The inspiration? Midcentury-modern design—and the moviemaking magic of Lucas himself. “We weren’t looking so much at any particular movie of Lucas’s (despite the restaurant’s name) as much as his entire catalog—and cinematic storytelling as a whole. How could we use the tools of cinematography in a three-dimensional, inhabited space in order to tell a story? Framing, light, scale, atmosphere, and transformation were all at play in the way we crafted the space,” says firm founder David Rockwell. “As with a lot of George Lucas’s movies, there’s this delightful tension between whatever the latest moviemaking and special effects technology was at the time it was made and the ‘handcraft’ of acting and costume and set design. We wanted to create some of that same frisson in the restaurant, so we merged these very high-tech technologies and materials, such as switch glass and Corian, with detailed, fine handcraftsmanship.”
But perhaps the hallmark of the interiors isn’t any object but the epic, rambling view of Los Angeles that unfurls beyond the restaurant’s windows. (Go for lunch to see the endless blue skies, at sunset for the endless dusty pink.) “When you walk into the restaurant, the first thing you see, you turn the corner and there’s a giant beautiful window that captures Los Angeles and Exposition Park,” says Tracey Bates, CEO of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. “[George Lucas] really wanted this window [to be] much like the story in one frame of the art itself.”
Which brings us back to the books. The anticipation for the Lucas Museum has spilled over to Skywalker Grill, which is already booked out on Resy through most of the fall. (As of publishing, the next available two-person reservation is for December 2.)
“It’s exploding at the moment,” Cardoso says.
Of course, the number of reservations is a strong indicator of interest, but takes from food critics won’t come until around September 22, when the restaurant officially opens. They’ll have a lot to sample. Cardoso and Lucas pored over what to offer, deciding on an elevated American menu inspired by Skywalker Ranch, Lucas and Hobson’s 6,000-acre property in Nicasio, California: think chicken tenders with caviar ranch, lobster corn dogs, a club sandwich, braised short ribs, and grilled salmon.
No item, however, was more fastidiously workshopped than the burger. It was obviously going to be Wagyu. Skywalker Ranch, in addition to serving as Lucasfilm’s audio postproduction and sound facility, is also a working Wagyu cattle farm. Yet they spent well over a year on all the other little details—the grilled onion, aged cheddar, brioche, and accompanying herbed french fries. “I’ve been driving the chefs crazy, even just choosing the right bread to go in this burger. It’s going to be a staple, so we want it to be good,” says Cardoso.
