DP Times 16th Annual Best of Dana Point: Best Overall Restaurant
Dana Point Times | March 2024
Coastal Kitchen is no stranger to honors. When OC restaurants are ranked, Coastal Kitchen is lauded for its crab cakes, filet mignon, patio, al fresco dining, and location along the Pacific Coast Highway.
These Are the Most Popular Places to Dine Outside in the U.S. in 2023, According to OpenTable
Travel + Leisure | July 2023 | Rachel Chang
The Top 100 list spans 20 states across the country, with most picks concentrated in warm-weather destinations. California came out on top with 31 restaurants, including Dana Point’s Coastal Kitchen; Orange’s King's Fish House; Palm Springs’ Spencer's Restaurant; and Cardiff-by-the-Sea’s Pacific Coast Grill.
Dana Point’s 52nd Annual Festival of Whales Highlights Local Nonprofits
Dana Point Times | March 2023 | Breeana Greenberg
At the Clam Chowder Cook-Off, local restaurants were featured as each vied for recognition as having the best clam chowder.
Proceeds from the Clam Chowder Cook-Off benefit Fish for Life, a nonprofit that offers free fishing trips out of the Dana Point Harbor for special needs kids and their families. Coastal Kitchen took home the People’s Choice and Mayor’s Choice Awards while the Wind & Sea won Best in Show.
The 40 top restaurants along the Pacific Coast Highway
Tasting Table | Oct 2022 | Taylor Murray
Starting off at the southernmost tip of Highway 1 (another name for PCH) is Coastal Kitchen in Dana Point. This elegant-yet-casual restaurant is a stone's throw from the beach and serves up friendly bites in the day and more refined fare in the evening. The menu is broad enough to appease any kind of diner. Don't miss the jumbo lump crab cakes or the Parker House rolls, perfect for scooping up every last bite of sauce.
The 7 Best Crab Cakes In Orange County
Modern Luxury Orange County | July 2022
The smell of salt air, the feeling of sand between your toes, and the taste of a fresh, flavorful crab cake on your tongue. It’s the quintessential coastal, summer vibes. So whether you’re patiently awaiting your coastal vacation, impatiently stuck between tropical excursions, or are simply craving quality seafood, treat yourself to the finest crab cakes in Orange County. Check out our picks for the seven absolute best crab cakes the area has to offer.
Swing by the gorgeous, nautically-inspired Coastal Kitchen for tasty crab cakes served with Creole mustard and coleslaw. The interior offers classic summer, coastal vibes, while the menu keeps it fresh with a large array of seafood dishes.
3 OC Restaurants Rank Among Top 100 In Nation For Outdoor Dining
Patch.com | July 2022
Summer is heating up on the West Coast, meaning Californians are on the lookout for the best patio scene. Five Riverside County restaurants landed on OpenTable's prestigious list of the 100 best restaurants for outdoor dining in the U.S.
The eateries that were named in Orange County were in Newport Beach, Dana Point and Corona Del Mar.
Dana Point Celebrates 51st Annual Festival of Whales
Dana Point Times | March 2022
Hundreds gathered in Dana Point this past weekend for the 51st annual Festival of Whales, which offered numerous activities and events including the Magical Migration Parade, all celebrating the yearly migration of gray whales.
The Clam Chowder Cook-Off was also held, with Coastal Kitchen taking home the People’s Choice award, while The Point Restaurant & Bar earned the Mayor’s Choice. Wind & Sea Restaurant won the prize for Best Booth Decorations.
15 Patios for a Winter Date Night in Orange County
The Orange County Register | February 2022
Most of last year’s temporary outdoor dining tents and parking-lot patios have already been dismantled and put away, perhaps somewhat prematurely. A lot of people still want to dine outdoors, especially right now in the dead of winter while it’s sunny and 70 degrees outside. Ah, winter in California. Revel in it while we can. Here are 15 places to dine comfortably outdoors right now.
Top 100 Neighborhood Gem Restaurants in America for 2021
RestaurantNews.com | September 2021
New top 100 list recognizes local eateries with outdoor seating that stand out and define their neighborhoods
Eating local isn’t just about ingredients; it’s also about the restaurants in your community that make you feel special time and again. To balance the desire to return to restaurants with safe dining practices, OpenTable, the world’s leading provider of online restaurant reservations and part of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), today released their 100 Best Neighborhood Gems in America for 2021 with outdoor dining, encouraging diners to support the local restaurants as they continue to recover from COVID-19 challenges.
100 Best Neighborhood Gems in America for 2021
OpenTable | September 2021
After more than a year of restrictions, people are over cooking and eager to dine out — in fact, an OpenTable survey found that over a quarter (27%) of people would dine out for every meal if they could.* To balance the desire to return to restaurants with safe dining practices, OpenTable used internal data to create a list of the 100 Best Neighborhood Gems in America, highlighting the restaurants that contribute to the character of their neighborhoods and welcome diners in with exceptional hospitality, especially outdoors.
DP Times 13th Annual Best of Dana Point: Best Restaurant for Outdoor Dining
Dana Point Times | March 2021
The mission at Coastal Kitchen is to deliver a quality dining experience in a comfortable, friendly atmosphere with a consistency that will bring guests back again and again. “When COVID brought us completely outdoors, we had to expand, and it was important for us to provide an inviting environment in addition to our delicious food,” says co-owner Christina Grant.
American Dream TV Orange County: Episode #2
American Dream TV | Jan 2021 | Shawn and Helena Noonan
Local Real Estate experts Shawn and Helena Noonan head to Dana Point, Ca to show you all that this beautiful seaside town has to offer. Known for it’s rich maritime history, legendary surfing and amazing whale watching, Dana Point is becoming a preferred destination for many people moving to Orange County. Spend the day with us as we have lunch at one of our favorite local restaurants, Coastal Kitchen, and then head to ‘The Ocean Institute’ for a brief history lesson and a look at the historic tall ship replica, ‘Spirit of Dana Point’.
Photo by Julee Ho
AAA Westways Magazine: Road Trip
AAA Westways Magazine | July/August 2019 | Nick Rufca
Gooey chocolate. Crisp graham cracker. Toasted Marshmallow. On their own, these ingredients are undeniably delicious. Sandwiched together, they are famously known by their common name, s’mores. This beloved dessert is arguably at its most authentic when assembled by hand near a roaring campfire, but the inventive chef-crafted versions now appearing on restaurant menus are equally delicious and fun, with no fire-starting required.
OC Weekly’s Best Food and Drink of 2019
OC Weekly | 2019
Though all the dishes utilize simple ingredients, everything at Coastal Kitchen is as satisfying as a day at the beach. Among the favorites are the seared ahi tuna salad, which is given a refreshing twist thanks to mangos, and the jumbo lump crab cake entrée, which is spiced up with a creole mustard sauce. And for an added treat, finish your meal with a slice of tangy Key lime pie.
Photo by Brad A. Johnson, Orange County Register./SCNG
Best thing I ate: If there’s a bucket list for crab cakes, these are worthy
The Orange County Register | September 11, 2019 | Brad A. Johnson
Critic Brad A. Johnson says Coastal Kitchen in Dana Point warrants a fresh look, especially if you enjoy crab cakes.
Coastal Kitchen in Dana Point got off to a lousy start when it opened nearly three years ago, but they endured and now seem to be on the right track.
That makes me happy because it’s a beautiful restaurant in the historic Blue Lantern building that was completely gutted and rebuilt with a breezy beach cottage vibe.
Your Guide To a SoCal Beach Getaway, An Easy Flight from Sonoma County Airport STS
Sonoma Magazine | August 2019 | Dana Rebmann
When you're dreaming of the kind of beach vacation the chilly Sonoma Coast is unable to supply, book a trip to Orange County's Dana Point.
Eat at Coastal Kitchen: Open for dinner and lunch, menu options include the likes of New England Clam Chowder, shrimp cocktail, filet mignon, and jumbo lump cakes served with red cabbage slaw, or atop a salad with avocado and champagne vinaigrette.
Photo by Spencer Grant
On Food: Dana Point’s Coastal Kitchen teaches Girl Scouts cooking and baking basics
Los Angeles Times | May 08, 2019 | Bradley Zint
On a recent afternoon, a Dana Point restaurant opened its kitchen to a group of Girl Scouts, perhaps sparking an interest in cooking, becoming an executive chef or owning a small business.
For the owners of Coastal Kitchen, that’s been a practice for nearly two years: allowing children a chance to work in a professional kitchen and learn the speed, accuracy, cleanliness and perfection the trade requires.
Photo by Forbes.com
How to have the perfect beach day in Dana Point
Forbes | May 13, 2019 | Fiona Tapp
You can't have a bad beach day in Dana Point. Its perfect location in Orange County, South California means that it is bathed in glorious sunshine almost every day. The sandy beaches are inviting for a stroll along the ocean, or offer the perfect setting for watersports, fishing, or whale watching. Whether you choose to stay active with adventurous and sporty activities or simply relax, flop on a sun lounger and do nothing, there is an oceanfront option for you.
This is how to spend a perfect beach day in Dana Point.
Photo by WorldsGreatestChefs.com
Chef Mike Grant
World’sGreatestChefs.com I 2019
What is your first food memory?
We lived in Washington DC and my father flew F-4’s in the Air Force. He was making a cross country trip and his relatives gave him fresh Salmon from Vancouver, so he flew it home. He woke my brother and I up around midnight to eat the freshest salmon I’ve ever eaten.
Did you grow up in a cooking family?
Growing up in the South my mother did all the traditional cooking. When I graduated college, my mother retired her cooking duties. At the same time, my father’s best friend was a German chef who owned a deli and restaurant. My father really got into cooking, so I learned alongside him.
Who has influenced your cooking the most?
George Biel-the founder of Hillstone Restaurant Group. He sets the standard for clean, straight forward, high-quality dishes.
Photo by OC Foodie Girl
Restaurant Review: Coastal Kitchen in Dana Point
OC Foodie Girl I January 29, 2019
So I admittedly don't get down to Dana Point too often but I heard that there has been a bit of a renaissance going on in the city for the past few years, so I was eager to head down to try the highly touted Coastal Kitchen.
Coastal Kitchen opened up in mid-2016 in a historic building that was actually the first commercial building in Dana Point. It's' been lovingly transformed into a beautiful restaurant with a coastal ambiance taking full advantage of the Southern California lifestyle with large open glass doors and cozy fire pits all along the north entrance.
Photo by Brian Feinzimer
On the Line: Mike Grant of Coastal Kitchen
OC Weekly I October 23, 2017
As someone who has managed his own dining room, kitchen and as owner of Coastal Kitchen, Mike Grant is a bit of a triple threat— knowing his restaurant through and through. We have him chatting about his family, cooking and education, and how they sometimes intertwine.
Tell me about a signature dish at Coastal Kitchen. What inspired the dish, and what the components?
S'mores Pie. My children love making and eating s'mores. It always annoys me how sticky and dirty I get making them. . . so we figured out how to eat them with a fork. Graham cracker crust, chocolate mousse filling, fresh meringue— torched for marshmallow flavor.
SoCal Pulse
30+ Top Places to Celebrate Mother’s Day in Orange County
SoCal Pulse I May 2, 2017
Take mom to experience something new this Mother’s Day—Coastal Kitchen—the latest addition to the Lantern District in Dana Point. Coastal Kitchen’s relaxed southern California vibe is reflected in their clean decor and from-scratch menu. This Mother’s Day, they will be offering both their signature lunch and dinner menu with dishes such as jumbo lump crabcakes, pan seared scallops and filet mignon. Most importantly, moms can sip on a selection of hand-crafted cocktails.
OC Mom Blog
Clean Cuisine at Coastal Kitchen in Dana Point
OC Mom Blog I April 7, 2017
All of my friends have been raving about Coastal Kitchen in Dana Point, so when I was making plans for our family seaside staycation at the DoubleTree Suites Doheny Beach, I also made reservations for us to have dinner at Coastal Kitchen...When we arrived at the restaurant, I was in awe of how beautiful it looked. There is a large outdoor patio and a fire pit with androck chairs by the front door – the only thing missing was some marshmallows to roast. The inside of the restaurant is even more beautiful than the outside. The entire interior has a chic nautical look and is the perfect ambiance for families to enjoy a relaxing meal together.
The restaurant features a large menu with coastal culinary offerings. When it comes to the appetizers, there are so many delicious choices. We were having trouble selecting just one appetizer to start our dinner, so we ended up ordering two.
10 Best Restaurants for Filet Mignon in Orange County
CBS Los Angeles I March 21, 2017
As one of the newest seafood and steak restaurants within the Lantern District in Dana Point, Coastal Kitchen offers guests a fresh, from-scratch menu that embraces local Southern California flavors. Under the direction of Chef Andrew Palma, guests can enjoy a range of dishes, but their filet mignon which is a Newport Pride Natural, aged a minimum of 21 days, butchered in-house daily and broiled in the Montague at over 1200°, stands out from the crowd. Served alongside steamed broccoli, mashed potatoes, and house made steak sauce, this dish paired with Coastal Kitchen’s historical location makes for a memorable dining experience.
Greer's OC
Coastal Kitchen, the Perfect OC Eatery
Greer's OC I February 6, 2017
It’s no surprise that Coastal Kitchen in Dana Point was noted as one of the top restaurants to open in OC in 2016. Owners, Michael and Christina Grant are both longtime Hillstone Restaurant Group veterans, and now with their own place, they put much thought into the design, ambience and the food is amazing.
It opened last June in in the Lantern District in Dana Point at one of the city’s most historical sites—in a commercial building from 1924. We love the floor to ceiling windows, the expansive wrap around bar, and modern and clean Nautical design.
he new executive chef Andrew Palma is creating delicious dishes—starters, signature salads, sandwiches, seafood and steaks--including our favorite hearty Cioppino, filled with pan-seared scallops, autéed shrimp, jumbo lump blue claw crab, manila clams, PEI mussels, grilled Batard bread, topped with fresh herbs; and Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes, filled jumbo jump blue claw crab meat, lightly breaded and pan crisped. Served on a white wine mustard sauce and coleslaw.
I don’t think you can find a better Heirloom Tomato salad in OC, and you have to start with the dreamy Parker House Rolls, served with warm brown butter and herbs. The hearty shortribs with roasted brussels and slaw were perfect and you must save room for dessert—Coastal Kitchen’s take on S’mores, this one is a pie with chocolate custard, marshmallow meringue and graham cracker crust was delicious.
EATS: Coastal Kitchen
Love Luxe Life I January 26, 2017
Coastal Kitchen, a new seafood and steak restaurant, is now open in the Lantern District in Dana Point at one of the city’s most historical sites. Boasting New-American coastal cuisine, the menu features quality dishes of sustainable seafood, farm-fresh salads, sandwiches and Newport Pride Natural steaks that are aged a minimum 21 days and butchered in-house daily. The menu is rounded out with a regional draft and bottled beer selection, curated wine list, and classic craft cocktails.
Under the direction of the newly appointed Executive Chef Andrew Palma, Coastal Kitchen’s from-scratch kitchen delivers an impressive dinner menu of signature salads, sandwiches, seafood and steaks.
Courtesy of Sauté Magazine
Coastal Kitchen: Roasted Red Bell Pepper & Arugula Flat Bread
Sauté Magazine I December 2016
Coastal Kitchen embraces the relaxed southern California vibe through quality dishes of sustainable seafood, farm-fresh salads, artisanal sandwiches and premium dry-aged steaks in a comfortable and friendly atmosphere. The restaurant, which features large wood tables, deep navy upholstery, and nautical decor, opened in the Lantern District of Dana Point this past June.
Under the direction of the newly appointed Executive Chef Andrew Palma, Coastal Kitchen’s from-scratch kitchen delivers an impressive dinner menu of signature salads, sandwiches, seafood and steaks. Andrew’s passion for food stems from the creative aspects of being in the kitchen and physically seeing where his ingredients come from.
Top Restaurants That Opened In Orange County In 2016
CBS Los Angeles I December 13, 2016
As 2016 comes to an end, one thing is for sure: Orange County’s dining scene continues to improve, with new places opening up. Both those who enjoy going out and trying new places, or those that consider themselves true foodies, can use this list of new restaurants below as a checklist of new eateries to try. These are the best restaurants that opened in 2016 in Orange County.
Coastal Kitchen opened in June and embraces the relaxed southern California vibe through quality dishes of sustainable seafood, farm-fresh salads, artisanal sandwiches and premium dry-aged steaks in a comfortable and friendly atmosphere. The restaurant, which features large wood tables, deep navy upholstery and nautical decor, opened in the Lantern District of Dana Point where Chef Palma has added his personal touches to the seasonal seafood men ith opular dishes such as the Cioppino, made with pan-seared scallops, sautée hrimp, jumbo lump blue claw crab, manila clams, PEI mussels, grilled Batard bread and topped with fresh herb.
Local Brownie Troop Gets Cooking Lessons at Dana Point Restaurant
Dana Point Times I November 25, 2016 I Kristina Pritchett
Coastal Kitchen had a particularly young set of chefs as a local Brownie troop filled into the kitchen to earn their cooking badge.
Last week, Brownie Troop 3532, second graders from Malcom Elementary School, gathered at the Dana Point restaurant to learn how to bake rolls, make french fries and put a topping on a s’mores pie.
One of Coastal Kitchen’s owners, Christina Grant, is also one of the Brownies’ moms and invited the girls over to be able to earn their badge.
The group, with the restaurant’s Chef Andrew Palma, went over each of the food items and asked the girls questions along the way.
“He has four girls, so he’s completely in his element,” Grant said watching as Palma and the girls gathered around a big counter in the kitchen.
The girls squealed as the potatoes went through the slicing machine and laughed as Palma used a kitchen blowtorch to cook the marshmallow meringue on the pies.
The girls were able to enjoy the food they cooked at the end of their visit.
Image credit: Rocktography
Coastal Kitchen in Dana Point Serves No-Nonsense American Fare in a Historic Building
OC Weekly I August 3, 2016 I Edwin Goei
There's a bit of history on where Coastal Kitchen now sits. It was the first commercial building in Dana Point, constructed in 1924 and surrounded by empty fields. Old black-and-white pictures of the Blue Lantern Fountain Lunch, as it was then called, a rest stop on the long journey between San Diego and LA, hang on Coastal Kitchen's walls. The city of Dana Point as we now know it literally grew around the building in the past century.
Coastal Kitchen Officially Opens in Lantern District
Dana Point Times I June 14, 2016 I Kristina Pritchett
Coastal Kitchen owners Christina and Mike Grant welcomed members of the public, city officials and friends to officially open the restaurant with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday afternoon.
The building originally opened in 1924 as a gas station and had a café beside it, making it one of the city’s most historic sites. Now, there are sliding doors to open up to Pacific Coast Highway, hardwood floors and a nautical theme to go with the cuisine.
“The bar here is where the original café was,” said Christina Grant. “We wanted to keep some of that feeling of the original building but also make it a bit more modern.”
The Grants wanted to open a restaurant together for a few years, and that dream was made possible earlier this year when plans to open the eatery began.
