March Moderne in Newport Coast

Everything was delicious!While their tasting menu was absolutely stunning (especially their presentations), ordering from the regular (and the special) menu would be more flexible. Portions were surprisingly generous.

Wonderful French restaurant, impeccable service and food. I will be back, several menu items I didnt have room to try that look great, like the veal cheeks and morels.I had three two-scallops appetizer and black cod, both perfectly prepared. And I had several fresh clams that were the freshest Ive ever tried.Recommended.

We had a salad for starters and that mixed salad was great. Main course we got a fish soup and a Angus filet with pepper sauce and french fries. The meat was served in a pan which made it hard to cut it. French fries was not great either and it was barely no pepper sauce. Everything was dry. The Bouillabaisse was mediocre. Ambiance is nice and it feels like they have the ambition but they dont really get there unfortunately.

This restaurant was impressive. Ive eaten at a Michelin starred restaurant in Paris, and I think this restaurant embodies much of what I loved so much while visiting. The food is familiar yet interpreted so beautifully. The cocktails are spot-on. The bread, as many have reviewed before me, was simple but delicious. I had the Five Course Menu and was delighted. My husband built his own five courses and was very pleased. I think its safe to assume most everything will be a good choice. The wait staff was attentive and friendly. My only complaint was the temperature of the restaurant was a bit warm.

We were immediately welcomed by a host at the door. We chose to sit at the bar and enjoy some after dinner drinks. Beautiful setting with several private tables. Our bartender was wonderful and attentive. Drinks were not consistent. My friend ordered the same drink twice and it was sweet one time then bitter the next. It can be a little loud to hear each other talk when it gets busy. Looking forward to enjoying a meal there too.

I’m not sure how to explain this restaurant. The food is very simple like a French brasserie. I’ve had a lot of friends recommend this restaurant, and I’ll be honest, not impressive. The food was just OK- Nothing spectacular. The service was good. The location is in Newport Coast so definitely felt like it did not belong. Knife pleat is definitely better. If you’ve dined at Michelin restaurants, you would know this is nowhere near that level. Also, if you are lucky you can sit on the patio on a folding table.

My husband and I had a lovely birthday dinner on a Sunday evening. There was a smaller crowd so no worries about covid, although I was slightly disappointed that the staff was not masked. Besides that, the food, service, and ambiance were all top notch. There was a lot on the menu we would’ve loved to have, so we will definitely be coming back!Epis bread: I was hoping for something more flavorful. It was fine and very tasty, but the butter could have used more seasoning. The bread was fresh and moist, though.Tasting menu: I ordered the tasting menu with cheese pairing. The 4 courses were all excellent, and the 5th (dessert) I swapped out for another dessert with a $2 charge for the change.The 1st course was a tuna sashimi and veal carpaccio. Beautiful, bold presentation with an interesting mouthfeel — lots of different textures and flavors between the tuna, veal, gelee, and crispy capers.The 2nd course was a life-changing Dungeness crab with veloute. The veloute came piping hot in a separate cup, which was excellent for sipping. Dungeness crab is a personal favorite of mine so I was very excited it was on the menu. It did not disappoint!The 3rd course was the scallop. The fennel leek compote added nice flavor, although the kumquat wasn’t very noticeable. Overall it was still tasty and had nice presentation.The 4th course: steak, truffle, gnocchi, lobster. This was a very rich dish! The sauce was very flavorful and added a lot. To be honest this was probably my least favorite — it was fine, but nothing spectacular.Cheese plate: Before the dessert came a cheese trio with some candies pecans and preserves. The hard Dutch cheese was a bit bland for me. The truffle Boursin was excellent, as was the blue cheese (which we paired with a Sauternes, so it was extra tasty).The 5th course we selected the panna cotta. It was creamy and not overly sweet, which was great. Overall nothing special, though.My husband opted for some oysters, steak tartare, and steak au poivre. All three were excellent. The Kumamoto oysters were delicate and refreshing, and paired nicely with the two sauces. The steak tartare was tasty but not anything noteworthy. My husband raves about the steak — he loves a good rare steak with a nice sere on the outside, and they delivered beautifully. The potato fritters that came with the steak were divine!Overall this was an excellent dinner and we would love to come back again!

This was dining outdoors on a weeknight. The whole staff was wonderful. We were the only table outside but they were still attentive and friendly. It was quiet outside but the atmosphere was lively inside.We had the pre-fixe menu, which was 5 courses including dessert. From todays experience I would say their seafood was presented better than their red meat course. Most of the dishes were okay. The first course was kampachi crudo which was good. The second course was the caviar egg, which was my favorite because of the saltines from the caviar and the creaminess of the egg went very well with the acid from the leeks. The third course lobster was a little chewy, the dumpling was soft and fluffy yet dense. The red meat course was veal 3 ways. I could not finish it and thats saying a lot. The veal was tough, the cheek tasted muddy and just not a very tasty dish and in the middle of it there was a big chunk of raw garlic that kind of ruined the palate. Thankfully the meal ended with a sweet note, baba au rum. I guess baba was the cake part which I thought was a little dense and heavy, but what baba came with the passion fruit and mango cream were delicious.I wanted to love the restaurant and was looking forward to being wowed by their food, but todays food didnt impress. Although the food presented well and each component was thoughtfully prepared, I didnt feel like it was a fine dining experience, or even a high-end restaurant experience because most dishes werent special. I enjoyed the outing and the staff were very good. Maybe we should have tried a la carte instead of the pre-fixe, maybe next time.

Food is amazing! Service was great & corkage fee is fine if you bring an amazing red wine. Loved the chopped salad! Flavors and textures were great. They were out of my original choice of fish, so sad so I had shrimp & scallops which were so-so. Dessert was amazing & great presentation.

It is a fancy good restaurant with good food but nothing that really impressed us. Wine list is good but not impressive. Food are good but nothing to let us say wow. Bartender, Josh, is a very nice person and working none-stop. If you dont have a reservation you might not have a table. We were lucky to get the last 2 seats at the small bar at 6 pm on a Saturday. Good French cuisine is hard to find in the US. For a restaurant that requires advance reservations， should the service and food be more impressive? Btw, the bread with butter and sea salt was simple but very very good.