Enable JavaScript to run this app.
Skip to main content
OpenTable logo
  1. Home
  2. United States
  3. Orange County
  4. South Orange County
  5. Newport Beach
Molo, Newport Beach, CA

Molo

4.7
4.7
240 Reviews
$31 to $50
Italian

Make a reservation

2 people
7:30 PM
Booked 39 times today
  • Neighborhood gem
  • Great for outdoor dining
  • Good for special occasions
Coming Soon!

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Italian
  • Hours of operation
    Tue–Sun 11:00 am–9:30 pm
  • Phone number
    (949) 723-0621
  • Dress code
    Business Casual

What 240 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.7
4.7 based on recent ratings
  • 4.7Food
  • 4.5Service
  • 4.5Ambience
  • 4.4Value

NoiseModerate

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Molo is a vibrant Italian gem in Newport Beach, offering "delicious food" and an inviting ambiance reminiscent of coastal Italy. Known for its authentic dishes like Cacio e Pepe, patrons rave about the "great service" and "wonderful atmosphere." The outdoor patio dining is particularly praised, making it a "great spot" to savor Italian cuisine. While some guests mention noise and service inconsistencies, many highlight the "amazing" and "authentic" Italian flavors and friendly staff, ensuring a memorable dining experience.

240 Reviews
  1. Sally

    Orange County

    9 reviews

    5.0

    9 reviews

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Excellent food and service. Love the location and laid back vibe. Very warm and friendly.

    Is this helpful?

  2. Blaise

    Los Angeles

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Best Italian restaurant in the OC! I’m obsessed and can’t wait to go back!

    Is this helpful?

  3. Cheryl

    Los Angeles

    7 reviews

    5.0

    7 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Fabulous dinner. Everyone had something different and loved their meal. Everything is delicious. Service is great. Will definitely return again. Fabulous Xmas Eve dinner.

    Is this helpful?

  4. Rose

    VIP

    Orange County

    14 reviews

    5.0

    14 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Good is amazing and excellent service. We went with our 2 year old granddaughter and family. They did not miss a beat.

    Is this helpful?

  5. Jane

    Orange County

    3 reviews

    5.0

    3 reviews

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Molo’s has the best and most authentic Italian food outside of Italy. Everything from the appetizers to dessert were perfect. Our favorite dishes to share are the Cacio de Pepe and Caesar salad. The lasagne, tortellini, and shrimp seafood pasta were incredible. Glad we saved room for the gelato, and spumoni bomb desserts. The service was 10 star. Cannot wait to go back.

    Is this helpful?

  6. Jess

    VIP

    Orange County

    33 reviews

    5.0

    33 reviews

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Delicious. Had Dover Sole and Cacio y Pepe. Both could not have been tastier. Efficient service.

    Is this helpful?

  7. Gautam

    Chicago

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined 6 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 3
    The food was actually excellent, the Affogato was delicious! Service was very much lacking. We brought a special bottle of wine,  our server  looked at it, annoyingly, left and took 10 minutes before he came back. Then he opened the bottle of wine and left it there without bringing any wine glasses we had to flag him down and ask for glasses. The food was good, and over the course of the remainder of the dinner, he came by once or twice very ambivalently. It’s unfortunate because the food was really good, but the service makes a difference.

    Is this helpful?

  8. BRIAN

    VIP

    Orange County

    13 reviews

    1.0

    13 reviews

    Dined 6 days ago

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 3
    A terrible experience overall. After waiting an hour for entrees to arrive and our wait person absent, I had to leave our table to get some attention. I was told the "kitchen lost your order." Within a minute, one entree arrived. A second entree arrived a few minutes later cold. I canceled the third entree, however, it still arrived five minutes later. I sent it back. I suspect the wait person never gave the kitchen our order. No one from wait staff to the manager seemed very interested in how diners were doing by ever visiting or monitoring the tables in the dining during this visit. On reaching the door to exit, the manager stated that my terrible experience was my fault because I didn't complain sooner. Insulting. Clearly, the popularity of this eatery has created complacency on the owners' part who never offered to comp any part of this ruined dinner. Be careful and be aware of poor service and bad attitudes. We all know what it looks like, and when it is happening.

    Is this helpful?

  9. Victoria

    Palm Springs

    1 review

    2.0

    1 review

    Dined on December 18, 2024

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 5
    We were super excited to celebrate a special birthday at Molo. We had been loyal customers of the previous restaurant at this location, Sabatino’s. The restaurant was very busy for a Tuesday, but expected since it’s the holiday season. Was pleased to see the sausage platter offered, delicious as always. However, the rest of the food was fairly pedestrian, just average. We ordered ravioli with sausage, truffle risotto, spaghetti with meatballs, seafood pasta, chicken parm and eggplant parm. We also had the Caesar salad and the Mediterranean salad. I wish we could say the service was good but it was extremely poor. For a party of 6, we were crammed into a very small table. Our server was extremely inattentive and disengaged. For a bill that came to just shy of $400 for average food and extremely poor service, we won’t be returning.

    Is this helpful?

  10. Brenda

    VIP

    Los Angeles

    33 reviews

    5.0

    33 reviews

    Dined on December 17, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 5
    Excellent food, as always - we travel to Italy twice a year (mainly for the food ;-), and as on our first visit, this was up there on par with excellent food in Italy. The Arancini were perfect - I thought they were slightly too large to be perfect, but they were perfect... Rucola e carciofi salad wonderful and very Italian. Mom loved her risotto al mare (I don't think any seafood here can begin to compete with Italian, but that's more a source problem - her risotto & scampi were cooked perfectly al dente and creamy, I wasn't as enamored of the mussels - they just aren't the same here - no one's fault). My teeny assistant ate her entire bowl of cacao e pepé and three pieces of garlic bread, so that says it all. My gnocchi al gamberi was absolutely perfection. The shrimp were fine, but the gnocchi in pink sauce sublime. No room for dessert but mom took home the Nutella Bread pudding and said it was perfect. Service was generally good, the owner went out of his way to make sure we were comfortable, but there was a large party in the next room and they were spread a bit thin. And they were very sweet to let me speak my fractured Italian to them the whole time.

    Is this helpful?

FAQs

Molo is rated 4.7 stars by 240 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people
7:30 PM
Booked 39 times today
Google Map for Molo

251 Shipyard Way, Newport Beach, CA 92663

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Neighborhood
    Newport Beach
  • Hours of operation
    Tue–Sun 11:00 am–9:30 pm
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Italian
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Parking details
    None
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies and Interest-Based Ads
  • Cookie Preferences
Copyright © 2024 OpenTable, Inc. 1 Montgomery St Ste 500, San Francisco CA 94104 - All rights reserved.
OpenTable is part of Booking Holdings, the world leader in online travel and related services.
Booking Logo
Priceline Logo
KAYAK Logo
Agoda Logo
OpenTable Logo