Best Restaurants for Wine Lovers in Newport Beach
Eight restaurants are on this Newport Beach wine list, and every wine program is exceptional. The Wine Spectator award on the list is a Best of Award of Excellence for 2026 at Bourbon Steak Orange County, in Dana Point, Michael Mina's steakhouse with a tasting menu and an extensive list. Marché Moderne, in Newport Beach, has the sommelier-led list, and corkage is allowed. It also serves a prix fixe and holds a Michelin Plate. The Dock, in Lido Marina, uses a WineStation program with an extensive list and craft cocktails.
Fable & Spirit, in Lido Marina Village, holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, pours an extensive list, and serves craft cocktails. Nobu, in Lido Marina Village, serves omakase and sake, with an extensive list. The Cannery, in Newport Beach, Ocean 48, in Fashion Island, and 21 Oceanfront, in Balboa Peninsula, are seafood and steak restaurants with extensive lists and craft cocktails.
How this list is chosen: Restaurants holding a Wine Spectator Restaurant Award or rated as having an exceptional wine program, listed alphabetically. Updated October 8, 2026.
21 Oceanfront
Exceptional wine program
21 Oceanfront occupies one of Newport Beach's most direct oceanside addresses, at 2100 W Oceanfront, placing it squarely within Southern California's tradition of premium seafood dining against the Pacific backdrop. The setting alone positions it as a reference point for coastal fine dining in Orange County, where the view and the plate are expected to carry equal weight.
Bourbon Steak Orange County
Exceptional wine program
Michael Mina's Bourbon Steak Orange County defines oceanfront luxury dining in Newport Beach, where butter-poached prime cuts and theatrical tableside presentations unfold against spectacular Pacific views at the exclusive Monarch Beach Resort.
Fable & Spirit
Exceptional wine program
Fable & Spirit on Via Lido brings Californian cooking to Newport Beach at a price point that earns its keep twice over, holding back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition in 2024 and 2025. Chef David Shofner works within a culinary tradition that treats the state's produce-led abundance as a starting point rather than a destination. For the Orange County dining scene, that discipline at a mid-range price is notable.
Marché Moderne
Exceptional wine program
Marché Moderne holds consecutive Michelin Plate recognition for 2024 and 2025, placing it among the more formally credentialed French tables in Orange County. Positioned on Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach, it draws comparison to California's mid-tier French dining scene rather than the casual bistro category. A 4..
Nobu
Exceptional wine program
The kitchen operates within the same culinary vocabulary that made the Nobu name a fixture on fine-dining circuits across three continents, anchored here by California coastal proximity and a clientele that returns on rotation rather than occasion.
Ocean 48
Exceptional wine program
Ocean 48 occupies a prominent address in Newport Center, placing it squarely within Newport Beach's upscale dining corridor. The space and format position it against the city's more polished steakhouse and seafood houses, where design and setting carry as much weight as what arrives at the table. For visitors working through Newport Beach's mid-to-upper dining tier, it warrants serious consideration.
The Cannery
Exceptional wine program
The Cannery occupies a historic cannery building on Newport Beach's Lafayette Avenue, placing it among the waterfront dining addresses that define the harbor's character. Seafood traditions anchor the menu in a setting where the room and the water work together. It sits in a tier of Newport Beach restaurants where setting and service carry as much weight as what arrives at the table.
The Dock
Exceptional wine program
On Lafayette Avenue in Newport Beach's canal district, The Dock draws a returning crowd that values waterfront proximity and a relaxed but considered dining format over spectacle. The address sits within a walkable cluster of independent restaurants that give this stretch of the harbor its distinct character. Details on cuisine, pricing, and booking are best confirmed directly with the venue.
Planning restaurants for wine lovers in Newport Beach
- Which neighborhoods are on this list?
- Lido Marina Village and Newport Beach each have two restaurants on this list, and Dana Point, Lido Marina, Fashion Island and Balboa Peninsula each have one. Fable & Spirit and Nobu are in Lido Marina Village. Marché Moderne and The Cannery are in Newport Beach. Bourbon Steak Orange County is in Dana Point, The Dock is in Lido Marina, Ocean 48 is in Fashion Island, and 21 Oceanfront is in Balboa Peninsula.
- Which restaurant on this list holds a Wine Spectator award?
- Bourbon Steak Orange County, in Dana Point, is the only restaurant on this list with a Wine Spectator award. The award is a Best of Award of Excellence for 2026. Michael Mina's steakhouse has an exceptional wine program, an extensive wine list and craft cocktails. The menu is a la carte and a tasting menu, in a resort setting with ocean views.
- What wine list styles are on this list?
- Every restaurant on this list has an extensive wine list. Marché Moderne, in Newport Beach, is sommelier-led, and corkage is allowed. The Dock, in Lido Marina, uses a WineStation program. Nobu, in Lido Marina Village, pours sake as well as wine.
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