RH Ocean Grill’s coastal views are paired with seafood and caviar specialties as well as impeccable service on the home store’s top floor.
By Sharon Stello
Perched on the roof of the impressive new RH Newport Beach, The Gallery home store at Fashion Island, RH Ocean Grill is set in a skylit garden atrium with a dramatic central fountain, heritage olive trees and sparkling chandeliers.
The 270-seat indoor-outdoor restaurant, which includes an alfresco dining area, features panoramic views of the coast. Although RH (formerly called Restoration Hardware) has restaurants in other locations from California’s Montecito and Palo Alto to Raleigh, North Carolina, and even the Cotswolds in England, this is the brand’s first RH Ocean Grill, which focuses on seafood and caviar specialties.
This sophisticated dining spot sits atop the company’s largest gallery in the world, an immersive retail experience spread over four floors and 97,000 square feet. Opened in December, the store includes home furnishing collections from interiors to outdoor, baby and child, and teen sections, plus art, antiques and artifacts from across the globe and a waterworks showroom with bath and kitchen fittings and fixtures. Peruse the galleries while making your way up the grand staircase to the restaurant (or take the elevator).
Flanking the staircase on this top level, two wine bars pour exceptional wines and Champagnes from around the world in addition to Napa Valley favorites. Start with a glass of vino or one of the spritzes like the RH Bellini, RH Mimosa or rose spritz while indulging in caviar specialties such as mini lobster rolls or toro cones. To be really decadent, order the seafood tower piled high with chilled king crab, lobster, shrimp and oysters.
For starters, the Di Stefano burrata dish is tantalizing with sweet charred peppers, aged balsamic, basil and fresh burrata cheese, served with toasty ciabatta bread. The grilled shrimp with butter, garlic and Calabrian chile is another succulent option while the crispy artichokes with sliced potatoes offer some crunch, served with the addictive rosemary aioli.
A variety of salads are also available, from a classic Caesar, gem lettuce and arugula options to Chinese chicken, rotisserie chicken and Mulholland Drive salads; the latter features iceberg and romaine lettuce, chicken, egg, cheddar, avocado, bacon, tomatoes, beets and tangy balsamic vinaigrette.
When it comes to entree selections, choose from the land or sea. Try the grilled petite filet, cooked to perfection then topped with herbed butter and bearnaise on the side. A thin-sliced charred wagyu rib-eye, grilled petite lamp chops and French rotisserie chicken round out the meat options. On the ocean side of the menu, grilled king crab legs and whole grilled lobster with melted butter and lemon are sure to tempt while the broiled king salmon has a slightly sweet glaze of honey, brown butter and black pepper.
Like a traditional steakhouse, sides are ordered separately. They range from grilled asparagus to charred broccolini, roasted sweet potatoes and french fries—classic, truffle and sweet potato varieties. Handheld choices also abound, from a Roadside Lobster Roll with drawn butter and Old Bay on brioche, the RH Burger, fried chicken sandwich, chicken club or shaved rib-eye dip with au jus. And the weekend brunch menu adds dishes like an Italian Benedict with prosciutto and Parmesan hollandaise, impossibly thin Swedish pancakes, Belgian waffles, a French omelet and more.
When it comes to dessert, the choice is really between the caramelized banana split topped with plenty of whipped cream or the butterscotch brulee. As the menu says in describing the latter, there are simply “no words.”
RH Ocean Grill
1101 Newport Beach Center Drive
949-760-9232; rh.com
