New fish restaurants school in Newport

Is fish the next big thing?

As befits a town that made its name on the ocean, Newport Beach

has always had its share of seafood restaurants. More are on the way.

The next three restaurants set to open at Irvine Co. shopping

centers all specialize in ocean cuisine, and a new seafood restaurant

opened last month at Crystal Cove Promenade. Though the planned

openings might make it seem as if the Newport Beach-based company is

banking on fish, leasing executive Jeff Dodd said that is not the

case.

“There was no concerted plan to go after seafood,” Dodd said. Dodd

is senior vice president of the Irvine Co. retail properties

division. “It was more individual reasons,” he said.

The planned restaurants would follow Bluefin Restaurant, which

opened at Crystal Cove in July. Mastro’s Ocean Club Fish House is

expected to open in the same shopping center later this month.

Later this fall, Wildfish Grille is slated to open at the Bluffs,

a shopping center on MacArthur Boulevard and Bison Avenue. Rounding

out the Irvine Co.’s restaurant plans is Blue Coral Seafood & Wine,

which will likely replace the Hard Rock Cafe early next year at

Fashion Island.

The Hard Rock Cafe closed in June.

Bluefin opened July 15, restaurant partner Ted Lee said. With a

kitchen led by chef Takashi Abe, Bluefin specializes in sushi,

sashimi and other Japanese cuisine. If seafood is becoming more

popular, Lee thinks that may be because diners are looking for meals

that won’t pack on the pounds.

“It might be a healthier diet. It’s easier to lose weight with

seafood,” Lee said.

Mastro’s Ocean Club Fish House is slated to open in the same

center as Bluefin later this month. The restaurant is operated by

Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Mastro Companies.

“It’s a seafood restaurant based on a steakhouse platform, which

means large cuts of fish, a la carte sides,” said Oliver Badgio,

Mastro Companies’ director of business affairs.

Wildfish Grille will likely be a more casual venue than Mastro’s,

Dodd said. Wildfish’s patrons, Dodd said, will probably be drawn from

the local business area and UC Irvine.

Restaurant partner Guy Villavaso said he plans for Wildfish to be

more laid back than Newport’s fancier eateries, but he still

envisions a place where diners can order fish from around the world,

such as gulf snapper and Chilean sea bass.

“Instead of a tuxedo, it’s in a sports coat,” Villavaso said.

Blue Coral has been described as a joint venture between

restaurateur Paul Fleming and Outback Steakhouse Inc. Chief Executive

Bill Allen. Fleming and Allen co-created Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse &

Wine Bar.

Beyond the Irvine Co.’s local holdings, is there a seafood trend

around the local restaurant scene? Chris Travis, general manager of

Newport Landing Restaurant and Oyster Bar in Balboa Village, also

suspects that people who want healthier food are drawn to fish.

“They’re staying on that protein low-carb thing, and fish

definitely fits into that,” Travis said. During the height of the

Atkins diet’s popularity, Travis said many diners sought beef

dinners. Now he sees a transition from red meat back to fish.

“The fad kind of wears off and people realized eating sensibly is

a better way to diet,” Travis said.

Crab Cooker owner Bob Roubian said his business has grown for 55

years, and seafood has been pretty steady in Newport. His business

growth has continued this year, and it can’t be attributed to higher

prices, Roubian said, because “we’re ordering more quantities of

food.”

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be

reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at

[email protected].

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