Breaking good

Sky Room (Long Beach)

RESTAURANTS • First Word

The Skinny: The new-and-improved Sky Room — the fine dining rooftop restaurant at the brand-new (but also very old) Fairmont Breakers on Ocean Boulevard — is reason enough to give the newly revitalized LBC a chance. The 14-story hotel was constructed in 1926, since owned by various hoteliers before being bought, renovated, and re-opened as a Fairmont property in November. With history, style, and views, the Sky Room is perfect for a SoCal date night — though you may have to wait six weeks for a reservation.

The Vibe: A $150 million renovation preserved the bones of the old hotel, but renovated everything else: all 185 rooms, 22 suites, a two-story spa, three bars, and two restaurants. Despite the massive revamp, it retained all of the original’s Art Deco coolness, down to the lobby’s meticulously chiseled plaster ceilings.

In the Sky Room, an elegant dining room filled with orange velvet horseshoe booths and warmly lit by tubular golden light fixtures swirled atop the ceiling. The big draw here, of course, is the view, and there’s plenty of it. On a clear day, you can see all the way from the bustling port of Long Beach to the Downtown LA skyline (a plus for watching events like the Long Beach Grand Prix). A long bar and adjacent lounge welcome walk-ins, but arriving at exactly 5p is the only way to ensure a walk-in seat.

The Food: As the only rooftop restaurant in Long Beach, Sky Room (which in its golden era discreetly hosted Cary Grant, John Wayne, and Rita Hayworth) probably wouldn’t have to do much to lure diners. But the restaurant offers complex, compelling American comfort food. Start with roasted sunchokes with a celery root and truffle puree, then move to California wagyu beef wellington with mushroom duxelle, prosciutto, and bordelaise.

The Drink: Make like Sinatra and order the Sky Room Old Fashioned, presented tableside, smoked with cherry wood, and otherwise combining Buffalo Trace, Remy VSOP cognac, and black cherry essence.

The Verdict: An update to a gorgeous piece of hotel history that goes a long way towards burnishing Long Beach’s cool quotient. –Melissa Heckscher

→ Sky Room (Long Beach) • 210 East Ocean Blvd • Tue-Sat 5-10p • Reserve.