Best Team Dinner Restaurants in Newport Beach (2026)
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The Newport Beach team-dinner table for 2026 is The Cannery, the 1920s cannery turned waterfront seafood house in Cannery Village. Editorial runners-up: The Winery Restaurant, Ocean 48, Javier's, SOL Mexican Cocina, Rusty Pelican.
A 1920s fish cannery on the Rhine Channel, now five dining areas, a grill room and a full sushi bar that can split a party twenty ways. The Cannery has worked the Newport waterfront for decades; six tables here handle a team.
Six Newport Beach Tables for a Team Dinner
A 1920s fish cannery on the Rhine Channel, the water lapping at the deck and boats tied up alongside. The Cannery runs out of that building at 3010 Lafayette Road in Cannery Village, where a Dungeness-heavy cioppino and a yuzu-ponzu Cannery roll cover both the grill room and the sushi bar. Dinner runs $55 to $90 a head. Private event spaces seat a party of 12 to 100, and the range from raw bar to grill solves every diet at the table; book the waterfront room.
Seven thousand bottles line the cellar and a sommelier works the floor before the first course lands. The Winery Restaurant sits on West Coast Highway at 3131, where chef Yvon Goetz's California black truffle risotto and an herb-crusted Colorado lamb rack pair with 650 labels. Dinner runs $60 to $100 a head. Private dining seats up to 40 and the sommelier solves the group-wine problem in one conversation; book the cellar room for a team.
A glass show kitchen and a reflecting pool set the stage the moment you walk into Fashion Island. Ocean 48 is the Mastro brothers' steakhouse and raw bar at 151 Newport Center Drive, opened in 2024, where the bone-in ribeye runs about $94 and Alaskan king crab anchors the raw bar. Private suites seat a group apart from the floor. James Beard-nominated and built for a marquee night, it is the splurge team dinner; reserve a suite.
Carved wood, a roaring room, a tequila list that runs for pages. Javier's has worked the Crystal Cove center at 7832 East Pacific Coast Highway since 2008, founder Javier Sosa Sr.'s kitchen turning out a seafood Trio de Enchiladas Del Mar and a Maine lobster enchilada. Mains run $26 to $48. A May 2026 renovation added 50-some seats, and the loud, share-heavy room is built for a team that wants energy; book the big table and start on tequila.
A waterfront terrace on Balboa Marina, the masts of the harbor catching the last light. SOL Mexican Cocina sits at 251 Pacific Coast Highway, where Baja authority Deborah Schneider's Hot & Raw Ceviche and a Firecracker Quesadilla lead a sharing-format menu. Dinner runs $45 to $90 a head. The antojitos and tacos dissolve the table hierarchy, and the marina terrace handles a team at a lower price point; book the patio at sunset.
A big harbor-view room on Mariner's Mile, the boats sliding past the windows. Rusty Pelican has held the water at 2735 West Coast Highway since 1972, a seafood landmark where mesquite-grilled fish and a cedar-plank salmon do the steady work. Mains run $28 to $58. An OpenTable Diners' Choice room in 2025, it runs from business lunches to big celebrations without missing a beat; book the patio for a team that wants the view.
How to Book
The Cannery, The Winery and Ocean 48 all keep private rooms or suites, so book a week or more out for a weekend team table and give them the headcount. Javier's, SOL and Rusty Pelican handle groups with a few days' notice, though Javier's fills fast after its expansion.
For a waterfront table, book The Cannery, SOL or Rusty Pelican on a terrace at sunset. For a private, marquee night, Ocean 48's suites and The Winery's cellar room both seat a team apart from the floor; ask for the room when you call.
Frequently Asked Questions
The editorial pick for 2026 is The Cannery in Cannery Village, a 1920s fish cannery on the Rhine Channel with private event spaces for 12 to 100 and a menu that runs from a raw bar to a grill room. For a wine-led team night, The Winery Restaurant seats up to 40 in private dining with a sommelier on the floor.
The Cannery handles the widest range, with private spaces from 12 to 100 guests and five dining areas. The Winery Restaurant seats up to 40 in a cellar room, and Ocean 48 at Fashion Island offers private suites. All three take a sizable team and keep the group apart from the main floor.
Plan on $55 to $90 a head at The Cannery and $60 to $100 at The Winery Restaurant. Ocean 48 is the splurge, with a bone-in ribeye around $94. Javier's runs $26 to $48 for mains, SOL Mexican Cocina $45 to $90, and Rusty Pelican $28 to $58, keeping a big team affordable.
The Cannery offers private event spaces for 12 to 100 guests across five dining areas, the most flexible option in Newport Beach. The Winery Restaurant seats up to 40 in a cellar room with a sommelier, and Ocean 48's private suites at Fashion Island seat a group apart from the show-kitchen floor.
The Cannery sits right on the Rhine Channel in Cannery Village with boats alongside the deck, the strongest waterfront team table. SOL Mexican Cocina's terrace on Balboa Marina and Rusty Pelican's harbor-view room on Mariner's Mile both seat a team over the water at a lower price point.