Marché Moderne - Newport Beach

My husband and I had a lovely birthday dinner on a Sunday evening. There was a smaller crowd so no worries about covid, although I was slightly disappointed that the staff was not masked. Besides that, the food, service, and ambiance were all top notch. There was a lot on the menu we would?ve loved to have, so we will definitely be coming back! Epis bread: I was hoping for something more flavorful. It was fine and very tasty, but the butter could have used more seasoning. The bread was fresh and moist, though. Tasting menu: I ordered the tasting menu with cheese pairing. The 4 courses were all excellent, and the 5th (dessert) I swapped out for another dessert with a $2 charge for the change. The 1st course was a tuna sashimi and veal carpaccio. Beautiful, bold presentation with an interesting mouthfeel ? lots of different textures and flavors between the tuna, veal, gelee, and crispy capers. The 2nd course was a life-changing Dungeness crab with veloute. The veloute came piping hot in a separate cup, which was excellent for sipping. Dungeness crab is a personal favorite of mine so I was very excited it was on the menu. It did not disappoint! The 3rd course was the scallop. The fennel leek compote added nice flavor, although the kumquat wasn?t very noticeable. Overall it was still tasty and had nice presentation. The 4th course: steak, truffle, gnocchi, lobster. This was a very rich dish! The sauce was very flavorful and added a lot. To be honest this was probably my least favorite ? it was fine, but nothing spectacular. Cheese plate: Before the dessert came a cheese trio with some candies pecans and preserves. The hard Dutch cheese was a bit bland for me. The truffle Boursin was excellent, as was the blue cheese (which we paired with a Sauternes, so it was extra tasty). The 5th course we selected the panna cotta. It was creamy and not overly sweet, which was great. Overall nothing special, though. My husband opted for some oysters, steak tartare, and steak au poivre. All three were excellent. The Kumamoto oysters were delicate and refreshing, and paired nicely with the two sauces. The steak tartare was tasty but not anything noteworthy. My husband raves about the steak ? he loves a good rare steak with a nice sere on the outside, and they delivered beautifully. The potato fritters that came with the steak were divine! Overall this was an excellent dinner and we would love to come back again!

Ribs were excellent. Soft and flavorful. Everything else wasn't the best but not a buzz kill. If you like goat cheese you'll love the rest lol

Food is amazing! Service was great corkage fee is fine if you bring an amazing red wine. Loved the chopped salad! Flavors and textures were great. They were out of my original choice of fish, so sad so I had shrimp scallops which were so-so. Dessert was amazing great presentation.

Been going to Marche Moderne for years. We started with cocktails and caviar. The fresh baked bread is wonderful with butter. We enjoyed steak tartar, salmon, prawns scallops and finished with apple tart ice cream! Please bring back the beignets! Wonder staff. Beautiful restaurant!

From what we experienced, the seafood dishes were presented better than the red meat options. Most of the dishes were decent, but some stood out. The first course was kampachi crudo, which was enjoyable. The second course featured a caviar egg, my favorite, as the richness of the caviar paired beautifully with the creamy egg and the acidity from the accompanying liquor. However, the third course of lobster was a bit chewy, while the lobster filling was soft and fluffy but felt dense. The red meat course was prepared three ways with veal, but I couldn’t finish it, which says a lot. The veal was tough, the cheek had a muddy taste, and the dish lacked overall appeal. To make matters worse, there was a large mound of raw garlic in the middle that overwhelmed the palate. Fortunately, the meal concluded on a sweet note with the baba au rum. While the cake itself felt somewhat dense and heavy, the passion fruit and mango cream it came with were delightful. I really wanted to love this restaurant, as I was looking forward to a memorable culinary experience, but sadly, the food didn’t quite impress. Although the presentation was good and each component was thoughtfully prepared, I didn’t feel like I was enjoying a fine dining or high-end restaurant experience, as most dishes lacked that special touch. I appreciated the outing and the excellent service, and perhaps next time we’ll opt for the à la carte menu instead of the prix fixe.