A New Haven for the Madding Crowd
Sanctuary is a place that is anything but peaceful.
Built in the space of a former American Legion hall in Beverly Hills, this new supper club has an expansive dining room. Reproductions of paintings by Gustav Klimt, Francis Bacon and Auguste Renoir line the cream-colored walls. Palm trees add to the decor, giving the impression that one has just entered an exotic palace.
The best way to elude the crunch at the door is to eat dinner between 9 and 10 p.m. Dinner is served from 6:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday, and reservations are required. Executive chefs Mitchell Schwartz and Christopher Thomas have a full dinner menu, with entrees priced from $18.75 to $26.75.
Arrive in the quiet hours when the restaurant features jazz and classical music before pop, disco and new wave tunes pulsate through the 8,000-square-foot supper club.
More than just a restaurant, Sanctuary is one of the hottest spots to be and be seen these days. And patrons are not shy about clustering around the restaurant’s many tables even if they are not dining.
Most people prefer to head up one of the twin staircases to the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired lounge that features tiles, sconces and mirrors designed by the famed architect.
For a more intimate setting, there is a back room behind the main dining area. It has deep overstuffed sofas and an enormous fireplace. By 11 p.m., it can be standing room only. And with no dance floor, the room is packed with people moving to the beat of the music.
“I like the layout,” said Rob Lennon, a frequent patron who drives up from his Cerritos home. “It’s a place to hang out and drink.”
On Tuesday evenings, Angel & the Mambo Kings provide the entertainment. Weekends are reserved for jazz, when pianist Patrick Tuzzolino performs on a balcony high above the main dining room. Accompanying Tuzzolino is saxophonist Sam Most, playing on an opposing balcony.
Billy Atkins and Dimitri Christofordis are co-owners with investors Pamela Anderson of TV’s “Baywatch” and Costas Mandylor of “Picket Fences.” Since they opened Sanctuary last November, it has become one of the city’s trendiest destinations.
“We wanted to offer people good food and good entertainment,” said Christofordis, a 36-year-old native of Greece. “We want this place to be fun and a haven for people to forget their problems.”
Sanctuary, 180 N. Robertson Blvd., Beverly Hills. Hours are 6:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Dinner reservations are required. Information: (310) 358-0303.
