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    Back Bay Tavern

    3.5 (97 reviews)
    ModerateGastropubs
    Closed 11:00 am - 8:00 pm
    Updated 1 week ago

    Back Bay Tavern Photos

    BACK BAY TAVERN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    weekly specials menu as of Aug 2023
    Jilli G.

    very casual. great place to grab a beer after work. awesome food specials as well. i especially love their Thursday burger & beer special. they will give you a larger beer with an upcharge for the difference.

    Fries are good but salty, sliders ok, fish and chips fresh fish but greasy, honestly I expected more
    Dawn F.

    Great place to take your Whole Foods items in to nosh on. You can pay for them at their register in the restaurant. Service here is so friendly and 5 stars all the way. 3 stars for the food. They are a full restaurant and bar in the very back of the store. They have a separate restaurant menu of appetizers, salads, and main dishes, a lot of pub style food. We started by eating our ahi poke and cucumber and avocado rolls from the grocery side. We should have stopped there but dh was still hungry and we thought we would try a few items from the menu and were not impressed. Sliders were dry and the meat did not taste fresh or high quality, fries were frozen/salty, fish and chips greasy and salty-didn't finish them. Sweet potato fries were the best thing and even those were frozen. We obviously ordered the wrong things. I expected much more from this restaurant and from Whole Foods in general. High quality food should taste high quality, so what are they using in the restaurant?

    dried spiced wings
    Trung N.

    3.5 stars I kinda really like this place. Their happy hour runs later than other places in the area - whatever time until 6:30. The casual restaurant is located in the back corner of Whole Foods Market and serves up a pretty organic/healthy menu. This, by no means, guarantees a good value because quite frankly, happy hour here can get pretty pricy. I've been ordered the Irish nachos because I feel like it's pretty good bang for your buck, except not really because the potatoes suck unless you add in either chicken ($4) or steak ($5). You end up with a $12 or $13 appetizer, which is fairly expensive for happy hour. Calamari is good - $7 bucks-ish. I had their dried spice wings the other time and they were okay. It lacked flavor, but the wings were tender. I actually really like their little sushi rolls during happy hour. I especially like their spicy tuna something roll, but unfortunately, it's rather expensive for what it is. The sushi is fresh but 4 pieces cost 4 buckeroos and so that warrants a no thank you. This is a cool place is chill if you need a TV and a place to kill, but I definitely wouldn't make a meal out of coming here.

    Beer on tap menu
    Jeff L.

    Great little bar tucked in back of Whole Foods. Imperial IPA and Road Warrior were awesome. FYI - they have different buyers so if you like the beers at one Whole Foods you might not find it at another one. The bar allows you to bring in anything from the store if you want - even order one of the pizzas from the front and they will bring it back to you. Shishito peppers were great, little spicy very oily. Bloody Mary was a meal in itself with the calamari. Great concept ! Grilled cheese was awesome, nice country hearty bread with multiple kinds of cheeses and thick bacon. They were out of a few beers which disappointed me..

    Ambient string lights
    Brigitte O.

    Every time we've eaten here we've had the pleasure of friendly servers and delicious food. My boyfriend loves the extensive beer selection including his favorite, IPAs. Indoor and outdoor seating in the beautiful Newport weather makes every place a good spot to sit and enjoy your food and drinks Our favorites: Tomato soup Hot wings Gaucho Steak Sandwich Allagash White Ale Philly Sushi Roll Chipotle Chicken Sandwich Exposed beams, ambient string lights, exposed brick, and cork floors make for a homey comfy lived-in feel that makes this tavern hands down one of my favorite taverns I've ever visited. Keep up the excellent service and relaxed vibe :)

    Fries covering the adult grilled cheese with avocado!
    Ritika T.

    OK guys, the BEST thing about this place is that you can get seated, decide what you want and then have a friend do a beer run LITERALLY at the adjacent Whole Foods market. You can bring a six pack into the restaurant easily, and they charge you on your bill. How convenient and, um, AMAZING is that? Nik M. and I just couldn't believe how much we saved on beer during our outing. It was a pleasant surprise. We opted for a six pack bottle of hefeweizen that was only about $9. You'd easily pay around that much for 1-2 glasses. To top this off, the staff and chefs are incredibly kind. I stupidly and accidentally forgot to ask them to hold the bacon on my "Adult Grilled Cheese" because I was just way too excited about adding avocado to the delectable dish. When it came, my stomach dropped. This rarely happens, but I felt so disappointed. Our server could tell by my facial expression and offered to swap my sandwich for a brand new one sans cheese. 1000X brownie points! I love this place. In the spirit of objectiveness, I do feel the seating could be improved upon in doors. It felt a little too squished, but there is plenty of romantic seating outdoors to make up for this--at least on warm nights! The dish itself was really yum. Nik M. enjoyed his giant chicken, rice and beans dish, though he did have a qualm about the seemingly day old rice.

    Jen T.

    I was wondering where was the kitchen for this place until I realized...the staff had to walk a million feet to fetch our food and serve it to us. Seems incomvenient...but what's the point of building another kitchen. It just seems more like a laidback place to eat and drink...inside a grocery market. Who would have thought this would exist?! Anyways, my experience was positive and the service was awesome! Went in for happy hour! Ordered the tuna with avocado roll, tiger roll and sliders! My favorite was the Tuna with avocado roll! Tuna was extremely FRESH and it was phenomenol! Yum! Tiger roll wasn't bad at all but I just prefer the tuna roll! The sliders were very tasty and the meat was juicy and tender! To top it off, their homemade bacon jam was pretty yummy! I was thoroughly impressed! Our bill came out to $19 without tip! Portions are a bit small but it seriously filled me up! FYI: They have Taco Tuesdays now! Starts from 11AM until closing! All you hard-working people in Newport should come here for lunch! They offer carne asada, pollo and grilled veggies. Each taco is $1! ( These are offered at the other bar located in FRONT of the store!! 2 bars in a grocery store....fancy pants, no?) Enjoy! :)

    Board list 2/20/15
    Travis W.

    I dont know about you guys but I dont come here to eat. This review is strictly on the awesome bartenders and amazing beer selection they have in this little gem inside Whole Foods. So with that said lets get down to business. They have a killer selection of beers on tap for a fair price. Better than most restaurants you will find in Newport. I came in here and was blown away at all the great stuff they had. I go to the Whole Foods at the District but I think I like this one much better just because they have such a great selection. If you are a fan of good beers and love IPAs and have not been to this place. I can defiantly recommend checking it out. They also offer full bar if you are into that. But with all that great beer staring at you how could you turn them down? CHEERS!!!

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    2 years ago

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    We’re happy to hear that, Bev! Please stop by anytime.

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    2 years ago

    The food was delicious and our server was great! The restaurant itself is a cool atmosphere. Would definitely recommend and will be back.

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    A+O Restaurant | Bar - Outside patio featuring fire pits and waterfront dining

    A+O Restaurant | Bar

    4.0(467 reviews)
    2.3 mi
    $$$

    We had a great experience at A +O restaurant | Bar located in the Balboa Bay Club…read more We enjoy stopping at A + O while visiting NPB. Although it is located in a resort, it is definitely a locals spot. Everyone appeared to know each other from the area. Very friendly. We arrived around 11:00 am for Brunch and to watch the final day of The Masters. It was a rainy morning so we elected to sit at the bar. We typically enjoy sitting outside on the patio at the tables or the fire pits, if you still at the bar, you still have a nice view of the boats lined up in the harbor. Tia was the bartender when we arrived. She was very attentive and professional. Tia explained brunch was already over which we were a little bummed but she said she could still do a couple of breakfast boards. Neither looked like what we were interested in eating so we elected to go for lunch. We ordered Bloody Marys and they were delicious. We started with the Chef's Seasonal Burrata - Pistachio pesto, roasted beets, pomegranate, lemon olive oil, fresh herbs, grilled house made focaccia. This was very refreshing and tasty. It is also GF and Veg. I ordered the A+O Burger - Brioche bun, butter lettuce, 1000 island, farmhouse cheddar, caramelized onion, pickles, fries. I ordered it Medium and unfortunately the burger was cooked well done. It had great flavor but it was a little dry since not cooked to order. The fries were delicious, hot and crispy. My husband ordered the Pork Belly Sliders - Pork belly, butterleaf lettuce, roma tomatoes, fresh sliced pickles, spicy aioli, Kings Hawaiian slider bun. He said they were delicious. Tia left and Joe took over. Joe was amazing. Very attentive and friendly. Joe went out of his way to grab a drink I requested that was not available at the bar and brought it out for me. Very nice! The bar was crowded and Joe took care of everyone with ease while giving everyone attention. Cameron also came in shift and was very friendly as well. The service was excellent and we liked the food. If they had cooked my burger to requested temp it would have been perfect. We will be back!

    TLDR; Pretty sure this spot used to a pretty crappy brunch buffet spot. Decided to come and see…read morewhat the new spot is like. Advertised live dj on sundays when we made reservations and there was no live music. Food is overall bland as hell, steak was chewy and dry and unsalted it seems. Chicken and waffles board was probably the worst chicken and waffles I've had, and all the sides that came with it seemed random as hell. We were excited to try a newish brunch spot out and to get a bottle of champagne for mimosas. Little did we know, that the mimosa would be the best part of the meal. This spot replaced a super crappy brunch buffet, that was one of the saddest buffets I've ever been to. Saw that they opened a new concept and saw that they advertised live DJs on sundays for brunch. So we decided to try it. We sat down and ordered the chicken and waffles platter and steak and salad plate. The chicken and waffle plate was really not that good, not a single item on the platter was good. Waffles, you can tell they tried to make it fancy, but just tasted weird and dry. The syrup, looks like they make in house also, not sweet enough and bland. The chicken was the least bland item out of everything, but it's not worth it at all. The steak was one of the chewiest, dry steaks I've had in a while also under seasoned, maybe even no salt. The chicken platter also had random items on it, that made no sense. Random sprigs of rosemary, marshmallow amongst other items. Nothing seemed to gel and it looked like they were just trying to fill the space with easy things. The mimosas that came with the chicken and waffles platter was the star of our meal. Honestly, I'd say it's hard to make food taste this bland and whatevers. With what they are charging, the steak shouldn't be dry and chewy, let alone not seasoned. Everything was under seasoned like we were in a cardiatric ward in the hospital. You can make better food following any recipe on YouTube. 2 stars for the mimosa and the server was very friendly, service wasn't anything to write home about though. Not busy at all, and a lot of workers just standing around. We didn't get checked on much throughout the meal. Oh and the valet was free at least.

    Photos
    A+O Restaurant | Bar - Enjoy cocktails and delicious food by the fire pits!

    Enjoy cocktails and delicious food by the fire pits!

    A+O Restaurant | Bar
    A+O Restaurant | Bar - Breakfast on the patio

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    Breakfast on the patio

    Lido Bottle Works - MARY'S CHICKEN / PARSNIP POMMES PUREE / CHANTERELLE PAN SAUCE / FRISEE

    Lido Bottle Works

    4.2(656 reviews)
    3.1 mi
    $$

    也許時光會走遠,但影像會長存,別忘了我們曾經走過的每一步,都會是有機可循的~…read more 寫完豪邁的德州牛排館,來放兩家在海邊餐廳吧,Newport 這可愛的 Malibu farm 附近, 一整排的小餐廳們,從最前面的Nobu到最後面的 blue bottle ,各有特色,這次選擇的是 Lido Bottle Work, 餐廳位置比較後面,結果出乎意外的好吃,除了沙拉我很愛之外, 朋友早餐brunch 牛排,偷吃了一口,做的很棒歐,我的avocado toast , 當然也是顏值滿分,再加上加州的陽光,海邊的遊艇,偶爾來打招呼的海鷗,難怪會有人說,何以解憂,唯有大海呀~

    For popular places like this one, sometimes the experiences could be very different depending on…read morewhen you come, and the service staff on duty at that time. We've come here a few times, although sometimes the way could be long, we've had in general very good service, and the food has always met our expectations. The ambience is beautiful, with the ocean and the sea breeze around you. If you come at night, it could be a little chilly, however, they offer a blankets to keep their customers warm! It is also a spot for celebrating special occasions. They usually have special menus for holidays. I tried a three-course prix fixe dinner with salad (good size), steak, and dessert. It was $70 and I felt it's quite worth the price. Given today's price levels, I think this place is "affordable high-end dining" - where you do spend more than usual, but the food and experience are rewarding. Certainly seafood is one of their specialties, however, we do like their steak and pork. Parking in this area is very difficult. The only option is to park in the Lido garage. The restaurant does validate however, customers sometimes need to ask for it. Our waiter was nice enough to have reminded us about that. Overall a good solid restaurant that usually keeps up their quality and service; and provides a nice dining experience for their customers.

    Photos
    Lido Bottle Works - SHORT RIB TORTELLINI / BIRRIA CONSUME / AVOCADO / OAXACA CHEESE

    SHORT RIB TORTELLINI / BIRRIA CONSUME / AVOCADO / OAXACA CHEESE

    Lido Bottle Works - DUCK BREAST / CARAMELIZED SUNCHOKE / POMEGRANATE DEMI / THUMBELINA CARROT

    DUCK BREAST / CARAMELIZED SUNCHOKE / POMEGRANATE DEMI / THUMBELINA CARROT

    Lido Bottle Works - Lido Bottle Works, at Lido Marina Village on Newport Harbor

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    Lido Bottle Works, at Lido Marina Village on Newport Harbor

    Fable & Spirit - Flatbread

    Fable & Spirit

    4.2(838 reviews)
    3.2 mi
    $$$

    I am no stranger to Fable & Spirit and I'm surprised I haven't reviewed them until now. While I…read morecould go on with how great my dinner experiences have been (cocktails, Guinness brown bread, fish & chips, burger) and the glamorous Hollywood Regency/Gatsby aesthetic, what really prompted me to write a review was my first brunch experience with them! For drinks, my husband started off with a gin spritz which was refreshing and not too sugary. I wanted herbal tea but all they had was black, so my server got creative and put fresh mint leaves in hot water which hit the spot! For food, we shared the sourdough pancakes with lemon mascarpone and blueberry compote and the shakshuka (with extra poached eggs on the side). Both meals were incredible! The pancakes were the perfect amount of sweetness as the batter was not overly sugary to account for the compote and mascarpone. The shakshuka was bold and rich in flavor and my husband particularly loved the naan that came with it. The struggle now, is whether we come for brunch or dinner!

    My husband actually came across this spot on OpenTable or Resy and made a reservation for us to…read morecheck it out--and I'm really glad he did. We started with the Caesar salad, which sounded unique with kale and capers mixed with romaine. It did not disappoint--my husband took the first bite and immediately loved it. For mains, we ordered the Fable Burger and the 12-hour Kurobuta porchetta. The burger was next level, especially with the addition of pork belly--it added so much flavor and made it stand out from a typical burger. The porchetta was also a hit: perfectly cooked, tender, and paired so well with the polenta. We ordered the kids cheese pizza for our toddler and we were surprised how big it was. Definitely worth the price! Honestly, we loved everything we ordered and enjoyed every single bite. Service was fantastic as well--friendly and attentive throughout our visit. The only reason I'm giving 4 stars instead of 5 is because the food took a while to come out. It wasn't a dealbreaker, but definitely noticeable. Overall, a great dining experience and definitely worth trying!

    Photos
    Fable & Spirit - Massive wine selection

    Massive wine selection

    Fable & Spirit - The Ritual.  My favorite. So smooth.

    The Ritual. My favorite. So smooth.

    Fable & Spirit - Bell pepper cocktail

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    Bell pepper cocktail

    Social - SOCIAL - Costa Mesa

    Social

    3.9(1.7k reviews)
    3.2 mi
    $$
    Full bar
    Happy hour specials

    We came here on a Friday afternoon around 5pm. Trying to get in for happy hour and we made it in…read moretime. The place wasn't busy at all. Plenty of indoor seating and a nice long bar. They have 3 nice size tvs too if you're wanting to watch some games. We sat at the bar and for sure thought we'd indulge in happy hour menu times but we saw photos of the Drive Thru Burger and could not resist ordering it. My friend and I split the burger. It was the perfect amount to share as well. The patties were so juicy and flavorful along with the sauce and the rest of the ingredients, it was definitely one of my fave burgers I've had in a while. I decided to try their espresso martini. Not bad at all. I asked for not to sweet and no cream, got exactly what I ordered. We ate for sure coming back to try the bread pudding dessert as well, one of my faves!

    #1 favorite brunch spot in OC! The food is TOP-NOTCH. Amazing options, great flavor, consistent…read morequality. When I say amazing...I mean AMAZING. I've had the Drive Thru burger, chicken and waffles, BTL, etc. and they were each some of the best food I've had in OC. Can't get over their French fries with the homemade ranch and the garlic aioli. Honestly committed to trying everything on the menu at some point this year. Service is also top-notch. Gabriel is the best waiter (you know they're good when you don't even want to call them waiter) I've ever had at any restaurant - he is so sweet, funny, and makes everyone feel genuinely cared for. I love that the restaurant is usually quiet and less busy because that means I don't have to wait to be seated, but I am genuinely SHOCKED. This is the type of place you expect to have a 3hr waiting list. Perhaps it's a matter of location. Perhaps they revamped their menu since some of the negative feedback. If you've tried this place and it wasn't your favorite, please give it another chance for brunch, it's fantastic! Can say enough great things about Social. BLESS YELP FOR HELPING ME FIND THIS GEM!

    Photos
    Social - Northern Halibut

    Northern Halibut

    Social - Wagyu Drive Thru Burger

    Wagyu Drive Thru Burger

    Social - Hand Cut Tagliatelle

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    Hand Cut Tagliatelle

    Hook & Anchor - Lobster roll

    Hook & Anchor

    4.5(2.4k reviews)
    3.2 mi
    $$

    I've been coming here since before their move, and the food has always been excellent--but the new…read morelocation really takes things up a notch. The expanded space creates such a warm, inviting atmosphere that makes the whole dining experience even more enjoyable. This time around, I had the salmon and my partner ordered the cioppino--both were absolutely exquisite. You can really tell the care and quality that goes into every dish. Service was just as impressive. Mia, our server, was cordial, attentive, and made us feel well taken care of throughout the meal. The hostess was also welcoming and set the tone right from the start. It's great to see a place I've loved continue to grow and improve without losing what made it special in the first place. Highly recommend!

    The manager is very, very rude. I asked him very nicely if he could turn on baseball on one of many…read morethe TVs they have, and he gave me some attitude and didn't do it. Also, he was extremely rude to my father when he was trying to pay via InKind. He claimed that they were not using InKind anymore and couldn't take our InKind payment, even though they were still on the app. The reason why we went here was to use our InKind benefits, which were available here according to InKind. He then claimed that it was my father's responsibility to contact InKind about this issue and that it was our problem??? No accountability at all from the manager. Grow up. The food is pretty good. Our waitress was also great. But there are major issues besides that.

    Photos
    Hook & Anchor - The Dolphin beckons

    The Dolphin beckons

    Hook & Anchor - Lobster roll - small kine

    Lobster roll - small kine

    Hook & Anchor - Bloody Mary

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    Bloody Mary

    Back Bay Tavern - gastropubs - Updated May 2026

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