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Il Barone Ristorante has long been a go-to spot for business lunches and client dinners.
Much of that fame comes courtesy of chef Franco Barone, who spent 20 years as executive chef at Antonello Ristorante, a South Coast Plaza adjacent Italian eatery known for VIP dinners and celebrity sightings.
Franco left Antonello in 2009 and founded Il Barone with his wife, Donatella, in a small business center near John Wayne Airport in Newport Beach. Word got around to Orange County’s movers and shakers that Franco now had his own restaurant.
Members of OC’s business community began enjoying power lunches and memorable dinners at Il Barone, with Donatella serving as the unofficial greeter and Franco creating culinary masterpieces in the kitchen.
Among the many noted regulars were businessman and Chapman University philanthropist S. Paul Musco and his wife Marybelle. They even had their own table reserved just for them.
In 2017, Il Barone faced the first of what would become several moves over the coming years. Its landlord sold the property to a new owner that planned a major redevelopment of the site, forcing Il Barone to relocate to a shuttered Coco’s Bakery Restaurant on Bristol Street in Newport Beach.
The Barones also opened Il Barone Sicilian Street Food at the Pacific City shopping center in Huntington Beach, run by their eldest son, Jon Barone. They also became the new proprietors of Ti Amo in Laguna Beach.
Then the pandemic hit in March of 2020.
“That was a disaster,” Donatella told the Business Journal.
The Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach restaurants closed while the flagship Il Barone struggled to survive. The Barones got behind on rent, but in 2022 another business took over the space and Il Barone was forced to move again.
As fate would have it, Bosscat Kitchen & Libations relocated from their space on MacArthur Boulevard to a new building in Irvine, making the former spot available. It was owned by one of Il Barone’s customers, who suggested he move there temporarily until they found another space.
“It was a handshake deal—no lease, no nothing,” recalled Donatella. “He told us he was going to be tearing the restaurant down in a year or two, so we still needed to look for a more permanent place. That lasted two years, which gave us time to find another place.”
Fate stepped in again. Alessa by Chef Pirozzi on Coast Highway near the river jetty in Newport Beach became available last year and soon became the fourth home of Il Barone.
“It’s a little different for us because we’re known for business meals and this area is more family friendly, but we took it on, and it’s been great.”
Donatella said many of their longtime diners have followed them to the new location, and they have a new throng of local admirers.
Normally open only for dinner, Il Barone launched a new brunch menu last month available Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Donatella calls it a refined Italian brunch experience with elegant flavors, house specialties and classic morning cocktails. You can also order some of the regular menu items, including their famous Facci Ri Veccia—a pizza of sorts filled with imported crecenza cheese and topped with Parma prosciutto and truffle oil.
Jon Barone assists in the kitchen as well as handling all the catering for Il Barone. He’s also available as a private chef.
Il Barone, 6700 West Coast Highway, Newport Beach, (949) 955-2755, baroneoc.com.
Trela’s Hot Take
I have been a fan of Il Barone for many years, so whenever Il Barone launches a new menu, I must try it.
I dined at Il Barone last month with fellow restaurant writer Malena Gordon so we could sample the brunch menu—although since it was Malena’s first visit to Il Barone, we had to start with the Facci Ri Veccia. This is pure Italian bliss on a plate. It’s such a simple dish but packs a flavor wallop.
After that we followed Donatella Barone’s recommendations and tried the Sicilian meatloaf burger with Sicilian beef and veal meatloaf plus fresh bufala parmigiano, mozzarella and tomato sauce packed into a brioche bun, and the Frittata Campagnola with eggs, spinach, mushrooms, asparagus, zucchini, chopped tomatoes and potato hashbrowns. The meatloaf was a hearty dish and a nice alternative to a typical burger, but the frittata won us over with its all-in-one breakfast serving.
Several other pizzas, pastas and sandwiches are on the brunch menu plus specialties such as Sicilian sausage and eggs. Malena spotted squid ink pasta with calamari and prawns on the regular menu so of course we had to try that, and the pappardelle with wild boar ragu. I love squid ink pasta, so I hogged most of that for myself, and we both savored the richness of the pappardelle.
We concluded our brunch with a tasty traditional tiramisu.