Who would have guessed a high end steak and seafood house would be located at a strip mall across the parking lot of Trader Joe’s and Pier Import? Perhaps only in Newport Beach, and this is where you can find Mastro’s Ocean Club. The sister restaurant, Mastros Steakhouse, is known for their steaks, while Ocean Club emphasize seafood. Fortunately, they serve the best of both steak and seafood at this restaurant.
I have been wanting to check Mastro’s off my bucket list for a very long time. What better way to do so then by bringing Stephen here to celebrate his birthday? We had a 6:45 reservations, and arrive promptly at our time. We had to wait about 10 minutes and was shown a table literally right by the hostess station. I politely declined the location, due to the high volume of foot traffic, so we were asked to wait until a better table opened up.
While waiting, the manager of the restaurant served us 2 flutes of sparking wine / champagne, and apologized for the wait. Very classy!
Entrance
Bubbly… on the house!
About 20 minutes later, the hostess came to seat us in the atrium, and our table was literally on the border of the bar and atrium, and could see a glimpse of the ocean. At first we thought the table was better than the original, until the sun went down. Then, it was hard to see our food, even with the faux tea lights provided. The positive part of our table was we were entertained by the piano bar, and the lovely singers.
Our server was Ashleigh, and she seemed to agree to everything we suggested. She didn’t rush us as we tried to make a decision, but as we wanted to eat, we ended up getting:
– 18oz Kansas city cut for me (a NY steak cut closer to the bone) $58
– 12 oz bone in Filet for the birthday boy $56
– Lobster Mashed Potatoes, contained 1-pound of Maine Lobster, freshly cooked and sauteed in butter and herbs, mixed with the garlic mashed potatoes. A splurge at $35.
– Creamed corn $14
Stephen also ordered an Old Fashioned cocktail made with Jack Daniels ($14), which he said was probably one of the best cocktail he’s ever had.
The meal was wonderful, but also sinfully rich. The portions for the side dishes were surprisingly large, easy for 3 or 4 people to share. While eating, I had to make sure I made room for dessert, as we were told the Mastro’s Butter Cake was a must have.
Our server was very delightful, but occasionally it was difficult to find her if we needed something. She seemed to have too many tables to juggle or we were just too hidden to be well taken care of. Regardless, it became a bit annoying, especially when we were trying to pay our bill.
Seated at the Atrium
View of the atrium from our table
Taking advantage of the sunlight for a picture. Note the bar n the background.
My Kansas City Cut, which is a NY steak with the bone in
Finally when it came time for dessert, our server had our leftovers packed up, and we ordered the Butter Cake and 2 coffees ($4.50 each). The cake came out with a candle and a birthday greeting to Stephen written in chocolate. Normally priced at $16, the cake was on the house for being a special occasion. Like dinner, the cake was sinfully rich, and I could only eat 3 or 4 bites before calling it quits. We also ended up packing half the cake home.
The table got very dark once the sun went down
Happy birthday, Stephen!
The famous warm Butter Cake
The bill came to just over $200 and we left the restaurant extremely satisfied. Overall, a good evening. Stephen said he would return. Perhaps we will try the Mastros Steakhouse near South Coast Plaza, or the one in Beverly Hills or Vegas.
Allow yourself 2 hours to enjoy your dinner. Valet is available, but its also located adjacent to a shopping plaza, so if you arrive early, save yourself the valet trouble and self park.
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