It’s Open! Malibu Farm Newport Beach Defines California Coastal Cuisine

Chef Helene Henderson (image courtesy of Martin Lof)

(Gerry Furth-Sides) Private-chef-turned-restaurateur Helene Henderson’Malibu Farm in Newport Beach is officially open!   White-washed and sunny as the original in Malibu, a brick sidewalk leads the easy path to the indoor-outdoor restaurant, ice cream shop and store.  It fits so snugly into a newly remodeled, carefully curated  Lido Village unit it feels as though it was always there.  The ocean air a few yards away takes your breath away a little bit, heady in its concept because, strange as it seems for coastal Southern California, great dining al fresco like this is still a rarity. //www.malibu-farm.com/newport-beach/

After waiting for months during construction delays, even though their phone was installed after our brunch visit, we took a chance on this soft opening day.  So did  a SRO crowd, evident in a line snaking around the front until the closing.  Trays and dishes were practically flying through the air at the laid back eatery.  Yet every single guest, along with the staff, looked as happy as we felt.

Fitting right in with the Newport Beach crowd, three cards of drink menus compared with one for food.  Healthy, non-alcoholic “shots” of turmeric plus the more usual brunch goblets or pitchers of sangrias and mimosas were expected.  The original cocktails, all deserving of one category list name:  “Posh Slosh,” were a pleasant surprise.   Natasha (below) serves the Smoke (alone worth a visit) of mezcal, shishito chipotle agave, fresh lime juice and chipotle sea salt.

Natasha brings SMOKE cocktails

Chef Henderson’s mantra originates in her local and organic approach, “Eat the real thing or don’t eat at all,” evident in her simple yet stylish menu offering fresh, health-conscious options.    It’s easy to rave about Malibu Farms Cafe cuisine if your taste runs to straightforward, lush farm-fresh ingredients, artfully displayed.   Critics who are not fans note, “too simple” and the concept “too precious”.  For us three, this visit became a highlight of the summer.  We loved all the dishes, and each had a different favorite.

SMOKE mezcal cocktail at Malibu Farm

Dishes meant to share include the Burrata Salad with seasonal fruit (peaches here), arugula, fresh figs and candied pecans, laced with a maple balsamic vinaigrette.  Lively Avocado Huarache arrives on a long rectangular platter.   Jalapeño ricotta spread, malibu honey and a lemon vinaigrette top a flatbread, crunchy enough to provide texture but not brittle enough to break in your hand.  For vegetarians there is also a Cauliflower Crust Pizza.

Burrata Salad

Greek Salad Huarache at Malibu Farm

In chef Henderson’s own words, “The ‘Lasagna’ is a spaghetti squash lasagna – so there is no actual pasta in this dish. It is made with the strands of the squash, which resemble spaghetti. After cooking the squash it is tossed with lemon dressing, and then assembled like a traditional lasagna, layered with a fresh made tomato sauce and a gluten free spinach cream bechamel and mozzarella cheese.  Then  everything is stuffed back into the shell of the squash and is served this way.”

“Lasagna” with spaghetti squash in its own shell.

The secret of the grass-fed grilled Burger inside a billowy whole wheat bun lined with arugula, is fermented and grilled onions, and decadent cheese.  The refined broccoli mashed potatoes add textures and taste.

Fermented, then grilled onions distinguish this excellent burger of grass-fed beef burger

A Grass-fed beef burger, broccoli mash and arugula

Generously portioned dishes amply serve three with “planned overs” for a solo breakfast the next morning –  but not a scrap of cake.  

Desserts are simple and still decadent, even the “healthy-sounding” Vegan Chia Pudding.  We were intrigued with a Grilled Chocolate Cake. It is, in fact, not really grilled.  The dense, moist, crusty cake drizzled with sea salt and a little sugar on top is torched like a creme brûlée.  It can make a chocoholic out of anyone (like me).

Want to know what the coffee ice cream tastes like?  A staffer will pop over to Helene’s first-ever ice cream shop a few feet away, offering organic and vegan ice cream, gelato, and popsicles.  A: the best coffee ice cream we ever tasted.

The ice cream shop window beckons to restaurant customers. Desserts feature the fresh ice cream

Possibly the best coffee ice cream in the world

Behind the scenes of the ice cream shop

(image courtesy of Malibu Farm)

The same intoxicating white-washed beach atmosphere carries through all of Henderson’s spaces, so textured you visually feel it. An adjacent boutique and marketplace carries Malibu Farm’s signature cooking, home and lifestyle items.

The inviting ocean air and dockside walks with seating areas overlooking the water coax guests to linger (and walk off a meal), where we people-watched for an hour.  This included a laughing wedding party in formal dress formally dress running off to a wedding in the complex.

Chef Helene Henderson’s initial concept started with communal dinners on her 2-acre hillside farm in Malibu.   The chef’s backyard garden quickly became a town locals’ favorite for relaxed dinner party gatherings and cooking classes.  “They were all just for self-entertainment because I was a private chef at the time,” Henderson explains. “I enjoyed having people around and cooking with them for fun.”

One of the Malibu communal dinners that started it all (image courtesy of Martin Lof)

Malibu Farm Restaurant: (949) 791-2096, ‬3420 Via Oporto – Newport Beach, California.  Easy, accessible parking structure (the restaurant validates for 90 minutes) and some street parking.

(image courtesy of Malibu Farm)

(image courtesy of Martin Lof)