Fig and Olive Newport Beach

*This is not a sponsored post. Recently, while out and about in my fine county, I have been really wanting to share the amazing businesses with you. So I’m going to be sharing local posts on Fridays. I mean, if someone wanted to give me a free meal, I wouldn’t say no, but you know I always disclose that to you. Also these will mostly be iPhone photos as I don’t bring out my big camera when I am on a date, with my family, drinking or wearing high heels…

I had been hearing great things about Fig and Olive at Fashion Island, a luxurious mall in Newport Beach, CA and so for our anniversary, my husband and I decided to try it out. But let me stop really quickly right here for a minute.

On this night, so we both didn’t need to worry about driving, we used Uber. Have you used it yet? I was SUPER skeptical of it. But I researched what it was all about and I stinking love it! Basically, it’s like getting a taxi but the drivers (fully vetted by Uber) drive their own cars. This keeps costs down for you. Also no money exchanges hands, and your payment info is hooked up to Uber, not the driver. When any phone calls occur, it happens through a 3rd party number so no one is sharing personal info (or you can message the driver right through the app). And my fave part is that you can see the car and driver right on the app via GPS. You are on the grid at all times. I have used it 6 times now and it’s my new fave way to have a night out. We’ve never waited longer than 6 minutes for a car to arrive either and I have met some of the nicest people who happen to drive the cars! If you have never used it, you can put in the code: SHARONG75 and your first trip is free up to $30. And just so you know, if you use that code, I get a free trip too. Just wanted to share that with you. It’s awesome!

But I digress…We headed out a smidge early for our reservation at Fig and Olive Newport Beach so we could get a drink at the bar. The entire restaurant is designed perfectly. The entire space is full of natural light and the decor is casual yet totally classy. Their lounge and patio areas are simply stunning and the rest of the dining room doesn’t disappoint. The cocktail menu is craft cocktail heaven. The connoisseur would feel right at home with these beverages. It was really awesome to sit at the bar and watch the bartenders work their magic. I stuck with my glass of wine but my husband went with an Old Fashioned complete with a piece of lighter singed orange peel. For reals, I want to do this for every drink. The smell of fresh orange was unreal and added such a great flair to the drink.

This photo doesn’t do the restaurant justice. It’s glorious. It’s modern, with a touch of a beachy vibe. It’s neutrals without feeling stark.

And any menu that has risotto is automatically a star in my book. The menu was large without being overwhelming and featured a fair amount of seafood. The entire front page of the menu is starters with tons of options to share and really create an enjoyable dining experience. We did a crostini sampler and it was EVERYTHING! Simple, quality ingredients on toasted bread. Does it get better than that? Yes, yes it does.

I had no idea that the premise around the restaurant was that they don’t use butter in their cooking, they instead use only olive oil. Over the last few months I have really been interested in olive oils and the flavors they take on from the different regions they are grown in, much like wine. I was also in the midst of working on my own olive oil challenge so our visit to the restaurant couldn’t have come at a better time. Before the main courses are served, they bring bread and a trio of olive oils to the table so you can conduct a little tasting. So cool.

And you KNOW I had to order the truffle risotto. When I eat out, I like to order the things that I don’t want to make at home. And truffles…yes. Just yes. And as expected, it was amazing. My husband had the filet mignon and it looked sensational. I didn’t try it, you know, on account of stuffing my face with the risotto… Which also meant I was too full for dessert. So I am pretty desperate to go back and fix that. You can tell a lot about a restaurant from their dessert menu and the one at Fig and Olive looks fantastic.

We loved the ambiance, the food and the service was top-notch! We will definitely be return customers and I can’t wait to take our friends back to try it.

Fig and Olive – Newport Beach

The post Fig and Olive Newport Beach appeared first on Cupcakes and Cutlery.