Restaurant opening a sign of good times

Nearing 100 years old, the Balboa Pavilion is not showing its age in

the least. And its latest youthful incarnation appears ready to

mature nicely.

Last week’s opening of the Harborside Restaurant and Grand

Ballroom should be a welcome addition to the peninsula lifestyle,

offering a high-end place to dine with a picture-pretty view of the

harbor, Balboa Island and even Newport Coast rising in the distance.

Owners David and Doug Salisbury, who are also behind the Newport

Landing at the other end of the Fun Zone, have outfitted the interior

nicely enough that it competes, almost, with the waterfront view.

(Early reports are equally favorable about the food, too.)

But the improvements to the Pavilion go far beyond having a place

to enjoy a good meal. The revamped restaurant, which fills the hole

left when Tale of the Whale closed two years ago, clearly can act as

a key component to the revitalization of Balboa Village.

That work by the city, some $9 million worth, already has

brightened up Main Street, the Balboa Pier and the parking area

around it.

Private improvements, such as those by the Salisburys’ and others

like the Balboa Inn, show that business owners, too, are intent on

upgrading this historic part of Newport Beach. And still to come is a

reopened Balboa Theater, which would fill the bill perfectly, making

the village a draw for residents and tourists, alike.

It is not hard to imagine crowded streets, people waiting for

seats at Harborside, kids racing through the Fun Zone, a line of

theatergoers awaiting a performance at the theater. But that image

still lies in the future. For now, the Harborside opening is enough

reason to eat, drink and be merry.