Remodeled Guava Beach Bar & Grill has a new and improved look but retains its same old comfy beach vibe.

The family-friendly restaurant at 3714 Mission Blvd. combines a warm and comfortable atmosphere with lively and fun energy, just steps away from the ocean and Sail Bay in Mission Beach.

The establishment offers 16 large HDTVs including a 100-inch TV over the brand-new electric fireplace to satisfy all sports-viewing needs. Guava has NFL, NBA, MLB, College Football, and Fox soccer packages. It also caters to Minnesota Vikings, USC Trojan, and Los Angeles Lakers fans. Guava is recognized by the Minnesota Vikings team as an official out-of-market Vikings bar.

Guava Beach has been co-owned and operated by Eric Christiansen and Ben Cseri for the past 22 years. Christiansen is from Minnesota and Cseri is a USC alumnus. They both worked previously in the restaurant industry with Rock Bottom Restaurants and Breweries.

Discussing how they’ve revamped Guava Beach, Christiansen said: “We’ve added patio and sidewalk cafe dining outside and completely redid the whole bar with all-new equipment. We put in a beautiful, brand-new Brazilian quartzite bar top and new bar lighting that allows us to change colors for special occasions, our sports teams, etc.”

“Guava is the second-oldest commercial building in all of Mission Beach,” noted Christiansen, pointing out that the building is believed to have been built in the late 1930s. “It’s been a restaurant, or a derivation, ever since then,” he said adding the space has been known by many names.

“At one point it was called The Bathhouse in the ’40s,” he said. And it was Debauchery, a pre-fixed fine-dining place that was in here in the ’70s. Everything was black-and-white zebra prints. We’ve come a long way since those days.”

Cseri noted Guava Beach was started under that name in 1992. “When we first bought this place he (Christiansen) and I wanted to change the name, but we couldn’t come to a consensus on what we wanted to call it,” he said. “So we left it up to the locals and they said overwhelmingly, ‘We just love Guava Beach, make it better.’”

Of their remodel, Cseri noted, “It was mostly interior renovation. It was time for us to do some (different) things. Inside was a lot darker. We just brightened it up. We opened up the ceiling in the middle. We just kind of smoothed out everything and put some lighting in. A lot of money went behind the bar: It got completely rebuilt.”

Renowned for its food, Guava Beach features an eclectic mix of American classics with a south-of-the-border flair. “I think we’re a pretty good mix,” said Christiansen of both restaurant and bar aspects of their business. “Just about 50% of all our revenue is in food with a dynamic menu. Almost everything is made in-house.”

Guava presently serves both lunch and dinner as well as starting a limited brunch menu on weekends.

Guava’s menu features everything from grilled marinated mahi tacos, to scratch-made slow-roasted pulled pork sandwiches to house-marinated Carne Asada Fajitas plus half-pound hand-packed y stuffed burgers, fresh custom salads with house-made dressings and Cajun herbed Ahi.

Of the atmosphere they’ve created at Guava, Christiansen said: “We’re a locals bar for everyone and a sports bar that prides itself on having a fantastic and eclectic menu with beach fare, burgers and tacos, and everything made in-house. When people come in, we’re trying to meet – or exceed – their expectations with our food, our drinks, and our service.”

The restaurant also has a huge mural outside of a portal looking out at a beach.

As it states on the company’s website at guava-beach.com, “Come down to the beach, mon… Guava Beach.”

GUAVA BEACH BAR & GRILL

Where: 3714 Mission Blvd.

Información: guava-beach.com, 858-488-6688.