Billy's At The Beach — Restaurant in Newport Beach

Sorry Billy's. I want to give you 5 stars so incredibly bad. Just know that I don't find any gratification writing this review. But the changes you've made just aren't working. At least for me and my friends. In October 2019, my wife and I, along with 6 of our closest friends, went on a Duffy boat cruise in Newport Harbor, followed by dinner at Billy's. We were celebrating my wife's birthday. We're all parents of multiple kids and don't get out much. Needles to say, that night was one of the best nights all of us had in a very. Long. Time. That dinner at Billy's was the highlight of our night. The Mai Tai's rivaled even our most favorite restaurants in Hawaii. The ribeye steak, which a majority of our group ordered, was one of the best steaks I've ever had (I'm comparing it to places like Selanne's and Flemming's). And to top off the exceptional dinner we had, the live band that was playing that night was phenomenal. For the next whole year, all of us routinely talked about that night and how great it was, and we planned on a repeat trip in 2020. But, of course, that dumb flu bug ruined everything. So this year we all decided to repeat our long awaited trip. And since we were jipped in 2020, we decided to make up for the lost trip and go two weekends in a row. Unfortunately, both of our trips to Billy's had me leaving completely unimpressed. On the night of our first dinner we had Jordan as our waitress. She was nothing short of amazing. She's also the primary reason why we decided to go back the following weekend and give Billy's a second chance. Low and behold we had Jordan again! She was just as incredible as the first night. She took care of our large party flawlessly. All of our food came out as ordered and she never let us go thirsty. I was very disappointed to learn that the ribeye had been removed from the menu. I had been looking forward to that steak and a Mai for two years! But oh well. I figured I'd order a good piece of fish and listen to some great, live music, right? Nope. On the first night I ordered the halibut. It came out pretty dry. It wasn't terrible. It was good enough to stomach. The following weekend I ordered the swordfish. It was pretty good but nothing to brag about. My biggest gripe is, both weekends there was no live music! When I inquired on the lack of tunes with the hostess, I was told the owner is trying to change the atmosphere of Billy's into more if a fancy dining restaurant and decided to eliminate live music. So what's the takeaway? The Mai Tai's were just as good as I remember. Jordan is a vital asset for that restaurant and I hope she's appreciated and recognized for her work. But the atmosphere was just as dull as the food. So unless things revert back to the old ways I don't see...

Look I loved Billy's for many years, I have posted 5 star reviews in the past... I love many of the "associates" who serve here... so this isn't on them. This is on Fletcher Jones, the entity who acquired it last year... As successful and iconic as the family is in OC, you'd think they'd value a traditional historic experience that was Billy's... the very experience that likely enticed them to acquire it.. Instead they fixed what wasn't broken... it's sad.. see, there's NO WAY you can beat the location and what was once the classiest funnest and 5 star destination in the city, is now essentially following the Dennys model on the Beach.

Why? so like slowly over the year they think no one noticed how they stopped including the Hawaiian sweet bread that greeted every guest whether they ate it or not... then they quietly downgraded the quality of their vendors procured food items, less quality meat found in a franchise mass market chain... then, one day the Table cloths were gone... then the cuts of steak were thinned out.... then the servers who were family started disappearing into the cornfield... then the ambiance started to dwindle both at lunch and dinner, less people... then... the other day I'm having a business meeting lunch, round table... brought a first time visitor an affluent business man from LA... so the menus stayed on the table forever, then, they didn't bring any of us plates for the appetizers and it took so long to get attention that the guest were already just grabbing it off the main dish... then, after appetizers, they took the dirty plates and silverware yet not all the silverware, and since there were no plates or table cloth... some of the dirty silverware just ended up lying there on the bare table... they retired the appetizer plates and left not taking our main course order... never refilled the Ice Tea... dry glasses sitting there... she comes back ask if we'd like to order now... sure we do... food comes out then I notice another change... the Ceasar Salad has been changed and now is served on a plate rather than the large bowl as before, much smaller... yet, the food was still decently prepared albeit the cooks are working harder with less and cheaper products... sad... anyhow still love the servers who've been there for a while, they're just hangin on now, they know what's up yet likely can't say what I just...

Ok... Let me explain: I was introduced to Tommy long before I even knew Billy existed. It was about 15 years ago; and it was magical. It was love at first sight. Then 5 years into it, it got a bit boring and dry.-- a bit anti-climactic. I needed excitement! That was when I met Don. Don was much older. A bit rough around the edges, and not very good looking either---compared to Tommy. I would see Don about every other weekend and get hammered! There was always a band playing. About 8 months later, I heard the heartbreaking news that Don had passed away. There were rumors that Don was not doing so well. Don was in bad shape in October- took a couple days off at Christmas, then by the New Year, Don was gone. I had just begun a business venture with a Royal family down south (not THE Royal family- this family is Hawaiian). It comfortable. I saw it being long-term. I was committed and fully invested. We were "family", then we weren't. None of us saw it coming. It was a pretty bad break for all of us; only because we were not prepared. Its taken me a while to get back into the swing of things. I was reminded of Billy on Maps, then came COVID. Ive been patiently waiting. Needless to say, I've waited for quite some time to see what Billy is all about. We had friends visiting from out of town, so I suggested we go to Billy's! It was a Tuesday afternoon, so it was not busy at all. The atmosphere was pretty laxed, but did not have the "island vibe" I expected. Our server was great. Attentive, and friendly,...at least from what I remember. Now, I'm a sucker for a Navy Grog, but the hype was all about the Mai Tai. After the first sip, I cannot seem to figure WHY. It was terrible! It was bitter with a heavy grenadine taste. I imagine that this would be the kind of MaiTai you’d get at….El Torito. Ew. The coconut shrimp was a huge disappointment as well. Way too heavy on the coconut! I must’ve been digging the coconut pulp out of my teeth for close to an hour. Unimpressed by the menu options and let down with no happy hour. We actually chose to eat somewhere else for dinner. I was so sad. I truly hope that it was just an "off" day for the bar and the kitchen. I dont want to call it quits yet,….or without a second chance, at least. I really would love for this "relationship" to work, Billy.

We'll be back soon.

----- 🕊 In Memory of Don the Beachcomber. You threw great...