"It's hard to believe we are standing at the site of the old Circuit City," Newport Beach Mayor Joe Stapleton said at the December 2024 ribbon cutting for RH Newport Beach, the Gallery at Fashion Island, as reported by the Daily Pilot. The building is a four-story, 97,000-square-foot furniture gallery. Its top floor holds RH Ocean Grill, a 270-seat restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating and wide views of the Pacific.
Almost two years later, that rooftop is shaping the next phase of Fashion Island. The Irvine Company is rebuilding its other ocean-facing restaurant block to work the same way. The new restaurants that opened at the center in 2026 suggest the reasons people visit have shifted along with the buildings.
The rooftop that set the template
RH Ocean Grill serves brunch, lunch and dinner on the top level. The menu centers on seafood and caviar, with salads, sandwiches and steaks alongside. At the opening, Mayor Stapleton called it the store's "crown jewel." Two wine bars flank the staircase on the floors below, so the building works as much like a hotel lobby as a showroom.
The center's management has credited that rooftop for what comes next. "The community has responded enthusiastically to the beautiful coastal views and ocean breezes available while dining at RH Ocean Grill," a Fashion Island spokesperson told the Orange County Business Journal in September. The spokesperson added that the center would "deliver a similar coastal ambiance in a refreshed restaurant space in this area of the center."
The block being turned around
That refreshed space is the former restaurant row once home to The Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen and P.F. Chang's. P.F. Chang's was the last of the three to close. The Business Journal reported that its exit cleared the way for construction this fall on a project the Irvine Company calls the Coastal Overlook.
The design brief fits in a single sentence from an Irvine Company spokesperson, quoted by the Business Journal:
"The renovation will reorient the existing brick-and-mortar space to face the ocean rather than turn its back to it, featuring expansive windows that capture panoramic Pacific views for guests to shop and dine by the coast."
Fashion Island describes the Coastal Overlook as a home for "innovative" restaurant concepts. Gerard Widder, the center's vice president and general manager, told the Business Journal it would bring "fresh dining and lifestyle concepts that take full advantage of Fashion Island's remarkable location." No tenants or opening date had been named as of the Business Journal's September 14 report. Expect a construction zone in that corner through the holiday season, with the finished space still some way off.
What opened while the south end waited
The rebuild is the largest change at the center, but it is not the first. Between the RH opening and this fall, three food and coffee concepts arrived, and each is the brand's first location in Orange County or California.
| Concept | Where at Fashion Island | Opened | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| RH Ocean Grill | Rooftop of RH Newport Beach | December 2024, with the gallery | 270-seat seafood and caviar restaurant with Pacific views |
| Ralph's Coffee | Inside the Ralph Lauren store | Jan. 20, 2026 | First Ralph's Coffee in California, with organic coffee, cookies and Ralph Lauren Ice Cream |
| Telefèric Barcelona | 311 Newport Center Drive, former Hopdoddy space | Aug. 20, 2026 | First Orange County location of a Barcelona-born tapas group |
| Levain Bakery | 315 Newport Center Drive | Sept. 4, 2026 | First Orange County location of the New York bakery known for 6-ounce cookies |
Ralph's Coffee is the quietest of the three. According to Irvine Company Retail's announcement, it serves Ralph's Roast, Decaf and Espresso blends made from USDA organic beans, plus Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Raisin cookies. The shop also carries an exclusive Newport Beach mug.
Telefèric Barcelona is run by siblings Xavi and Maria Padrosa. The Daily Pilot reported that the pair started their California search in the north before heading south. "In Southern California, we fell in love with Fashion Island. It feels just like Barcelona," Maria Padrosa told the paper. The Newport Beach restaurant is part of a group of nine worldwide, including the two original Barcelona locations.
Levain opened at 8 a.m. on a Friday. By 8:40 a.m., the Daily Pilot counted just under 400 people in line. Co-CEO Taya Stenson's advice for the 6-ounce cookies was to split one with a friend, though she admitted, "I can't say that I personally do that all the time."
Why the landlord is betting on restaurants
The Levain line got its own analysis in the Orange County Register's September 21 look at mall dining. The paper said the people in that line had come for the cookies, not for a snack between shopping stops. The same article includes the Irvine Company's figures for Fashion Island and Irvine Spectrum combined:
- 83 dining and specialty-dining concepts across the two centers, according to the Irvine Company
- 16 of them opened within the past two years
- 18% rise in combined foot traffic at the two centers over the past five years
"We've seen over time that restaurants have become much more than an amenity to shopping," Ken Gillett, president of Irvine Company Retail Properties, told the Register. He said diners who come for coffee, lunch or dinner tend to stay longer, visit more stores and return more often. He also said Neiman Marcus remains important at Fashion Island for designer fashion and beauty.
The traffic figures need some context. Placer.ai estimates in the same article show Fashion Island visits up year over year in every month from January through August 2026. In August 2026, Fashion Island visits rose 6%, compared with 14.8% at Irvine Spectrum and 30.4% at Brea Mall. The Register noted that Placer.ai cannot separate dining visits from other trips, and that redevelopment, events and retail openings also affect traffic. Fashion Island posted the smallest August gain of the three. Rebuilding an entire restaurant block to face the water is how the landlord is trying to move that number.
Din Tai Fung, one of the recent arrivals the Irvine Company named, is at Irvine Spectrum rather than Fashion Island.
The next name on the directory
Fashion Island's directory lists one restaurant as Coming Soon, and its menu fits the coastal theme. Amalfi, at Suite A104, comes from chef Erik De Marchi, who trained under Gino Angelini in Los Angeles. De Marchi founded Oliver's Osteria in Laguna Beach in 2018 and Oliver's Trattoria in Irvine in 2023. The Fashion Island listing describes Amalfi as Italian street food, including Neapolitan cuoppo, pizza al taglio and pasta plates. The listing gives no opening date, and none had been announced when WhatNow covered the concept in October 2025.
On the calendar through late November
Most of what Fashion Island has scheduled for the coming weeks is food-related:
- Through Oct. 31: Telefèric Barcelona's Halloween cocktail, served all day.
- Oct. 29, 6 to 9 p.m.: Girl Dinner & a Movie at THE LOT.
- Nov. 8 to Nov. 28: Orange County Foster Teen Donation Drive.
- Nov. 11, 6 to 7 p.m.: Levain Bakery x Barnes & Noble.
Fashion Island's events page carries the details and is the place to watch for the holiday-season schedule.
The new restaurant openings and the Coastal Overlook come from the same plan. The Irvine Company is betting that people will come to Fashion Island to eat with a view of the water, and will shop because they are already there. The team at Kim Bibb watches changes like the Coastal Overlook closely, because new dining and gathering places shape how a neighborhood feels to the people who live in it. If you own a home in Newport Beach and want to know how your property fits today's market, request a confidential home valuation.
