Newport Seafood Restaurant

"If there was an SGV Hall of Fame, Newport Seafood would have had its jersey hung from the rafters years ago. This upscale Cantonese seafood spot has seen more birthdays, wedding banquets, and graduation celebrations than all the for-hire clowns in Southern California, and it’s still the place to mark a grand occasion with a table packed with fantastic seafood, stir-fries, and noodles. Just make sure the house special lobster is part of your order—wok-fried, weighing at least four pounds, and smothered in scallions, jalapeño, ginger, and butter, you’ll see it on every table in the dining room. Newport special lobster, beef loc lac, clams with spicy hot sauce" - brant cox, cathy park, garrett snyder, sylvio martins

"Some people will say the pinnacle of a seafood feast is digging through a plastic bag of boiled shrimp in Cajun seasoning. Those people have clearly never been to Newport Seafood. This Chinese-Vietnamese restaurant is an SGV institution that’s been hosting rowdy birthday gatherings and family-sized banquets for decades. And if there’s one constant on every lazy susan in its gleaming dining room, it's their famous house special lobster: a four-plus pound behemoth that’s wok-fried and drenched in a rich, buttery sauce with scallions, jalapeños, and ginger. photo credit: Matt Gendal But Newport Seafood isn’t just a one-hit wonder—the fried rice, clams, and shaking beef are also fantastic staples. The sizzling platters will hit the table faster than you can take your first sip of tea, while servers whiz by and the family next to you fights over the bill. Dining here is bound to be chaotic, so although it wouldn't be our first choice for a one-on-one meal of reassuring our friend post-breakup that they’re the hotter one, it’s great for when you want to pull up your sleeves and dig into a mountain of shellfish with people who came ready to go big. Food Rundown photo credit: Matt Gendal Newport Special Lobster The main event. It’s sold at market price, and even the smaller size could feed four or five. Each piece of lobster comes pre-cracked, so there’s no need to wrestle with shells, and most of the tender meat tends to slide right out. It still does get messy though, so put on the plastic gloves like the respectable adult you are. photo credit: Matt Gendal Beef Loc Lac (French Style) A guaranteed crowd-pleaser that requires less effort to eat than the lobster. Also known as Vietnamese shaking beef, these seared steak bites have just the right amount of chew, and we’re fans of the makeshift dipping sauce with lime, salt, and white pepper that adds a citrusy punch. photo credit: Matt Gendal Yang Chow Fried Rice Newport’s version of this Cantonese classic is perfectly cooked and simple—just bits of char siu, fluffy egg, shrimp, scallions, and rice. We wouldn’t mind a few more toppings thrown in, but it does the job, especially when paired with the saltier, sauce-heavy dishes on the table. photo credit: Matt Gendal Clams With Spicy Hot Sauce This steaming piles of briny, plump clams tossed in a fragant broth with handfuls of jalapeños and herbs is an under-the-radar must-order. Ask for a bowl of rice on the side to eat with the flavorful stock, so none of it gets left behind." - Cathy Park

"Newport Seafood is an institution in the San Gabriel Valley. The star dish is the house-special lobster fished from tanks and stir-fried with heaps of chopped chiles, scallions, roe, and garlic. The family-style restaurant uses Chinese, Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Thai flavors. Signature items include lobster, shaking beef, crab with tamarind sauce, and sashimi-style elephant clams." - Kristie Hang

" If there was an SGV Hall of Fame, Newport Seafood would have had its jersey hung from the rafters decades ago. This upscale Cantonese seafood spot has seen more birthdays, wedding banquets, and graduation celebrations than all the for-hire clowns in Southern California, and it’s still the place to mark a grand occasion with a table packed with fantastic seafood, stir-fries, and rice dishes. Just make sure the house special lobster is part of your order—wok-fried, weighing at least four pounds, and smothered in scallions, jalapeño, ginger, and butter, you’ll see it on every single table. Shellfish aside, the peppery, slightly sweet beef lak lok is a winner, too." - sylvio martins, brant cox, garrett snyder

"Newport Seafood is an SGV classic. It’s an upscale restaurant, popular with families out for a nice (read: expensive) Sunday lunch. And when you’re out for a nice Sunday lunch here, you should be ordering the whole lobster. It’s covered in spring onions, chilis, and ginger, and the smallest one you’ll be offered will be at least four pounds, which means you should come with reinforcements or just arrive really hungry. Although the lobster is the clear signature, that doesn’t mean you should ignore the rest of the menu—we love the salt and pepper squid and the clams in spicy hot sauce, in particular. " - brant cox, sylvio martins