SAN MANUEL CASINO:
The Highland resort touts its newly opened restaurant
Officials at San Manuel Casino hope the new Serrano Vista Cafe will not only raise the property’s dining profile but be the next step in elevating the dining options in the surrounding area
The restaurant, which debuted Monday, is part of a $760 million expansion of the Highland area resort in the foothills along the 210 Freeway in San Bernardino County.
“This is the first of a handful of outlets that will be opening with the expansion,” Linchul Shin, San Manuel Casino’s director of food and beverage, told invited guests at a preview of the restaurant. “I think it’s really going to set the precedent for what we want to do for this entire area.
“Admittedly, maybe the first thing that you think of when you think of this area may not be high-end luxury, but our goal is to redefine that narrative,” he added.
Serrano Vista’s menu includes sandwiches, burgers, pasta, chicken, salmon and local steaks and produce. Prices are $14-$36.
It has a full bar and housemade soft drinks.
Serrano Vista is open for dinner 5-10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays and 5-11 p.m. Fridays-Sundays. Reservations can be made on the casino’s website.
It will eventually expand to a 24-hour operation, first with lunch, then with breakfast and finally graveyard hours, according to Executive Chef Matthew Smith. And that’s only the beginning.
“We have some really exciting spaces we’re going to activate,” he said.
They include a reboot of The Pines Steakhouse, currently on the second floor of the casino. It will move to a first floor space added at the north end of the property in the expansion. Its current space will then house a different concept.
“The new Pines, I think, is going to be one of the finer fine dining steakhouses in Southern California,” Smith said, with Grade A wagyu beef from Japan, other specialty steaks from local farms, and fresh fish flown in from Hawaii.
No time frame was given for the changes. San Manuel’s other fine dining restaurant, Hong Bao Kitchen, is returning to a full menu after serving a limited menu earlier during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Smith, as are George Lopez’s Chingon Kitchen, which has counter service, and the casual full-service restaurant
Rock & Brews.
Serrano Vista Café is part of the first phase of San Manuel’s expansion. Before the restaurant preview, General Manager Peter Arceo led a tour of some of the other features in the expansion.
It included the Enclave, a VIP gaming room with a bar that has a smoking box to give flavor to cocktails such as an Old Fashioned; three retail shops, including a shoeshine stand offering $7 polishes for men’s and women’s footwear; and the Overlook, a bar at the entrance of a 429-room hotel that is set to open by the end of the year.
The hotel is part of the second phase of the property’s expansion. Phase three is an entertainment center that is expected to open in 2022.
The hotel’s entryway is currently blocked with a screen and a high-definition TV. It is halfway between the casino’s first and second floor, separating guests from the slots as they check in, according to Arceo.