Encounter Restaurant

 There’s romance in the air at the Encounter Restaurant at LAX. That is, a romance for retro and a certain passion for planes.

Encounter Restaurant has been in a bit of a reconstructive period over much of this decade but that has never stopped the lava lamps from doing their entertaining amoeboid thing or the purpled “alien” hues from lighting up the real estate. Now with scaffolding gone the iconic atomic ‘60s control-tower-turned-dining establishment is open for business with clear views all around. Dinner here is like dining on the bridge of an RKO flying saucer.

For starters, this is one of the only places at Los Angeles International Airport where you can enter without having to flash an ID, pull out a ticket or take off your shoes. In fact, you can even bring your suitcase inside. Take that TSA!

Once in you’re not sure where you are. It could be in the early head of Walt Disney or the set of The Day the Earth Stood Still – that is, the one with Michael Rennie not Keanu Reeves. The intergalactic-themed interior (said to have been sketched out by Disney imagineers when the circa 1961 control tower morphed into a restaurant in 1997) uses moonstone quarry walls and a crater-shaped bar complete with bar guns that emit laser lights and futuristic sound effects when bartenders pour a drink. And then there are those lava lights. The Sky Bar Lounge affords nearly 360-degree views of the airport and surrounding neighborhoods from just beneath the arches of the135-foot-high parabolic legs. Naturally the martini is the cocktail de place but the menu is anything but classic. The signature selection is Austin's Apple (Absolut vodka with apple Pucker) an "Austin Powers" original that came into play during the movie wrap party here. Whatever the order, don’t be surprised if it comes in glowing blue or hot pink.

The restaurant is open for lunch, dinner and desert and meals are served in cozy booths up against the windows that line the circular shape of the needle. On tap is "California Fresh" cuisine (organic salads, warmed edamame, free range chicken, Cobb salad, Shrimp Penne Pomodoro Citron). Deserts come complete with a sugar high lift-off, especially if the order is for Snickers Pie doused with chocolate sauce.

A “Space Cadet” menu provides all the right repasts for younger earthlings: crispy chicken fingers with ranch dipping sauce and fries, spaghetti with red sauce, mac & cheese and, of course, peanut butter and jelly sandwich with fries or salad.

- by Lark Ellen Gould, Los Angeles Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Lark Ellen Gould

Lark Ellen Gould has penned seven books on Las Vegas and Los Angeles as a veteran news and travel writer. Her work appears in the L.A. Times, Elite Traveler, Travel Agent Magazine and other national forums. She lived in Boston for many years, earning her masters degree and then traveling the globe for stories. Today she lives in LA and still travels the world on assignment while filling the pages of her travel site: www.wheredaily.com, along the way.