The Ritz Restaurant

Great food and our server Roxy was Awesome! The food is fresh and the taste was amazing. Roxy was attentive and accommodating! Great place to kick back and look at the yachts and the ocean.
OOPS WRONG PLACE «IT WAS MEANT FOR «THE RITZ PRIME SEAFOOD» on P. CH

To bad this place is closing. Came here friday evening for dinner and cigars. Lovely food and excellent staff.

As we pulled up to The Ritz, I didn’t have high expectations of the place since I have never heard of it. I grew up here for 20+ years and if it wasn’t for my friend I wouldn’t know it exists. So any way, I was actually culturally shocked. I’ve been to many $$$$ restaurants, but I’ve never seen any thing like this. The décor is very old school. Everything has this real wood look to it. Very dim but you are able to move around without any obstacles. I went into the bar and looked around. There were a few couples at the bar and everyone is about 50 – 60 plus years old. Here I am dressed in jeans, t-​shirt and a blazer with my hair spiked up like a spike from the Statue of Liberty. I felt out of place right away. Unable to focus on anything I went back to the waiting area and played with my phone. About 5 to 10 minutes later this 50-​ish year old waitress called my name and took us to our table. As I walked through the bar once more passing the piano and other tables, I felt even more uneasy. This place is filled with old people. The walk to my table felt like a 5 minute walk. She led us straight to the very end of the room to a corner. We were seated in this antique-​ish high back leather arm chair that was uncomfortable for me. My friends however were very comfortable. The arm rest was too low my arms were uncomfortable all night long. They do have other chairs too but for some reason this table is the only one with this type of chair. So that made me a bit fidgety.
Before we came here I saw pictures of the menu on Unilocal and that looked good. One item stood out the most was the «Ritz egg» filled with chives, smoked salmon scramble & topped with caviar, complimented with a shot of ice-​cold Stolichnaya vodka. We ordered our wine and the egg.
«Ritz egg» this is something totally different then anything I’ve ever tasted. If you’re at the Ritz, you’ve got to try it. The salmon scrambled in the egg give you a light creamy taste to it, while the caviar balanced the whole bite harmoniously. Spread it on their home made ruffle chip, take a bite and you will feel every taste buds dancing on your tongue. Then take a hit off of the vodka and it feels like the first breath of winter. –5–
The «Newport Beach Restaurant Week» menu consisted of 3 courses, appetizer, entrée plus a dessert and that is what we all ordered.
«The Wild Mushroom Cappuccino with Parmesan Straw»; It literally looks like a cappuccino. This soup is also on their regular menu. I rarely eat mushroom but I enjoyed it. It’s like lobster bisque, but with mushroom — very enjoyable. –4–
Scampi «Provencal» is skillet-​seared w/​toasted garlic butter, white wine, diced tomatoes over a bed of linguine marinara. The shrimp and pasta were perfectly cooked. I do not like white sauce on pasta, but this one felt like a good combination. –4–
The Ritz Sampler is a variety of 3 house favorites, Cheesecake with lemon sauce, Chocolate cake and puff pastry. While they look cute; they disappoint me in flavor — Mediocre at best –2–
As we dine, there’s this weird music that just does not belong in a place like this. At about half way into our meal, there was a live singer doing Sinatra, that’s when the Ritz was actually complete. The old school fancy corridors, chairs and dim lighting plus Sinatra complete the comfortable look and feel of a 36 year old restaurant. My fidgeting and uncomfortable feeling never completely went away, but was put at ease by the amazing staff. Everything was timely and refilled. Everyone was very attentive to our needs. –4–
All and all this establishment left me with uncertainty. I want to like this restaurant a lot, because they have been in business for 36 years. They have lots of experienced people working there and they know how to take care of the customers. This restaurant has been here longer then I’m alive. On the other hand I’m young and young people do not belong in a place with this many old folks. Don’t get me wrong, I’m an old soul. I have friends that are young and I have friends that are old. The friends that dined with me that night were 53 and 58 years old (but they look a lot younger — they made me put this in). I hang out with them a lot more than people my age. I smoke cigars and chit chat about the past with my older friends.
The Ritz will be forced to close on February 15^th 2014, because the landlord will not renew their rent. They want to put some kind of sandwich shop in its place. Regardless of what happens to The Ritz, it seems that they did something right to survive for 36 years. So wherever they move to, they will definitely thrive.
Here is the rating of my experience at the Ritz.
5+4+4+2+4=19÷5 = 3.8 stars

The Ritz is a Newport Beach institution for the last 32 years and it is closing next month because the Irvine company will not renew their lease. The décor is very upscale and their wine list is extensive.
Newport Beach Restaurant week was a good opportunity to enjoy this restaurant for one last time and at a great price. They offered a $ 20 prix-​fixe lunch which is a bargain for this place. The service was EXCELLENT and the décor and ambiance did not disappoint. It is like going into an old Hollywood joint. However, with the impending closure, they didn’t bother taking down the Christmas decorations which was a bit distracting.
I had a bad experience about 10 years ago at the Ritz and hadn’t been back. The Newport Beach Restaurant week was an opportunity for them to redeem themselves in my eyes and close on a high note. The service and atmosphere certainly met and exceeded my expectations. Unfortunately, for me, the food was a bit disappointing as it did not match their upscale service and atmosphere.
From the prix-​fixe menu, I started with their signature Caesar salad which was probably my favorite of the 3 courses. It was nicely dressed with plenty of shaved parmesan cheese and the lettuce was fresh and crisp even though I don’t think they used romaine. For the entrée, I had the scampi provencale which had good flavor and was nicely seasoned, but the quality of the shrimp was less than I would have expected for the Ritz. They were meaty but small-​to-​medium in size with a bed of linguine to help fill you up. Their best trio dessert sample was the citrus cheesecake.
Overall, the lunch was generally good especially at their special prix-​fixe price of $ 20 for all 3 courses. However, I would have expected more from the Ritz on the food which was a little bit above mediocre. I believe the Ritz has survived over the last few years on reputation and legacy dining from their loyal and local customers. I would have been more disappointed if I had paid their normal menu price for the dishes that were served.
FOOD 3 stars
SERVICE 5 stars
AMBIANCE 4 stars

The best, sorry not to be able to make it
One more time before they have to close.
For a special evening it is well worth the
Experience.

Walking into the Ritz, you feel like you’re in a 1980’s TV drama (Columbo, to be exact). The décor is fancy and VERY well kept, you don’t feel like its outdated and I thought it was very enjoyable.
We came here for our annual manager’s dinner at work — it was my first time so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The lighting is dim accenting the ambiance of dark walls and real wood countertops/​table tops. As you walk through the restaurant there are «secret-​ish» corridors that lead into bigger rooms — you will definitely get privacy here! The staff was FANTASTIC, especially the bar tender who engaged in small talk and really enjoyed serving the customers with a smile.
The food was great, I had a Caesar salad, lobster bisque soup, salmon entrée and a dessert trio — I’m not sure if you can order this off the menu as our event was prix-​fixe.
All in a all, I would recommend this restaurant to friends and will return for date night sometime soon!

The Ritz is a great classy restaurant without being too stuffy. Every time I have been here, I have received EXCELLENT service and delicious food. You never have to wait too long for anything even when the place is packed as everything is served timely with all the servers working together (you won’t have to deal w/​trying to get your ONE server’s attention if you need anything to avoid having a server not assigned to your table help you begrudgingly), and all the portions are generous unlike most stingy high-​end restaurants. Don’t go here expecting frou frou designer gourmet food — go for good solid American food done right.
It is a wonderful place to celebrate the holidays as the Christmas decorations make you feel warm and festive. How can you go wrong with strong drinks, excellent meat dishes, seafood dishes and desserts? I most recently tried the crème brûlée and I will say it’s one of the best I have had thus far! Everyone I have taken here has loved it. There are even prix fixe menus now that are more affordable.
Sometimes I found the music random, but the last time that too was just right. It is obvious the owner really cares about his restaurant and his customers, which is really nice to see. It is a real shame they have to move, but I would definitely follow them anywhere. If you are on the fence about whether to try this place or not, hop off now as you are sure to have a good time and leave with a stuffed belly and happy taste buds. They don’t make restaurants like this anymore so experience it while you can!
Just note there is only a valet parking lot in front. You can park on the limited sidewalk or in the fashion island parking structure if you don’t mind a walk across the street.
PS – I don’t know why there are deal/​voucher haters here complaining about tip and whatnot because even with the tip, they are a GREAT deal. The bad reviews here must have been a fluke because my last experience at The Ritz only fortified what a great restaurant it is (food and service-​wise) after many subpar experiences at even higher-​end dining establishments.

STOP STOP STOP — DO NOT GO HERE — THEY CLOSE IN FEB AND THE SERVICE HAS TURNED TO SH. BECAUSE THEY ARE UNDERSTAFFED. We arrived at 7 for our reservation. Seated at 7:20. Appetizers served at 9!!! We did not leave till after 10 pm. We were served cold food. The manager did not care. Zero effort to apologize or do something, anything. Two people who do not drink wanted the $ 17.50 Ritz egg with out the shot of vodka for a reasonable price adjustment — no! We planned to share on bottle of wine that we brought but it was gone by the time the appetizers arrived so we opened the second. In spite of the delay and our sharing the wine with the waitress, we were charged $ 50.00 corkage for the two bottles.
Past is time and past its prime. Stay away!

Walk in welcome. We arrived at 11:30am. Maybe 5 tables were being served. Took them 15 minutes to seat us outside. I asked to be seated inside because I just had surgery the day before. They came back with a suggestion that they will leave the heater outside on for me & they said within an hour it would be packed. Hello, I will be finished by then if they have their act together. I requested again to be seated at a table inside. I know I can see it is a Caucasian restaurant. No problem. The Caucasian guy sit across from us wearing a run down t-​shirt and sloppy jeans. He didn’t asked to be sit outside. Mind you we dressed business attire. Gee wouldn’t u feel like they were racist.
The waiter is nice. The food is decent. No Michelin Restaurant here.
Oh well, if you’re not white, trust me you’re not welcome here.

Ambiance:
Upscale with SoCal twist. I saw several lunch guests wearing classic American summer getup — tshirt, shorts and flip flops. The contrast between their casual outfit was striking against the restaurant’s old world décor.
0.5 /​1 star
Service:
Our server was in still in training (he mentioned he just started 2 days ago) but I thought he did good. The table across from where I sat had another server and got hardly any service.
¹⁄₁ star
Food:
It seems like every Unilocaler were recommending the Wild Mushroom «Cappuccino», so I started with that. The soup had deliciously earthy aroma and flavor of mushrooms. Although it was very flavorful, it was quite light and not heavy at all.
For main, I decided to get the fish of the day which was Sole in brown butter mushroom sauce. Because I started with the excellent soup, I expected the entrée to be at least of the same quality. I was really disappointed when I saw that the mushroom in the sauce was the canned variety. I tasted it to make sure — and yes, it was most definitely canned. I don’t understand how they can make delicious Wild Mushroom «Cappuccino» and use canned mushrooms. On the positive side, the veggies on the side were cooked perfectly.
And for dessert, I had Soufflé and coffee. This was probably the 3^rd time I’ve tried Soufflé in my entire life and so far, I’m not a fan of this dessert. Either I just haven’t had excellent Soufflé or I simply do not have the taste for it. My date who has sweet tooth said it was very sweet and rich.
0.5 /​2 stars
Cost Performance:
Slightly over $ 80 including tax and tip for 2 soups, 2 entrées, 1 dessert, 1 iced tea and 1 cup of regular coffee.
⁰⁄₁ star

Brought my girl Hello Kitty Kim here to celebrate her new job and used the Travelzoo voucher I purchased. Of course, before coming here, I peruse the reviews and whaddaya know? Ms. Kim has already been here and gave it a 3 stars. FAIL!!! She came for lunch so maybe dinner would be better? Let’s hope so!
They had their Xmas decorations already up and the restaurant was actually very cheery and bright. We also happened to come on a good night as they had a live performer crooning to the songs of Sinatra *swoon*.
Highlights of our meal (must order!)
1) Chilled Seafood Combo Cocktail: lump dungeness crab meat, lobster, and shrimp.
2) Boullabaise Seafood Pasta: they were very generous with the seafood in this dish!
3) Giant Prawns and Scallops with vegetable risotto: done perfectly (except the risotto)
4) Grand Marnier Soufflé: it will not disappoint. Very very delish.
5) Dirty Bird Martini: stiff martini. How can anything with «dirty bird» be bad? :)
Avoid the $ 20 valet and the lobster bisque!

Travelzoo deal for lunch. So glad I didn’t make the mistake to pay full price. Gumbo soup was to salty. Seafood grill was poorly presented. Taste was just ok! Had to get the dessert Togo because lunch took over an hour.
My wife’s filet was very sad. So much better spots to eat. This place is for the very old who think they have lots of money.

Our experience at The Ritz was a solid 10 stars. Call me Cray-​Zee but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the old style Rat Pack vibe goin’ on here. Sure the clientele is mostly 60-​plus. That’s cool. I don’t expect to listen to Kayne and Jay Z while I’m in a fine dining establishment. I loved the little band they had at the bar playing soft hits and love songs from the ’60’s. My parents used to listen to that stuff all the time and it brought back good memories. I also don’t see anything wrong with dining out among some oldsters who believe in that ancient custom of actually «dressing for dinner»…meaning you don’t go out to dinner in flip flops and ripped up jeans. I loved seeing the ladies all dressed up and wearing their jewels… Whoo-​hoo! Bling in on ladies, Bling it ON!
Now for the food… oh. so GOOD! The reviews are all over the place but our experience here was stellar. My only little complaint was that my salad had a tad too much salad dressing on it. I should have told our server «dressing on the side» but since they toss the salad at the table I let her go ahead and toss to her hearts content. I had the Sole and my hubs had the Halibut and we both lurved it. The creamed corn was also very good. It was very sweet and it almost tasted like a dessert which is exactly what we like. Those who don’t have much of a sweet tooth may not like it.
The desserts… wowza…they were good! We took the chocolate cake home and shared the Harlequin Soufflé. Oh yes… that was good. If I am ever on death row I will request that for my last meal… just that… nothing more.
Whew…we dropped a pretty penny in here but it was worth it in my opinion Sad that the restaurant is closing after 40 years. My parents used to take us here and I wanted to go one last time before they close their doors forever.
The wait staff was suburb. Super friendly, not snobbish or stuffy at all. I wish I could say the same for the front desk girls who need to get their noses out of the air. We had to wait a little bit for our menus and water to arrive at the table but from what I could tell the restaurant was totally packed. Our sever completely made up for our wait by providing us with suburb service. She made us feel very special which is very rare today. Most people in service positions wait on you as if they are doing you a huge favor by showing up at your table, taking your order and then disappearing until they present the check. Their attitude is «you’ve got your food, what more do you want from me». The Ritz is solid old school which is hard to find these days.
Hurry and make a trip to The Ritz before they close their doors for good in February.

I requested the best table for my Mother’s 86^th b-​day in my Opentable reservation, not like other restaurant, everyone here were informed, a happy b-​day greeting at every turn, and sitting at the best table made my mother felt extra special, the unexpected chocolate cake on a big plate covered with festival red raspberry sauce, topped with vanilla ice cream and a sparkler trick candle, made for great photo opportunities to catch her brilliant laughs and multiple wishes — priceless.
It’s Friday, so the soup du jour was seafood gumbo, very tasty broth with chunks of crabs, fish, scallops, shrimps and rice, three of us all loved it, the Lobster Bisque, my mom said it was good, but I think a couple chunks of lobster would make it perfect.
We all had Seafood ‘Grill’s, loved the lumpy crab cake, shrimp, and scollop, not so much for the swordfish and halibut (a bit tough to our liking.), good coffee and soufflé, bread was good, but the parmesan cheese crisps in the bread basket was our fav.
All in all, a fantastic b-​day lunch with superb service, my only wish is they’ll open for lunch over the weekends.

Overall: 3.5 stars
Old school classy dining restaurant where the waiters wear tuxedos
Had reservations from Unilocal app & when we arrived we were seated right away.
Used the TravelZoo deal: $ 35 — The Ritz Restaurant: Lunch for 2 in Newport, Reg. $ 83
We could each pick any soup/​salad, 1 entrée each & 1 dessert to share between us. =)
Wild mushroom cappuccino soup 4.5 stars very tasty & comes out pipping hot you get to eat it out of a cup
If its a sunny day you should eat outside in the Ritz garden, very nice area ;-)
Swordfish:4.5 stars
Thick pieces that were very tasty & buttery; but a bit on the salty side.
Seabass Australian 2.5 stars
Ok not what I expected, a bit on the salty side & too mushy not flakey at all tasted like catfish instead.
Harlequin soufflé so delicious the grand mariner was strong in this one ;-) 5 stars
They have a great wine collection here too. =)
Wines: Wed & Thursdays: 50% off bottled wines w/​Dinner entrée
Décor: nice classy dimly light restaurant: A
Service: Nice, attentive & friendly: A
Food: B–
Value: B
Tip: If you don’t want to valet, theres a strip of parking right at the side of the restaurant.
Or you can park in Nordstroms parking lot & walk over, its very close by.

Its a nice sweet place. Food is ok… Nothing amazing. Lots of seriously older peps in this spot… For me not a great place for biz, or to meet younger peps. under the age of 60. They are closing and relocating. Lets hope they build their younger clientele. (Thats the only suggestion I can give them) I went with my Mom and Aunt, age 70. I had the chicken salad. Staff is amazing. Unsure why they wear such skimpy skirts for this type of clientele, but what-​eves.

I got invited to Ritz in a company dinner.
I have to say this is very upscale historical restaurant. I love the dim lighting which is very romantic for couples. Our party was 10 people. So everyone ordered different thing we almost ordered half of the menu and I was impressed. The food portion is huge especially the ribs, it ‘s like half of a cow. Lol. I tried my friend’s food and I like most of them. I wish I have a bigger stomach.
Service was top notch, of course for that pricing.
The reason why I dont give it 5 star because they took forever to bring out the food. It was more than half an hour I would say. Seriously???
Like someone said they lost their lease so I would come back before Feb 2014 to have my last meal there.
Generally, it was a good experience.

This is old school dining at its best and what I mean by that is the décor and service that comes along with the old school menu. Where can you find fish done amandine style anywhere these days? Or servers wheeling your table’s orders out on a trolley that’s covered with white linen? This place just brings back so many childhood memories of dining the nostalgia alone is worth coming for.
The servers are just incredibly friendly and they will chat with you (if you are friendly back — no one wants to chat with a sourpuss) throughout your meal if you let them.
I’ve been several times now and my friends and I have always enjoyed our meals here. The lunch special prix fixe is really reasonable ranging around $ 16 for 2-​courses and the mushroom capuccino on that prix fixe is really tasty. I’ve enjoyed many of the fish dishes including the barrumundi, petrale sole and poached salmon, all cooked well and a great lunch menu item which doesn’t leave you feeling like you need a nap.
I also tried the French dip sandwich — I loved the roast beef, did not care for the bread it came on unfortunately. It tasted like it could use a toast before the beef was placed on it.
If you’re REALLY good, your server will ask if you want soufflé to finish your meal with — this takes a while to make which is why they ask you first so they can put your order in and you won’t have to wait too long for it after you’ve finished your entrée. I suggest you go for the soufflé — it is SO worth it.
The Ritz may seem stuff and old school with an old crowd who doesn’t understand social media and my need to take photos of everything I eat, but no one gave me the stink eye, nor did they turn their noses up at us. I wish more people would appreciate how rare a restaurant like The Ritz is these days. They’re all disappearing.

Lunch at the Ritz. Sounds snazzy, doesn’t it? It’s old school for sure. Dark wood panelling, dim lighting, and plush booths are the standards of this restaurant. The average age of the patrons is about 54 give or take a couple of years, but it’s a more sedate 54 then let’s say the rock-​and-​roll 54’ers at a Mozambique (restaurant in Laguna Beach)-type place.
I came here for Restaurant Week with two girlfriends. For $ 15, we got a whale of a deal. The crab and shrimp gumbo appetizer was rich with seafood and tasted great. The seafood skewer main dish was plentiful and satisfying, and the trio of desserts — mini key lime pie, chocolate cake, and crème brûlée were delightful. We sat there for two and a half hours and were never rushed or harried.
I remember coming here for a work dinner when I first started working right after college. It seemed so glamorous and high-​end at the time. Although the place seems to harken back to another era, it still has high-​end quality food. Classy and old school.

Me and my bf came here for the $ 20 lunch for OC Restaurant Week. Parking is valet so if you don’t want to pay the $ 4 for parking, there’s a parking structure across the street for you to park at. Walking in, there are a lot of 30+ year old people. Most people walked from the businesses around the restaurant. Make sure you call in for reservation, that place was pretty crowded for lunch.
What we got:
Bread Basket: they give you complementary bread and butter. There was sourdough bread and another thin, crispy cheese bread. The sourdough bread was good, but a bit too hard for me. The butter was like a square of hard butter. The cheese bread had a nice crunch to it and not too much cheese.
Lobster Bisque: we both got this because we’ve never had lobster bisque before. I wish I could have gotten something else. I had force myself to eat this. It had Armagnac which I couldn’t stand at all. I would take a sip of the soup and take a bite of the bread to get rid of the taste. I finally couldn’t take it anymore so I just told the server I was finished with it.
Peppered Grenadines of Filet Mignon: yum! I got mine rare and it was super soft and so flavorful. The meat was easy to cut and I just couldn’t get enough of it. I loved the way the potatoes looked and it was creamy and buttery, very delicious as well. As for the vegetables, the broccoli and carrot was soft and I think they put some kind of sauce on it. As for the squash, they could do without it.
Pear Cheesecake: the presentation of the cheesecake was beautiful. It laid on top of a pool of caramel sauce. Yum! I was too full by then, but I had a few bites of it and then took it home. The cheesecake was soft and creamy. The phyllo that was holding the cheesecake was nice and flaky. There was a piece of pear on top which was a bit hard and didn’t have much flavor to it.
Crème Brulee: it was topped off with a piece of raspberry and had raspberry pieces in it. It was my bf’s first time eating a crème brûlée and he loved it. It was creamy and tasted just like how a crème brûlée would.
Service:
Our server was very nice. Our waters were refilled and she would come back every once in awhile and ask us if everything was good and if we needed anything.