The Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club has seen several owners, and several names, since it opened in 2001 under the St. Regis banner.
The 400-room Dana Point property, previously known as the Monarch Beach Resort, appears to have found stability following its 2019 sale to Redwood City’s Ohana Real Estate Investors LLC for nearly $500 million, a record price for a local hotel property.
In addition to its late 2020 rebranding under the Waldorf-Astoria name, marking the first location in Orange County for the Hilton luxury brand, the 175-acre property last year got a new General Manager, George Munz.
Munz, a former local Ritz-Carlton executive, has overseen a slew of upgrades over the past two years, with the resort’s dining options part of that overhaul.
Some of the Waldorf’s restaurants, such as Bourbon Steak by Michael Mina, have stayed largely the same. Others have evolved, thanks to new chefs and new menus that are taking the resort’s cuisine to new levels of excellence.
One big change on the Waldorf’s dining front: Chef Jean-Pierre Dubray, longtime executive chef at Pelican Hill Resort in Newport Beach, last year joined the resort as executive chef.
South American Showcase
Dubray is not alone among those with Pelican Hill ties at the Waldorf.
Aveo Table + Bar, another of the resort’s featured restaurants, is now helmed by Chef Diego Bernal, the resort’s new executive sous chef whose prior experience was at—you guessed it—Pelican Hill Resort.
Bernal came to the resort last summer having spent several years as chef de cuisine at Pelican Grill and The Coliseum Pool & Grill, and executive chef at the Mission Inn in Riverside.
Bernal and his team, which includes other chefs with backgrounds at Pelican Hill, revamped the menu of Aveo, whose patio overlooks the resort’s lawn and links, and the ocean beyond. Â
“The menu is a showcase of our new team and gastro culinary experience,” Bernal said. “We are moving more toward South American flavors, which we’ll incorporate little by little so it’s a nice experience for people to try the new menu and the new space with the ambiance, and the music.”
Bernal was born and raised in South America and came to the U.S. in 2000. He’s worked in several noted kitchens but has never had the opportunity to use ingredients or cook dishes from his home until now.
“It’s a great experience, and it’s something new to the neighborhood,” Bernal told the Business Journal. “It’s refreshing, and very fresh for Waldorf Astoria and Dana Point. It’s new yet approachable. The whole idea is not to scare people away but bring people in and make them feel comfortable with the changes.”
Busy Year
“It’s been a wonderful year and a busy year, with the banquet activity, and the challenges we faced with staffing and getting supplies—it’s a challenge but we do it, it’s been great,” Dubray said, speaking on what he’s been focusing on at the Waldorf since his arrival a year ago.
“And we are revamping the food to be the highest quality. We have a healthy business with events, people can celebrate here—Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, graduation. Weddings have been good; we had several weddings every weekend starting last year. Now we have groups coming back.”
Even with the success, Dubray said, “we’re always looking to make things better.”
Aveo Table + Bar: 1 Monarch Beach Resort, Dana Point, (800) 722-1543, waldorfastoriamonarchbeach.com/dine/aveo-table-barÂ
THE OCBJ Review
It was a beautiful day when my friend Jim and I pulled into the valet at the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club. Perfect for an al fresco lunch on the patio of Aveo Table + Bar.
The restaurant’s revamped lunch and dinner menus offer a mix of old favorites and new additions.
Dishes such as Coliflor Frito (fried cauliflower with beet purĂ©e, golden raisins and cotija cheese), Yucca steak fries with cilantro crema and cotija cheese, Ceviche de Camaron with bay shrimp and avocado, and El Jardin tacos with sweet potato, quinoa and jicama slaw take their place among more traditional dishes including the Aveo burger with truffle aioli and truffle fries, a roastedÂ
salmon bowl with quinoa and braised kale, and assorted flatbreads.
“These items are all fairly new,” Chef Diego Bernal said. “This is a showcase of our new team and gastro culinary experience. Dinner has the same concept, with more main dishes and sharable plates.”
I’m always on the lookout for a good burger, so of course I ordered the Aveo burger, but also started with the Yucca steak fries. We also tried the Cubano sandwich, the salmon bowl, and the El Jardin tacos.
The fries were crispy on the outside and creamy soft on the inside, and the crema was addicting. They soon vanished from the plate.
My burger was excellent, perfectly cooked medium and the truffle aioli added a wonderful depth to the dish.
The Cubano with slow roasted pork, Swiss cheese and ham was a fun twist on the tradition. The tacos were terrific, and Jim proclaimed the salmon dish excellent.
Based on recent traffic at the restaurant for lunch and dinner, the menu revamp has been a success.
