Sky Room

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.

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.

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.

Written and photos by Brian Addison.

For the full feature on Sky Room, click here.