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Tradition by Pascal Restaurant Review

Plaza Newport
1000 N. Bristol St. (Jamboree Rd.) Send to Phone
Newport Beach, CA 92660
949-263-9400 | Make Restaurant Reservations
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Personable host chef Pascal Olhats continues to offer some of the finest classic and contemporary French dishes in OC. Tradition by Pascal Restaurant is one of our 2012 | Top 10 Orange County (CA) French Restaurants | Top 10 Orange County (CA) Food Rating Restaurants | Top 10 Orange County (CA) Special Occasion Restaurants | Top 10 Orange County (CA) Wine List Restaurants |

Cuisine

Open

Lunch Mon.-Fri., Dinner Tues.-Sun., Brunch Sun.

Features

Wine

Great Wine List

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Dining room at Tradition by Pascal, Newport Beach, CAPascal Olhats, OC’s unofficial French ambassador of gastronomy, changed the name of his intimate institution, explaining that he has “gone back to his classical French roots.” The restaurant remains elegant and friendly with low-key service, but now Olhats’s menu combines his many influences in France: growing up in Normandy, cooking with master chef Paul Bocuse in Lyon and serving Mediterranean specialties to royalty and celebrities in St. Tropez. Starters not to miss include the escargots Christine, which show up in a Staub cooking pot with an addictive butter and pesto sauce. If you are thinking about starting with some vegetables, don’t miss the beet salad, which comes with lemon-flavored goat cheese, crunchy pine nuts and a tangy balsamic vinaigrette. And regulars needn’t worry too much about changes: the thyme-crusted sea bass still holds its position as the menu’s highlight, along with a very Gallic bouillabaisse, roast quail, braised rabbit and coq au vin. The extensive wine list is, fortunately, mostly reasonably priced. Just ask the charming sommelier for help, whether you prefer a glass or a bottle. For a simple French meal without the fuss, check out Pascal Epicerie next door for fine cheeses, salads, freshly-made sandwiches, coffees or French wines to enjoy on the spot or to take home.

User Ratings & Reviews for Tradition by Pascal
Average rating    1
Reviews 1 - 1 of 11
Tradition By Pascal: A Miserable Experience
by CK_FoodCritic on 02/05/2011
 
My expectations of this restaurant were reasonably high as Pascal Brasserie at Fashion Island is a favorite of mine in the Newport area. However, these two restaurants could not be more different. While the Brasserie is inviting with brilliant classic french dishes at a bargain price, Tradition was grievously overpriced, with stale unappetizing food. The menu reads very well and in concept the dishes are creative and well planned. Nevertheless, the horrible execution of my meal was not the least of faults committed. The service took over two hours and we were one of two tables in the restaurant. My food was both cold and executed terribly. The foie gras was the worst I have ever been served on the west coast. The cheese plate was a few cubes of cheese with dry burnt tips of bread. My wife's french onion soup came so stale that the cheese had solidified from once being melted that she couldn't cut it with her spoon. It must have sat unattended by our server forever while we were only the second table in the restaurant. My duck confit salad was the single worst salad I have ever been served. Creatively it should have worked but what I received was a dry, overly salted confit leg, which I could hardly cut with my knife. Duck confit should fall of the bone. The salad was simply dumped next to the duck and was tasteless without any dressing. The performance that day was lamentable and for twice the price of Pascal Brasserie It cannot be justified. This restaurant's rating is undeserved to say the least and should be avoided if you are in the area. Where to go instead? Just down Jamboree to Pascal Brasserie at Fashion Island
 
Reviews 1 - 1 of 11



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