Three Seventy Common Kitchen+Drink – the much-anticipated new restaurant from Chef Ryan Adams – is slated to open in mid-October and will offer a farm-to-table menu served in a convivial, energized setting. Adams’ new venture takes over the spot of longtime Laguna Beach mainstay Sorrento Grille, which for more than 23 years served a loyal clientele of both locals and area visitors. Sorrento Grille closed its doors Aug. 31.
Formerly the executive chef of Sorrento Grille, Adams recently purchased the venue and is reinventing it with bold urban interiors and a new contemporary American menu inspired by an arsenal of his childhood favorites tweaked over the years and chef-driven dishes. “We created Three Seventy Common to continue Sorrento Grille’s tradition of serving as a community hub to gather for good food, fun and camaraderie,” says Adams. “The majority of the original staff will stay on, and like our popular predecessor, we’ll remain keenly focused on service and top-quality ingredients.”
A Laguna Niguel native and longtime advocate for sustainable cuisine, Adams will work closely with local growers and purveyors to source only the best-quality and tastiest produce, meats and seafood for dishes such as Oyster Rockefeller, Wild Mushroom Stew, Salmon with radish, turnip, country mash, Niçoise butter and winter herbs; Butcher Steak with bone marrow and bordelaise; and Poutine with veal, gravy, leek, peas, cheddar, bacon and horseradish crema.
Savory Bacon Maple Popcorn will replace the customary breadbasket as a prelude to each meal. Homey desserts will include Grandma B.’s Chocolate Broiler Cake and Stone Fruit Blueberry Parfait with Almond Crunch. Also: domestic wines, updated “old-school” cocktails – such as Sazaracs, Manhattans and Singapore Slings – and a variety of brews.
In addition, Adams will host Sunday Night Social, a weekly, reasonably priced family-style meal featuring a rotating list of Sunday supper classics like a roast chicken, pot roast and meatloaf. He even plans to ask diners to abandon their use of cell phones, smart phones and other electronic devices from the dining room to bring back the Sunday dinnertime tradition.
Adams’ sustainable bent will also be evidenced in the completely redone interiors, incorporating rustic reclaimed materials, antiques and vintage accents such as an old-fashioned meat grinder, antique knife collage and repurposed Saltillo tile flooring. Evoking a more edgy, modern feel, the 3,500-square-foot space will have a distinctive organic motif – with striking metal and wood elements, industrial-style charcoal and black hues on the ceiling and oak-plywood-clad walls. An existing large brick fireplace now sports a chunky wood mantel, and galvanized metal French bistro chairs, wooden schoolhouse chairs, solid butcher-block tables and traditional machinist bar stools also add to the restaurant’s earthy – yet decidedly urban – appeal.
Located at 370 Glenneyre St., Laguna Beach, Calif. 92651, Tel: (949) 494-8686. Three Seventy Common Kitchen+Drink will be open Tuesday through Sunday, 5 p.m. to close. Dinner only. Seats 88; bar seats 9.
