Built in 1966 and opened in 1967, Fashion Island remains the largest shopping center in Newport Beach, having rebalanced its initially specialty retail-heavy mix to accommodate more restaurants (such as Red O and Sushi Roku), courtyards, fountains, and a beautiful central koi pond. Decidedly horizontal with a largely outdoor, single-floor layout, Fashion Island now has a multi-story indoor atrium with a nice food court – including Chick-Fil-A, Gelato Paradiso, and Happy Lemon – as well as Restoration Hardware’s four-floor, museum-like RH – The Gallery, and multiple department stores. As of 2025, Lincoln, Lucid, and Tesla showrooms are showing off new vehicles; a Lexus Experience space closed in mid-2024.
The vibe at Fashion Island is decidedly less diverse and older-skewing than its newer Irvine brother, the Irvine Spectrum Center, while hosting fewer modern marquee boutiques than Costa Mesa’s South Coast Plaza. Between the lack of movie theaters and the departure of one-time anchor restaurants such as California Pizza Kitchen and The Cheesecake Factory, Fashion Island doesn’t feel as crowded these days as it did a decade ago. But it’s still well-maintained, and beyond being a great place to walk (and see) dogs, it’s a nice place to visit popular retailers including the Apple Store, Barnes & Noble, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom.
