It wasn’t that long ago that hotel restaurants were an afterthought, someplace to grab a cup of coffee and a bite to eat.
Hotels have upped their game. Onsite restaurants have created upscale menus with ambiances to match. Orange County has dozens of hotels and resorts with noted eateries that are garnering attention from both hotel guests and the surrounding community.
Two of those hotels recently opened reimagined restaurants: Warehouse 72 Modern Bistro + Bar at Hyatt Regency Irvine and Lantern’s Edge at Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa.
Papa Johns Franchisee Opens Warehouse 72
Warehouse 72 Modern Bistro + Bar, dubbed a modern American restaurant concept, opened last summer at the Hyatt Regency Irvine but is still in the soft opening phase. The official grand opening is set for late March. The restaurant was conceptualized by Orange County-based restaurateur Doug Pak, a self-described “serial entrepreneur” and the founder and chief executive of Serazen. The multi-unit franchise investment company operates several brands including Papa Johns and Hardee’s. Its BLD Brands oversees Warehouse 72 and the Spaghetti Warehouse restaurants. Headquartered in Newport Beach, these companies collectively generate nearly $220 million in annual revenue from 130 establishments across 10 states, the company said.
The Warehouse 72 menu is executed by Executive Chef Jaime Salazar, who helped Pak open the first Warehouse 72 in Houston in 2019. Pak said he intends to eventually open 72 locations; the Irvine restaurant is his second.
According to Pak, the number 72 is spiritual and carries a meaningful message signifying that your life is aligned. The restaurant’s design is anchored by a 30-foot digital art installation. There are three specific aspects of the restaurant, said Pak: modern art, modern design and a modern menu. The furnishings are inspired by earthly elements such as wood, stone and airy light fixtures.
“Our inspiration is to become an unchained chain,” Pak told the Business Journal. “Every location will have its own art inspiration, its own modern design, own menu, and different angelic themes.”
For the theme of healing, Pak and Salazar had to determine how to express that through the menu and design—what colors and materials wound express healing. The result: white and clean with live plants, which symbolize vitality and healing.
Salazar said he has been trying to incorporate that idea of healing into the menu. His favorites are the Jidori chicken, which is butchered in house, and the frozen s’mores dessert.
“The last thing people remember is the dessert,” said Salazar. “For the s’mores, we make a graham cracker crust in house, add chocolate ice cream made locally, top it with marshmallows and have it torched tableside.”
Warehouse 72 at The Hyatt Regency Irvine, 17900 Jamboree Rd., Irvine, (949) 535-1001, irvine.warehouse72.com.
TRELA’S HOT TAKE
To get a good idea of the menu, I brought along a fellow foodie Jim Owen to share the appetizers and entrees. Good thing, as we were treated to a sampling of several dishes, including a new dish: Hamachi cannoli with avocado and ginger angel dust—a sensational starter. We also enjoyed kampachi crudo with Peri Peri sauce, grilled pineapple, soy-citrus, garlic and smoked sea salt. Then came another new dish: ricotta dumplings, with lemon beurre blanc and shaved truffles.
The gastronomic creativity and expert execution of those dishes told my taste buds we weren’t in Kansas anymore. But Irvine?
Then came entrees: wild caught scallops with roasted red bell pepper risotto and asparagus; Yuzu Chilean seabass with soy-glazed mixed vegetables, shishitos, toasted sesame and togarashi; and Jidori half chicken with Peruvian spiced potatoes, grilled broccolini, aji verde and cilantro.
To say we were impressed was an understatement. These dishes displayed bold yet not overpowering flavors that were balanced and pretty on the plate.
And of course, we had to conclude our meal with the frozen s’mores, torched tableside and looking – and smelling and tasting – every bit like ones roasted over a campfire.
Warehouse 72 Chef du Cuisine Joshua Loecsey told us they will be introducing a revised menu in March that could include a tasting menu and twists on current entrée products.
