They’ve done a meticulous job restoring its wealth of architectural detail. It’s easy to see why Antonelli and DeMuro had their eye on the building across from L’Opera for nearly a decade. The openings of the Convention and Entertainment Center and the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific have only confirmed the renaissance.

Now lined with lively bars and cafes, shops and galleries, Pine Avenue has blossomed into the city’s restaurant row.

The success of that upscale Italian restaurant, along with the partners’ Latin-inflected Alegria down the street, inspired other businesses to follow. The Madison happens to be the latest project of Dell’ Opera Restaurant Group founders Terry Antonelli and Enzo DeMuro, the restaurateurs who took a chance on downtown Long Beach back in 1990 when they opened L’Opera Ristorante on then-shabby Pine Avenue. Built in the days before ATMs, when banks functioned as secular cathedrals and women donned hat and gloves to do their banking, the former Security Bank is one of Long Beach’s stateliest historic buildings.

I’ve been to the Madison Restaurant & Bar, a posh new steakhouse, three times, and each time I’ve walked through the door, I’ve had to catch my breath because the size and grandeur of the room are overwhelming.

La opera long beach restaurant