Lighthouse Cafe

Name: Lighthouse Cafe
Address: 1600 W. Balboa Blvd., Newport Beach, CA, United States, 92663
Telephone: (949) 933-1001
Price range: $31 to $50
Rating: 4.3

4.3 (599)

$31 to $50

Seafood

1600 W. Balboa Blvd., Newport Beach, CA 92663

Make a reservation

2 people

Jun 9, 2025

7:00 PM

Booked 14 times today

About this restaurant

Great for outdoor dining
Great for scenic views
Charming

A beautiful waterfront restaurant located in the heart of Marina Park on Newport Beach's Balboa Peninsula. With indoor, outdoor and roof top deck seating with unobstructed views of Newport Harbor. Marina Park offers a family friendly walking park, kids play area, fitness circuit and a 120 foot boat dock.

For large groups, feel free to call the restaurant!

Additional information

Dining style
Casual Elegant
Price
$31 to $50
Cuisines
Seafood, Californian, American
Hours of operation
Brunch Daily 8:00 am–4:00 pm Dinner Daily 4:00 pm–9:00 pm
Phone number
(949) 933-1001
Website
http://lighthousenb.com/
Payment options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Dress code
Casual Dress
Executive chef
Francisco Perez

Location
1600 W. Balboa Blvd., Newport Beach, CA 92663
Neighborhood
Newport Beach
Cross street
16th Street
Parking details
The Marina Park parking lot offers a large, paid meter parking area as well as plenty of street parking in the area near the restaurant.
Additional
Banquet, Beer, Cafe, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Dog Friendly, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Non-Smoking, Outdoor Firepit, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Takeout, View, Weekend Brunch, Wheelchair Access, Wine

What 599 people are saying

Lighthouse Cafe reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.3

4.3 based on recent ratings

4.3Food
4.3Service
4.6Ambience
4.1Value

Noise • Moderate

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews

Lighthouse Cafe shines with its "stunning views" and "effortlessly coastal" vibe. Diners praise the "amazing location on the water" and consistently "delicious" food. Service is generally warm, with standout servers like Ian and Mary. While some experiences were mixed due to high demand, the atmosphere remains "romantic and fun."

599 Reviews

C
Carlos
Orange County3 reviews
5.0
Dined 3 days ago
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
My family & I came to celebrate my son graduation everyone have a wonderful time. Thank you, Light House staff.
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C
Chris VIP
Charlotte3 reviews
5.0
Dined on May 31, 2025
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Great place. Ian was fantastic. Bonnie & Del Chase.
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D
David VIP
Los Angeles24 reviews
5.0
Dined on May 25, 2025
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Wonderful anniversary dinner on the harbor. Great music on the patio, killer food, and impressive service from Ian. Winner!
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N
Natalie
Orange County3 reviews
2.0
Dined on May 12, 2025
1. Overall 2
2. Food 4
3. Service 3
4. Ambience 5
We had reservations for Mother’s Day & when we checked in we learned that they had stopped seating because the kitchen was slammed. I spoke with others who had been waiting 30 minutes prior to our arrival. What I don’t understand is why management did not instruct the 3-4 hosts at the front to start calling people with reservations to let us know of the circumstances. That would have been the courteous thing to do because it gives the patron a choice of whether or not to wait or go elsewhere. Everything else was great…the food & service & ambience was wonderful.
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M
Mark
Orange County7 reviews
4.0
Dined on May 11, 2025
1. Overall 4
2. Food 4
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Parking was absolutely awful. Spent 15 minutes hunting in a public parking lot. The restaurant is in a public park / beach so with combo of Mothers Day and gorgeous weather that attracted beach goers it was definitely challenging. It was peak craziness. Got the feeling that this restaurant is not usually used to being this busy, so busy it ran out of my favorite beer Stella. Our waiter Damian and assistant also named Damian was cheerful and great service despite very slow kitchen service. Took almost an hour. Again it was busy and food was great. Disappointed that they did not recognise special day for Moms like most other places we've gone to on MD and we dropped $200 for 3 people so not cheap. We will be back but not on a weekend unless they fix the parking situation.
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J
Jennifer
Las Vegas1 review
2.0
Dined on May 11, 2025
1. Overall 2
2. Food 3
3. Service 1
4. Ambience 3
Even though we had a reservation with open table, they kept seating people in front of us and kept asking if we had a reservation, what our name was, and how many were in our party. The hostess said she didn’t know how to assign a table to an open table reservation so she was extremely confused and kept forgetting about us. We then waited a long time for our server to take our order and about 45 minutes for the food to come. It was a two hour ordeal, but it is near the marina and a little beachy park so that was nice. It is very popular and had a consistent crowd waiting for tables the entire time we were there. The lobster roll was just ok. The steak sandwich was good. There was about an hour where no one refilled our water or drinks but then towards the end they were very attentive. I think we just really had bad luck with the hostess and server we dealt with. Also, it seemed like a busy time for them.
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T
Tad VIP
Orange County29 reviews
5.0
Dined on May 10, 2025
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Amazing location on the water. The service and food were all great. Sat outside next to the fire with a view of the passing boats on the harbor. Artichokes and shishito peppers were wonderful, as well as the rib eye special.
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T
Tom VIP
Oklahoma City9 reviews
3.0
Dined on May 9, 2025
1. Overall 3
2. Food 3
3. Service 3
4. Ambience 4
Food was good. Waiter and hostess could have been a friendlier and more attentive.
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S
Sham
Orange County1 review
1.0
Dined on April 28, 2025
1. Overall 1
2. Food 1
3. Service 1
4. Ambience 1
I made a reservation at Lighthouse Cafe for my brother’s friends to celebrate a birthday, and the experience was completely unacceptable. From the start, the service was terrible — the server was unprofessional, disappeared for long periods, and the tables were dirty when the group arrived. I had informed the staff ahead of time that I would be covering the bill, but the server was nowhere to be found when it was time to pay, forcing the birthday guest to pay for his own meal, which was extremely embarrassing. The food was also a huge disappointment — the shrimp pasta was inedible, the beignets were cold, and they were served in the middle of the meal instead of at the end. What was supposed to be a special celebration ended up being stressful, disorganized, and embarrassing. For a restaurant that presents itself as a quality establishment, this was a completely unprofessional and frustrating experience. I would not recommend Lighthouse Cafe to anyone looking to host a special occasion.
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M
Melanie
Orange County3 reviews
3.0
Dined on April 24, 2025
1. Overall 3
2. Food 2
3. Service 4
4. Ambience 5
Food was okey. I ordered Avocado toast. I would assume the bread was toast but it doesn’t taste or feel like it was toasted. I’m glad my husbands food was good. Ambiance is always great there, romantic to celebrate our Wedding Anniversary.
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FAQs

Lighthouse Cafe offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (949) 933-1001.

Lighthouse Cafe is rated 4.3 stars by 599 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people

Jun 9, 2025

7:00 PM

Booked 14 times today

1600 W. Balboa Blvd., Newport Beach, CA 92663

Additional information

Cross street
16th Street
Neighborhood
Newport Beach
Hours of operation
Brunch Daily 8:00 am–4:00 pm Dinner Daily 4:00 pm–9:00 pm
Price
$31 to $50
Cuisines
Seafood, Californian, American
Dining style
Casual Elegant
Dress code
Casual Dress
Parking details
The Marina Park parking lot offers a large, paid meter parking area as well as plenty of street parking in the area near the restaurant.
Payment options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Executive chef
Francisco Perez
Additional
Banquet, Beer, Cafe, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Dog Friendly, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Non-Smoking, Outdoor Firepit, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Takeout, View, Weekend Brunch, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Website
http://lighthousenb.com/
Phone number
(949) 933-1001

Lighthouse Cafe

Make a reservation

About this restaurant

Additional information

Menu

What 599 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Review summary

FAQs

Does Lighthouse Cafe offer delivery through OpenTable or takeout?

How is Lighthouse Cafe restaurant rated?

Is Lighthouse Cafe currently accepting reservations?

Make a reservation

Additional information