If a friend or coworker asks you to recommend a bar or restaurant with views around Burbank, chances are you've mentioned a big-window'd eatery with a name that sounds as though it was born on the beach, not high up in the Verdugo Hills, back in 1963.
But The Castaway Restaurant has become a go-to, inland, mimosas-and-more brunch landmark over the last five-plus decades, even after a fire in 1993 meant extensive rebuilding.
Now the brunch-famous spot, which enjoys wide San Fernando Valley vistas from its veranda, is shuttering again, but this time for a planned, "multi-million dollar renovation" that's expected to take around six months.
A half year is a good long time for those families who count on The Castaway as a Sunday-morning staple, as well as for couples who enjoy evening drinks and the spread of twinkling lights.
As for affianced pairs hoping to get married at the popular wedding venue? They'll need to glance ahead, too, to when the nuptialing side of The Castaway has resumed.
Before it shutters, though, the venue, which is part of the Specialty Restaurants Corp. family, is doing something, well, very Castawayish: The eatery is extending its already sizable brunch throughout the day as a way to bid a temporary farewell to fans.
The All-Day Brunch Celebration is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 6, with a wrap time of 4 o'clock in the afternoon. No, you can't quite watch the sunset from your hill-high perch over your eggs Benedict and complimentary bubbly, but you can breakfast late into the afternoon.
The Scene
Want to find new things to do in Los Angeles? The Scene's lifestyle stories have you covered. Here's your go-to source on where the fun is across SoCal and for the weekend.
As for what's ahead for The Castaway, which is expected to reopen in the early part of 2018? Look for "...an elevated culinary program, new interior design created by an award-winning design agency, a never-before-seen outdoor patio experience, enhanced special event rooms, and much more!," reveals a post on the restaurant's Facebook page.
Special Events is closing a bit later, on Aug. 13, with an earlier opening, about two months from now.
How will the eatery, which can be seen from points around Burbank, change? Will you still be able to score a mimosa and a heap of hash browns on Sunday? Surely, yes, even as the patio, and design, and menu receive a stylish touch-up.
