Bringing a south-of-France taste and look to Newport Beach, the 12,000-square-foot FIG & OLIVE restaurant made its debut in December with not one, but two nights of opening parties for 700. The pace has not slowed since. With six distinct dining areas, event planners have taken full advantage of the 330-seat restaurant’s options, says Samantha Heart, FIG & OLIVE’s director of special events. “The O.C. was craving it,” she says of the handsome restaurant that’s surrounded by more than 40 olive trees and adjacent to Newport’s Fashion Island open-air shopping center. Two rooms have proved especially versatile for gatherings. The indoor/outdoor garden lounge with retractable roof, bar and center room fireplace lends itself to cocktail party-type mixers with food stations (capacity 150 standing), while the wine room welcomes up to 50 for seated dining.
Twenty-foot ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, travertine floors and skylights imbue the space with a light, airy feeling. Because the restaurant is divided into separate sections, several events can be held at one time. The garden lounge has a separate entrance available, handy for VIP-heavy events such as the pre-party before the premiere of Draft Day, starring Kevin Costner. To date, banking, investor capital and real estate firms have also booked events.
“Our thought-through, four-course, prix fixe menus offer the best of what our menu has to offer and help planners navigate our extensive menu,” says Heart. FIG & OLIVE’s crostinis (a signature dish of house-made bread slices topped with savory ingredients) are delicious crowd-pleasing starters, and the prix fixe menu presents up to six choices of entrées. Parting gifts also display a Mediterranean flair: The house olive oil (made in Spain, Italy and France for the six-outlet restaurant group) is available wrapped in green tissue paper and ready to take away in a slim paper tote.
