Restaurant Beck — Restaurant in Newport

I’ve visited Restaurant Beck for the past two special occasions, be that it’s the only fine dining spot on the coast, and the experiences were flawless from start to finish (greeting; professional, knowledgeable server; fantastic dinner service and food). Those were during COVID, so of course I entrusted the restaurant to celebrate a couple friends’ birthdays who had never been. The first server acknowledged the birthdays upon greeting.

The second server that waited on us was not dressed as sharply as during previous experiences. When consulted about the wine list, specifically narrowing down a Cabernet, she responded ‘everything is good,’ which is a clear indicator she was not as knowledgeable about the wine menu and a cue for her to bring someone over who was (she did not). Service was awkward, dropping plates from both sides of customers, overreaching the table to place/remove plates. Food was fantastic as always; the chef/kitchen outdid itself in innovation and execution.

Upon dessert service, we politely declined due to having a special celebration set aside at home. The server returned with two small, empty plates with a lit candle melted to them, delivered them to the birthdays and called it a ‘birthday wish.’ I was mortified. A simple response thanking us for joining them for the special occasion would’ve been more than adequate or a small amuse-bouche with a candle or nothing at all, but in all my years serving as well as being a customer, I have never seen anything so tacky at a fine dining establishment. It spoke volumes as to the servers disappointment of us not ordering dessert, as if $350+ was not adequate for her evening sales.

As much as I appreciate the chef, kitchen, and the menu, I cannot return to the restaurant. There is better service on the coast at lesser fine dining establishments that don’t sour the entire experience and the evening.

I had written this previously for Tock, which was restaurant-facing only, but seeing as that it did not warrant a response from the restaurant, I’ve decided to share this openly for...

Go for the ambiance NOT the food!

First the good (and the only reasons that I didn’t give it 1 star). The restaurant is located along a beautiful section of the Oregon coast. The view from the intimate dining room is amazing. They have a large wine list. Another good point is the bread. They make their own focaccia and its delicious. Get lots of the bread because its the best thing you’ll get here. One good food choice was the hamachi appetizer. It was lovely according to one of my dining partners. And that is the good.

My other dining partners had salads that seemed acceptable (although very expensive).

The service is nice but very slow. The menu is extremely limited. They seem to see themselves as a high end restaurant with high prices and tiny portions. To pull this off you need to have great food. Memo to the owner(s) - you don’t have great food.

Two of our party were unfortunate enough to order the American Wagyu Beef Bavette (fancy name for flank steak). We paid $36.00 for about a 6 ounces of steak with a tiny amount of roasted corn and chanterelle mushrooms. A flank steak is a tough cut of meat that should be cooked at least medium to take the chew out of it. I asked for medium but they cooked it to rare using a sous vide cooking method. The meat was absolutely terrible. Like beef flavored gum. Three or four of the slices I couldn’t choke down and I hid the remains under a salad fork.

We didn’t try any of the desserts so I cannot comment on their quality. If they make good dessert perhaps the play here is wine and dessert with a great view.

There are MUCH better places with far cheaper prices in the area. Save yourself some bucks and find something in Newport...

We stopped by the Whale Cove Inn to look at rooms for our next trip to the Oregon Coast. They kindly showed us a couple of rooms and we will definitely stay here our next trip to the Oregon Coast. When we saw the atmosphere of for the Restaurant Beck, we were interested in dining reservations for dinner that evening. Once we took a look at the menu and chatted with one of the chef’s (Jason), we were completely hooked.

We were starving and they fortunately had a 5pm reservation. We had a phenomenal table for two with one of the most amazing views.

Food (5 of 5): tartare, salad, halibut, cod, crème brûlée … it was all excellent. The pork belly was outstanding as was the salad the 2nd time we ate here. Yes, Restaurant Beck was so delicious that we made another reservation and came back a couple of days later for another dinner.

Service (5): although both evenings we dined here the one server was overwhelmed with tables (including chatty patrons), the service they provided was outstanding with wonderful recommendations in terms of food and wine. With the view here, we took our time enjoying the meal and the pacing of the courses by the very busy server (and I’m sure kitchen) was excellent.

Atmosphere (10): the overall setting is beautiful. An advantage of an early reservation (5pm) is that they will guarantee a window seat. We so thoroughly enjoyed our cocktails, appetizers, wine and the courses we ordered. The atmosphere and the pace and quality of service made for two wonderful dinners.

We will definitely be back to stay at the inn and look forward to eating at Restaurant Beck multiple times. I wish they served an exceptional breakfast, but that does not appear to...