RETAIL AND RESTAURANTS : Newport Beach’s Pascal Is the Top O.C. Dining Spot in Prestigious Survey

The high-priced lawyers and financial experts who are spending their days at U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Santa Ana have plenty of upscale restaurants at which to dine, according to Zagat Survey’s annual listing of America’s top restaurants.

The Zagat Survey, compiled by New Yorkers Nina and Tim Zagat, includes hundreds of top-quality restaurants nationwide and is a consistent best-seller in bookstores. This year’s edition includes a Top 10 listing for Orange County plus five local restaurants included in the “other important places” listing.

Topping the list for the second year is Pascal in Newport Beach, largely on the strength of chef-owner Pascal Olhats’ “imaginative” and “almost perfect” Provencal-style fare, according to the Zagats. They describe the restaurant as a charming and unpretentious dining room that’s “awash in fresh roses. It’s O.C.’s No. 1 for food, and the few detractors who claim it’s ‘overrated’ are solidly outvoted by those who call it divine.”

Olhats, 40, a native of Normandie, France, opened his restaurant in June, 1988.

“I feel very happy” about the Zagat Survey, he said Monday. “We work very hard to achieve what we are. I think it’s because my wife (Mimi) and I are personally presenting the business. These days, customers want the extra touch of the owner to be there. We want to treat our customers like our guests.”

Gustaf Anders is the No. 2 restaurant in Orange County, according to the Zagat Survey. The Costa Mesa restaurant features “a refined Continental cuisine with a strong Scandinavian accent makes for unique, superb O.C. dining.”

The Zagat survey, which relies heavily on readers’ experiences, sounds one minor note of discord on Gustaf Anders. Some diners described the restaurant’s interior as “austere and sterile.”

Antoine, located in Sutton Place Hotel, formerly the Le Meridien, finished No. 3 in the Zagats’ annual listing. The Newport Beach restaurant is “pricey but worth it to diners who enjoy being treated like visiting royalty.”

Pascal, Gustaf Anders and Antoine scored 28 out of a possible 30 points in the survey. Restaurants that scored 27 points included JW’s at the Anaheim Marriott, The Ritz at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, Five Feet in Laguna Beach, The Cellar in Fullerton and Cafe Francais in Orange. Antonello in Santa Ana and Caffe Piemonte in Orange each scored 26 points.

In the “other important places” category were Diva in Costa Mesa, The Golden Truffle in Costa Mesa, Tutto Mare in Newport Beach, the Ritz-Carlton in Laguna Niguel and Zov’s Bistro/Bakery in Tustin.