Ivan Spiers’ second restaurant in Laguna Beach, Skyloft Restaurant, opens officially to the public on Sunday, Nov. 1st at 11:00 am sharp.
Until then, new servers, chefs, bartenders and music techs are still bustling through their new routines, honing and refining in this last week before lift off. Last night (Saturday, Oct. 24th), Spiers and his General Manager, Jonathan Moore, invited friends and family to Skyloft Restaurant for a third straight night of testing their operation.
Frankly, there’s not much to “test” in the two-level layout and decor as Skyloft Restaurant is one magnificent re-do from the previous Rockin’ Fish restaurant. For starters, there’s now a rooftop lounge, with panoramic views of the ocean and city lights. Undoubtedly, this will be the public’s favorite and first option, just as it was last night as people clambered to a vista point that had never before existed in Laguna’s long history. (Leave it to innovative Spiers and owner Sam Goldstein to go where no man has gone before.)
There’s plenty of love on the main level, however, with stylish main dining room connecting at both front and back with easy flow through to the large front bar and live music “studio.” I refer to Spiers’ new live music venue as a “studio” as it’s built to completely encapsulate musicians and listening guests without disturbing nearby neighbors. (Note: With this year’s American Idol’s Andrew Bloom on stage last night, I doubt many of the neighbors would have complained.)
With expected El Nino rains this winter, Skyloft’s indoor bar will undoubtedly become a go-to spot with ample seating around the bar, at vantage view points at front windows and at connecting bars to the live music side. Happily, it seems that an ample number of bartenders are manning both main and upstairs levels.
A Food Preview at Skyloft
With more than 150 guests at last night’s event, it only made sense to do tray-passed tasters of many menu items. As my table and I chatted the evening away, circling servers had us trying the Shrimp Cocktail, Shrimp Ceviche, Wings, Waldorf Salad, Allegria Salad and slider representatives of the menu’s monster burgers with and without bacon (yum).
While there wasn’t a single hiccup in the small presentations, I’m looking forward to getting my hands on more of the “Americana” side of the menu as Skyloft will be smoking everything from Tri Tip to Salmon, Prime Rib and Baby Back Ribs. ( See my initial review with General Manager Jonathan Moore here.)
Somehow, I don’t think Skyloft is going to have any trouble attracting a crowd on next Sunday’s official November 1st open. I’ll see you there!
