Vibrant white tulip chairs lined up in a Parisian fashion on the hotel’s VIP-roped off-pavement outside among the palm trees – where guests can enjoy timeless rituals such as the morning parfait and croissants, lunchtime pizzas made in Santa Monica’s only wood-fired oven shaded by umbrellas, or a leisurely dinner with a Pacific Ocean view while taking in the extraordinarily intense sunsets.
Offering internationally inspired, Californian-infused cuisine, everything on the menu is locally sourced, organic seasonal ingredients, from Santa Monica Farmers Market.
Santa Monica’s chic new Parisian style café has been designed for the ultimate outdoor dining experience with dedicated attention from the hotel’s talented team, on hand to create unmissable dishes.
The concept has been inspired by CEO Tamie Adaya and GM Armond Khosrovyan, with a varied menu fizzing with flavours, and a design that features space age tables and chairs that were originally designed by Eero Saarinen, of the famed TWA Flight Centre.
Tamie Adaya said: “People coming together – dining outside – eating and drinking immediately makes any city come alive again. The Hotel Shangri-La is bringing summer to the streets with a degree of improvisation, vibrancy and spontaneity.
“Our Sidewalk Café gives our iconic hotel a continental sheen – a bit of Paris on the Pacific that visitors, residents and regulars alike will enjoy surrounded by palm trees and spellbinding ocean views.
“It’s an enticing and intimate space. When you feel like gazing at the ocean on a balmy summer’s day while sipping your coffee, a glass of Chablis or Shangri-La cocktail, The Sidewalk Café is the ultimate seaside dining spot in Santa Monica for an eclectic alfresco experience.”
Entrees include whole branzino accompanied by sautéed baby squash, courgettes and heirloom fingerling potatoes drizzled with a citrus butter sauce, whole red snapper, roasted beetroot, turnips and heirloom fingerling potatoes, and a 12oz New York steak with a purple potato purée and a mushroom cognac sauce.
For dessert, groups can tuck into the signature Shangri-La Knickerbocker Glory – the only place in the USA that offers this unique and delicious dish which features vanilla and strawberry ice cream topped with strawberry compote, pineapple chunks, pop rocks, whipped cream and meringue.
A series of safety features has been put in place to protect both staff and customers, and the space will have a limited capacity in compliance with guidelines set by the State of California, the City of Los Angeles and the City of Santa Monica.
Offering lunch, dinner and weekend brunch, The Sidewalk Café is open every day from 7am to 9pm. Reservations can be made online at OpenTable.
•
Rates at Hotel Shangri-La start at $286 (£228) for a timeless luxury room per night. To experience more visit: www.shangrila-hotel.com