Saluting Bear Flag Fish Company

Bear Flag Fish Company

3421 Via Lido

Newport Beach, CA 92663

I told my friend Richard I would try a new fish restaurant. As Richard can sometimes be, he sarcastically shot back, "Wow, another fish restaurant. I'm sure it's going to be just like all the rest". For once, my fickle friend has a point. In recent years, numerous fast-casual fish restaurants have come on the scene. There are a few standouts, but they are all the same. With Richard's negative vibe, I was not looking forward to trying Bear Flag Fish Company, but I was excited to meet up with my friend Megan and introduce her to Katie.

Bear Flag Fish Company was started in 2007, and not only does it have a location on the peninsula in Newport, but it also has a storefront in the much more upscale area of Newport Coast. My tux was at the cleaners, so I was happy that Megan wanted to meet at the 31st Street location on the peninsula. For those unfamiliar with this area, Bear Flag is next to Rudy's and across the street from Italian favorite Mama D's. It's an easy-to-miss spot because it's off the main drag.

We arrived at Bear Flag at 7 p.m. on a recent Thursday night. I love Newport on slower nights. Easy parking, not having to deal with drunken college guys, and your pick of restaurants with little to no wait. This was all true on this night, except that Bear Flag was quite busy during our visit. This restaurant caters to a young, hip clientele, so I fit right in (kidding, of course).

Bear Flag is in a tiny building, and they have five tables inside, with two tables outside on their patio. The tables are large, so they are more like communal tables. Even on this slower night in Newport, we had to wait for a part of the table to fit the three of us nicely. Bear Flag has an excellent fish market, where if you don't want them to make you a meal, you could easily take home some fish and prepare it yourself. It's too much work for us, though. The menu behind the counter is in tiny type, which made it hard for us to read. Guess these youngsters have no problem reading small type, like us old guys. Gosh, I sound like my Dad; sorry about that. Anyway, we placed our order with the guy behind the counter and went outside to our spot on the patio. This is how it turned out for us.

After reading the Yelp reviews, almost everyone agreed that the New England Clam Chowder ($3.50) was the thing to get at Bear Flag, so I had to try it. I have to admit, the Yelp kids got this one right. The chowder was creamy, had many clams, was not too salty, and had a nice kick from some pepper. Excellent chowder here. It's not overloaded with potatoes; like others, it adds to their chowder. The bread served on the side of this was excellent for dipping. A must-get when eating here.

Katie has recently become interested in Poke ($12.95), so when she saw this on the Bear Flag menu, she had to have it. This was some well-seasoned ahi. It was very fresh, with just enough seasoning to not mask the natural flavor of the tuna. Served with very sturdy tortilla chips from El Toro Bravo, this was a winning combination.

Not wanting to be left off of the poke train, Megan had the Poke Salad ($10.95). This is your basic green salad with the rich poke on top of it. Megan almost always orders this refreshing dish whenever she comes to Bear Flag. She loves the portion size and claims this is some of the best poke she has ever had.

Sorry for the washed out appearance of my meal, it was really dark out on that patio. How about putting some lights out on the patio? We were eating in almost pitch black, which probably helped the other diners so they did not have to look at me. Anyways, back to the food. They offered these Bacon Wrapped Scallops ($11.95) as a special the night we were here. At first, I was disappointed by only three scallops here, but these were pretty good-sized and filled me up. The bacon was nice and crisp, while the scallop was cooked perfectly, with just enough give when you bit into it. I used some of their signature sauce, the Tommy Sauce, on the veggies, which went well together. I don't know what the Tommy sauce is made of, but it reminded me of a ranch dressing with some Siracha in it. I could be wrong about that, but that's what came to mind when I tried it. The brown rice went well with the Tommy sauce.

I cringed when Katie ordered this Specialty Burrito with Lemon Butter Yellowtail ($9.95). Not because I thought it would be wrong, but because if there's one thing I have learned while writing this blog, it's that burritos are delicious but do not photograph well. At Bear Flag, you can choose the fish you want in your burrito. Katie felt she picked right by going with the yellowtail. It was tender and flaky and a great compliment to all that was in this burrito, which included rice, black beans, lettuce, pico de gallo, Tommy sauce, and avocado. Katie enjoyed the freshness of this burrito; she was also impressed that they took the time to grill it, as evidenced by its grill marks.

Bear Flag Fish Company impressed me, and I could not wait to tell my cynical friend Richard that Bear Flag was not like all the other fast-casual fish restaurants out there. Being a seafood restaurant, their menu is diverse, changing with what is available daily. On future visits, I look forward to trying their fish tacos, which I hear are fantastic and have been dubbed by some as the best in OC. I did not think that their prices were too crazy for the amount of food that you receive. The service was very casual, but that's to be expected down near the beach. At peak meal times, finding a seat here could be a challenge, but you're already down at the beach, so just take your food to go, enjoy the fresh air, and eat somewhere outside. It's not like we live in Michigan.

Out of five monarchs (because the bear on the California state flag is modeled after the last wild California grizzly bear in captivity, and his name was Monarch), five being best to zero being worst, Bear Flag Fish company gets 3.5 monarchs.

For more information about Bear Flag Fish Company, go to their website here: https://bearflagfishco.com/