Sky Room: The refined rebirth of a Long Beach culinary and cultural legend

Sky Room—one of two restaurants in the newly minted Fairmont Breakers hotel and spa in Downtown Long Beach—has returned to the eager palates of Long Beach residents and visitors of the past alike. And with it brings something genuinely special and not often seen: A refined rebirth of a space that, at one point, defined that exact refinement for Long Beach.

Exceptionally elegant as it is unquestionably unfussy. Astoundingly accessible for what it is and represents (despite obvious luxuries like the $270 Tsar Nikolai reserve caviar and a $165 California wagyu beef Wellington). Superb service with a staff clearly on its A game. Classily classic and old-school in all the right ways.

For those who lamented its tragic, dire decline at the end of its last iteration, Sky Room’s return—should the Fairmont maintain its first outing’s spectacular showing through consistency—is one that will surely stir up the most heart-warming sensation of nostalgia.

Why Sky Room’s reopening is such an important event for Long Beach.

Though it formally goes by Sky Room—no definite article in its Fairmont iteration—it is always The Sky Room among locals. And it will likely remain that way. It’s not because of some unawareness about its updated moniker or even stubbornness but because it represents a space special enough to have some authority. (And its colloquial name was, indeed, its formal name beforehand: The Sky Room. This was happily noted on its western-facing, ROYGBIV-red, awning-adored entrance before the Fairmont moved in. One would walk down a carpeted hallway lined with chandeliers, greeted by a bellhop, and escorted via elevator to The Sky Room.)

Sky Room has long been the epicenter of Long Beach family moments. It is nearly impossible to mention its name without a reply that the space served as one’s proposal site. Or that it was someone else’s graduation dinner. It has even been a place of condolence, where a neighbor once told me its dining room—and particularly its server—provided solace after the loss of a parent.

“It was the place where I informed my parents my daughter Antonia was on the way,” said John Molina, a partner with Pacific6 Enterprises, the entity that led the project both before and during Fairmont’s eventual attachment to the project. “My sister [Jospehine] even found a photo dated 1940 with my grandmother, Josephine [whom my sister was named after], my great uncle Julius, and his wife Ann. We have it featured on a wall honoring the history of the space in the restaurant lobby.”

And why Long Beach should love this latest iteration of the culinary institution that is Sky Room.

Ups and downs, highs and lows, Sky Room is a place saturated with the collective memories of Long Beach. And in that sense, should be treated with reverence and respect—which is precisely what hotel General Manager Mark Steenge, Executive Chef Jared Reeves, Sky Room Chef de Cuisine and Long Beach Maxwell Pfeiffer, and the entire team of Sky Room bring.

You will find Mark happily rattling off about Long Beach’s food scene—”Based on pure layers of flavor, Ellie’s is my favorite,” he said, noting Chef Jason Witzl’s much-loved Alamitos Beach space—and Chef Jared, with a humbleness that is infectious and a talent that is astute, level his experiences at Sophy’s, Noodle Shack, and Crystal Thai Cambodian while fawning over his love of DTLB.

“In a sense, this Fairmont and Long Beach really uplifted me,” Chef Jared said, noting his previous service to Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa. “Every chef will recognize the wall that is culinary redundancy—and here, we got to return to a sense of elegance that marked the space as special in the first place. It was genuinely uplifting, this entire project.”

Of course, the level of service is something not quite seen in Long Beach: Tailored uniforms for workers, absurdly awesome attention to detail, and beautiful moments of care and service. The Fairmont just doesn’t bring back Sky Room from her grave; this is an ode to both her spirit and importance to Long Beach.

The exquisite detail put in by the Fairmont is undeniably impeccable.

For those that might not remember, the previous iteration of Sky Room featured many curves, both along its ceiling and on its railings. It’s newest and certainly most beautiful formation matches that, where a golden, cylinder-by-cylinder chandelier wraps around the entirety of the space in what feels like an architectural melody. Subtle cloud formations are hand painted on the black ceiling.

Long Beach’s love of art deco is noted in the meticulously tiled flooring upon entry (and, it should be noted, meticulous tiling and stone work is seemingly endless throughout the whole building. There could be entire articles about the tiling and light fixtures alone.)

Tasteful pink and gold booths—harkening to the patented leather booths of its past—line the dining room, where the dancing floor and band space have been removed in favor of a space that feels more open than Sky Room could have ever felt before.

It’s a lesson in design and beauty—and with a walk-up bar that is open with no reservations, it is something worth seeing yourself.

A look into the inaugural menu of Sky Room at Fairmont Breakers.

What Chef Jared and Chef Max have created is an ode to Long Beach’s legacy in fine dining, specifically at Sky Room.

Uni toast: Uni | Buttered bread | Wasabi

Farmers Market Crudité: Seasonal vegetable and leaves | Fermented green goddess dressing

Prawn Cocktail: Caledorian blue prawn | Preserved lemon aioli | Cocktail sauce

Crab Cake: Dungeness crab | Smoked trout roe | Caviar butter | Crème fraîche

“Garden Of” Butter Lettuce and Castelfranco: Butter lettuce | Castelfranco | Fuyu persimmon | Herb vinaigrette | Radish

Crudo: Kingfish | Heart of palm | Pickled nashi pear | Saffron vinaigrette

Grilled Broccoli: Broccoli | Black garlic butter | Parmesan tuile

Pommes “Sky Room:” Potatoes | Butter | Chives

Beef Wellington: California wagyu beef | Mushroom duxelle | Prosciutto | Bordelaise | Puff pastry

Bananas Foster: Banana | Appleton Estate 12-Year Rum | Walnuts

Baked Alaska: Meringue | Lemon peel | Lemon custard | Butter crust

Sky Room is located inside the Fairmon Breakers, located at 210 E. Ocean Blvd. For reservations, click here. Bar is open seating; approach lobby personnel on first floor and, as long as there is seating, you will be taken up.