We’re midway through OC Restaurant Week—where will you dine out?
More than 200 restaurants throughout Orange County (including 30 in Newport Beach) have created special prix fixe menus to lure customers into their establishments to either try their cuisine for the first time or remind fans why they fell in love with the restaurant in the first place.
For me it was love at first bite the first time I dined at Olea, Cellar. Craft. Cook. soon after they opened on Westcliff Drive in the fall of 2017. From the décor to the warm ambiance and the wine country cuisine, I knew immediately I would be returning over and over.
My favorite dishes on the Olea are the American Wagyu Burger with Herb Fries (one of the best burgers in OC) and the Crispy Jidori Chicken Schnitzel With Maitake Mushrooms, but this week I decided to sidestep my familiar dishes and try the restaurant’s OC Restaurant Week menu. I was glad I did.
Through March 8, the special $60 three-course prix fixe dinner menu includes choice of Chef’s Seasonal Butter Lettuce Salad or Chef’s Scratch Made Bowl of Soup—in this case heirloom tomato bisque, crispy olive oil croutons, and pecorino romano.
For the entrée you can select between Zinfandel Braised Napa Lamb Shank, Slow Cooked Prime Beef Short Rib, or Wild Caught Chilean Seabass.
Dessert choices are Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Crumble or Apple Butterscotch Cobbler.
For my Restaurant Week dinner, I started with the tomato bisque. One spoonful and I could tell it was indeed made in-house. The olive oil croutons added texture to the creamy bisque while the pecorino romano added a dash of flavor to the already flavorful soup.
I selected the seabass for my entrée and was glad I did. The flakey fish was accompanied by fingerling potatoes, hazelnuts, roasted cauliflower, blue lake beans, and citrus gastrique. I attempted to get a bit of all ingredients in every bite and enjoyed the harmony of flavors. I practically scraped the plate clean.
And finally, dessert: Apple Butterscotch Cobbler with Bourbon-Honey Ice Cream. The generous serving of goodness arrived warm with the ice cream just waiting to be blended with the apples and crumb topping.
Olea’s Restaurant Week menu is certainly worth $60. I accompanied my meal with the featured cocktail: Whiskey Peach ($14) with Bourbon, Licor 43, Aperol, Crème de Peach, Fresh Peaches, and Ginger. I could sip several of these on my patio on a warm summer day—or at Olea enjoying Restaurant Week.
Visit the Olea website to make a reservation at https://www.oleanewportbeach.com. For more information on Restaurant Week including a complete listing of participating restaurants visit https://ocrestaurantweek.com/restaurants.
