Great Maple

Love it here. I’ve never had a bad experience! From the staff to the food, everything is great. I did come on a Saturday after noon and the «live music» that was playing outside Nordstrom was WAY TOO LOUD. Obnoxious, I feel bad for the Great Maple employees that have to deal with that.

A coworker and I went to Great Maple for dinner and were pleasantly surprised. Staff was very personable and friendly. Drinks were delicious and the food menu was just eclectic enough without being too over the top.

Kind of pricey but it’s what you expect in Newport Beach. But I love the maple bacon doughnut! It’s so amazing and I crave it all the time!

Good, light, and fresh food with a great patio and atmosphere. The chicken sliders with the tarragon mayo were delicious and the snap pea avocado salad was so refreshing and light. The signature donuts were good and brought out warm. You get three good size donuts… plenty to bring home for later.

Every time I come back, it keeps getting more and more disappointing. Let me tell you about my last experience…
Went on a Friday evening and the place was maybe 25% full. Server greeted me right away and was accomodating. When my burger came out it was cooked well done and I ordered it medium. Sent it back b/​c dang it, its my cheat day and I want a burger done the way I like it. So a long time goes by and I’m about ready to leave when the burger comes back. Cut into it and guess what, cooked extra well done this time. Seriously. At this point I’m too hungry/​hangry, the server apologizes and says he will talk to his manager. After eating a pretty expensive and not the way I like it overcooked burger, the server says his manager took half off my burger and that was «the best he could do». Let me tell you two things wrong with this: no manager ever stopped by to apologize or look at how overcooked my burger was and it was not busy at all (most of the staff seems to be hanging out), and they took off half of a burger. This was very cheap and being part of the service industry, I have to say this is just rude. Well guess what, your half attempt just cost you a whole lot more than you think b/​c I am never coming back nor are my friends or family. Management here is obviously terrible. Also during my experience, I asked a food runner for a side of ranch and he just stared at me with a blank look. This is not the first time this has happened here. I dont know if the workers here are rude or lazy or what but after the stare he did bring me my ranch. Maybe they are just lacking some real social skills… These people will not get anymore of my hard earned money to pay for their subpar business. There are way better places to eat than here.

I hope Great Maple can work on the block-​and-​tackle basics of serving to enhance their experience. The food is decent and the ambiance is well put together, but the servers seem under-​aware of their surroundings and could stand to understand how to empathetically handle issues as they invariably come up. For example, our server — I think her name was Ariana — robotically welcomed us after being left to wait a little too long. She sounded a bit like a screech owl repeating a script. When we asked a question about a cocktail she seemed to veer off to ask someone else the answer and didn’t come back, leaving the question unanswered. Thus, we only ordered water.
A food runner dropped an appetizer — some kind of fried mushroom — which we assumed was a house custom. We had each eaten a piece when Ariana came over to ask if we had ordered it. From whom else would we have, I wondered. Instead of leaving the plate, she picked it up and brought it to another table and served it — I hope the other guests hadn’t realized we had eaten from it!
She eventually took out food order and I’m not sure if at this point she had realized that our experience was headed downhill. I just didn’t get that she cared at all and I’m sad that it reflected on the restaurant. Could be a great place someday.
Later I shrugged off a French Dip, a wrong order that a runner was trying to give me. Do they not have a table numbering system? A busser came and distributed plates, which made little sense as we ordered a salad, poke, and beef bourgignon. Later our side dishes came out, only to leave a crowded table on which our entrée plates could not squeeze in. This food runner seemed genuinely confused, stating that the server had said we were sharing.
Luckily, we were relieved of Ariana’s care — a friendly barman and a courteous young busser wrapped up our visit and caught the fact that the asparagus had been sent back but had not been pulled from the check (cheese and a poached egg were toppings not mentioned on the menu). We confirmed they would not be sharing the tip with our former charge.
For what constructive criticism I could give, I would suggest finding a more experienced and polished staff, or taking the current crew back to the chalkboard for some service drills.

I came to Great Maple after a business meeting in Newport Beach. I remember a while back it used to be an Italian restaurant, and I thought that old Italian restaurant was still here. As I made my way inside the restaurant, I thought it would be worth checking out for a quick bite to eat.
Luckily, I ended up there during happy hour and I ended up getting 2 items off of the happy hour menu:
I got the beef slider with Vermont cheddar, and it was very tasty. The slider was hearty, warm and full of flavor.
They also have a fish taco with chipotle sauce In their happy hour menu. The fish taco is pretty filling and not too pricey. The sauce is a citrus tang with a chipotle kick. It was quite tasty.
For lunch I ordered the Pecan and Pear salad with spinach and sweet vinaigrette dressing. It came with feta cheese that was mixed with roasted pistachios. It was very yummy and very filling.
The cute servers were very kind and patient after I hit them with about 20 different questions in regards to all the different items on the menu.
The restaurant is clean, cozy and they have great outdoor patio seating.
Great Maple is one of the better restaurants to check out in Fashion Island, Newport Beach.

Great Maple is a beautiful restaurant in Fashion Island. It fits right in with the vibe of the mall. The food is good and the service is friendly, but the service can be kind of slow. We came in late on a Saturday night with a large crew, and it took a long time for us to get our drinks and food. We found a couple mistakes on the check when it came, but they fixed it pretty quickly.
Overall, the food was good. Exactly what I’d expect from Great Maple, but I feel like my experiences at the Great Maple at Del Amo Mall far exceed the experience I had this location.

My parents who live in Palos Verdes mentioned they tried Great Maple at the new Del Amo Mall and they LOVED IT!
As the boyfriend and I were deciding where to go to dinner I Unilocaled some places by Fashion Island and saw there was a great maple– and my mind was MADE!
Made reservations on Open Table for a Saturday 9:00 pm and we got there around 8:45 and were seated right away!
Ambiance– LOVED it inside! So hip, and artsy, and just trendy! Very cool bar set up as you walk in the door, very nice attention to detail in the décor.
Service– it was great! We got everything we asked for and more. Our server was very helpful when we asked her questions and recommended some great stuff.
Now for the FOOD!- yummmmy! My mom ranted and raveeeeed and the «Turkey burger with Brie cheese from Great Maple» that I just HAD to get it! I ordered that with a side salad. My BF got the lobster roll sand which with fries and for appetizers we got the portobello mushrooms and the ahi poke. Everything was DELICIOUS! The turkey burger was the best turkey burger I have every had, it seriously did not taste like a turkey burger!!! The Ahi poke was delicious as well, so flavorful! Everything was great!
I will definitely be back and I can’t wait to try the new one at Del Amo Mall!

This was my first time here for a dinner service.
The Great Maple does seasonal menus that focus on farm-​to-​table cuisine.
I ordered the Pacific salmon with curry cauliflower. The food tasted fresh. Be prepared to wait for your food… we waited a solid hour.
The service was a bit perplexing. The server assistant delivered two plates to us that were for a neighbouring table. My group laughed it off, but the second time made it feel a little amateurish?
The curry cauliflower was a great replacement for a starch. Very filling.

Update: Ordered the steak frites and Caesar salad. Steak was cooked perfectly. Waitress was very sweet but the food runners were totally confused tonight. I got the wrong people’s food twice.
They just remodeled the restaurant and changed the tables and chandeliers. I liked the red glass chandeliers but now they’re these boring white and silver ones. *Sigh* It’s the little touches that make a place. The whole place now has a different vibe.

Bloody Mary’s are fantastic here!!! The outside is the most enjoyable especially when there is a live music playing at the fountain. The ahi appetizer, cobb salad, and fish & chips are all excellent!
The portions are very generous. Everything on the menu looks delicious! I’ve never had to wait for a table and the service is always great!

First time here and my experience was fantastic! Their menu is very interesting and very good. Service was beyond excellent. We sat outside and even though it was chilly out, because the area was covered, it was very comfortable.
We ordered the baby kale salad, lamb burger, bone marrow… something or other. All Y-​U-​M! I also asked for a HUGE hot chocolate and they accommodated my request by putting it in a large water glass. And no, it wasn’t too hot. It was nice and warm and ready to be guzzled down.
Did I mention the service? Yes, I did, but it’s worth mentioning again because service was SUPERB!!!
And I can’t wait to go back and try all the different items on their menu.

Was not very fond of this place. Overall, it’s just ok.
It smelled like brussell sprouts, fish and all sorts of funk rolled into one. It is a very clean looking restaurant though.
The décor is awesome and the lighting gives it an intimate setting. It has a cool vibe.
I sat at the bar and ordered the Great Maple Honey Mule. It was sooo good and it came in a cute glass shaped like a bear. The bad part was that my stool was wobbly. Not a good thing.
The bartenders were friendly and attentive, which was nice.
I did not order any food but the burgers looked amazing. Would like to come back for dinner if they spray some Febreeze. Lol
I’ll let you form your own opinion on this one.

I came here for the first time a few days ago. It smelled so good outside the restaurant that I just had to come in and try it for myself!
My boyfriend and I sat outside, which was really nice.
There were so many delicious sounding items on the menu that it was hard to choose. I asked our server (forget her name) about a few of their items, and with her recommendation I chose their mahi tacos. My boyfriend got their smoked brisket sandwich.
The food came out VERY quick. It felt like we had just ordered it and poof it was magically ready.
Both of the dishes looked SO good!
Our server came out with some hot sauce and extra limes as that was her favorite way to eat the tacos. I appreciated her bringing those out as it made the tacos even better!
The mahi tacos had a mango salsa on them and came with sweet potato chips on the side. The chips were really delicious! The tacos were a bit difficult to eat as they pretty much just fell apart when I’d try to pick them up, but they were super delicious that it was worth getting super messy!
The brisket sandwich was super tasty too! Perfect amount of BBQ sauce and perfect fries.

Disclaimer: I’ve been to the location in San Diego multiple times
I absolutely loooooove the Great Maple in San Diego. I was honestly quite shocked to see this location having only 3.5 stars on Unilocal.After eating here, I can see why. Compared to the San Diego location, this one is a bit sad. I’ve had the Maple Bacon Donuts and Beignets at both locations. The beignets were good here, but the maple bacon donuts were pretty mediocre. There wasn’t enough bacon and the maple glaze on the donut was poorly done. It looks like more people come here for dinner than brunch though. In San Diego, Great Maple gets crazy for brunch. Food was just alright. Don’t think I’d come here again just because I really like the San Diego location.

Great ambience! It’s located just upstairs of Nordstrom on the right side. This restaurant gives me the new America vibe.
I had a reservation for 2 people at 3 PM. I was a little late by five minutes but the hostess was really nice and seated us as soon as we arrived. My friend and I got 3 items off their menu: the great maple salad + chicken (extra $ 5), the fish and chips, and the seabass.
The salad: it was very fulfilling for the portion and the dressing was delish! (Not creamy) chicken was also grilled right, not too dry. The fish and chips: fries were so crispy! The fish was breaded the way it should be, fish wasn’t chewy or anything. The seabass: it was enjoyable but it could have added a little flavorings, a little blend for my taste.
Overall, service was good. The hostess was sweet and my server was fast for taking my order!

I’ve been here for brunch and lunch. Both are really yummy. I’m confused why there is a single bad review. They have an outdoor patio so they are Tony friendly which I love, since FI is pretty dog friendly.
My favorite brunch item is their version of pigs in a blanket, they come wrapped in a pancake! Savory and sweet. My boyfriend and I love their lunch salads too. They are huge and perfectly priced. Their fresh squeezed oj mimosa is also perfection :)

Cute little place that my gal-​friend and I decided to try that was dog friendly at Fashion Island.
I had the chicken sandwich with truffle fries, which was pretty good. My gf had the egg whites with chicken breast, which she really enjoyed.
Only negative was when the server snatched the bill from under my friend’s elbow which caused her to be in a bit of shock. When the waitress returned after we paid the check, she left us with nothing to sign, so we had to wait longer than we wished to actually leave. I would like to return but I doubt my gf does.

Had another nice dinner here with some friends… Seems like the menu has been updated with some new additions. Mostly good additions, like some
stellar appetizers — don’t miss:
English popovers — tastes like a cross between Yorkshire pudding and croissants
Fried calamari — comes with olive coins and a nice lemon caper sauce
Portabello mushroom «fries» — so savory with lots of grated Parmesan encrusted on it w/​pesto aioli
Shrimp — okay, I can’t recall the name of this appetizer but it was basically jumbo shrimp in a tomato sauce in a bed of mashed potatoes. Random as heck but really good. Only 4 pieces though…
For my main entrée, I decided to try the lobster roll w/​pomme frites (in lieu of the sweet potato chips). I gotta say, there was definitely a good amount of fresh lobster chunks in the roll; however, the flavor was spiked with so much dill? I could be wrong, but whatever the herb was, it was herb overload. Every time I took a bite, all I could taste was the seasoning. The fries were kind of forgettable. I should’ve just tried the sweet potato chips that comes standard with the roll instead of being up charged $ 2 for lame fries. Or rather, should’ve paid an extra $ 3 for their delicious truffle fries instead. Anyway…
For dessert, I tried a bite of the key lime pie and the chocolate truffle cake. The key lime pie had the right amount of tartness and a good crust. The chocolate cake was very rich, as expected, and definitely can be shared!
Party of four — 4 appetizers, 3 alcoholic drinks, 2 soft drinks, 4 entrees, 3 desserts = $ 204 before tip. Very reasonable for a nice evening out in Fashion Island. Service was a solid «B».