The Best of Newport Beach: Dining, Shopping, Galleries and more

Best Golf Club

Pelican Hill Golf Club

22800 Pelican Hill Road South

Newport Beach, CA 92657

(949) 467-6800

Ranked as California’s Top Golf Resort by Condé Nast Traveler, Pelican Hill boasts 36 Fazio-designed ocean-view holes at this top-notch club. Golf Digest ranks both 18-hole courses, the Ocean North and Ocean South, as two of America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses in 2011/2012. Pelican Hill Golf Club offers a luxurious 44,000-square-foot clubhouse, the acclaimed Pelican Grill and Lounge, an Italian coffee bar, a golf shop, and a full-service practice with an expansive driving range, a complete practice tee and tour-event Nike Platinum One balls. Pelican Hill Golf Academy offers monthly clinics, private lessons and special programs, led by Golf Magazine’s “Top 100 Teachers in America” Glenn Deck. To rub shoulders with the who’s who in Newport beach, this is the haute spot for playing golf and closing deals.

Best Restaurant

Andrea at Pelican Hill

22701 Pelican Hill Road South

Newport Coast, CA 92657

(800) 820-6800

Led by Chef Luca Cesarini, Andrea sources the perfect ingredients and implements time-honored practices and preparations to recreate the best of Italy, particularly Tuscany. Diners savor salads made with 100-year-old Balsamic vinegar, delicate milk-fed veal dishes, exquisite pastas made in a one-of-kind, temperature-controlled Pasta Room, and sublime artisan-style gelato made in the Laboratorio del Gelato. As in Italy, Andrea is seasonally focused, with the menu adapting to the finest ingredients available throughout the year. A chic, yet understated and relaxed atmosphere is highlighted by the perfect location in the heart of the resort, to capture the most inspiring panoramas of the coast and the sun setting over the Pacific. A glassed-in wine room displays 1,200 bottles, predominantly from Italy and notably a number of vintages exclusive to Andrea. Open-air dining on the beautiful ocean-view terrace can be savored throughout the year with the radiant-heat travertine flooring. Key dishes include table-side prepared seasonal risotto, 16 varieties of hand-made pasta and resort-made tiramisu and gelato.