Zislis Group Remodeling A With New Theme
Mucho, the upscale Mexican restaurant and bar in downtown Manhattan Beach – and home of the $9 guacamole – is closed. In its place is going a place called Circa.
It’s scheduled to open the first weekend of February and while it may take a bit of a Restaurant Impossible feat to achieve that goal based on what I saw the previous week, it’s bringing a new theme to an existing location.
From what I could tell, there was nothing wrong with the classy Mucho (other than some of the prices), but if owner Mike Zislis feels it’s time to change the decor, then it’s probably time to change the decor.
It’s hard to argue with his success.
This is not an expansion of the Zislis empire – that’s happening in Redondo Beach with Shade Hotel opening in King Harbor this summer and a Rock ‘n Brews going into the Riviera Village area – but an evolution of an existing establishment.
The only thing Zislis has ever done that I disagree with is changing Manhattan Beach Brewing Co., to Brewco. Manhattan Beach Brewing was his first business and it featured home-made brews. I particularly liked the Manhattan Beach Blonde.
Brewco has a lot of beers on tap and that’s good, but it raised the prices and lowered the quality of the food. But that’s not the real reason I miss Manhattan Beach Brewing. It’s the fact that Brewco has no bar scene. MB Brewing had a great bar scene, one of the best in the South Bay during its day. It was an excellent place to meet and mingle.
In fact, it’s where I met #1 on my list of 10 Reasons I’m Still Single. By the way, I have learned since that article was published that #1 is now divorced and single. She should not have been so quick to pull the rug out from under me!!!
Mucho had a really good bar scene at Happy Hour with $5 margaritas and great appetizers, but overall it was too expensive to carry over into the night. So whatever becomes of Circa, I hope it develops a lively bar scene because quite frankly, Manhattan Beach needs some fresh blood to its nightlife.
The restaurant is located on Manhattan Ave., about four blocks south of the Pier. That’s two blocks past Ercoles.
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