive, and at the same time curious to know if all was true. I don’t think our 3 kids had heard the same as they set us up for a much needed romantic date night as their Christmas gift to us. One the of best, most thoughtful gifts we have ever received! And yes, it was a scene for sure, but was near as over the top as expected. Hostesses were super friendly and accommodating when we were 20 mins late for a 715 Friday night reservation. We had a great booth, and loved the decor and ambience. Super lively and well appointed crowd for sure. We had a great server who made some great recommendations, especially the octopus and yellow fin appetizers. I had rack of lamb and my wife had the chick piccata. All of our dishes were EXCELLENT and over all we had one of the best dining experiences we’ve ever had in Orange County. The only let down to the night was the experience with the valet. Super unhelpful, and arrogant. Waited out front for someone to address us and when I realized it wasn’t going to happen, walked across parking lot to the valet stand and interrupt the 5 guys and girl standing around doing nothing, as there was no others in line waiting for their car. And then left the car for us about 100 feet from the entrance, didn’t open the door for either of us and pointed to our car to walk to. We don’t have the Rolls Royce or the McLaren that was parked at the entrance, but not a car to be embarrassed by either. I know, quality problems and sounds ridiculous even typing this, but just was a black mark and disappointing end on what otherwise was truly a great night and...