Orange County Becomes Metropolis

When it comes to truly fabulous night diversion, those of us within the 714 area code have--until recently--had to trek north to hot spots with legendary status for their divine decor, disc jockeys or drop-dead attitude.

But with the grand opening Sept. 30 of Metropolis in Irvine, our hipper-than-thou neighbors in La La Land can start taking note.

This dance club-billiards hall-sushi bar and California cuisine restaurant combines regular nightclub fare with trendy recreation. Brought to you by the creators of the Shark Club in Costa Mesa, Metropolis has the same pool hall elegance and complimentary valet parking features as the Costa Mesa club, plus a nouveau regional dining experience and a very modern dance floor area (no laser lights or mirrored disco ball).

The unspoken code here is dress to impress. In other words, no athletic shoes, and don’t look like you’re about to clean house or hit the beach. This is, after all, a very hip establishment.

Co-owner Jon Hanour worked with the Hatch Design Group to create a club that appears well-prepared for the coming millennium. From the minimalist light fixtures to the leopard-trimmed billiard tables, every bit of the 12,000-square-foot space is a pleasure to look at.

Scratched steel frames provide a handsomely harsh contrast to the velvet Dali-esque sofas they embrace. Lush drapes frame a series of jagged mirrors. The centerpiece, a gorgeous round cherrywood bar, offers a warm feel against the industrial black steel stairway behind it.

The bar serves 10 beers on tap at $3 to $4 a glass; only two are domestic. Bottled beers include Kirin, Asahi and Sapporo at $5 a pop (the list will increase when a second bar is installed near the sushi area). The bar mixes only premium and super premium drinks ($4 to $5.75).

Normally, restrooms are nothing to get excited about. But Metropolis has lavatories that warrant conversation.

Both the men’s and women’s restrooms have very modern fixtures and Roman-style trough sinks. The men’s room reportedly allows users to check out the action in the club via a one-way mirror. When the club opened, a large wire screen on the ladies’ room stalls allowed women in line to get a full view of the occupant; that feature fortunately was covered up after opening-night complaints.

Interior design aside, Hanour also considers his new place 21st Century in service. By not charging a cover, he says, “we’re not gouging people.” Maybe not at the door, but the $15 hourly rate Thursday through Saturday to play one of the 16 billiard tables seems a might steep. (The cost goes down to $10 Sunday through Wednesday.)

Unlike other dance clubs, the dance floor at Metropolis is not the focal point, although it sits smack in the center between the dining area/sushi bar and the main bar. Because of its amorphous shape and the lack of any traditional discotheque pointers (colored strobes, et al), during off-hours you could very well wonder where the dance floor lies. But those who dance will find it.

As for the selection of tunes, this is one step into the future that will hopefully never catch on. Music runs on a computerized track. Pre-planned, pre-canned. No disc jockey. The selection of dance, house and techno is tops, but the presentation does not flow. A sign of an experienced deejay and a good dance club is that the music continues seamlessly. That’s one flaw that Hanour and his three business partner brothers need to work on.

The music menu serves jazz and Big Band during the day, edging toward alternative rock in the evening until 9 p.m., when the beat picks up to accommodate the dance crowd.

Technology does merit a gold star with volume control monitoring in four different sections of the club, allowing patrons to talk or really feel the beat depending on where they hang.

Banking on the idea that many discoers will spend most of their time playing pool or eating, the kitchen now remains open nightly until 1 a.m. That could, however, change once the dust settles, depending on how many mouths there are to feed in the later hours.

Hanour installed the sushi bar partly because of its trendy appeal, but he also appreciated that the Japanese dish is an “experimental, extremely social dining experience.” And that’s what he hopes patrons will get out of their visit to Metropolis.

* Metropolis, 4255 Campus Drive (in the Marketplace), Irvine. Open Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., Friday and Saturday till 3 a.m. (714) 725-0300 .