The Crow Bar and Kitchen Lands In Corona Del Mar

by Gretchen Kurz

The crow has landed and claimed its roost with an aplomb most restaurants can’t demonstrate at such a fledgling stage. The Crow Bar & Kitchen hatched
in late November, but the maverick newbie greeted the world with all the swagger you’d expect of its coal-black avian namesake. The Crow Bar & Kitchen is Corona del Mar’s, and surely Orange County’s, first gastropub with an animal name that’s a hearty nod to the British forebears who first married upscale food to a pub setting (The Eagle, The Pig, The Greyhound). What is a rather established trend in England—gastropubs date to the early ’90s—feels brand spanking new on Coast Highway. It’s an enchanting formula. Take one proven chef (Scott Brandon) from his longtime local gig (Oysters), hook him up with a local real estate pundit (Steve Geary), and set them loose on a promising but unlucky site (Garlic Jo’s, Brio Tuscany Grill, Tiramisu) where two like minds can create the neighborhood tavern of their dreams. They followed their heart and...