Harborside Restaurant and Grand Ballroom — Restaurant in Newport Beach

We decided to go to Harborside restaurant for dinner after our Whale watching with Davey Jones tours because it is literally steps away from the dock. I will begin with what we enjoyed and wrap up my review with the things we didn’t. First, We were a party of four and were seated right away. Our waitress was kind and the manager was super friendly. The view from our window booth was great. The ambiance was nice and the historical photos all over were so fun to look at. The food is gross. Two of us ordered crab, one ordered halibut and one ordered meatloaf. The crab was almost entirely knuckle meat which is normally turned into crab cakes or used in another recipe. But when you pay super inflated prices for the crab, you expect high quality. One plate that was all knuckles was sent back and replaced. So while waiting for replacement crab, most restaurants will place the defective item on a separate plate so the person has something to eat while waiting. This place took her whole plate away. So we all waited while our food got cold for the other party to get her plate of food. The manager apologized and explained that the cooks didn’t know there was a difference between legs and knuckles. The other person who ordered the crab just ate it anyway. The crab comes with rice “pilaf” and veggies. The pilaf is revolting and tasted like rice with bell peppers and not much else. The veggies were just ok. The halibut was a bit dry, and the side of sauce it came with had weird bits of what looked like fur in it. Turns out it was burnt bits of fish. The halibut is served with “risotto”. I have no idea how risotto is made, but I’m quite certain glue is NOT one of the ingredients in any risotto recipe. That stuff was sticky, tasted like someone spilled an herb rack into the batch and was disgusting. I have had it other places before and this one is the worst ever. My husband had meatloaf which is described as having barbecue sauce on it. But the sauce that came on top tasted like nothing but tomato sauce and was just plain nasty. The manager said it’s because it’s home made. I have made barbecue sauce from scratch before and it was excellent, so “home made” is no excuse. When the bill came we were shocked that the manager didn’t make adjustments at all even though things were brought to her attention that should have better. There are many other restaurants nearby. I wish we had gone to one of them instead. We will not be back. This place is charging gourmet prices for food I wouldn’t serve in prison....

We stumbled across this place by accident. We were in Newport Beach and had been to a furniture consignment store and a plant nursery then drove down to the park on the beach. We wanted food and a simple search for "fish restaurant" revealed two nearby. We were looking at one of them without realizing it... So be careful of that... It's a large restaurant but it is hidden down a side street.

Anyway, back to the food. We had the poke nachos to start... Excellent raw tuna and scallions, avocado with wasabi glaze and puffy tortilla chips. An excellent choice... Surprisingly light

Main course, my wife had the seafood linguini with mussels, clams, scallops, shrimp, etc. A huge bowl which I helped her out with. Way too much pasta for our digestive systems, but if you want a pasta feast then this would be a great choice.

I had the half and half, which is fish and chips with butterfly shrimp, cole slaw and French fries. The tartar sauce was possibly the best I've ever had... Very interesting and the butterfly shrimp came with a mango dressing. Excellent variation on the fish and chips theme and I didn't put any salt or vinegar on it, just lemon. Whaaaat? :)

On the way to be seated I had asked a kind lady what dessert she was eating. It was the 'mud pie"... So we shared one of those. My wife shared two mouthfuls and I ate the rest. It was a lot of pie and my sugar rush is still going on as I write this. But I recommend any group should share one of the mud pies... It has everything in it. Like a cookies and cream ice cream from the grocery store but with 5 other ingredients AND home made!!!! I'm not big on desserts, but I would order that again.

Staff were all very pleasant and attentive. Just the right amount of friendliness without intruding.... Balanced.

Here's some...

OVERALL: Good service with nice views in a nice interior. Pricey value.

The family wanted a nice lunch after whale-watching. This restaurant is right next door, offers a varied menu, and had clam chowder (what they wanted). I'm not a fish fan, so I had a hamburger at the suggestion of the waitress. She also suggested the Calamari appetizer which we ordered.

The waitress was terrific. The food took some time, but she made it pleasant.

Everyone enjoyed the Calamari. Most everything ordered (see pictures) was tasty, and those who ordered the clam chowder enjoyed it .

We asked for some substitutions and all were accommodated (plus+).

Now about the cheeseburger ($15). It was beautifully presented and had everything it should, but it just didn't have the beefy taste a restaurant hamburger should. I was disappointed. The sweet potato fries were a $1.50 up-charge, and were very good. I asked for blue cheese dressing for my fries, and WOW, great blue cheese dressing. Had I know that, I would have ordered the Cobb Salad instead. It was that good. It also came with another side...coleslaw. It was very good, was sweet in taste, and had raisins. Not bad.

While the experience was a good one, this was more convenient than a "go-to" place. I was overruled by the non-foodies in the family when I suggested going to Fashion island (variety of dining). I was right, but still enjoyed relaxing in the beautiful dining room with a big window view...