Swivel your hips, Rum Social

Before Rum Social there was Watermarc. And like all of Laguna Beach’s high-end restaurants, we have our favorites. Not only that, we have our favorite dishes.

It’s often the reason we go to one restaurant over another on a particular night. Let’s face it, if you’re going to spend $150 on a Wednesday night for no real reason, you have some special dish in mind.

For me, at Watermarc, it was the seafood sausage, oddly enough. It looked like a dog pile but tasted like a rare delicacy. Crab meat and fish mousse piped into a pliable natural casing, served over white beans with a dollop of subtle mustard.

I thought of that seafood sausage as I visited Rum Social for the first time with my partner. She ordered the Sesame Crusted Ono, and we split a handful of appetizers – of course not before sampling the rum specialties.

It was all very good but here’s the thing: Do you ever feel like you’re dining on a movie set?

They gutted Watermarc, moved the bar upstairs, and gave everything a thorough overhaul. It probably was an expensive remodel.

But in the end, as a guest, you feel like maybe it’s all too sterile. I had the same feeling several years ago when Selanne’s took over French 75. With the fake books and perfectly placed decorations, I still do not feel entirely comfortable eating at Selanne’s.

I suppose I should get used to it. This is what happens – and will continue to happen – as every new restaurant comes into Laguna. A remodel, catalog furnishings, expensive prices to pay the rent.

Rum Social may very well soften its starched collars before too long, but it can’t come soon enough. Even the bar has a stilted feel to it. And I’m sorry, moving it upstairs was a mistake, in my opinion.

A restaurant works when it’s accessible – even at the high end. At that location, you need accessible. It’s Peppertree Lane, busy and full of tourists. The irony is, there’s tons of foot traffic, but everyone seems afraid to walk into Rum Social (unlike Nick’s, by the way).

Let me be clear, the food was great at Rum Social (if expensive). The drinks were original and tasty. The service was attentive but not overly cloying.

We will go back. But we also hope it finds its personality. For a restaurant that wants to be Laguna’s “tropical escape,” it seemed weirdly formal.

But I will be ordering the Social Sliders again. They call them “a Cubano meets bánh mì,” and they were delicious – perhaps my new replacement for the seafood sausage.