La Palapa Del Mar
La Palapa Del Mar
800-958-7729
4020 Olympic Plaza
Belmont Shore, CA 90803
Overview
One of the things I love most about writing these venue reviews is when I find a hidden gem. I've found that and more with La Palapa Del Mar of Belmont Shore. When I say hidden I mean it. You would never expect to find The Del Mar room at this place, even when you're standing in the parking lot. But once you see it you'll be impressed. However, I need to warn you, there are three stages of disbelief when it comes to La Palapa. Shock, uneasiness, and happiness.
Shock- La Palapa is next to the Belmont Pier, in fact it shares the same parking lot as the pier. Upon entering the parking lot you'll probably think you are in the wrong place. On a summer day you see the local fishermen toting their polls too and from their cars. And there's sandy and sunburned children with bikes and boogie boards. Then there's the issue of paying for parking. The machines are standard for most beaches in Southern California. The one thought that goes through your head is "Hey this is cool if I'm whale watching, but for my wedding. . ." If you can make it out of the parking lot, things will get better.
Uneasiness- When you walk through the front doors of La Palapa "Hey this is a nice place. There's a nice bar, next time I get fired I'm gonna come here and drink my worries away. But for a wedding?" Don't worry Maynard, this isn't where you will have your reception.
Happiness- The restaurant is really attached to another building. The room you're interested in is upstairs in that building. You take a ramp up to the room. In other words, the restaurant downstairs has nothing much to do with the banquet facility upstairs. The banquet facility is a beautiful French Empire style room with a dynamic view of the Pacific and the pier. It honestly is a gem. You will be impressed.
What type of couple will like this place?
I think it's a common dream to get married on the sand at the beach ( a beachfront wedding). There aren't that many places that can do this in Southern California, not as many as you think there should be. The ones that do often have skinny cute young ladies wearing their finest polyester blend blue blazer and matching skirt worn below their knees. They hand you a packet with a polite smile. Somewhere in the literature are the words " $35K minimum on a Saturday night". And the pipe dream of a beach front wedding gets crossed off the list in favor of a something else. But wait, maybe there is an alternative.
For years my client base has been middle class. I am fiercely loyal to them. Beach front weddings are usually the domain of rich people who can afford the fluff. When I see a place like La Palapa Del Mar, I get excited. It's in the same ballpark of costs as a nice golf course wedding. On the one hand it's not the Ritz Carlton, on the other hand it's a huge step up from most golf course weddings. My thinking is that if you can change your guest list a little or can find a few extra bucks and make this place work, you'll be happy you did.
Photographic Potential
Are you kidding, this is the beach! Think of the photo ops. One other thing this place has going for it is that it's in Long Beach. I never get tired of Long Beach, there are a gazillion photo ops. The Del Mar room is to die for beautiful.
Possible Distractions/ Work Around
Other than the parking lot keep in mind this is a public beach. There is a realistic potential of having joggers and children in swim suits in your background during your ceremony. Another thing, be nice to the tourists. Some of these people don't get to the beach that often and if you 
have a photographer yell at them to get out of their background it doesn't go over well. It happened down in Newport Beach and the next thing I knew there was an ordinance against professional photography on the beach. Now you need permits to shoot at the beach and there are code officers writing tickets. So please please please, be considerate of the tourists. You won't deal with them once you get upstairs and start your reception.
Overall Evaluation:
The food is great, the place is beautiful, this in and of itself is worthy of my endorsement. But the icing on the cake is the staff. This is a family owned business. Elizabeth is the coordinator, and has a mom and a couple of cousins who work with her. They are really great people, very warm and wonderful. I was there on a week day when a minor crises occurred and the family went into action. The amount of love and selflessness that went down was mind boggling. I don't see this that often, and when it occurs it's a wonderful thing. They care for each other, and they care for their clients. Each personality is unique and wonderful in their own way. And I like how approachable they are. Of course some people want static business transactions under the term "professional" and there are a sea of cute young gals out there in their polyester blend navy blue suits anxious to hand you the packet and start your vanilla wedding experience. As for me, I crave real people. I appreciate the small business person working hard to make their business a success. 
My final endorsement of this place is a bit unusual. In 2009 we did this bridal show and on the list we had six people we had inquired about the same date. A gal named Jessica intrigued me by mentioning this place. I've never heard of it before. Basically I hand picked her wedding (that doesn't happen that often) and I went through the entire experience with her. I saw the excitement of her mother as she entered the room for the first time (it looks even nicer when it's set up for a wedding). I saw the staff in action, and I followed up with her after the wedding. She loved this place! Here's a link to her album layout. (www.LifetimeImages.com/Jess).