Looking to Dine Outdoors? The Patio Needn’t Be Yours

Summer’s not over yet. If anything, in Orange County September often brings some of our warmest weather--and with it, prime opportunity for outdoor dining. Last month we focused on sources for picnics; today, let’s look at a sampling of restaurants that offer alfresco sipping and supping on their own patios, decks or terraces.

For a serene lake view along with salads, sandwiches or hot entrees at lunchtime (dinner is for private parties only), try the Lakeside Restaurant in Orange, overlooking Eisenhower Lake. For coffee and a sweet roll starting at 8 a.m. or light fare at noon, try Pumpernickel in the courtyard of Villa del Sol in Fullerton. Morning, noon or night, you can dine to the accompaniment of breaking surf on the deck at the Beach House in Laguna Beach. Watch the boat traffic on Newport Harbor while you taste the fresh seafood at the Warehouse in Newport Beach.

For early California ambiance on the old Brisco family estate, step into the courtyard for Southwestern fare at the Hacienda in Santa Ana. Order from the new low-cholesterol menu on the patio at Antonello in South Coast Plaza Village. Savor Maine lobster every Sunday, beginning at 4:30 p.m. in Newport Beach, on Le Meridien Hotel’s newly renovated Bistrot Terrasse (this airy retreat is a winner for lunch too). Lunch or dine with a peek at the ocean from the patio at Monique in South Laguna.

There’s more: Relax beside a cool Spanish fountain and order seafood and Continental dishes for lunch, Sunday brunch or dinner on the patio at Cafe Mozart in San Juan Capistrano. Overlook the golf course from the restaurant deck at Ben Brown’s in Laguna. Introduce yourself to Mexican fare with Pueblo, Aztec, and Mayan accents on the walled patio at Salud! in Huntington Beach. Toss a cover-up over your bathing suit and refresh with light fare--sandwiches (including a Mexican club), salads, hamburgers--right on the beach at the Hotel Laguna Terrace, where they serve from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Order from a selection of California cuisine, daytime or evening, in a garden setting outside the Cabana Cafe overlooking the pool at the Four Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach. For strictly outdoors ocean-view dining with an extensive variety of fare, head for the bluff-top Village Market & Cafe in Laguna.

And finally, would you believe alfresco Chinese? You’ll find it, lunch and dinner, on the patio at China Palms in Fullerton.

COMING AND GOING: Ralf Marhencke has taken over as chef of the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton in Dana Point. The 24-year-old from Mainz, West Germany, served as sous-chef for the hotel’s Cafe restaurant and banquet chef before his promotion . . . Guy Sockrider, formerly of the Inland Empire Sheraton, is now chef at Monique in South Laguna, where he has added several contemporary touches to the French cuisine, including salmon with orange butter and whole mustard seeds; ahi with sun-dried tomatoes and basil; Thai lemon chicken, and jumbo grilled scallops with lime, ginger and teriyaki . . . Claudio Arena replaces Enzo de Muro as manager of Tutto Mare in Newport Beach. De Muro will open his own restaurant in Long Beach. Gone, too, is Tutto Mare’s executive chef, Andrea Rogantini. Tim Dobravolskis, who helped develop the restaurant’s menu, currently has charge of the kitchen . . . The Maniacci brothers, busy preparing to open Sapori in Newport Beach on Sept. 9, have sold Capriccio in Mission Viejo to relatives, Edward Carroll and his mother, who will carry on with the same menu, same style . . . Artie and Biana Bavand, owners of La Trattoria in Irvine, will open a new restaurant at Chapman Avenue and Newport Boulevard in Orange this fall . . . Zeppa will move from the Newport Pier area to a much larger, 180-seat (plus patio) location in Fashion Island in November. Owner Mark Zigner promises a full bar, a cappuccino-espresso bar, gourmet takeout and California/Italian/Mediterranean cuisine. La Grappa will take over Zeppa’s current location.

WINING AND DINING: Gandhi in South Coast Plaza Village pairs Indian cuisine with French wines in a five-course winemaker’s dinner on Sept. 25. Dinner is $30 per person and reservations may be made by calling (714) 556-7273 . . . The Bouzy Rouge in Newport Beach launches a series of special Monday dinners with Garlic Night on Sept. 11. Rumor has it that besides serving bourride and chicken with 40 cloves of garlic, owner Tony Herrmann may be offering--are you ready?--garlic ice cream. The restaurant will feature paella on Sept. 18, German foods on Sept. 25 and vegetarian on Oct. 1.

PLENTIFUL GRAZING: Forty area restaurants will prepare samplings of their fare at Fashion Island for A Taste of Newport, a “Seafest” event to be held Sept. 15 to 17. You’ll find the festivities, plus live entertainment, in the parking lot next to Atrium Court. Hours will be 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

BOUILLABAISSE FROM PROVENCE: Chef Sylvain DuParc of the Carlton Hotel in Cannes, France, will pay a special visit Sept. 15 through 22 to Le Meridien Hotel, Newport Beach, to prepare authentic French bouillabaisse.

Complete bouillabaisse dinners will be served in the hotel’s Cafe Fleuri. DuParc’s style is traditional, but adapted to the new lighter-is-better trend. DuParc will also participate in the hotel’s booth at A Taste of Newport.