First thing’s first: The Dock actually has a dock. As in the restaurant opens up to the water and if you happen to drive a boat (does one drive a boat?) instead of a car, you can actually pull right up to the rear of the restaurant and enter through there. More than one party showed up via boat and I felt a strange and probably inappropriate urge to slap them. This place reeks of Newport Beach. That’s not a bad thing, but it means if you’re into wearing boat shoes and tying sweaters around your polo shirts, this is the place for you. We came for brunch and the food was decent enough, but this place is really about the atmosphere. There’s a nice view of the harbor, and among the dozens of boats and yachts that passed by, we also happened to see a super yacht that was so large and opulent I’m surprised there wasn’t a drunk Russian in a bathrobe at the helm and bikini-clad supermodels falling off the sides.
Asparagus Salad (frisee, L’arte EVOO, fried quail egg, crispy prosciutto, lemon emulsion)
Baby Beet Salad (watermelon radishes, hydro-watercress, goat cheese beignets, caramelized shallot vinaigrette)
Recommended by the waiter as a signature dish of the restaurant. I’ve yet to find a beet salad I didn’t enjoy, and this is no exception.
Steak Tartare (angus filet, shaved cornichons, fingerling potato chips, violet mustard)
I’ve also yet to find a steak tartare dish I didn’t enjoy. I mean, you’re basically serving raw meat on a cracker here. The day I stop enjoying that is the day I want somebody to hit me over the head with a shovel.
Eggs Benedict (smoked salmon/canadian bacon, potato gratin, hollandaise)
Steak Sandwich (butter lettuce, tomato, fried egg, Bearnaise sauce)
I honestly don’t know why they even bother putting the lettuce there. Or tomatoes. Or bread for that matter. Nobody is buying the illusion of a sandwich here. It’s a steak on top of some things that are sometimes found in sandwiches, but it’s clearly not a sandwich. Can we just agree as a society that if there’s only one slice of bread or it’s physically impossible to eat with your hands that it doesn’t qualify as a sandwich?
The Dock
2816 LaFayette Ave
Newport Beach, CA 92663
