Tupelo Junction Cafe

This is a cute, cozy little restaurant that is tucked away. I've been to newport many times and never even noticed this restaurant as it's not in a location with a lot of foot traffic, which is unfortunate because the food is really good. I had the blackened molasses salmon dish and the whole plate was delicious. They also have a nice drink menu.

Ambiance overall is very homey. Not overly fancy. Very comfortable and homey, which would not give you the impression that the food is so good. It's great!

I was surprised there was hardly anyone there when I went on a thursday night. I am not sure how busy it gets on other days/nights, but if you want to eat at a lowkey spot with delicious food, this is it. The pricing is a bit pricier for dinner but not the priciest. The food quality matches the price, though. Would definitely eat here again.

We like Tupelo Junction and have always had great meals here. They have a very extensive and varied menu that hits the spots for everyone no matter what you're in the mood for. This is a southern inspired cafe restaurant so you'll see a lot of southern food from red beans and rice to jambalaya to fried green tomatoes and beignets.

Service has generally been positive and attentive so no complaints there.

The quant little patio in the back is perfect for a weekend escape from the chaos of the Peninsula during the heavy tourist invasion we have during the summer (sorry tourists, some of are you great but there's just too many of you here during peak summer - we don't blame you, we just have to put up with you lol).

Oh, and the buttermilk ranch is one of the best ranch dressings you've ever had in your life.

Tupelo Junction made for a great Christmas Eve dinner! The patio was heated which made it nice for outdoor seating. There was plenty of street parking available. We loved the service, which was friendly and efficient. You can make reservations online, which weren't necessary this night, but I'd recommend doing it usually as there aren't an abundance of tables. Now for the food and drinks!

The Blackberry Mojito was refreshing. I liked the tartness of the lime and how the blackberry doesn't sweeten it too much. It's served in a mason jar. The fried green tomatoes were wonderful - light, crispy, and accompanied by a delicious sauce! The shrimp and scallops with grits in a lobster cream sauce was very good. The scallops particularly were divine! Perfectly cooked. I did feel that the sauce was overly salty, but it comes served around the grits and seafood, so it was easy enough to control how much you want in each bite. Having grown up in South Carolina, mason jars, fried green tomatoes, and shrimp and grits make me so happy. It was like familiar comfort food. Lastly, the jambalya was full of clams, mussels, sausage, chicken, and shrimp. Definitely appreciate the amount of seafood and meat in it. My husband loved the sauce but did feel that there was too much of it. Personally, I like "wet" rice that's saucy, but I could see what he was talking about as towards the end, the bowl was almost soup-like.

All in all, we liked everything we tried and are totally interested in returning to try other menu items. I'd recommend Tupelo Junction to others. Enjoy!

Tupelo Junction Cafe has a quaint, hometown feel, with wooded tables, and soft jazz music playing, it invites a little respite from the hustle and bustle of Newport Beach. The server/host was excellent at taking care of customers, friendly and upbeat to all the patrons in the restaurant. The chef made a beautifully prepared cajun swordfish dish, and the swordfish was delicious on its own, however, the beans arrived fairly cool, which was not satisfying to taste since there was uneven heat throughout the items on the plate, and I was not anticipating the swordfish to be layered on the rice and beans, which took away from the swordfish, and created more of a burrito feel for the meal overall. The guacamole and chips were a cute garnish for appearance, but, I think it overpowered the swordfish flavors more than enhanced it.

Great breakfast/lunch spot. Food was really fresh and good.

I got the seared Ahi. Would have liked a little more fish but the portion size was fine. The dressing was a great addition to the fish, the rice was great and I really liked the little mango/nut salad.

My family also got crab cake which was really good, lots of crab. The grilled salmon was really good too, nice and crispy outside but still flakey on the inside.

The other meals all got rave reviews from the family.

The spot isn't right on the main drag but only a few minutes walk from the beach

Great food, service and cozy environment. Highly recommend. Definitely going back. Ordered the crab cake hash and a side biscuit...delicious!!

For anyone who loves southern comfort food, Tupelo Junction Cafe is the place to be.

This place has a very nice little setup in Newport Beach right off the beaten path. There are several parking lots and plenty of curb parking (all paid) along the way. They offer a small inside seating area and bar along with a beautiful quaint outdoor patio in the back. During both visits we took advantage of the weather and opted for the outdoor seating.

The menu is decently priced and offers an array of southern delicacies and all of we have had is bursting with flavor. On both visits I have went with the red beans and rice dish and it is perfection on a plate for me. My wife has had both the 1/2 grilled cheese 1/2 tomato soup combo as well as the salmon toast points and has also seemed to really enjoy her choices as well.

The service is very friendly and quick and the flavors are on point with decent sized portions that won't break the bank. The beignets are also a must order dish as these are phenomenal and I am salivating just thinking about them.

I am a huge fan of this place and can't wait to get back again soon.

We came here on a Friday morning for brunch. No wait, so that was great. We got orange juice, grapefruit juice, bacon scramble, biscuit & gravy, and an order of beignets for dessert. Yes, a little indulgent, but it was a long weekend!

Overall the food, drinks, and service were all great. The only thing was that they got a couple things wrong on our order. I had ordered the bacon scramble with cornbread, and they brought us a biscuit instead (they did fix it after I pointed it out). I guess the silver lining is that we got to try the jam that came with the biscuit, and it was very yummy.

He said his biscuit and gravy was the best he ever had. We're more used to having biscuit with a sausage gravy on the side, and this one was served with actual home made (at least, it tasted home made!) sausage patties, so it definitely changed the experience. The only thing was that he ordered his eggs over hard, and it came out over easy/medium. He's not one to send food back/complain, so he just sucked it up and ate as much of it as he could.

I think where things went wrong is that the server doesn't write anything down, so he just tried to memorize our order. That gets difficult when customers make adjustments to the default menu item.. so I guess our suggestion is just to write it down next time :)

I thought the beignets were okay, but he really enjoyed it. Would recommend!

Nice staff and great food. We had the apple beignets and the smoked bacon and spinach scramble for a late brunch. The biscuits are amazing. The drinks are quite good. Would definitely go back

Slightly hard to find, but with amazing food and a gorgeous interior design. Great cocktails, and amazingly friendly and good service. Can't wait to come back here again and try the rest of their menu.