For 5 buddies, their restaurant fulfills a childhood dream
Nearly two decades ago, while playing basketball at Fountain Valley High School, five friends conceptualized a restaurant.
But as adulthood caught up, careers took precedence over childhood dreams.
The five men — who have known each other since the third grade at Cox Elementary School in Fountain Valley — decided about a year ago that they needed some time away from those responsibilities.
Enter their new restaurant concept: Recess Room, which is now occupying a former Coco’s at 18380 Brookhurst St. in Fountain Valley.
“This pays homage to that time in our lives,” said co-owner Viet Pham, 34, of Huntington Beach, who grew up managing his mother’s vegetarian restaurant. “This is a place where people can just take a break.”
Recess Room, which opened Thursday evening, pays homage to 1920s-esque school and playground equipment, while serving a variety of craft foods and drinks.
Viet Pham said they strive to use fresh ingredients.
Cooks and bartenders will go out to a garden behind the restaurant to pick seasonal fruits and vegetables. Other produce comes from nearby farmers markets. This allows the menu to vary seasonally, even daily.
The owners’ favorite selections include the bone-marrow jam burger, skirt steak and de-boned wings.
A full-sized pig’s head, a “kurobuta,” is also available to order and is recommended for groups of five or more.
“I think it’s a conversation piece,” said co-owner Chau Pham, 34, who still lives in Fountain Valley and is not related to Viet Pham. “It’s something different for people to try. But it’s not for everybody.”
Guests can select from 24 beer taps and more than 60 wines.
Whiskey and scotch drinkers can lease their own lockers and store their favorite bottles for future visits.
Only mock drinks, without alcohol, will be served for the first few weeks as the restaurants waits for its alcohol license.
Because of the recess concept, the owners opted to include fresh ingredients but not obsess over calorie counts.
“This is guilty-pleasure food,” Viet Pham said. “You forget everything else when you’re here. You drink beer, have fun, eat fried food, and that’s what it is. We want you to come here and just have a good time.”
Gluten-free and other special-diet items are available off-menu if diners alert their servers to their needs.
The look of the restaurant invokes the recess concept. Individual, 3-inch wooden boards were cut by hand and placed on the ceiling above the bar to mimic old-school basketball courts. A vintage newspaper press is the first thing people see as they walk inside, and classic board games adorn a nearby bookshelf.
“This place is my artistic vision of an adult playground,” said Kenneth Ussenko, who designed the restaurant. He’s also worked on The Farmhouse at Roger’s Gardens in Corona del Mar and Sealegs in Huntington Beach. “I took all the materials that you would see in a natural park, or school, and put it into more of an upscale, fun gastro-pub. This is something adults can enjoy as their own recess room.”
Fountain Valley, Viet Pham said, is a good location because it offers little in the way of nightlife.
The Recess Room is open from 5:30 to 10:30p.m. daily.
As young adults growing up in “a nice place to live,” the owners longed for a place to hang out without leaving town.
On a recent tour of the restaurant, Viet Pham pointed to the mostly chain restaurants dotting the city.
“If I want some of this (type of ) food, I have to venture out of Fountain Valley,” Viet Pham said. “We’ve heard that from so many people. There is something decent quality here now instead of, like, Applebees.”
Chau Pham said they also wanted to invest the city.
“Growing up, there were all these mom and pop places that are no longer around,” he said. “We feel we have a great opportunity here, not only because there’s not much competition, but because we’re serving people that we know.”
Twitter: @BrittanyWoolsey
