Seal Beach’s reliably great tiki-bedazzled gastro pub is under new ownership soon. Here’s what I hope doesn’t change.

Since I moved to SoCal in 2017, 320 Main has been a good friend. Its rotating menu of tweaked up American pub food (solid burgers? sure…but also killer short rib and hanger steak, and a good cut at the ubiquitous bowl of Brussel sprouts, too), its thoughtfully curated and well-executed craft cocktail program (including a classic selection of potent tiki stalwarts), and its friendly neighborhood vibe make it a great place for a date night, a place to take out-of-towners, or a happy hour pit stop on the way home from work. It is this last quality…a place where everyone might not know your name but are still glad you came…that I am hopeful will survive as the restaurant changes hands in mid-January 2020 for the first time since Jason Schiffer opened it back in 2010.

320 has had its share of accolades over the years. The late great LA Times food critic Jonathan Gold, in his noble lifetime quest to let people know that good food and drink existed south of the 105 and in other far off lands (I mean…Bakersfield!), put it on the SoCal foodie radar years ago. There have been tiki-drink show downs and Cameron Diaz sightings. But the snug little room has taken all of this in stride and never made a big fuss, choosing to focus on pumping out super-solid comfort food and high quality cocktails day after day with a smiling sense of casual purpose. Top options include (depending on the current iteration of the menu):

the Fowlmouth Burger, a flavor bomb of a chicken sandwich with enough, bacon, fried egg, cheese, and horseradish to make you happy to opted out of you burger inertia.
Short Rib Stroganoff, a savory, creamy, warming heap of pappardelle and luscious moist meat. The Short Rib Grilled Cheese is a tasty, happy mess, too.
Bang Bang Shrimp, a sweet spicy pile of saucy detailed prawns, possibly stolen from a chain restaurant’s app menu, but kicked up and perfected here.
Fried Chicken and Biscuits (brunch only) with crispy chunks of bird, great tender biscuits they’d be happy to see in Atlanta, and a confidence-inspiring slathering of peppery sausage gravy.

Catching any of these options during happy hour (Tuesday-Saturday 3-6 pm, late night Tue-Thu 9 pm-close, and ALL DAY SUNDAY) presents the opportunity to knock it all back with one or more $5 craft cocktails and other generously plated and tasty bar apps…one of the best bargains at any restaurant anywhere, much less one the caliber of 320. Here is hoping that whatever new directions the new owners may steer in the direction of when they take the wheel, that they preserve the spirit, value and quality of this marvelous deal.

I was in 320 on a recent Sunday afternoon and struck up a conversation with a nice lady who moved into place behind the post office on Main when she finally decided Oklahoma wasn’t gonna work for her any more, and had been coming to the restaurant since it opened ten years ago. I asked her what she liked about it. She said that it is the perfect neighborhood joint…laid back but cares about the details. And that Sunday happy hour deal. “Where else in the area can you get food and drinks this good for less than $15?” she asked, knowing the answer is nowhere.

The neighborhood pub is a time-honored tradition. In her book, America Walks Into A Bar, author Christine Sismondo contends that the local tavern is an important cornerstone of American democracy. Why? Because chatting over a beer in a place where everyone leaves their titles and preconceptions at the door has always been a good way to meet your neighbor. Moreover, conversations that have the potential to be several degrees more candid when abetted by a well-poured glass are very often at the heart of the way public opinion gets molded, for better or worse, in the first place. Talking about food, and other important topics like how locals know how to get the best window seat up the road at Walt’s Wharf, are the very definition of community…and have always been the best thing on the menu at 320 Main.

So while the menu and décor might rotate in a new direction under new ownership, here is a toast to keeping what makes 320 a great place to begin with: good food and great drinks, for sure…but most importantly, the chance to let your guard down and be a working cog in the place you live.