Tivoli Terrace offers celestial setting

DINING OUT

With all three festivals in full swing, no more enticing on-grounds

dining destination awaits than celestially lovely Tivoli Terrace at

the Festival of Arts, where the world-renowned Pageant of the Masters

reigns supreme.

Picturesquely perched above the diversified displays presented

annually by hundreds of astutely juried artists, the charming

restaurant is a magical garden of lushly verdant foliage. Superb

sycamore trees, precious birds of paradise, sturdy potted plants and

colorful bougainvillea are interspersed with antique lamplights and

white umbrella-topped tables dressed in sunny flowered covers.

Miniature lights illuminate a stairway above all this enchantment

leading to a second, more sedate area for additional seating. Here a

gigantic golden butterfly crowns the scene, antique stained glass

dividers suspended from the ceiling complementing the scene.

Guests are greeted upon entering the restaurant by a beautiful

tiled replica of the Last Supper. Cherubs repose overhead and melodic

rhythms emanate from a grand gazebo. The setting becomes total

enchantment with the addition of lively bands who entertain diners

every evening from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

It is all the creation of charming Lagunan June Neptune, one of

our town’s most charitably enterprising personalities, who frequently

offers her glorious site for some of the many and varied fund-raisers

continually beckoning assistance in our town.

Whether seated alfresco or in the covered inner dining room, a

wondrous experience awaits. The appealing dinner menu, while not

extensive, covers a deliciously diversified range. Fresh salmon,

halibut and sauteed shrimp cater to seafood aficionados; savory

ratatouille is a vegetarian’s delight. There’s breast of chicken

Tivoli baked with mushrooms, artichokes and cream and chicken with a

brandy/apricot glaze, meaty lamb shank and lean succulent pork chops

blanketed in a deliciously light au jus gravy.

Priced from $16 to $25, each dish is sided with creamy mashed

potatoes and steamed carrot sticks. The prefacing green salad, served

with soft rolls and butter, is drizzled with creamy vinaigrette and

sprinkled with walnuts, olives, cherry tomato halves and baby corn.

For light appetites, the Tivoli salad and a chicken walnut blend

at $10.50 and $16.50, respectively, are at the ready. A quartet of

$14.95 early bird specials, available 4 to 5 p.m. every day, consists

of pineapple glazed ham steak, capellini al checka laced with

tomatoes, garlic, basil, baked chicken Tivoli and lamb shank.

The lunch bill-of-fare lists a fruit and cheese platter,

shrimp-stuffed fresh papaya, chicken walnut salad and a Tivoli cobb,

these tabbed at $10.50 and $11.50. Four sandwiches -- turkey and

avocado, portabello mushroom, fish brochettes and burgers, sell for

$8.50 to $10.95. There is also a quiche of the day.

Homemade desserts are a specialty. Yummy vanilla custard parfait

and sweet angel food cake, both crowned with strawberries and whipped

cream, top the list followed by fresh fruit upside down cake, ice

cream pie and seasonal berries, each at $5.95. Boasting a full

service bar, Tivoli is especially proud of its award-winning

margaritas, voted “best in Orange County” by a coastal magazine.

Noteworthy, too, is the carefully conceived wine list. The Tivoli

label house champagne is $6 a glass, $18 a bottle. Then, in addition

to a white zinfandel from Stone Creek priced at $5 and $16

respectively, come choices of chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon and

merlot, $6 to $10 a glass, $20 a bottle. Other vintages from a dozen

different wineries range in price from $6 to $10 a glass, $20 to $32

a bottle. The more to celebrate a delicious dinner prelude to the

Pageant.

* GLORI FICKLING is a longtime Laguna Beach resident who has

written restaurant news and views columns since 1966. She may be reached at 494-4710 or by e-mail at ghoneywest@aol.com.