RESTAURANT ROUNDUP:

Starbucks locations across America shut down at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to give servers a crash course in how to make a faster, better espresso.

When the sun rose Wednesday, the coffee giant had a pair of new menu items to show for it — the Honey Latte Espresso and the Caramel Espresso Frappuccino — as well as servers who were supposedly quicker on the draw.

Adam Gott, a shift manager at the Starbucks at Harbor Boulevard and Baker Street, said his staff had received pointers the night before on steaming milk, putting in the right amount of coffee and doing it all as quickly as possible. The work, he said, had paid off.

“They taste much different,” Gott said. “The shots are less bitter. They’re more creamy and smooth, like a nice shot of Guinness.”

Starbucks, based in Seattle, operates 22 coffeehouses in Newport-Mesa.

Five Crowns plans mystery holiday dinner

The Five Crowns restaurant in Corona del Mar plans to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a special dinner next month — although, thematically, it may be more suited to Halloween than the jovial Irish holiday.

The English-style restaurant has scheduled an interactive “Murder Mystery Dinner,” in which guests get to double as detectives and try to name the play’s killer based on a number of clues.

The first guest to solve the case wins brunch for two at the restaurant.

The “Murder Mystery Dinner” begins at 7 p.m. March 17 with a $96 menu including porcini mushroom ravioli, salad and a choice of entrées among prime ribs of beef, roasted Maple Leaf Farms duckling or potato-crusted salmon.

Strawberry English trifle will follow for dessert.

Five Crowns is at 3801 E. Coast Hwy., Newport Beach. Call (949) 760-0331 for more information.

— Michael Miller