Rusty Pelican Restaurant @ Newport Beach – Restaurant Week Media Tasting

Newport Beach, known for its many harbors and beaches, is also home to many fine dining restaurants.  And the best time to try them is during the annual Newport Beach Restaurant Week when many of them offer special Prix Fixe menus at outstanding prices; lunch at $20 and dinner $30.  You can view the menu here.  This year, the 8th Annual Newport Beach Restaurant Week takes place from Friday, January 17th through Sunday, January 26th.  Allen and I were so excited we got to preview Rusty Pelican’s dinner menu last week.

Located on Pacific Coast Highway, the restaurant made its home right next to the harbor.  Appropriately, the restaurant is themed like a ship with its round windows and nautical decors.

(Photo by Allen Taylor Photography)

And of course, the Pelican to greet you as you arrive.

 For over 40 years, Rusty Pelican has been serving  fabulous seafood flown in daily.  In addition to fresh fish, lobster, King Crab, the menu also includes chicken and USDA steaks . The impressive wine and cocktail menu offers great drinks to complement your meal.  We ordered a Pama Shaker Margarita (This was not comp’ed).  It’s made with Patron Silver Tequila, pama pomegranate liqueur, with pomegranate juice, and sweet and sour.  You get a big shaker that’s good for about 2 refills of the glasses.  I loved how refreshing the drink was.  Instead of a regular bread basket, GM, Steve Burke, sent over Fresh Garlic Bread (Rusty’s original recipe since 1965).  This is one garlic bread not to miss!

The Prix Menu consists of 1 appetizer, 1 entree, and 1 dessert.  Allen chose Calamari Fritti.  This is made with calamari steak tempura style served with chili ancho sauce.  The calamari was very tender in light batter fried to perfection.  The chili ancho sauce had a nice heat but not too spicy.  I also appreciated the pickled vegetables on the side.   Just a side note, the portions for the 2 appetizers were full-size.  For the Prix Fixe menu, they would be a little smaller.  My appetizer was Cajun Shrimp served with garlic toasts.  Spicy shrimp scampi is how I would describe it.  Don’t worry about it being too spicy.  It just had enough heat but not enough to burn.  The shrimp were somewhat translucent in texture.  I am quite curious how they were cooked.  Our server highly recommended the Spicy Orange Ginger Glaze Mahi Mahi (chargrilled, sweet and spicy glaze, jasmine rice).   This was a perfect dish for Allen as he likes food with bolder flavor.  A bit spicy, a bit tangy with mild ginger taste, the sauce perfectly complimented the delicate fish.

I went for my usual Salmon for the ‘Simply Grilled Fresh Fish’.  “In the spirit of showcasing the quality of our Fresh Fish we simply season and grill our selections, pairing them with the seasons freshest vegetables and a light lemon herb sauce.”. I couldn’t agree with them more!  It was simple, fresh, and delicious!

You can enjoy an outdoor patio or indoor dining.  Either way, you have gorgeous view of the harbor.
3rd course dessert,  we chose Individual Banana Bread Pudding (served warm with cream anglaise) and Individual Chocolate Torte (decadent flourless chocolate cake served warm topped with vanilla iced cream).

The Banana Bread Pudding had a denser texture than others I’ve tried but it was still light and won’t weight you down.Individual Chocolate Torte was simply amazing!  I am usually not a fan of flourless chocolate cake because a lot of time, it tastes like thickened mouse.  But I am totally a fan of this.  The top layer of the cake was a little chewy like the texture of macaron followed by real chocolate.  I highly recommend this.  

There are over 60 restaurants participating in the Newport Beach Restaurant Week, please make Rusty Pelican one of your choices.  You still have a week to try the Restaurant Week lunch or dinner menu.  Call 949-642-3431 to make your reservation.  Walk-ins are welcome, too.  Outstanding food and service are the reasons why Rusty Pelican has been a local favorite as well as tourists’ must-eat hot spot.

Many thanks to General Manager, Steve Burke, and its entire staff for their hospitality!  Special thanks to Hannah of McFarlane Promotion, Inc. for arranging the tasting!  Now go try it yourself and let me know how you like it.

Rusty Pelican Restaurant
2735 West Coast Hwy
Newport Beach, CA 92663
(949)642-3431