KATHY MADER -- DINING

Newport Beach has got a new fish restaurant, aptly named The Newport

Fish Company, down in Lido Village where the old Warehouse Restaurant and

the lesser-known and less successful Buzz used to reside.

The new place definitely has hints of the old restaurant, but it is a

lot fresher, has a lot more light inside and infinitely more style. If

you remember the Warehouse was sort of a dark and dismal affair.

The old freight elevator is still there, the excellent view of the bay

is still there -- there’s really not a bad seat in the house. Location is

definitely the thing, and they now have an extra large patio with lots of

seating and heat lamps o’ plenty.

The Fish Company is what I would call casual and a good place to bring

your family, yet very nicely redecorated with royal blue leather and

burnt caramel-colored wood -- a nice combination. Gone are the trendy

drink crowds (they may be back) and in their place are families, large

parties, romantic couples and a gifted guitar soloist who had people

happy to listen.

There are several televisions, but these don’t interfere with your

dining experience at all and actually served to enhance my husband

Brian’s in that he could eat comfortably knowing the Angels were beating

the Yankees.

This is really a huge piece of real estate, and to prove it the

18-foot great white shark over the bar looks like a big fish in a big

pond -- a big fish with huge teeth.

The menu provides something for everyone, even fish haters. Shark

haters too. You can get even by ordering thresher shark when in season.

The menu prices range from $7 to about $20. I did notice that the

pricing was a little quirky though, in that a bucket of steamers -- clams

in a white wine and garlic sauce -- was only $6.95 and an artichoke was

$8.95. What?

The appetizers, always my favorite, read very well with crab-stuffed

mushrooms, buffalo wings, fried calamari and the like. We started with

shrimp skins, which are potato skins with cheese, bacon and bits of bay

shrimp.

Wait a moment and let me jump on my soap box. Here’s the thing, and

take heed all local restaurants: No restaurant by the bay should ever

serve “bay shrimp” for two reasons -- No. 1, those of us who live by the

bay know exactly what comes out of the bay, and No. 2., the ocean is so

close, go get your shrimp from there! It’s a lot like getting canned

garlic in Gilroy, grape jelly in Napa or freeze-dried boxed spuds in

Idaho. Enough said.

True to their name, the Fish Company offers a global variety of fish,

including Atlantic salmon ($14.95), red snapper ($16.95), macadamia

nut-crusted mahi mahi ($19.95), California yellow fin ahi ($18.95) and

Chilean sea bass ($18.95). Yes, you traditionalists, you can get the surf

and turf, live Maine lobsters and Alaskan king crab legs, all of which

are priced daily.

The Fish Company also serves a pretty good New England clam chowder,

very rich and buttery, and a Manhattan seafood chowder, which I haven’t

tried yet.

Brian ordered the Alaskan halibut ($17.95) in a citrus butter sauce

with mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables. It was a very good piece of

fish and cooked well. I ordered the Cajun shrimp and roasted red pepper

pizza ($12.95) and was disappointed to find those pesky and microscopic

“bay shrimp” scattered on top. The pizza had good flavor, but I don’t

think I need to reintroduce my feelings about “bay shrimp” again.

After watching a few of the signature sandwiches go by, I really

wished I had ordered one of those. I will next time. These babies were

piled high, but not as high as the pile of fries that accompanied them.

Sandwiches include a BLT ($7.95), jerk chicken sandwich, grilled ahi tuna

melt and the “ultimate Fish Company burger” ($7.95). These all looked

good in the passing.

The dessert menu and our waiter, Steve (a really nice, hard-working

guy), made up for my discontent. We debated between the Key lime pie and

the peach cobbler, which was the winner in all respects.

The menu is large and varied. The restaurant is big and beautiful, and

I think once a few of the bugs, mainly the “bay shrimp” are worked out,

this will be a fun family place to go and enjoy Newport Beach and its

fish.

* KATHY MADER’s dining reviews appear every other Thursday.

FYI

What: The Newport Fish Company

Where: 3450 Via Oporto, Newport Beach

When: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Saturday and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday

How much: Moderate to moderately expensive

Phone: (949) 673-4700