Nick's Newport Beach

About Nick's Newport Beach

Nick's Newport Beach is the Westcliff outpost of Nick's Restaurants, the Orange County group that built its name on warm, upscale-casual neighbourhood dining. It opened in 2024 at 1617 Westcliff Drive, in the Westcliff Plaza, taking over the space that had been the vegan Mexican spot Gracias Madre, and quickly became the local table for this corner of Newport Beach. Executive chef Omar Gonzalez runs the kitchen.

The cooking is American comfort food given a polished, date-night finish. For more of the city's tables, compare the seafood-leaning A Restaurant, the waterfront classic The Cannery and the harbourside 21 Oceanfront. For a milestone night, see our anniversary dining guide.

The Kitchen

The menu is broad, crowd-pleasing American cooking done with care rather than fireworks. Starters such as the crisp asparagus fries set the tone, mains run to chicken piccata, steaks, pastas and seafood, and the kitchen accommodates vegetarian and gluten-free diners and tweaks dishes around allergens. The dessert everyone talks about is the warm butter cake, the group's signature sweet, served hot from the oven. An extensive wine and cocktail list backs it up, and prices sit in the comfortable mid-to-upper range for Newport: this is a place for a relaxed dinner out rather than a special-occasion blowout, and the kitchen keeps portions generous and the menu accessible.

The Room

The room is upscale-casual in the Nick's house style: warm woods, soft lighting and a covered patio that is the seat to ask for on a mild Newport evening. It reads equally well for a date, a family dinner or a low-key catch-up with friends, and the bar pulls a steady local crowd. It sits in the Westcliff Plaza on Westcliff Drive, a short hop from the Back Bay and Newport's harbour, with the plaza's parking around it. The room opens daily from late morning, so it works for a long lunch as much as for dinner, and weekend evenings are the busiest service.