The Beachcomber at Crystal Cove — Restaurant in Newport Beach

We have been to the Beachcomber multiple times for breakfast and dinner and have loved our experience except for this last time. We went to celebrate my birthday and had a less than excellent experience. Really the hostess was the worst. We had my mom in a wheelchair and my 3 month old baby which was already a little struggle to get to the restaurant. The hostess informed me multiple times that my baby was considered a “person” and I made the reservation wrong. I apologized and said she doesn’t eat food nor sit in a chair so I didn’t think to put her (lesson learned as a new mom). She then asked multiple times if I had other children that I didn’t put which was a little strange as I told her a few times it was only my baby. She said it would be a lot to accommodate both my baby and my mom in a wheelchair which made it a little uncomfortable as we were already there and I made the reservation stating that we had them. It’s not like we could do anything about it at that point. We sat at a table with no one sitting next to us and my baby was sleeping in the stroller. She came over multiple times asking me if I had a car seat I could transfer her to so they could use the table next to us. Our stroller did not block the table and we told them we would be happy to move it to let other customers go by to get seated if the people might be larger. She continued to push for us to go get a car seat THREE TIMES after we sat down which would require my husband to take the bus across the the street pay $4 or walk 20 minutes. I would understand if the restaurant was full and our stroller was blocking the table, but the restaurant was half empty. Literally counted 8 open tables. Our waitress was very nice and I even mentioned what the hostess said and she confirmed what we were thinking that we weren’t blocking the other table.

The food in the past was always good. We got the tuna nachos which were great, but I got the lobster roll which was “market price” and extremely fishy and had pieces of shell in it. I’m not one to send back food, but it was literally not edible with all the shells. I had to order something else which came out after our table finished. Nothing special was done for my birthday which would have been nice as they celebrated the table across.

Overall, I am bummed. This was one of my favorite restaurants. Even though the view is great we won’t...

Disappointed Experience for a Special Occasion!

My daughter planned my birthday brunch at Beachcomber based on great reviews. Since we were a party of 10 (6 adults, 3 kids, 1 infant), she called ahead — knowing reservations are limited to parties of six — and was told we could be accommodated with a wait. That was fine with us.

Upon arrival, the hostess confirmed the wait would be 45 minutes to an hour and that we’d be seated together. After an hour passed, we checked in again and were told there were still no tables available, despite seeing other large parties come and go. After over two hours, we were finally seated at two small back-to-back booths — not suitable for our group — while a nearby table for 8 sat empty. When we politely asked to be seated there, we were told no, citing “reservations,” even though they claim not to take reservations for larger parties.

The manager was dismissive and rude, showing no willingness to help or even make eye contact. After all the waiting and being given conflicting information, we chose to leave.

Just a heads-up to groups larger than six: despite what you’re told on the phone, don’t expect much flexibility or courtesy.

Inconsistent Communication: My daughter called ahead and was told our party of 10 could be accommodated with a wait — a perfectly reasonable compromise. However, the in-person experience contradicted that, with staff appearing confused and unprepared. Poor Customer Service: It’s especially troubling that the staff, including the manager, were reportedly rude and dismissive. Hospitality is as much about attitude as it is logistics, and treating guests with respect should be the baseline. Misleading Policy Enforcement: If the restaurant doesn’t take reservations for more than six, but claims a large table is “reserved,” that understandably feels like a contradiction. At the very least, it should have been explained with clarity and courtesy. Lack of Flexibility or Empathy: After waiting two hours, seeing a suitable table remain empty, and being offered two small booths instead of a cohesive setup, my family was understandably frustrated. That moment called for some basic compassion — which we...

Hi Everyone,

I know lot of people like us go to Sea side/beach side dinning 🌊 for a great view, Service and food of-course! I will be very happy if this review helps the wider community.

We went to this restaurant around July, 2025 to celebrate Summer holidays with my wife, daughter and her friend. We were a group of 4 people. Let me summarize this under different segments for better readability.

Location📍(5/5) — The location is just great in the “Crystal Cove” beach and it’s directly on the beach so, you can see and hear the sea waves and the beauty surrounded by that. You can enjoy the sunset 🌅 at the time of Dinner!

Food 🥘 (3.5/5) — Food was great but not the best. We ordered (1) fries, 🍟 2 plates (2) Chicken 🍗 Sausage Pasta (3) Shrimp 🍤 basil pesto Pasta (4) Maine Lobster 🦞 Pasta (5) Beachcomber beignets + drinks 🍹(Berry Bang) and Lemonade; out of which, the fries was really good and “Chicken sausage pasta” was delicious 😋 and a must try! Shrimp basil pesto pasta was also good but we were highly disappointed with “Lobster Pasta”, it was high cost with no taste, even the salt was not adequate.

Service (4/5) — Overall service was very good. The lady who was servicing was very helpful and attentive towards our needs.

Parking 🅿️ (3/5) — You need to park the car in “State Park” which will cost you $20 and bit difficult to get the parking. Plus, Pl note, it will be around 12-15 mins walk from the parking lot to the restaurant and moreover, after dinner when you are returning to the parking lot, road will be really dark so Pl plan accordingly. Parking lot will be closed at 10 PM.

Wait time (1/5) — Omg! It was a Saturday and our waiting time was 1 hr. 15 mins. Pathetic !!

Restroom 🚻 (1/5) — There is no restroom in the restaurant, I know people always look for that so wanted to highlight the same. There is a public restroom near by which is pretty clean.

Overall, we enjoyed throughly if we park the waiting time aside. It’s worth to visit at least once there to enjoy the...