A new open-air lounge launches this Saturday, September 7 as part of downtown’s bayfront InterContinental San Diego. Called Layover, it’s named for the surrounding airfields visible from its perch on the hotel’s fourth floor rooftop and features a 15-seat bar, fire pits, and plenty of outdoor seating.
Open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., the bar is tailored for pre-dinner drinks or leisurely weekend hangs, with a drink menu built by food and beverage director Jeff Josenhans, formerly of the U.S. Grant, that includes wine, beer, local canned cocktails, and frozen slushy versions of classic cocktails with aeronautical names like the Paper Plane (Bulleit bourbon, Aperol, vermouth, lemon) and Aviation (Aviation gin, violet liqueur, maraschino, lemon). Executive chef Amy DiBiase, who runs the hotel’s anchor restaurant, Vistal, is behind bar bites ranging from local flounder ceviche with coconut and Gonestraw Farms duck buns to a wagyu cheeseburger.
Layover isn’t the last new concept coming to the property. A dessert shop Gelato & Friends is opening later this fall as well as another high-profile hospitality project on the 19th floor.