Best Restaurants to Close a Deal in Newport Beach 2026
Published · Updated
The 2026 deal-closing pick in Newport Beach is A Restaurant. Editorial runners-up: Ocean 48, Nobu, Marché Moderne, Andrea, The Cannery.
Built in 1925. The oldest operating restaurant in Orange County, and still a dealmakers' room. Six Newport Beach tables hold a business dinner, from a PCH landmark to a Fashion Island steakhouse.
Six Newport Beach Tables to Close a Deal
Built in 1925 as The Arches at 3334 West Coast Highway, the oldest operating restaurant in Orange County. Executive chef Robert Gomez plates prime steaks and Pacific seafood; the whiskey and California-leaning wine list serves the room's deal-making culture. Dinner $60 to $100. The first table to book for a deal.
The Fashion Island steakhouse from the James Beard-nominated Mastro brothers, at 151 Newport Center Drive. A master butcher cuts the 22-ounce bone-in ribeye at $94; a glass show kitchen and private dining suites set the stage. The big-night room for a deal that wants polish and a closed door.
Nobu Matsuhisa and Robert De Niro's 16,000-square-foot waterfront room in Lido Marina Village, with a private event room over the harbour. Black cod miso and yellowtail jalapeño lead; signatures land around $30 to $48. The client dinner that impresses without a word of explanation.
Chef-owners Florent and Amelia Marneau's Michelin-listed French room at Crystal Cove, on Pacific Coast Highway since the couple moved it in 2023. Courvoisier-flambéed Maine lobster and a five-course tasting around $165. The high-end deal dinner with a destination kitchen.
Executive chef Keith Andreasen's Northern Italian room at The Resort at Pelican Hill, above the Newport Coast cliffs with a Pacific view in three directions. More than a dozen pastas rolled each morning, $75 to $150. The room that makes a client feel the deal matters.
A converted 1920s fish cannery on Lafayette Road, on the Rhine Channel since the early 1920s. Five dining areas, a Grill Room handling steaks and chops, a full sushi bar, and a waterfront patio over the yachts. Dinner $55 to $90. The flexible business room for a group that wants options.
How to Book
Book A Restaurant and Ocean 48 one to two weeks ahead and ask about a private suite for a group. Marché Moderne and Andrea fill weeks out for weekends. Nobu and The Cannery usually seat a business table within a few days.
7pm. Request Ocean 48's private dining suite and Nobu's harbour event room for a closed table. For an a la carte working dinner, A Restaurant, Ocean 48, Nobu and The Cannery all keep flexible menus — easier than Marché Moderne's fixed tasting.
Frequently Asked Questions
The 2026 editorial pick is A Restaurant at 3334 West Coast Highway, Orange County's oldest operating restaurant, built in 1925, where prime steaks and a whiskey-led bar serve a deal-making room at $60 to $100. For a big-night steakhouse, Ocean 48 at Fashion Island offers private suites and a $94 bone-in ribeye.
Ocean 48 at Fashion Island has private dining suites alongside its glass show kitchen, ideal for a closed-door deal from the James Beard-nominated Mastro family. Nobu Newport Beach keeps a private event room overlooking the harbour in Lido Marina Village, and Andrea at Pelican Hill offers private suites with a Pacific view in three directions.
A deal dinner runs highest at Ocean 48, where the bone-in ribeye alone is $94, and Nobu, Marché Moderne and Andrea, all firmly in the $$$$ bracket with tastings or signatures from $75 to $165. A Restaurant sits at $60 to $100 and The Cannery at $55 to $90, so a serious table is achievable below the steakhouse tier.
Nobu Newport Beach impresses on name and setting alone: a 16,000-square-foot waterfront room from Nobu Matsuhisa and Robert De Niro, with black cod miso and a harbour view. Andrea at Pelican Hill matches it on scenery, a clifftop Italian room above the Newport Coast, while Ocean 48 brings Fashion Island polish and a master butcher.