Garlic Jo's - Newport Beach

Garlic Jo's
2332 West Coast Hwy.
Newport Beach, CA 92663
Tel. (949) 673 - 8444
Type: International restaurant
Website
Map



For a quick second, I was getting tired of all the sushi, tofu, Thai, and Mexican food that we were eating. I wanted something new. Something different. While thinking of a new place to eat, my girl blurted out Garlic Jo's. Instantly, I wanted to go, just from hearing the name. I love garlic. So we checked the directions and made our way there on a late Sunday night.

This place stays open somewhat late. They close at 11pm - 12am depending on the day. Upon entering, I was expecting to be overwhelmed with the smell of garlic, but there was only just a hint. It could be that there was only 2 other parties eating, and they were already almost done with their food. I'm assuming this place is like the Stinking Rose in L.A. where they make everything with garlic. The prices are on the high side for me, but for the people in Newport, I'm sure it's just chump change McDonald's to them.



We decided to order the dinner for two combination. We got the grilled fish dinner ($50.80). With it, we chose the ahi tuna, scallop carpaccio, shrimp mayo pizza, and garlic fried rice. The first thing we got was the scallop carpaccio. When it came, I was like, "oooohhh." It looked really good. I apologize for the horrible pics. I never put the flash on, on my camera. So yeah, it came in 4 shells stuffed with all these salsa kinds of things. Now I wanna say "tangy" to describe this, but I'll use zesty this time. I did not like this one bit. After eating my first one, I offered mine to my girl, but she intelligently declined. The little drops of sauces on the side couldn't help for sh... This thing had too much zest for me. I don't know if they're supposed to taste like that, but I'm never ordering carpaccio again. Scarred for life.

Scallop carpaccio... more like scallop carpacci-NO


Next up was the shrimp and mayonnaise pizza which you have to add $2.00 to the price of the combo. When it came I thought, "That's it?." Don't be deceived. This was a tasty pizza. I wish pizza places would make this dish everywhere. Make sure you eat it right away, cuz it's so thin, that it gets cold pretty fast. If not, save some for later and microwave it.

shrimp mayonnaise pizza... bombizzle


Then the main course came. It looked really good. But it looked a little small for 2 people and the price we paid. Oh well, they had deep fried onion strips!!! The ahi tuna for the most part was good. It was served with some creamy garlic sauce. It was good, but the onions really helped it out. I probably won't get the ahi next time, although I'm not saying it was bad. I just wanna try other things instead. The shrimp fried rice (add $3.00) was good, but like hell it was for 2 people. It came with 4 pieces of shrimp which covered the all the rice. I would still be disappointed if that fried rice was meant for one. Bastards. We had to take baby bites of rice just to have enough for the whole meal. Bastards.

Ahi tuna with deep fried onions


Shrimp fried rice for 2? You're effin kidding me


In the end, I wasn't as full as I expected to be. I mean, paying $60 or more for a meal for 2 should, in theory, make me full. It was good though. The service was fast and friendly. I would possibly go back if we can't think of any other new place to try out, and we have some money to spend, and we don't feel like sushi. Or if we just feel like some garlic.