Wall-to-Wall Energy

It’s not exactly the parting of the Red Sea, but when the enormous doors separating the restaurant from the dance floor open at Renaissance, it’s definitely high nightclub drama.

Those hangar-size panels slide open around 11 p.m., mixing the dance crowd with the late-night dinner crowd. Music bellows into the high-ceilinged dining room, elevating conversation to shouting level and making patrons bounce in their chairs as they scoop the last bit of foam from their cappuccino cups.

Renaissance, open a scant eight weeks on the north end of Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade, has already caught on with Westside clubbies. This amalgam of restaurant/nightclub/bar/live performance space draws a mostly 30-and-under crowd to the nightclub and a slightly older group to the restaurant.

The 10,000-square-foot complex boasts an upstairs bar and lounge that overlook the dance floor and a private dining room with a fountain in the middle. The walls are washed a cement gray, and there is generally an unfinished quality about the place. The wall-to-wall crush of people warms it up.

It takes a strong will to make it from the restaurant to the upstairs bar. Maneuvering through throngs of sweaty bodies dancing to hip-hop and new jack swing takes stamina--and don’t forget to watch out for those dancing while holding beer bottles.

If you make it, you’ll be rewarded with a little less frenetic crowd and a great view of the dance floor and restaurant.

One recent night, the upper level held remnants of at least two birthday parties: torn pieces of wrapping paper, some ribbon, a couple of party hats. The partyers seemed to have fled--probably to the dance floor.

“Everything you look for in Hollywood you find here,” says 26-year-old attorney Michael Rosenstein, a Venice resident who has been to the club about a dozen times.

“Santa Monica needed a club like this big time,” he says. “There’s nothing remotely like this on the Westside.”

Tayna, a 31-year-old purchasing manager from Manhattan Beach, says she likes the club’s open feeling and the fact that “people seem pretty friendly. It’s sort of like, not too L.A.” Santa Monica does have some night spots--Gotham Hall, also on the Promenade, and the Pink, to name two. But it’s still known more for its beach life than its night life.

Renaissance hopes to fill the void. That may be one explanation for its diversity program--a live rock ‘n’ roll jam session is slated for Wednesdays.

The weekend dining crowd is lively and chic (though a couple of women were seen in politically incorrect fur coats). Patrons don’t look like your typical Promenaders--no nylon waist packs, no baseball caps, no Dockers. But then, the club’s owners say most of their patrons don’t wander in from their Promenade stroll. These are die-hard clubsters looking for another way to do a night on the town.

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Where: Renaissance, 1212 3rd St. (on the Promenade), Santa Monica. Phone: (310) 587-0766.

Door Policy: Officially, it’s egalitarian. If you wait in line, you’ll get in. Unofficially: Dress in ripped jeans and sneakers and throw an attitude at the doorman and you’ll probably be spending the night at McDonald’s. Jackets are preferred for men. On weekends the line can be quite long, so the earlier you get there, the better.

Prices: Beer, $3.50; well drinks, $5. Entrees such as grilled lamb, poached salmon and roast chicken average about $16.

Decibel Level: High. Meaningful conversations are best left for later.