Clifton's Pacific Seas, Los Angeles, CA (restaurant)

Got this from Facebook.

Clifton's Brookdale, the oldest surviving cafeteria in Los Angeles, has been undergoing a painfully long rehabilitation on Broadway—in 2010, Andrew Meieran of the Edison began work to restore the cafeteria's famous forest-themed hall; add a Polynesian restaurant and bar, an Art Deco bar, and a soda fountain; and otherwise return the cafeteria to the height of 1930s and '40s kitsch, but with all the complicated mixology of the 2010s. The opening date keeps getting pushed back and back (and Meieran's PR people aren't big on talking), but there's a bright new neon sign that things are wrapping up: last week, the huge sign was installed on the building's facade (which was covered with metal grates from the 1960s to 2012), and over the weekend it was switched on; this is the first sign of neon on Clifton's in "at least four to five decades," according to broker/blogger Brigham Yen.

The sign somewhat mysteriously says "Living History — Clifton's — Established 1932," but Clifton's Brookdale, the second in a chain of eight Clifton's, opened in 1935. (The Clifton's chain opened in 1931; the reference might somehow be to the Boos Brothers Cafeteria that preceded Clifton's in the Broadway space, although that opened way back in 1913.) The latest word is that Clifton's will reopen later this year.

Nice! The terrazzo mosaic on the sidewalk looks great, too!

Now I'm totally confused. Are they opening a "Seven Seas" or the "Pacific Seas" ???

Read article...... http://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/cliftons-cafeteria-coming-back-life-long-last/

Any news on when they're re-opening?

On 2015-09-03 15:32, SoCal Savage wrote:
Any news on when they're re-opening?

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-84259761/

"Opening date is set for late September, probably an unannounced soft opening sometime during the third week, followed by an official ribbon-cutting scheduled for Sept. 21."

Gotta say I am getting excited for this!

This is not the Clifton's that still exists. The Pacific Seas closed decades ago. The Clifton's Brookdale is the establishment that is being remodeled and will include a bar in homage to the old Clifton's Pacific Seas. It would be tidier from a historical context to direct these posts to that thread on TC.

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=19060&forum=2&hilite=brookdale

This has been discussed previously.

DC

Spotted this cool multi-photo postcard from Pacific Seas.

It includes the signature poem by York.

DC

I love that poem so much that I had Lake Tiki make a sign with it that hangs on the front door of The Below Decks!

Finally open to the public (they say) this Friday, November 4.

http://laist.com/2016/10/31/cliftons_pacific_seas.php#photo-1

On 2016-11-01 09:02, The Below Decks wrote:
Finally open to the public (they say) this Friday, November 4.

Dang, I will miss it cuz I have a 12:30pm flight out of John Wayne Airport that day and I can't stay over. Have fun!

Lets hope the dress code police let us in with aloha shirts and Bacardi/Absolut/Jagermeister didn't buy out ALL the bars in this place...

:/

Open to the Public Nov. 12th is what I heard.

The press keeps throwing out dates.

P.S. And, I'm a "Thatcher" . lol!!!

Is that like a "Wanker" or a "Tosser" ?

On 2016-11-02 01:06, GROG wrote:
Is that like a "Wanker" or a "Tosser" ?

Margret to you Grog! :wink:

KCET article on Clifford Clinton

KCET: Clifford Clinton: The Man and His Cafeteria Shaped Food and Politics in L.A.

On 2018-03-07 10:45, King Bushwich the 33rd wrote:
KCET article on Clifford Clinton

KCET: Clifford Clinton: The Man and His Cafeteria Shaped Food and Politics in L.A.

Clifford was quite the humanitarian.

T.V. Show Eye on L.A. visits Clifton's to discuss cocktails with cocktail blogger Caroline Pardilla

Eye on L.A.: Caroline Pardilla Picks Pacific Seas at Clifton's

Page also has a visit with Charles Phoenix!

Mrs Mai Tai has wanted to visit The Broad in Downtown LA for some time and I have wanted to visit Clifton’s Pacific Seas for some time so we made a two-fer.

I had heard nightmares of the “particular” procedures to get into Pacific Seas, including the dress code. On this particular Thursday this seemed loosely enforced but we were prepared. We entered at opening and were asked what were we’re interested in and were promptly given explicit instructions to how to get to Pacific Seas. No doubloons. No feeling random walls for speakeasy entrances. Go up, then up again. Then left and left again, press into the mirror (see photo 10 in this set). Then through a maze of rooms not unlike the queue at a Disneyland attraction. Finally the bar!

Pacific Seas is a “order at the bar” bar. We grabbed a menu to review then ordered our first round of a Mai Tai and a Chi-Chi. I also had the Navy Grog. None of my drinks were awesome (the Mai Tai is made only with Appleton Signature rum, not terrible but not very bold either) though Julie thought the Chi-Chi was pretty good. The Navy Grog was boozy for sure, following Don the Beachcomber’s recipe.

Music in the bar was a no-show until about 30 mins after opening. I never appreciated music in a bar until I didn’t have it. Once the music came on it was what I would call modern lounge. Definitely exotic leaning but contemporary music. And it was a couple settings too high on the volume side. At least it wasn’t thumping... Decor here is A-MAZING. Museum quality. Seriously awe-inspiring and immersive. If you haven’t visited it is worth a visit. The downstairs lounge has a forest theme and is also very interesting.

Cliftons is an amazing space but does present some obstacles, some of which we didn’t experience when it was slow on a weeknight. The neighborhood for sure is pretty rough. The temperature inside was quite hot when we visited (kept us from staying longer). Still, worth visiting with the proper mindset.

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/BsMxopgAB4R/

I share(d) a lot of the same sentiments. I have no reason to go through the troubles of Downtown LA to return. I heard the drinks were supposed to have improved with a new guy they brought in, but that's not enough to entice me. It was the first drink I ever had to return as the zombie was overpoweringly anise-flavored. The bartender claimed "i like to go pernod-heavy" and I'm thinking "no, do that for your own drink but follow a damn recipe or tell somebody in advance."

The music was an issue for me as well, as it mixed between club, lounge, and cliche. Blasting the Enchanted Tiki Room theme and Elvis wasn't doing it for me. Funny you didn't get a doubloon (I think I still have mine) but the secret isn't exactly secret anymore either.

I forgot to mention. When we were hanging out in front before they opened we looked down in the corner of one of the four glass doors we saw a pile a poo just sitting there.

Lovely...

Between the reviews here and a friend of mine who has chosen 1920/30's Los Angeles as his lifestyle who thinks the current owners ruined Clifton's, I feel kinda' bad about still wanting to see the place.

I’ll be in LA in April, and I too still want to visit, despite all the lackluster things I’ve heard....

Definitely worth visiting at least once.

Hey, I ordered a breakfast burrito yesterday from a place that I know makes horrible breakfast burritos. Undercooked mush. But, I went back thinking "it probably won't be bad this time." It was horrendous.

Sometimes you just gotta see for yourself and put all the curiosities at rest.

Whoops, I think we're talking about the new Pacific Seas in the wrong thread. We should be over here:

Pacific Seas inside Clifton's Brookdale, Los Angeles, CA (bar)
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=51021&forum=2&start=0

Found this video last fall of home videos from 1956 that includes about 30 seconds of the Pacific Seas exterior just after the 21:00 mark:

https://youtu.be/snpn8aUr2lM

Over a decade ago, Dusty mentioned the segment of the 1995 documentary, Things That Aren't Here Anymore, about Pacific Seas. Turns out that KCET posted that segment to their YouTube channel about a month ago. It even includes Esther York reciting her lovely "Pacific Seas" poem.

Early History of Clifton's Pacific Seas | Things That Aren't Here Anymore | KCET
https://youtu.be/maga2ZM2X-s