KATHY MADER -- Dining Review

When the stars are aligned, the friendships are fine and the drink of

the night is wine, you are set for a great evening. If an evening like

this takes place out of the home, then it is truly a special night.

At the Regatta Cafe in Newport Beach, a couple doors down from the old

Lido Theater, last Friday night was just that. As our friend Rich said,

“This is the night to write.”

This is not to say that the charm of the Regatta was restricted to

that particular night, because we have heard similar sentiments quite

often, which is what prompted our trip in the first place.

The stars came in the form of the talented wait staff. Yes, they sing

here! It seems all of the people who work at the Regatta Cafe, male and

female, have their own unique vocal gifts to bring to the table, so to

speak.

Opera was the ticket when we walked in, and being just a little hungry

-- i.e. crabby -- I immediately assessed it as sort of an opera

“karaoke.” Just moments later I realized my judgment was hasty and crass

and a great disservice to the “stars” of the show because, truly, these

people could sing.

And it wasn’t all opera. Andrea Boccelli (which some say is opera),

Frank Sinatra, Aaron Neville, Linda Rondstadt and Tom Jones all made a

showing, if not actually in person, then in captivating and rousing

spirit. And the people loved it.

A waiter named Danny danced on the bar singing “My Delilah,” as the

crowd sang along, swaying, arms in the air. I even caught the busboy

shaking it. And we hadn’t even ordered yet.

It is however loud, so suspend all conversation until they are

finished and then wait another minute because wild applause is sure to

follow. Our waiter Jim gave us the specials through the first aria, so we

had to ask him to repeat them again. He made up for it with a duet, an

admirable version of Sinatra’s “My Way,” and a recommendation for the

Sicilian Kiss -- an after dinner drink to remember, sort of.

Speaking of high spirits, the bar is in the center of the restaurant

but in no way the focus and the wine list is not huge but complimentary

to the menu -- i.e. they serve enough of the good stuff to make

everything taste even better. The house cabernet is Hawk Crest, one of my

easy drinking favorites. Enough of this wine, and you’ll find yourself

getting a little misty and toasting your buddies while singing along to

Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend.”

The restaurant fairly bursts at the seams. It is small with

chandeliers that look like champagne flutes giving it a dim, toasty glow.

However, its crown of large windows gives it real light, and the bonus is

that these open to the outside in good weather, giving the impression of

an elegant patio.

But what about the food? The menu is opera and Sinatrainfluenced

(Italian), as you might have guessed, with all of your favorite pasta,

seafood, veal and chicken dishes and some intriguing new dishes like

whole wheat spaghetti with baby artichoke hearts and pine nuts ($9.95),

wild mushroom pizza ($11.95) and chicken stroganoff ($7.95). The menu is

extensive and inspires future visits just in the reading of it.

We started with the pear, Gorgonzola and walnut salad with virgin

olive oil and some of the best bread in town. One of the night’s specials

was an outstanding appetizer with grilled jumbo prawns, artichoke hearts,

eggplant and mushroom. This lasted for six seconds at our table.

Never having enough shrimp, I ordered the grilled prawns (fivehuge

ones!) over linguine. Our friend Rich ordered the halibut special,

grilled halibut on a bed of spinach and roasted red potatoes, which I

gave honors to as the dish of the night. My husband, the carnivore, had

the veal medallions on the same roasted potatoes, which came in a tight

second.

I do think that a restaurant, to be fair, should tell you or list the

price of the specials if they are going to be $10 or more above the price

of the average menu entree. We have been burned by this on more than one

occasion and were surprised when the specials came up to $28.99 each,

when the average price of the entrees is $12 to $15. Just know this going

in and ask for the price yourself.

But definitely, try the chocolate bread pudding with chocolate chunks

for dessert.

The Regatta Cafe offers the two ingredients vital to celebrating --

food and music -- but don’t wait until your birthday. Just look at the

stars, hum a few bars and jump in your cars.

* KATHY MADER’s dining reviews appear every other Thursday.

FYI

WHAT: Regatta Cafe

WHERE: 3421 Via Lido, Newport Beach

WHEN: 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. lunch, 5 to 11 p.m. dinner Monday-Friday; 5

to 11 p.m. Saturday-Sunday

HOW MUCH: Moderate to moderately expensive

CALL: (949) 675-1878