Balboa Bay Resort Sunday Seafood Brunch
(No compensation was given for the information written in this post.)
Hubby and I are really into having brunch on the weekends. There’s something very satisfying about sleeping in, waking up when the sun is already high in the sky and then having your first meal of the day at 11am. I’m an early bird, too…I’m usually up at 430am and in the gym at 5am.
But not on the weekends. The weekends for me are for decompressing. Especially on Sundays. Some days we like to go nearby for breakfast. Some days we will stay at home. But we usually prefer to use our weekends to spend time together because of our busy schedules – and this is where brunch comes in.
A few years ago, hubby and I decided to seriously reduce our red meat intake and focus on chicken or seafood as our primary source of animal protein. It was mostly for health reasons, but also a personal choice for us. So if we’re able to find places to eat that have a variety of options, that’s even better.
We decided one Sunday morning to have a seafood brunch where we could really unwind and enjoy the scenery around us – Newport Beach.
Newport Beach is one of my favorite cities to visit when it’s burning hot in the late summer of SoCal. It’s one of the coldest cities in Orange County – when it’s 90 degrees in the northern or inland portion, it will almost for certain be 78 degrees with scattered clouds in Newport Beach.
Our destination for Sunday brunch was at the Balboa Bay Resort. The hotel is bright, airy, and right next to the marina. It’s got a beach vibe mixed with upscale luxury. A walk down the hall from the lobby will take you to the Lighthouse Room where brunch is served.
Ambiance
Sunday brunch is located in the Lighthouse Room, one of the banquet rooms of the hotel. The location is amazing – I’m sure quite a few people have had wedding receptions here. Lots of natural light and the view is incredible thanks to the big windows that overlook the marina. A patio next to the Lighthouse Room can easily fit 20 or so tables. The patio is covered, shielding you from the elements – you can sit at a table beneath the overhang of the building or under an umbrella. You can see the water and watch stand up paddle boarders and boats cruise by. We ended up sitting at a table closer to the water, under an umbrella.
Cold Food/Appetizers
If you love charcuterie boards, this place has so many options! Cheeses, cold meats, crackers, bread – so many combinations of all of the above can be found here. I love brie cheese with crackers, so it was very tempting to try the brie with the different bread/cracker options here. I was afraid I’d end up too full, so I tried to avoid that and only stuck to a small wedge of brie and a slice of artisanal toast.
Hot Food
Containers are along one of the walls and those contain hot food such as mahi mahi, grilled free-range chicken, and summer pea ravioli. There is also a carving station if you’re craving meat. An omelet/eggs made to order station sits in the back of the patio area. The fish, chicken and ravioli were lightly seasoned – the items didn’t feel heavy at all in spite of being very savory food. My husband had the custom eggs, they were very fluffy and cooked just right.
Seafood
The seafood station stands in the middle of the room. You’ve got choices between California rolls, sushi, sashimi and the center of the attraction, raw oysters, ceviche, jumbo shrimp cocktail, and crab legs. The shrimp are pre-peeled and the shell of the crab legs are cut so the meat is sticking out, ready to be eaten. My favorite items here were pretty much the oysters, ceviche, shrimp cocktail and crab legs. I kept coming back for those – especially since most of the work of removing the shells was already done for you. The sushi tasted a little bland – it didn’t seem as if they seasoned the rice with vinegar before assembling the sushi.
Kid Friendly Food Options
You can never go wrong with chicken tenders, and that is the standard food fare offered here. For more breakfast-type items, children can also eat Belgian waffles. These are about the size of an adult hand, and come with various toppings on the side like berries and whip cream. The Belgian waffles resembled a cookie and they were overly sweet – it almost felt like sugar granules were coating the inside of my mouth as soon as I took a bite of the waffle. I’m not a fan of too sweet items, so others might like this waffle, but I prefer my waffles sweetened with a little maple syrup on top or fruit.
Dessert
There are so many choices! Are you a chocoholic? Do you like fruit with your desserts? All of those can be found at the dessert table with options such as lemon bars, fruit tarts and chocolate cakes. They come in petite sizes, so you can grab quite a few to indulge and not feel guilty. Also, a BIG plus…the pastries are all gluten free, so if you have allergies, you don’t have to worry. If you prefer using the chocolate fountain to indulge your sweet tooth, then you can easily grab any of the skewers of fruit, cake pops, brownies, marshmallows and catch the flowing chocolate on them.
Drinks
Standard hot coffee, orange juice, teas are available for you to choose from. I was surprised to learn that mimosas have free refills. Yeah, you read that correctly. FREE refills. As in UNLIMITED. You pay for the glass and that covers as many as you want. And you will get as many as you want until you tell them otherwise. As soon as your glass is half full, a server comes around to fill it up again, no questions asked. There’s also a full bar, with Bloody Marys as their trademark drinks, but you are welcome to order anything else that catches your fancy.
Things to Know:
Balboa Bay Resort Sunday Seafood Brunch
1221 West Coast Hwy
Newport Beach, CA 92663
(949) 645-5000
Hours: Sundays, 10am to 2pm
Price: $85/person, $48 for kids 12 and under
(Please note that menu items may change based on the season.)
So…was it worth it? I say yes – but I wouldn’t do it every week. Maybe once a month if it’s in your budget, or once every few months. The price can be a little on the steep side for some, and I completely understand that not everyone can go to a brunch buffet…let alone one that’s $85 per person. But the seafood tasted really fresh…and that view is awesome! You can just feel all your troubles melting away. Not gonna lie, hubby and I were watching the boats and yachts and waiting to see which ones would pass each other during a race we made up in our heads. We find things like that oddly entertaining…
So where do you like to go for brunch buffets near your hometown? Do you even like brunch buffets…? Comment below!
