Food is satisfying, mystifying, and creatively delicious. However, today’s inventive Chefs offer us another way to explore this tasty venue…. as an art form. We set out to discover some of the best “art inspired cuisine” that Newport Beach has to offer. With a plate or wooden board as their canvas, incredible culinary creations are hatched …. Join us, won’t you, on this eye-catching adventure.

Bayside Restaurant
Chef Paul has two show-stoppers here, and who can go wrong with seafood and filet mignon! First up is the Seafood Risotto “Paella”. This delectable entrée features a bevy of seafood, including: Halibut, Scallops, Prawns, Swordfish, Black Mussels, as well as a gently spicy Bilbao Sausage, Piquillo Pepper, Tomatoes and a touch of Saffron ($36.50). Second up, is this primal Center Cut Filet Mignon. This 8 ounce filet is served with a rich Madagascan Green Pepper Sauce, Potato Trio, and seasonal Vegetables ($39.75).
Bayside also has an incredible Happy Hour from 4:30pm to close & music nightly.

Seafood Risotto Paella
Photo Credit : Courtesy of Bayside

Filet Mignon
Photo Credit: Allen Taylor Photography

FIG & OLIVE
Chef Oscar Ledesma serves up drama in the dining room. This dish at the FIG & OLIVE is always a crowd pleaser with oohh’s and ahhh’s whispering through the dining room upon its arrival. The Rosemary Lamb Chops are smoked à la minute with a bouquet of Herbs de Provence and served with goat cheese and chive gnocchi, roasted honey, and thyme eggplant drizzled with FIG & OLIVE’s very own Rosemary Garlic Olive Oil. The art of this dish is in the unique table side presentation. The herb smoke is contained under a glass lid right before service. As the server removes the glass lid from the plate, the aroma of freshly smoked rosemary wafts throughout the room turning heads in the dining room, as it is presented. ($39.00 during dinner service)

Rosemary Lamb Chops
Photo Credit: Courtesy of FIG & OLIVE

Provenance Restaurant
Chef Cathy Pavlos takes “hands on” to a whole new level. Not only does she have a dreamy garden steps from her kitchen door, she hand makes the wooden boards, on which she so proudly plates her dramatic cuisine. This stunner is a Branzino Mediterranean Seabass with garden-clipped greens and Provenance’s hand-cut fries. Everything is house-made at Provenance, even the boards! (This is offered as a seasonal special, and will return on the menu daily come summer when the garden is plentiful again.)

Branzino Mediterranean Seabass
Photo Credit: Anne Watson Photography

Fly ‘N’ Fish Oyster Bar & Grill
As guests walk along the Oceanfront Boardwalk, seafood just seems like a natural. After all, we have the Dory Fleet, with history dating back to the turn of the century, just a block south near the Newport Pier. Tip-toeing past The Beach Ball and Mutt Lynch’s and other “institutions” along this stretch, one finds themselves at a fairly new restaurant, the Fly-N-Fish. Executive Chef Julio Hawkins who hails from Seattle, makes everything look sexy that swims. Let’s just put it that way. From freshly shucked oysters, to bacon-wrapped scallops and cioppino, this menu is just oozing with seafood goodness, right down to their award-winning clam chowder. One of the “let’s hit the pause button” dishes is his Maryland Crab Cakes on the Small Plates menu. These puppies are sauteed Lump Maryland Crab, which is pan-fried and served with Papaya-Mint Salsa and micro-green salad ($18).
Happy Hour: 3:00-6:00pm M-F, excluding holidays

Maryland Crab Cakes
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Fly-N-Fish

Roy’s Pacific Rim Cuisine
When I think of dining in Hawaii, it conjures up the most decedent of desserts. And Chef John Vega, Chef Partner of Roy’s Newport Beach, has created eye-candy for the perfect dessert. It’s hard to beat chocolate, and when you put that word together with soufflé, you have magic—-a Melting Hot Chocolate Soufflé. This is Roy’s most popular dessert, and with good reason. It is an ooey-gooey concoction delicately melding flavors of dark chocolate, vanilla bean ice cream and raspberry coulis. And special messages are often inscribed in raspberry coulis upon request! ($11.40) The second dessert with a colorful presentation indeed, is the Pineapple Upside Down Cake. This traditional recipe is built on a base of caramelized pineapples and then is baked with a rich and light brown sugar pound cake. Chef serves this a’ la mode, offering the ultimate tropical treat! ($10.40)
Roy’s also has an excellent Aloha Hour from 4:00-7:00pm daily.

Melting Hot Chocolate Soufflé

Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Roy’s Newport Beach

I hope this art-inspired food expose has inspired you to enjoy something new. There is so much eye-candy right here. Dine well….