Blue Coral Seafood & Spirits is the new restaurant in Fashion Island that is dazzling diners.
It completes a trio of restaurants housed in one complex: Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and Roy’s are the other two.
Blue Coral is where Hard Rock Cafe was. The ultra mod interiors,Hard Rock leaned so heavily on celebrity gear and the whole premise intoned with celebrity name-dropping,have disappeared. And the gigantic neon Stratocaster guitar sculpture, the greeting symbol of Hard Rock, also is gone.
The construction of Blue Coral had been hidden behind massive wooden walls for several months. We’d all heard that it was going to be different and distinct.
We waited and wondered. No more curiosity: Six weeks ago a gorgeous and unique restaurant where seafood reigns best was unveiled.
It’s already a tough reservation, so keep that in mind as you will want to call a few days ahead.
Paul Fleming and Bill Allen (Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar founders) are the men behind Blue Coral, a concept they honed for a few years before breaking ground.
Edna Morris is the president of this brand name and she’s got the background to do her job well. She recently served as president of the James Beard Foundation. Before that she was president of a large seafood chain operation.
A joint venture partner, chef partner, operating partner and a culinary director fill out the hands-on operational team.
The restaurant is named for the natural beauty and nurturing role that coral plays for the ocean. Blue coral is the rarest of all. Its distinctive color and beauty sets the dramatic theme that is balanced with an attitude that aims to please.
The front door opens to reveal theatrical swaths of blue, all enhanced to ethereal levels through lighting.
The focal point at the entry is a very dramatic hand-blown glass sculpture of blue coral created by artist Ben Coombs of Maine.
Behind that is a massive custom chandelier, again in blue, that serves as a sculptural statement. The 16-seat bar visible on the right side of the room is surely vying for the most beautiful award. Its entire back wall consists of shelves of glass etched in a wave motif holding vodka bottles, which are all bathed in blue light. Those in the know about vodka and drinks made from it realize how beautiful some of the bottles are. It’ll be one of my spots for cocktails here and there.
Iridescent blue tiles cover the walls, while a generous supply of booths are upholstered in designer fabric of subdued terra cotta color that subliminally accents the blue. A virtual sea of tables joins the booths and, naturally, white linen service is at home here.
We enjoyed a lot of the food. Some of it is so compelling that we’ve had to do it all over again.
Let me begin by saying that they present the menu, the wine list and a hard-bound folder of specialty cocktails, with desserts at the back.
Look first at the cocktail list because the restaurant’s spirits specialty is vodka, with more than 60 brands from five countries. There are dozens of chic vodka cocktails that wander well away from the common vodka drinks but they also embrace the trendy and popular cocktails of the moment.
This is the place to take advantage of flights of vodka, which are three one-ounce shots served in a signature ice rack with accompaniments. They’re great for satisfying curiosity about all those untried brands that keep the buzz going and the trends starting.
And of course, Blue Coral has a completely stocked bar to satisfy any whim. Once you’ve made a cocktail choice, it gives you time to decide on food and wine to match.
Since the food preparations and presentations are somewhat different here, you will want time to seriously look at the menu and discuss specials of the day with your server.
I am a believer that the best wine lists place wines in progressive order, grouped in flavor categories, making it far easier for people to select the style of wine that suits their palates. It also simplifies matching wine flavors with food.
This list is a pleasurable one that starts with the sweeter and very mild in taste, progressing to wines that are drier and stronger in taste.
We all know that the old idea of drinking only white wine with fish has been debunked. Both chefs and wine experts now also tout lighter red wines with seafood. There’s plenty in both red and white realms to satisfy everyone. And wines by the glass include more than 60 seafood-friendly selections.
The kitchen here celebrates the fresh, clean flavors of pristine quality seafood, prepared in ways that bring forth the natural wonder of seafood.
Of a dozen hot and chilled starters, we’ve already managed seven.
A ni & #231;oise style appetizer finds delicate carpaccio slices of No. 1 grade ahi tuna as part of the Mediterranean forte.
In another take on carpaccio, spice-rubbed filet mignon is seared, thinly sliced and served with pickled red onions that are an unexpected rave for the palate as an accompaniment.
Yellowtail crudo will continue to be on my order. The sushi grade fish sits on a film of blood orange vinaigrette and is sprinkled with Hawaiian sea salt. Most refreshing.
The word prawns means something here. The huge shrimp can be ordered as a prawn cocktail. Sometimes they come atop fish as they were on our recent sturgeon entree and they are featured among the shellfish entrees saut & #233;ed with garlic, basil and lemon butter in a more refined version of shrimp scampi.
Blue crab,and lots of it,are the driving force in the crab cakes. I love that they are pan-seared and not deep fried. They come with an alluring tomato aioli and a mound of fennel salad. The light, tempura-like buttermilk batter does nice things for the calamari, complimented further with a lemon-laced sauce and the chef’s light vinaigrette.
Leaves and Bowls is where you’ll find salads and soups.
Dungeness crab enhances a bibb lettuce and hearts of palm m & #233;lange. Lobster cobb salad, as you can imagine, is quite the chic version of the old classic. Clam chowder is hearty and of the East Coast persuasion, while Maine lobster bisque is rich and silky, going for the exquisite end of the scale.
Move on to the entrees in the Fins group: petrale sole with chive butter, grilled au poivre tuna with king crab legs sharing the plate, sea bass in parchment with fresh thyme, Alaskan halibut in shrimp broth and a prime center cut of wild salmon with roasted peppers and lemon-fennel salad come in artistic presentations. And they absolutely deliver in the taste department.
Shells are another group of the entrees. How appealing it is to find the king crab legs already shelled and served in a little pool of broth scented with fresh herbs. High on my delicious list right now. A well-studded cioppino even includes chunks of Maine lobster. Interesting twists with scallops and baked lobster tails also gets my attention.
The absolute must-not-miss entree is the Maine lobster en fuego. It’s smilingly dubbed the “lounging lobster” since it is served in the shell, lying on its back.
This is a very generous entree, the likes of which you will not encounter outside of Blue Coral. They take the big lobster out of the shell, cut it into bite-size pieces, toss it with their creative fuego chile aioli sauce, put it back into the shell and bake it. Trust me, it’s addictive.
The homemade chips that surround this big guy are pretty tasty too. By now, you must be thinking that this also is an expensive dish. Not so at all. It is the most expensive thing on the menu, but only $36, a hands-down bargain.
There are always palates that prefer something other than seafood and, although this is billed as a seafood restaurant, a few steaks and some grilled free-range chicken appear. Those have not been on my table so far.
I am still relishing the immaculately fresh seafood and the delicate way it’s handled.
Several accompaniments to entrees also have caught my fancy.
I can’t help but love the lobster mac ‘n’ cheese. The mashed potatoes are ethereally light and wonderfully flavored.
I won’t be having any meals without a side order of the Fuji apple and blue cheese slaw. One can imagine each of the flavors separately, but tasting them married in a bowl will prove that the sum is much greater than any one ingredient on its own.
Never one to pass on dessert, I confess to having tasted all that they feature.
Meals actually begin with a basket of homemade buttermilk biscuits. During this season, you can also end the meal with those cloudlike biscuits in a strawberry shortcake,lots of fresh berries and poufs of whipped cream.
A classic upside down apple tart has a nice caramelized glaze, gets a ribbon of cr & #269;me anglaise around it and a scoop of ice cream that further enriches the whole thing.
What you won’t find elsewhere is the chocolate peanut butter goodness: a tart made with three kinds of chocolate, peanut butter, fresh banana, vanilla ice cream and raspberry coulis. Yes, it’s quite delicious and can qualify as a comfort food, despite its richness, because it corrals all those favorite childhood tastes on one plate.
The key lime cloud of a cheesecake is a more tart ending if the aforementioned overwhelms your senses.
Life is certainly beautiful at Blue Coral. I just sink into that ambiance and it does such nice things for my psyche, totally aside from the cleverly conceived food that provides yet another kind of adventure at the table. The prices are bound to further enhance your enjoyment since everything is moderately priced.
Service sparkles, friendly smiles make us feel wanted and welcome. Orange County’s newest dining scene is treating the customer with special respect.
AT A GLANCE – Blue Coral Seafood & Spirits
Address: 451 Newport Center Drive
Newport Beach
Phone: (949) 856-2583
Prices: Dinner only, from 5 p.m.; appetizers $7 to $19 (for mixed sampling of the best appetizers); entrees $19 to $36
Parking: valet or self
