This place was another one of the groupon dates my boyfriend and i have been on. The atmosphere is great here for a date if you want to take your significant other out~ ;) I felt a little under dressed cause it feels like an upscale restaurant, but it can be toned down a bit. I liked the atmosphere, but the food could have been better.
The seafood pasta is what I got and it just tasted overwhelmingly of cheesy alfredo sauce and one more bite after a few bites just made me want to gag. My boyfriend got some kind of kabob thing that was ok. I don't know if I'd ever go back....we were seated right by the guy who was singing live there so it was hard to hear each other talk.
I give this place a two star rating as others have because it was really just that: Meh.
Love the Martinis and live music!
Nice ambiance and groovy crowd. Only complaint was the Artwork, and I'm an artist my self! It was hung so low at our booth, I couldn't sit back at my seat without hitting my head! More pillows, please!
Nice little space off the beaten path, tho.
Don't get rid if the Art, just give hang em high!
I come here a lot with my friend who lives in cdm. Its a great little hidden spot. They have great kabobs and other Mediterranean dishes for dinner. The live bands that play at night give the place a great ambiance. Its also fun to come here for brunch and get a little silly with the bottomless mimosas! Also the owner, Ali, is really personable and likes to get to know his regulars.
Review Source:I saw this restaurant on Groupon and decided to give it a try. Â We ordered a bottle of wine and it didn't come out until we were over half way through with our appetizer, the calamari ( it was okay). We saw tables around us receiving bread so we asked the busser if he could bring us some. Â That same busser came out a few minutes later only to give bread to another table that arrived 15 minutes after us. Â We had the gnocchi as our second course, which was pretty good. Â We ordered the filet mignon as our last course. Â It came out while we were still eating the gnocchi which made us feel rushed. Â Moreover, it was the wrong dish. Â When we told the food runner this he argued it was what we ordered. Â Turns out there are two filet dishes, but when we ordered the "filet" the server never asked us to clarify. Â There were no apologies but the correct dish came out in a somewhat timely matter. The filet was so-so. Â I found it odd that it was served with dry steamed vegetables ( pretty much tasteless). Â Also we were never offered fresh share plates. Â We had to use the same plate for all three dishes. Â
This place has potential. Â The live music was great.
I visited Port a few weeks ago with a few friends. They had great live music and the service was great. Our waitress checked on us several times and offered to check on substitutions for us which were easily made. We ordered the gnocchi, chicken kabob, and the filet which i highly recommend! You can't beat the location and it's right off of PCH in Corona Del Mar! I will definitely be back! =)
Review Source:Overview:
2 star rating = "Meh. I've experienced better" is the perfect description on my experience here.
Background:
$13 Groupon for $26 on brunch or lunch brought us here to try out this restaurant. Small brunch menu and the Groupon is only valid for Saturdays. The hostess had to call in and get permission from the owner on Sunday morning for us. (We were the only one at the restaurant at this point and it took several calls.) We also waited at the hostess stand for a 3-5 minutes before being greeted. By the time our meal was served there were two other tables occupied.
Experience:
Not a very extensive brunch menu, several benedicts, brioche french toast, filet and eggs, etc.
We ordered:
(2 @ $4ea) Â $8 Â Â Coffee
(2 @ $10ea) $20 Â Bottomless Champagne
(1 @ $2per) Â $2 Â Â Carafe of pineapple juice for mimosas
(1 @ $13ea) $13 Â Eggs Benedict California style (served with avocado and tomato in place of ham)
(1 @ $18ea) $18 Â Filet and eggs (Cooked medium/over medium respectively)
subtotal         $61
- Groupon value ($26)
+ Groupon cost   $13
price of meal with Groupon = $48 or $24/person
price of meal w/o Groupon  = $61 or $30.50/person
The filet was not your typical filet steak, it was more of a NY or skirt steak cut. Cooked medium. The eggs came out scrambled, had to send them back. The owners son explained that is how that dish comes prepared when I told him I ordered over medium??(witnessed the waitress rip into the owners son about how he should tell his dad that the cooks were not reading the tickets correctly because one of the other tables dish came out incorrectly also.)
The benedict was cooked perfectly, the hollandaise was light and creamy; although a bit bland and could have used salt. The home fries or house potatoes were good, fried with onions and peppers. They were not consistent across plates though as one plate was a 50/50 ratio of potatoes and peppers and the other only had a few peppers total.
Conclusion/Thoughts:
For the price I expect more as there are many fine dining establishments in CDM/Newport. There was a small set for a pianist and possibly a guitarist/violinist for dinner. There are several TV's by the bar as well as an one in the courtyard dining area. The dinner/appetizer menu was more Mediterranean but for the price I would go up the street to Panini Cafe.
I took my mom here for her birthday lunch because it was somewhere close to my home and we had a spa day the same day near by and I love trying new places in the area since I had just moved here and it wasn't a big chain restaurant. There was a host who sat us after trying for 10 minutes to find someone in the restaurant. There was no server, the host said he was taking care of us(eventhough he took FOREVER to come to our table the whole time I was trying to get his attention.
The host was doing everything..the bar, the patio and the inside. Also the food I have to say was not good at all. I feel bad saying this because they look like they try so hard with the beautiful decor, but the eggs benedict that we order had bernaise sauce with absolutely no flavor and was just plain gross :( Â Very dissappointed and so I do not recommend this place to anyone.
The bf and I decided to check this place out due to our groupon deal. The location is a bit hidden but not too difficult to find. If you don't see it on PCH don't worry, it's at the corner (more like back side of the building). Parking was easy to find. The ambiance was pretty cool, they had a live musician who covered a lot of hits that everyone should be familiar w/. Drinks are a bit pricey but I expect that. Pretty diverse crowd. Late 20's-older. The food was okay...I have a bit of a mix feeling on it.
Bf ordered the chicken pasta. It was pretty delicious. It was very creamy, cheesy and had lots of good flavor. I ordered the ''Koobideh'' Kabob Plate. I was a bit disappointed. It tasted really bland to me but this could be because I'm not a meat loaf person and it reminded me too much of that. My bf thought it was tasty. When I think of kabobs, I think of it being on a stick w/ meat and veggies. This was just meat, a small little cup of veggies mostly chopped tomatoes and cucumbers. The rice it came with was covered in cheese but still very bland..had absolutely no taste. I wanted to ask for salt but didn't want to insult the chef so I just added butter from the left over bread that they give you.
The seating is weird...its way too close to one another. We were seated at the corner but another couple was seated next to us. I felt like we were w/ them because you can hear everything they were saying and granted they were a bit drunk and annoying. Especially because the guy kept farting and it was really effin' nasty. He finally decided to excuse himself to the bathroom after two rounds of nasty smelling crop dusting farts towards our way.
On a good note, our waiter was really nice. The theme is cool....would I go back? Maybe just to the bar area for a drink or two during happy hour.
Chicken Pasta- Good
Koobideh- blah
Cakebread Sauv. Blanc- Excellent
Crème Brulee- good but I've had better...nothing to rave about.
Not at all happy with my last dinning experience here. As always, their fresh grapefruit martinis rock and their Mediterranean salad was also very good, but their gnocchi came out burnt. In fact, charcoaled like a brisket. Â When I saw that they had pan fried it just a tad too long, I sent it back. I was told by my server that the kitchen states that's just the way it is prepared here and that I best choose another menu item. Â
Wow! How the hell can you screw up gnocchi? And why can't you prepare it to the customer's satisfaction? Won't be wasting my money on food here again.
We found ourselves here for Newport Beach Restaurant Week. I didn't do any research prior to attending so I didn't actually know what to expect from a restaurant named "Port." For all I knew it could have been American cuisine. I just sort of went with the flow which is rare for me but whatever..
As it turns out, Port specializes in global cuisine so it's not really anything specifically. Hmm ok. The menu for NBRW was extensive. We were lost for a good while trying to figure what we wanted to eat. Most restaurant week options are fairly slim - you get a choice of 3 items each ranging from appetizers, main course, and dessert. This menu had 8 items to choose from for each. We needed 10 minutes to peruse since we were going to be sharing everything.
Appetizer - Hummus/House salad. The hummus was awesome. Great garlickly flavor, smooth, and served with warm unlimited pita bread. It was a hit and we could have easily eaten more but needed to save room for the main courses. The house salad was bland. We picked this one apart and barely ate any of it. The citrus vinaigrette was missing or barely there. Bleh.
Main course - curry filet mignon pasta/filet mignon shish kabob plate. I love shish kabob, basmati rice, and veggies. It was also served with a variety of dipping sauces and we were absolutely in love with this dish. The curry filet mignon pasta is a specialty so we ordered that as well but I was tired of it after a few bites. It was overwhelming with spicy flavor and even though I packed up the rest to go; I couldn't bring myself to eat it. I wish I had leftovers of the kabobs but damn, those went fast.
Dessert - tiramisu/chocolate mousse. Wow, dessert is huge here. Like way too much. We were overwhelmed with the dessert and could sadly take only a few bites. I'm not a big fan of tiramisu but decided to try it anyway. I was disappointed and only took a few bites. Something about the mascarpone cream is just too much for me. The mousse was good but just too much. I only like dessert in small portions.
Overall, the service was fabulous and on point. I had tea and water for the night and both times I was given a fresh tea pot, a new tea bag, and my water was refilled. Very impressive. Plates were also cleared quickly and the new course was served on time. Very great dining experience and I'll be back for the kabobs. Also, it's easy to find parking once you turn on Heliotrope. You can park in the lot directly across or on the street.
Used a Groupon coupon to introduce us to this local spot. Â The atmosphere inside is warm with large modern artwork on the walls and intimate seating. Â As others have said, there's music in the adjacent bar which may have interrupted our conversation if it had started earlier. Â The sea bass dinner special was very good and the Mediterranean appetizers were as well. Â Martinis were dry and delivered quickly. Â There's a lovely Cakebread Savignon Blanc on the menu which paired nicely with my sea bass. Â We'll be back even without the Groupon coupon.
Review Source:Went there with a friend on a Thursday night to use a Groupon I recently purchased. First impression was very good as the place looked great! Then we ran into the hostess. Unfortunately she was not very friendly. No smile, no personality.... just grabbed 2 menus and walked away. There was some nice live music playing from a band called Dirty Martini's, and our table was directly next to the speaker, a little loud, but ok. The table itself was broken. It wobbled horribly and we wanted to ask for a different table, but the place was packed. We tried to shim the table leg, but it was a problem with the bolt in the table top. It wobbled so bad that our drinks were spilling. Â Waitress must have been related to the hostess, not very friendly, and a forced smile. Being beautiful only goes so far!
We ordered the Gnocchi appetizer, the Maine scallops, and the Lobster Ravioli.
Food was excellent! All dishes were top shelf and very good! Unfortunately, there were to many other negative factors that make this an average place. If it was just for the food i'd give them 4.5 stars, but the service, atmosphere, and eating environment were poor.
Even with a groupon, this place was pretty expensive. Don't know if i'll go back.
We had the Garlic Soup and the Sea Bass. Â Both were wonderful! Â Additionally, we had a couple of perfectly made perfect manhattans. Â The server was pleasant and attentive. Â The is a rare find for a restaurant to get the food, drinks and service right! Â Wow! Â Thanks and we will be back!
Review Source:My wife & I & 2 friends ate here last night... where to start, no greeting at front of restaurant - Server although very nice young lady could not handle the volume of traffic - took us, it seemed liked 15/20 minutes to get our 1st drink...
no fault of the waitress though, She had about ten tables and was slammed... although we did start getting attentive services when it came time to pay the bill, so also question her abilities!
Anyhow, the owner of this place needs to take control of this restaurant - absolutely 0 leadership here. Â
To top it off, there was a christmas party in the room connected to the dining area and this young group of punks proceeded to get on the microphone and sing a personal song to friend over the tune Sweet Caroline? Â
Why the two man band let them do it is beyond me... shame cause the 2 man band was good!
Food was just ok for the price point.
Whoever owns this place, I can't reiterate enough you need some sort of Manager here, because it was truly a lame experience all around!
#FAIL Big Time!
I came here with a date and he recommended their tacos. They were ok, not the traditional sort of tacos you have like at a Mexican Restaurant, they had a different type of seasoning that was overwhelming and not flavorful for my taste; and the salsa wasn't spicy, so I wasn't to excited. What I do like about the place is that there is live music every night and on that night, his friend was playing so it was a lot of fun. Also, they have specials every night and that night was $2 tacos and $2 beers or $3 margaritas. I guess I'll need to come back and try it again. Maybe.
Review Source:<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2FGuiltysoles.com&s=bcf0624641475ba35e8a92aecf2dc16606bd54b6cb83abe5c9bbb1254bdc1218" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://Guiltysoles.com</a> was having their launch party and amazing group of girls from San Diego called Eleve were singing and dancing in the patio area. It was a bit cold but the entertainment was great. Hot shoes displayed at the bar.
I liked the light fried calamari. Good food, nice atmosphere, i like that it's tucked around the corner. Great place for a date.
Came here for a friend's birthday dinner. Not really a good place for groups in my opinion though they accommodate you. This place is small and it is difficult to find parking. The food was great. The ambiance, weird. I can see this place being a good spot to go with 1 or 2 girlfriends to get a drink and mingle. That's about it. There was a weird outdoor area, very cramped as well. Drink prices were expensive. Music could have been better.
Review Source:My second visit was during brunch time on a sunny summer Sunday. It was a good day to dine because the restaurant was busy but not overcrowded. It was self seating so we decided to sit near the window where we could look outside and enjoy the view.
The server was awesome! I love being able to explain what I like and have the server make suggestions and order for me. :-D My friend & I both had the eggs benedict w/potatoes and again, the food was delicious! Bottomless champagne and oj always adds the perfect touch to brunch.
Obviously, this place has delicious food no matter what time of day or night! Excellent customer service around the clock is also high on their list of priorities because I had great experiences with different servers during both of my visits.
I don't exactly live in the area, but Port Restaurant and Bar is well worth the drive!
The music was a bummer. It was in my opinion a shlocky mix of 80's pop tunes. I was sitting at the lovely outdoor area and had to move inside to try and get some distance from it.
The decor is lovely and romantic. The food was pretty good but over priced. Its open late. We went late and so it wasn't busy. We have very good service.
The lobster ravioli was good, big chunks of lobster in it. And the beef kabob also very tasty and good size portions.
Hubby and I made it for Sunday brunch. As we walked in, the host told us to sit "wherever we want." we'll, I don't know the layout or where to sit, so that was weird. The service basically sucked, no way around it. Couldn't find anyone to help us, take our orders, get forks to eat with, etc.
Only redeeming quality was the food. I got the filet mignon shish kabob salad which was very good. Fresh veggies, filet cooked nicely and a sour lemon dressing. It was all very refreshing.
Won't be back due to the service, but food was good.
VERY slow service, okay food and a broken chair add up to us NOT returning to this restaurant.
Sunday brunch was nothing special, in fact they treated us like were were nothing special either. Bad service in all areas. and when my husband finally got tired of waiting for some to take care of the broken chair he was given, he put it over by the wall (out of seating) and grabbed another one. when he finally got the chance to tell our waiter about it, the waited acted like it was no big deal and eventually we watched the chair get moved BACK to a table for the next unknowing guest to deal with, or fall out of.
Pita bread never came and I had to wait forever to get a steak knife for the fillet Mignon and it was cold by the time I got it. Like I said, they just don't seem to care about serving the customer here.
The food was good but the service was slow. It's not good when u keep having to ask for a refill on water.. This should be done when your glass is empty.. There was live music that was okay but was very loud.. We had to yell most of the night.. Only came here because of the groupon.. We won't be coming back again!!
Even though the food was good the service and setting were not great..
The 2 stars are for the food and that's it!!
A nice Med-style place. There's even a legal California smoking section, if you like that sort of thing (I don't, but it's unusual and hard to find these days in restaurants).
Very, very nice food and good servers. Apparently there have been some Groupon users who didn't have a good time...IMHO certain places should just not bother with those things. But we loved the place, period.
One thing that could theoretically be improved...here's a place called Port, though it's nowhere near the water as restaurants go. But I'll overlook that small fault.
I have to say I was so disappointed in this place. I found them on Yelp and was so excited to sit and listen to some great live music with my GF. I made a reservation through Yelp, planned out the evening to have some dessert and listen.
I made it on time after a nice stroll around the neighborhood, hand-in-hand with my lady. We decide to go in and sit down. We waited to be seated approximately 5 mins until someone came to the front. We asked about the music and were directed to sit anywhere. We decided to walk out to the outside seating area in the rear by where the music would be playing. Upon turning the corner, to mine and my GF's surprise, we were greeted by a waitress with the smallest Cami that looked to be more suited for my 9 yr old daughter.! Yikes. Her belly was exposed as well as her bust. I just found this to be an inappropriate outfit for such an establishment.
Needless to say, we were never able to try the food. I hope with some uniform changes, we can go back and try the food as well as listen to some music.
Let's just say fellas, this might not be the best place to bring a date. :)
Just another mediocre place.
Got a groupon deal, so we came for brunch on Sat after our morning surf session. At 12noon, the place was near empty. Our server was trying very hard but we were missing napkins, food came out with no utensils, drinks not filled. My hottie ordered the power breakfast $13 and I ordered the fillet mignon kebab $14 - asked for medium rare, bloody. It came out well done. I returned it and the 2nd plate was much better. Call me primitive, but there something so satisfying about eating juicy bloody steak.
Small glass of orange juice $4, small mediocre cup of cappuccino $4. Pricey for what you get.
Live music M-F starts 7pm, Sat & Sun starts 4pm. Street parking.
Worst Experience ever!
My fiance and I bought a groupon for the Brunch (2 entrees up to $13.00 in value for $12.00)
We understand it's a Groupon but don't sign up with this merchant if you don't want Groupon customers! We are so upset about this place!
We went here for a nice St.Patrick's Day brunch and ended up deciding to NEVER come back. I don't normally write Yelp reviews but this is SO necessary.
First of all, we thought our server was going to be the nice guy with longer hair who greeted us, but he turned out to be the bartender. He informed my fiance it would be okay to get the Gnocchi even though it was $15.00, but he ordered it based off of the bartender's recommendation.
I'm only giving this place 1 star because the food was really really good! The service needs serious improvement.
We ended up getting a different girl server who took our order, because we assumed the bartender guy didn't want our table because of our Groupon.
The new waitress,who seemed annoyed with the fact that we didn't get cocktails, delivered our food 20 minutes later. The food was pretty good although we were astonished at the service.
We were done eating 15 minutes before anyone came up to ask us how our food was or if we wanted the check to leave. The sever cleared our plates and asked if we wanted dessert. We said no which once again annoyed her.
She then walked away without asking if we wanted our check. After another 15 minutes went by, my fiance finally got up to ask for the bill himself.
We presented the Groupon to our server who took it to the manager and it appeared they have trouble figuring out how to process it.
After about 5 minutes of confusion, the server came back and said that they don't normally cover the Gnocchi (even though our first server told us it was okay), they would accept it anyways. Wow thanks!
We paid for our tax which was $3.00 and left a very minute tip because we were so upset!
It honestly ruined our morning!!
We walked out quite angry and no one stoppled us to apologize or anything . The rather heavy owner was too busy talking to the other servers to even greet our table even though he made his presence known.
We just moved to the area and have had great experiences at other places in Corona Del Mar, but we will not be back to this place.
Don't waste your time and don't expect good service!
Seriously?
If you want good food - then do not waste your $$ here.
Upon entrance - Port restaurant is draped with white curtains, giving a mediterranean feel but when you walk in, you'll be smacked in the face with way tacky pictures on the wall -im talking faux paintings replicated with ikea looking chairs which is fine but for a restaurant that poses to be a fine dining restaurant? The server let us know of the restaurant once being a residential...they turned the 2 separate rooms into the food area (dining + bar). Our initial seats in the dining area were so friggin' close to the next table we mind as well drink the other parties drinks and eat their food. So I politely asked our uninteresting host to be seated in the bar area...she really was unfriendly.
Walking over to the "bar room" I seriously walked into a very confusing restaurant.
Sat down and here goes:
-Ordered Champagne - it took 20 minutes and to my dissapointment, it was flat and the flute was sweaty as if the drink had been sitting there for 20 minutes. Had to wait another 10 to get a new drink.
-Meat way overcooked and chewy - avoid the sliders.
-Tuna tartare chips were severely stale and the tuna was just over spiced.
-Gnocchi - how do you f*&^ up this dish?...well they did.
Left side: Live music by a gentleman that was good but he was so retro outfitted - Â I think he was a Beatles back up singer stuck in this oh so confused mediterranean restaurant in the middle of Corona Del Mar.
Right side: TV screen with news/basketball playing.
Understanding my confused state of mind now?
I was getting stare downs from blonde chicks from behind and the other girl across the way kept STARING and just looked so unpleasant. They probably loved my boots and all I could do was smile back. No really, people just seemed so unfriendly here.
This place was trying to be classy - Epic Fail. Never again.
1 hour and 85 dollars later - A waste of time+money.
I will give away my groupon if anybody wants it lol
The boyfriend and I came here for a friend's going away party. Â The bar area doesn't have a lot of space and the hostess told us there was some tables in the lounge area we could sit at. Â The atmosphere was pretty chill.
Our server was great with large and continuously growing group . Â We only ordered beers but others in our group ordered food. Â It came out fairly quickly. Â There was some confusion about the number of gnocchi appetizers and margarita pizzas that were ordered but it all got sorted out eventually. Â
Port is a cool place, a little on the pricier side but I would totally come back - but hopefully not for a going away party - I don't want my friends to leave me!
Not super impressed  by this place.  I bought a Groupon and intended to use it for Sunday brunch, but due to the fine print it doesn't cover that.  So I paid without it and now have a Groupon to use but I don't want to go back.
I ordered the steak and eggs breakfast, medium rare. Â The steak came out well done and chewy. Â I tried some of my friend's egg's Benedict which was good, but I'd rather go elsewhere with a livelier atmosphere. Â Granted, they do provide live music most days but most of the restaurant was empty even during peak hours on a Sunday (because who doesn't go to Sunday brunch, right).
Other items I liked were the eggplant hummus, feel free to request more pita bread if you need.
The staff are helpful though, and I called ahead for reservations of a party of 7.  When  I got there, it was all set up and ready.
Bought the Groupon $25 for $50 Friday & Sat. Came in here three times try to redeem it-I finally give up, had Groupon just refund with the credit.
First try-they told me we didn't have reservation.
Second try-they told us we're sitting at the Bar & Patio-it can only be redeem at dine-in area.
Third try-they told us it's brunch time, we can't redeem it. (I look up my watch it says 1pm in the afternoon).
the food is good here but... really, there're a lot other better option around Corona Del Mar for that price.
I really like Port! It's kept away in a residential area, but that's the beauty of it. It's as if you're partying at a classy house. There was even a well decorated Christmas tree!
Their bread is amazing and comes with a really zesty pesto sauce. They offer live music on some nights. Upon entering, to the right is the sit down, classy restaurant and to the left is a hall way that leads you to the bar scene. In the smack dab in the middle, you can find live musicians on popular nights.
I went for a surprise birthday dinner, and the musician at the time was very talented. He primarily played Beetle songs, which set up a super fun vibe. The service was spectacular, everything came very quickly. They were also accommodating of our large, sometimes obnoxiously loud group.
The prices are fairly moderate. The drinks are a little pricey, but if you CHECK IN on Yelp, you can get a $6 Port Mojito! Don't order the Chocolate Covered Strawberry drink even though it looks good...it's actually white chocolate based and not good at all. If you CHECK IN on Foursquare, you can get a free appetizer up to $18.
Fun times! Highly Recommend it!
I went to port last night with my best friend to catch up and grab some drinks and dinner. The food looked good online so we were excited to try out a new restaurant.
Let's just say one visit was enough. The service was the worst service I have EVER received at a restaurant. From start to finish our entire experience was horrible which is a bummer cause the food was actually good.
It started when we arrived. The hostess greeted us and told us the wait would be 25 mins. We understood that we didn't have a reservation, so we decided to get a glass of wine in the bar. Â About 30 mins later I went up to the hostess to get an ETA on our table and she gave a nasty look and said she didnt know since there were reservations that checked in. I asked for an estimate and she said an additional 30 mins to 1 hour! How does that make sense? Hostess made no apologies.
So we decided to order an appetizer at the bar since our wait was going to be longer. We order a hummus and eggplant dip. 30mins later we still did not receive our dip (we asked different workers several times) then were finally seated.
Now our waitress had the opportunity to save the night for us. We reminded her about the dip we ordered 45 mins ago at the bar and ordered everything else as soon as possible. She came back twice to let us know that the kitchen was backed up. Hmmmm the kitchen is backed up 45 mins for a dip? Doesn't make sense to me.
There's more but I usually don't like to complain so I'll end here. I really wanted to like this place especially since the food was good, but the experience was so bad due to the service we received from everyone there. I work in customer service and I understand there are days that don't go perfectly but it's important to acknowledge the customer and apologize. Â a little acknowledgment goes a long way.
I'm not sure if you have to physically go to the restaurant to review the places on yelp...but my 2 stars stand for the Taste of Newport. Â
Staff was great and really friendly. Â Chicken kabob was burnt and had no taste. Â The rice wasn't even salted or flavoured...and dry. Â If that's what you're using as your "best foot forward," then you can keep the "Free Starter or Dessert" coupon. Â Unless someone else really wants to go to this place, I won't be trying it for the 2nd time.
Anyone else who went but knows it was just bad luck...hit me up to vouch for them and I'll give them another try! Â :)
Port is the epitome of date spots. Located right in the heart of Corona Del Mar on a multimillion dollar residential street. The ambiance is very Greco-Italian in a romantic way. After reading all the other reviews, I must say the air in my expectations balloon had been siphoned out; However, contrary to popular yelp beliefs, Port was actually good.
Because drinks are a bit pricey, my friends decided to bring wine. I called ahead of time and confirmed $15 corkage; However, when the bill came it was $20. I made a semi-stink with the waitress but decided the battle just wasn't worth it. Â However, a $25 corkage would have escalated into a full-blown stink! Â And trust me... you do not want to be at the other end of that stink (pun intended). Â We had a cakebread sauvignon blanc (purchased at Port), another white (escaping me for the moment), and I brought a spanish blend (which was used as a pillow during a backpacking trip through spain in 2003 - breathlessly waiting to open her up :)
Because my friends and I decided to share everything, I thought I'd order something that was not on the pre-fix to add to our already myriad of dishes.
My order:
-bacon topped clams and mussels
*When it comes to mollusks, I have become somewhat of the... how do you say - "snooty high brow primadonna"... basically a prick! In my defense, it's not my fault. It's Michelle T's because she really does make the best ever (thai basil, lemongrass, ginger, onion, coconut milk, etc... wow!). What I did not like about Port's was that they were small, a bit overcooked, and the flavor was lacking. Not bad, just not great.
-crab cakes
*blah! Too salty and too much breading. Too many times do restaurants "over mix" the crab-cake batter. What you are left with are stringy/shredded crab rather than the lump type that I like. Blah again!
Other Items:
-Gnocchi
*easily one of the best I've ever had. If you think you like Gnocchi, try it fresh and you'll love it!
-Chicken Pasta w/ a mix of red and white sauce
*Very heavy but the flavor was great. Pasta was cooked perfect aldente.
-Flank Steak
*Flank steak can be hit or miss at most restaurants because too many times does it get overcooked. Port provided a perfect 5-star piece of meat.
-Ahi Tuna Tartar
*Fresh, flavorful, and fuego!
-Crème brûlée
*The Crème... not so much, but the brûlée ... nice thick crust and the bananas were a nice twist to a classic dish. Â
-Berries and Cream.
*A dessert that is impossible to mess up. A light refreshing end to a good meal.
Good meal, good wine, good friends!
3.49 Stars - rounded down, but still unhappy about the spontaneous appreciation of corkage fees.
Will have to agree with the other Yelpers on this. Service was great and I liked the location but everything was so lackluster.
About the only thing we all thoroughly enjoyed was the house gnocchi ($14), which were some of the fluffiest little pillows of potato dumplings I've had in awhile. Succulent and sauteed to a nice crisp with morel mushrooms and oven-roasted tomatoes.
Otherwise, my pesto linguini was really dry and bland. French onion soup was far too sweet for my liking ... sampled some of my companions' dishes and wasn't impressed either. The  braised short rib was too rich. The grilled salmon fared a bit better. It  was served on herbed Basmati rice with a fresh cucumber tatziki sauce.
To finish, had the chocolate lava cake -- again, an uninspiring take on a generic dessert. It was dry and there wasn't much of the warm oozing center one would hope for.
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