21 Oceanfront

My friend called two weeks ahead to book a particular table for a birthday dinner for 8 people. He called again on the Friday of the date at 2:30 PM confirmed the reservations for that particular table at 7PM. When we arrived at 6:50 PM they had just sat a group at the table and gave no reason for it. Like the Seinfeld episode they are great at taking the reservations they’re just not very good at holding the reservations. We ended up eight people at a table designed for six without the view and made the best of it but I wouldn’t recommend it for an important dinner and count on them holding your reservation. While they threw in a couple appetizers and a couple desserts as a consolation it really doesn’t make up for the disappointment for the special occasion. As far as the food went between us we had the swordfish, the Chilean sea bass and Alaskan King crab legs, along with a variety of sides. The food was prepared correctly and was very good

The calamari is delicious. The atmosphere, view, and service is superb. The price range for dinner is between $ 31 to $ 51. It is a nice place to relax, enjoy a good meal and have good conversation. They also have a talented singer in the bar/​lounge area.

Well this visit was a disappointment. Different gentleman behind the bar and he was completely incapable of handling the orders coming in. Not friendly (unless you are a regular) which is sad because no business can survive on regulars alone. Finally a younger guy came over to bar tend and he kicked butt. Within minutes he was getting caught up while the first guy continued making drinks at the same slow pace. A great bartender can really make place like this pop, but the older guy was not a good bartender. We ate and it was mediocre, nothing great. Will we go back? Maybe but most likely not. Sad because the place has a cool vibe and could be so much better than it is. Get rid of your slow bartender and put a guy back there that knows how to interact, make good drinks, and serve people with a smile, and not just Joe Moneybags that shows up every Friday night.

Experience with waitress Monica ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Ambience ⁹⁄₁₀.
View 8.5÷10.
Food ⁶⁄₁₀.
I had a high expectation for the steak since the price was at $ 45. I was expecting a steak that when I took a bite from it didn’t need steak sauce. I would have rather gone to Ruth Chris’s for my steak, but I wanted to give this place a chance since I came for a birthday.

Stop by here for Mother’s Day. The service and the atmosphere was great unfortunately the food was just OK. It is extremely expensive for the quality of food you get. I don’t mind paying extra for great food but at this spot not Worth the price

Alright is all I can say about this place. Nothing to wow you for this price range.
Go to another steakhouse like ocean club to save yourself hassle. Parking is a nightmare as well.

DO NOT EAT HERE COMPLETLEY OVERRATED!!!
I ate here with my friend who flew 2,000 miles to visit me. I wanted to take her to a nice restaurant for her 21^st birthday. It was so loud in there we couldn’t here each other think. The shrimp scampi came without pasta. The food was below average, and there was no birthday treat. Are you kidding me?! What kind of restaurant doesn’t give you something for your birthday?! I will NEVER return. Servers were good and view is nice and that’s all they got. Do not spend your money here. Go to Mastro’s if you want an Oceanfront restaurant with actual good food. Take it from a Newport Local!

Friendly service and a great view. Food was great! Celebrated my sister’s bday and they gave us a few desserts ! All tasted so good.

Went for Valentines dinner. Pretty disappointed. Asked to sit in Zach’s section didn’t get it. Got stuck in the bar area. Food was ok. Service not great. Loud and not as fun. Really disappointing.

best filet and lobster tail. aka surf and turf. awesome soufflé. staff was friendly. our waiter was a little curt but it’s was the best. nice music and view.

Fantastic food!!! If you are a «foodie» this restaurant is for you. We had their mussels for appetizer and as a main dish we ordered scallops and calamari steaks.
All of the above were 5 stars.
Monika was our server and she exceeded our expectations! Thank you so very much for a great dinner and for a wonderful evening you created for our anniversary dinner.

It has been many years since we dined here and it is as good as I remembered. It is a lovely place across from the beach and very romantic.
The baseball cut swordfish is one of my favorite dishes. Just amazing.
My husband said the clam chowder was the best he had ever eaten and he loved his filet.

***5 STARS***
We celebrated our 13 anniversary having dinner here. Made a reservation few days prior and was very pleased with person on the other side taking our reservation. We reached and were greeted right away by a very professional hostess who congratulated us. Our server also wished us anniversary which my wife really liked!
Food– was off the hook! We could taste the quality and freshness of each and every ingredient.
Prices are slightly on the higher end But worth it.
I would highly recommend this restaurant if you are looking for a romantic place to take your significant other.

I went here yesterday for New Year’s Eve dinner. This was my first visit and my husband had eaten here once before and had had a very good meal. We were seated by the window and had a great view of the beach and Newport Pier. Our waitress was pleasant and attentive and the atmosphere and décor were very nice with a very polite staff. I realize that it being New Year’s Eve, you are going to pay a premium to dine out, but at fixed price of $ 145 each, you expect the food to be amazing. We both enjoyed our appetizers. I had the scallops and my husband had the duck confit. My arugula salad was good, but had no candied walnuts. The lobster bisque was too thick and needed more lobster flavor. I ordered the Mediterranean sea bass that was very good but the sides, especially the twice baked potato, seemed to have been microwaved and were bland and tasteless. My husband had a New York steak that was tender but very plain and tasteless as were the rosemary potatoes. For desert we had an apple tart with white chocolate gelato. The tart was okay, at best, but the gelato was the worst that I’ve had in my entire life.
We also had a hard time to talking to each other because the table of four, seated behind my husband, was too noisy… dropping F-​bombs and talk about threesomes.
We would give the meal a 5.5 out of 10, but based on a near $ 400 bill, including tip, we would give it a 4. Extremely disappointing. Based on our experience, we wouldn’t recommend this restaurant for New Year’s.

I had a very up and down experience with dinner here, I came celebrating my 3 year anniversary with my boyfriend and we left fairly disappointed.
We got seated at 6 pm and our server Kerri was great, it’s just we came on a Monday night and I don’t think they were expecting for it to be so busy. They were super under staffed so we waited forever for all of our food to come out.
Our appetizers were the only one that came out really quickly, we got the crab cakes and mussels.
Our entrees took some time to come out my hubby got the surf and turf combo, and I got the cioppino. Our entrees were great despite the long wait, we didn’t get our entrees til around 7:15/7:20.
We also ordered the grand Marnier soufflé and was alerted that it would take around 20 minutes and we said that would be fine. But the soufflé itself did not come out til 45 minutes later…
I was also not crazy about this soufflé, nothing extremely out of the ordinary and I’ve had better.
We ended up leaving the restaurant at 8:50
So if you have 3 hours to spare for dinner by all means come in and wait forever for your food to come out. We didn’t mind the wait up until that 45 minutes for a mediocre soufflé
If you want to eat at a wonderful seafood restaurant with great service, speedy food and even better delicious food I would recommend Wildfish seafood grille in new Port over 21 oceanfront

Oceansfront has a excellent view over looking the ocean. The entire atmosphere once you enter is nothing less than elegant.
The food is a little pricey and just ok. I would recommend the wedge salad and the calamari. The bar is one of the best in OC. It’s causal business and has a live jazz band every Friday and Saturday night. The wait staff and bartenders are none other than exceptional and super friendly.
Big Tony, Ryan and little Tony are some of the best bartenders in Oc. Between them and the rest of the staff is why we come back here on a regular basis.

Amazing location! Good for sunset and drinks. But DON’T order the food.
Expensive, flavorless and greasy. The food here is very dated, still serving mini vegetables.
Lamb chops over cooked, potato flavorless, dry. Potatoes au gratin greasy. Rice looks like a failed attempt at Spanish rice. I’ve eaten here numerous times throughout the years but I won’t again. Whatever culinary pride once existed has died. This is what the Arches had deteriorated to before it was reborn as A. Still good for drinks and a sunset however many better restaurants close by… even Sharkeez lobster tacos are a gourmet master piece compared to 21 Oceanfront. It is very sad.

Romantic spot to watch the sunset and enjoy a fancy meal. We had the filet oscar and it was on point. The medulium rare steak cut like butter and the crab and the sauce were amazing. Save room for the soufflé it is amazing, fluffy, gooey and delicious. The service was terrible. Our waiter was very attentive and offered great recommendations. There was live music and really made it a great evening.

Very friendly service here. Food tasted pretty good for being such a fancy spot. I been to other high end restaurants where the dinner was just mediocre. I decided to try out their buttery broth mussels and I was so glad I did. Juicy, chewy, little suckers. The butter broth was so simple yet decatent. The garlic cheese toast was insane here too! Had to order another round. Lobster tail and steak Diane were decent also. I preferred the mussels over those.

21 Oceanfront looks and acts the part but both the cuisine and the service falls flat on its face.
This restaurant has been staring at the Newport Beach pier as long as I can recall and with this view «to kill for» you would think it would be a slam dunk for impressing a date. Sadly, you would be dead wrong. From the smothering service to the bland offerings there is very little outside of the Soup and the view to admire and if you consider the associated costs, I can only suggest stopping in for a drink at the bar.
I made a reservation for 10pm through Opentable and we were told upon sitting down that the kitchen would like to close so we need to be quick with our order. Understandable, but then why take the reservation in the first place… right? Thanks to the staff trying to leave early we were rushed and approached over and over again like clockwork throughout the meal.
Very unprofessional to say the least but let us get to brass tacks… the food:
The Clam Chowder was most likely the highlight of the evenings offerings. A rich, creamy and delicious rendition of one of my childhood favorites. The Clams brought on a perfect salinity to the Soup and there is a strong taste of Celery in the finish. Well done, no question. About here is where any sort of love ends.
The Calamari Steak was an absolute abortion. Grease infused breading completely overwhelmed the delicate Squid meat and rendered the dish nearly inedible. In fact, I left more than half to meet the dishwasher. At $ 26.00 there is no excuse for this half assed effort. I don’t care if the kitchen wanted to go home, you don’t put out an inferior product at this price point (or any). Awful.
The Chilean Sea Bass was another cataclysmic failure. The meat was loose and rubbery, the Pineapple Mango Relish was rather bland and the price tag was laughable. Well, not really… I had to pay that plus 20% tip. Alright, it was downright infuriating.
This is a Seafood restaurant that takes itself seriously in Orange County, CA?
Look, The Capital Grille will offer a better Seafood product at the same price point and will happily throw in world class service free of charge. The Capital Grille is a STEAKHOUSE folks.
There is absolutely no reason to bother with 21 Oceanfront’s idea of hospitality, woeful kitchen execution or absurd pricing. Let this Dinosaur of gastronomy become extinct. OC has far too many better options for the money.