LouLou Restaurant & Lounge in Santa Monica to Celebrate Grand Opening JULY 23rd

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (July 14, 2022) -- Located on the rooftop deck of the Santa Monica Place, a premier outdoor retail destination, the new and innovative French-Mediterranean restaurant and lounge with a California touch, LouLou, will host a Grand Opening on Saturday, July 23rd, 2022. The highly anticipated restaurant has undergone a complete remodel to breathe new life into a rooftop atmosphere featuring greenery, candlelit trees, earthy joinery design components, and more. All of these elements combined with unparalleled service create an intimate and upscale space for friends and family to enjoy a European-like dining experience and "escape to the French Riviera." The Grand Opening will take place all day on Saturday, July 23rd, beginning at 11:30am for brunch, featuring DJs and live performances, and guests are encouraged to make reservations on OpenTable.

The LouLou menu, which is prepared with the freshest local products sourced from Santa Monica farms, will feature plats du jour, fresh house made pasta, embellished cocktails and an exclusive list of French wines and champagnes. Lunch and dinner menu highlights include signature dishes like Grilled Octopus with romesco sauce and avocado; Galette made with a buckwheat pancake, ham, eggs, and gruyere; Confit de Canard Potato Anna; Cornish Hen featuring farro, wild mushrooms, carrots and jus; House Made Lobster Linguine tossed in garlic, shallots, meyer lemon, basil and cream, and Truffle Pizza. The brunch and happy hour menu will feature brunch classics including a sunrise croissant, quiche lorraine, salmon tacos, Nicoise salad, and innovative pizza creations.

Guests are also encouraged to order shareable platters such as a cheese charcuterie and the traditional French communal experience of le grand aioli – a spread of vegetables served with an aioli sauce – all created to foster a relaxing and convivial experience around the table.

The large restaurant patio and bar has a luscious view and ambiance and the private dining room will set the backdrop for one-of-a-kind special events.

The concept is launched by husband and wife duo, Erik and Florence Chol, who began their careers in France by opening the Lounge & Club Factory in 2003 which became a phenomenon and coined the term 'After Work' as guests learned a new way to socialize after work by enjoying a refined buffet in a glamorous and chic environment. In 2015, the couple brought back to life a 117-year old historic Globe Theatre on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles and not long after, the theater became one of the most renowned multi-event spaces in California. The theatre became home to corporate events for Apple, Pepsi, AirBnB, Spotify, and Netflix and welcomed projects from top celebrities such as Madonna, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Dua Lipa and more. In opening LouLou, Erik and Florence aim to bring the hospitality of France to Southern California and designed the restaurant with inspiration from their global travels to Ibiza, Bali, Mykonos and beyond.

"Ten years ago, my wife Florence and I were traveling to Los Angeles and happened to visit the Santa Monica Place," said LouLou's owner Erik Chol. "Eight years later in July 2020, with the yearn for a new project, we had a location scout meeting and the realtor suggested that very location we visited so many years prior. The location with an ocean view, the proximity to the pier and everything about the Santa Monica atmosphere was exactly what we were looking for. In developing this restaurant, we wanted to bring a new style of dining to California. The French dining experience is unlike any other and something that you don't see in California; we wanted to share this with the Santa Monica community. Not only is the food and drink an important part of an evening, but it's also the memorable staff interactions, the sounds of nightly live music, the lighting to create the right mood and experiencing all five senses. We are so thrilled to be opening LouLou with a grand opening celebration on July 23rd and hope that friends and family all come together to celebrate, enjoy wonderful food and drink and a night of performances, conversations and happiness."

In developing the environment of LouLou, Erik knew the importance of staffing a team who is familiar with French culture. General Manager and South of France native, Marc Sittenfield, comes on board with decades of experience in the hospitality and restaurant industry, working for the infamous Cannes Film Festival, Monaco Grand Prix and the San Francisco Michelin star restaurants Bushi-Tei and Luce restaurant and Bar 888 at Intercontinental SF. The Executive Chef of LouLou, Stanley Suschy, has experience internationally having worked in Australia for a number of years, in Africa within luxury hotels and restaurants and finally settling in Los Angeles.

LouLou is located at 395 Santa Monica Pl #300, Santa Monica and will be open from 11:30am daily. Guests are welcome to make reservations on OpenTable and learn more at http://www.loulousantamonica.com or follow the brand at @LouLouSantaMonica on Instagram and Facebook.

About LouLou:

LouLou Santa Monica Restaurant & Lounge is an upscale and intimate French-Californian restaurant, aiming to bring the French dining experience to Southern California. Located on the rooftop of the Santa Monica Place shopping center overlooking the Pacific Ocean, LouLou was founded by husband and wife duo Erik and Florence Chol who have decades of experience in the entertainment industry. Most notably in Los Angeles, in 2015, the duo brought back to life the historic Globe Theatre on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles which has become one of the most renowned multi-event spaces in California. The LouLou menu boasts a variety of French classics like quiche lorraine, pate en croute, truffle pizza, duck confit and an extensive selection of French and American wines, cocktails and champagnes. The live performances, interpersonal interactions and gorgeous ambiance all make LouLou a full dining experience that is one to remember. To learn more, visit http://www.loulousantamonica.com.