The US Grant Tries to Stay Young with Lounge Renovation

San Diego's historic US Grant Hotel recently gave its lounge in the Grant Grill, which opened in 1951 and was a men's-only joint for a while, a renovation and new menu to keep up with the times.

To give it a more urban feel, Esteban Lopez and James Niebling of Esteban Interiors added metal bar tables with a silver-sparkle finish topped with quartz slabs of stone and metal aggregate. Another modern touch is the walnut-topped custom dining tables with solid inlay edges and corners, metal bases, and wood balustrade pedestal. The faux-leather bar stools and banquettes in muted ivory and tan shades with a metallic gray spray finish soften up the room a bit. Panels of mosaic tiles illuminated with sconces provide some warmth.

The lounge menu got a makeover as well. The longer menu of upscale lounge fare aims to be a more affordable and informal offshoot of the cuisine served in the grill's main dining room. We'll head there during happy hour (daily 4 to 8 p.m.), so that we can get half-off of appetizers such as calamari tempura with fire-roasted sweet pepper sauce (usually $14) to accompany our Ginger 'N' Honey ($14), a combination of Bulliet Bourbon, honey-and-ginger-infused simple syrup, lemon and a candied ginger cube. Among the entree offerings, there are more traditional items such as a roasted turkey club and a Niman Ranch New York strip.

Grant Grill also has added entertainment to entice bargoers. There's live jazz on Wednesdays and Thursdays and a DJ spinning on Fridays and Saturdays. If you decide to make it a late-late night in the lounge, you can check into the classic hotel, whose rates start at $313 a night.

[Photo: Grant Grill]

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