Orange County’s next great seafood and steak concept is making a splash at Fashion Island. Welcome to Ocean 48.
Guests can dine poolside at Ocean 48. ALL PHOTOS BY ENTERTAINMENT 48
While Orange County is no stranger to the Mastro’s name, brothers Michael and Jeffrey Mastro, who created and sold the brand in 2007, are still dialing up the heat on fine dining. In late summer, they unveiled Ocean 48 at Fashion Island, a stunning seafood and steak concept in the former Fig & Olive space. A top-to-bottom renovation has ushered in contemporary stylings, myriad dining spaces, two bars and a glass-enclosed showcase kitchen. Here, we take a deep dive with Jeffrey, the James Beard-nominated restaurateur and CEO of Prime Steak Concepts.
What inspired you to open Ocean 48 in Newport Beach? Newport Beach is one of our favorite places. When the opportunity came up to open our new concept, Ocean 48, here it was an easy yes!
A private dining space is emboldened with eye-catching art.
Ocean 48’s petite filet mignon with black truffle, Maine lobster and a side of Brussels sprouts
What can we expect? Ocean 48 is a luxurious, warm, contemporary fine-dining seafood and steak concept and is a great fit for Orange County. The restaurant offers a unique coastal feel and a commitment to using the highest quality ingredients paired with luxury personal service. Every detail is curated to create the totality of the experience. Ocean 48 is seafood reinvented in a vibrant, luxurious atmosphere specializing in world-class seafood with an elaborate selection of the highest quality fresh fish and shellfish from around the world. We also specialize in the great steaks we are known for at our sister concept, Steak 48, featuring USDA prime and wagyu beef, including a very rare Kobe A5 wine-fed offering.
Enjoy a crisp glass of white wine with torched scallops and Pacific yellowtail hamachi.
Tell us about the restaurant’s design. My brother Mike heads up our design and development along with our designer Judi Testani of Testani Design Troupe. The overall feel is warm and contemporary and offers many unique dining options, from our poolside dining cabanas and the lounge to multiple private dining rooms and our floor-to-ceiling glass private dining suites looking into the show kitchen. The intention of the design is to offer a wide variety of unique experiences, all on a very high-end luxury level, but with a field perfectly suited for the type of evening that you are looking to have, from a business dinner to a great night out with friends and family to an intimate dining experience.
What should we order? Ocean 48’s most popular appetizers and side dishes are caviar cones, chicken fried lobster tails, the chef’s cut hanging bacon, and a chive and cream cheese-stuffed hashbrown. I also recommend our Kobe A5 wine-fed strip, the branzino and our Gold-Plus Grade wagyu New York strip from Snake River Farms—one of the best steaks I have ever had.
Chief executive chef Marc Lupino shows off Ocean 48’s fresh seafood offerings.
And what are you personally ordering? The lobster escargot, a modern and delicious take on a classic dish—we replaced the traditional snails with butter-poached live Maine lobster.
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