Mutt Lynch’s restaurant near the Newport Pier is a local culinary icon. The family-owned restaurant recently celebrated 45 years of serving American comfort food along with their famous schooners of beer.
A sister location called Mutt’s opened several months ago in the former Provenance restaurant space in the Eastbluff community of Newport Beach, and it’s been a hit with locals from day one.
Owned by husband-and-wife locals Alex and Meghan Murray (Meghan is the daughter of Mutt Lynch’s owners and founders Gail and Dan Lynch), Mutt’s has taken the Mutt Lynch’s concept and reimagined it as a gathering place for the community, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a family-friendly atmosphere.
Yes, I said breakfast. Not many restaurants open early, but there is certainly a need, and a demand, for morning munchies.
The Mutt’s menu focuses on what they call approachable American eclectic dishes including several favorites from Mutt Lynch’s.
Anyone familiar with Provenance, the previous tenant, will marvel at the changes. The interior and patio dining areas of the restaurant has been completely revamped and reimagined. Inside you can find wood tables and colorful chairs, while the plant-lined patio has numerous wood features and colorful cushioned seating.
Look up and you’ll see the “Schoon-deliers,” which are essentially chandeliers made out of the iconic 32oz goblet that’s become synonymous with the Mutt Lynch’s brand.
“We transformed the energy of the space, but that was our intention,” said Meghan. “We wanted the energy to be sparkly and bright and fun, and I think we did that.”
“We invented the furniture, made everything in house except the chairs,” added Alex. “That gives the space a personal homy touch. We wanted this to be a fancier, grown-up version of Mutt Lynch’s.”
That idea can also be seen on the menu. Mutt’s is open 8 a.m. to midnight daily, making the restaurant one of the few places in the area to serve breakfast.
“We needed a breakfast place, and I love the breakfast menu at Mutt’s,” said Alex. “Everyone leaves happy. We really went off of the Mutt Lynch’s breakfast menu and whittled it down.”
The Mutt’s breakfast menu boasts 30 dishes, while the lunch/dinner menu has appetizers, salads, sandwiches, burgers, pizza, tacos, and entrees from shrimp diablo pasta to filet mignon.
Meghan noted that they have been selling a lot of salads, and plenty of schooners of beer. And based on customer feedback, they’re already expanding their wine list.
Mutt’s has only been open for a few months, but Alex said they are using this new Mutt’s as a prototype to expand the concept to other neighborhoods.
“We are always looking for the next place,” he said. “We found that neighborhoods like this want their place, they are taking ownership of it, so we want to find other communities and give them their Mutt’s.”
I popped over to Mutt’s with a friend and split an order of Fun Buns: fried biscuits rolled in cinnamon sugar and served with maple syrup. Sort of like beignets but more decadent.
Then we shared the Biscuits & Gravy with country gravy, two eggs and a side of hash browns, plus the Chilaquiles con Huevos with handmade corn tortilla chips, green sauce, cheddar and queso fresco, sour cream, cilantro, avocado, eggs and beans.
The portions are, like those at Mutt Lynch’s, very generous, as are the flavors. I took half of the chilaquiles home to have for dinner.
Now I’m ready to go back to explore the dinner menu—the shrimp diablo pasta is calling my name…or maybe the BBQ chicken pizza…or perhaps the huge California Dreaming burger, or…
Visit the Mutt’s website at www.mutt-usa.com.
