The aesthetics have radically changed. And the vibe is decidedly livelier. Hence, as a San Diego resident exploring dining options in Mission Valley, you get the feeling when setting foot onto the revived Town and County Resort that you’ve entered some faraway vacation spot suited to accommodate your eating and drinking needs after enduring a long, cramped flight.
The indoor-outdoor Monkey Bar and its adjoining fine-dining restaurant, ARLO, are among the new additions included in a $90 million makeover the resort recently underwent. In eye shot resides yet another restaurant, but with a more casual menu. It’s called The Lapper. That eatery is distinguished by a hovering neon figure of a female swimmer representing legendary diver Thelma Payne, who earned an Olympic bronze medal in 1920. She turns quite radiant after sunset.
All three venues welcome locals and resort guests alike.
I came to know the Town and Country over the past 15 years through a combination of family members lodging there, and as a frequent customer to the former Charlie’s, a casual bar and restaurant that sported an unremarkable ambiance.
Back then, the property spanned nearly 32 acres and encompassed 917 hotel rooms. Built in phases beginning in 1953, the grounds greeted with quirky statuary, crafty birdhouses, ivy-clad gazebos, and flourishing rose gardens. It was like stepping into a mid-Century Alice in Wonderland—an obsolete and trippy panache I came to love.
The new Town and Country Resort shows off a more refined and elegant mid-Century style. It too is quite lovable.
Its owners, San Diego-based Terry Brown and his family, and Lowe Enterprises, sold off 10 acres to housing developers. Multiple structures were razed (except for a central cluster of two-story buildings from when the property first opened as a motel). The redevelopment ushered in a freshly built lobby, which partly houses the Monkey Bar and leads to a tiered outdoor seating area replete with fire features. There is also a significantly enlarged swimming pool with a water slide, and re-landscaped grounds flaunting tall, stately palm trees salvaged during the renovation.
Half of the Monkey Bar sits inside the lobby, where the furniture and other trappings appear straight out of a commodious living room from the 1950s. The other half of the bar sits in open air and verges into the spacious outdoor lounge.
The name “Monkey Bar” was inspired by the development team’s choice of wallpaper seen in the restrooms. The print reveals primates perched in lush tree branches.
I have yet to dine at ARLO or The Lapper, but I’ve enjoyed the creature comforts (including live music) from Monkey Bar a few times in the recent past.
If visiting during happy hour (4 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday), you can save 50% or more on certain consumables. It is when select craft beers on tap, plus certain wines by the glass, and the signature “Drunken Monkey” cocktail are only $5. In addition, wood-fired pizzas are $9.
The tall Drunken Monkey is surprisingly tame in sweetness, considering it’s made with Kettle One Orange, Malibu Rum, orange liqueur, pineapple juice, simple syrup and grenadine. Perhaps it is the fresh lime juice that prevents it from tasting like a cloying Mai Tai. Or maybe it’s the engaging vacation-like environment that makes them go down so effortlessly.
Over a couple of visits, the mushroom and Margherita pizzas ordered with friends proved to be shareable and satisfying. Each flaunted pleasing mantles of cheese and desirable, elastic crusts.
After switching once from the drunken cocktail to a couple of Hess IPAs, the “char burger” cried out. Priced at $21, it’s a hefty herb-infused flavor bomb crowned with truffle aioli and Gruyere cheese. (Yes, a fine burger like this during these inflationary times will be pricey just about anywhere you go.)
Additional menu items include several other signature cocktails, plus lamb meatballs, sticky short ribs, and shrimp with ginger-soy ponzu.
Locals partaking in food and drinks at any of the venues are entitled to complimentary parking in the resort’s newly built parking garage located near the front entrance. The structure features a bright, dramatic mural similar to others seen around the property—all of which were created by local artists during the makeover.
