Prepare for a head spin when walking into the sensationally remodeled Lafayette Hotel for the first time.

After purchasing the historic property and sinking $31 million into it, CH Projects has ensured that locals and visitors alike will be dazzled by the hotel’s new eating and drinking establishments. Five of them debuted in late July. Three more are slated to open in October. The venues so far feed the imagination with detailed themes that required the skills of local and international artists.

This is the pièce de résistance for the local hospitality group, which had a couple of decades to prepare for such an ambitious project. Its portfolio includes well-designed hot spots such as Polite Provisions in Normal Heights, Craft & Commerce downtown, Part Time Lover in North Park, Born & Raised in Little Italy and several others.

Beginner’s Diner is one of Lafayette’s restaurants that I’ve chosen as my starting point (it is in the name). It’s where 1940-style Americana rules the day with a 24/7 kitchen. The diner sits in sharp contrast to the other “phase one” venues such as the Oaxacan-inspired Quixote, where you’re greeted with an eye-popping Gothic-church atmosphere, and Gutter, where you can indulge in noshes and cocktails while enjoying two bowling lanes and pool tables amid elegant design features.

Located off the stunning circular Lobby Bar, the diner is marked by bold neon signage. Inside is a roomy lunch bar trimmed in shiny chrome and ample booths each marked by old-style lamp posts. As for those apple and lemon meringue pies winking at you from their glass pedestals on the counter, they’re made fresh daily. Overall, the recreated design is sleek and inviting rather than zany and juvenile.

Paper menus double as place mats. On them you’ll find common American diner classics but with fanciful twists in many cases. An order of crinkle-cut “disco fries,” for example, came with the bonus of veal gravy made in-house with stock and reduced red wine. It was served on the side in a silver gravy boat reminiscent of the era’s fine-dining restaurants.

Or if you opt for a bowl of chili, expect beans and pork mingling with Wagyu beef. Corned beef hash or a Reuben sandwich are tempting choices given that the meats are cooked in-house, according to our waitress. The same can be said for roast beef, which shows up in a French dip layered with Gruyere, cheddar, and house-made horseradish sauce.

Visiting shortly before breakfast ended at noon (it resumes at midnight), we opted for morning and lunch fare. My companion’s bacon-avocado Benedict was draped in Hollandaise sauce boasting an above-standard level of citrus. We didn’t mind because its acidity cut nicely through the unctuous chopped bacon and mashed avocado.

Under “de-lux sandwiches,” the chicken schnitzel on a brioche bun screamed “take me!” The dish exceeded my expectations with an expansive pounded-out Jidori chicken breast coated in panko. It was fried to a delectable crisp and garnished with caper-herb aioli and a sunny-side egg. Our waitress noted that she hadn’t yet seen anyone finish the whole thing in one sitting. Half of mine came home in a stylish to-go box.

A tall shake made with fresh strawberries was outstanding, as was my companion’s drip coffee served with a cute cow-shaped vessel of cream.

Before I delve into Lafayette’s other restaurants, a couple of return visits to Beginner’s Diner will take precedence. My mission is to see if some of the aforementioned dishes plus other choices such as deviled eggs with salmon roe, duck confit hash, and bone-in ham steak with eggs will flaunt the same high quality we encountered this early in the game. Our hopes are high they will.

Beginner’s Diner

2223 El Cajon Blvd., North Park

619-296-2101; lafayettehotelsd.com

Prices: breakfast, $8 to $32; soups and salads, $9 to $14; small plates, $7 to $14; “de-luxe” sandwiches, $17 to $22; dinner specials, $26 to $38