THE LONGBOARD Restaurant and Pub on Main Street in Huntington Beach (OC Tribune photo).

By Jim and Marilyn Tortolano

We’re suckers for local history, and doubly so for small, independent eateries with lots of personality and good food. All that describes The Longboard Restaurant & Pub in downtown Huntington Beach.

Located at 217 Main St., The Longboard is not only a familiar and favorite place to dine and drink, it’s the oldest remaining building in Surf City. Originally constructed in 1904, the structure is a year older than the city, which was incorporated in 1905.

Until it was renovated and turned into The Longboard in 1990, it housed a feed and fuel store, a Japanese grocery, a music store, an Army-Navy surplus outlet and a Christian meeting room.

The name itself harkens back to the early days of what was once called “surfriding,” when intrepid souls rode the waves on heavy eight-foot long wooden planks. The motif is represented by versions of those devices on the storefront and an interior wall.

We’ve visited The Longboard three times recently and found it to be worth frequenting. There’s a wide range of food and drink, and everything we tried was tasty and quickly served. The waitresses (all our servers were female) were friendly, knowledgeable and willing to make suggestions and cater to minor substitutions.

Jim especially liked the Loaded Tri-Tip sandwich, and the Turkey Meltdown (turkey with melted cheddar cheese, bacon, lettuce and tomato, all on grilled sourdough). Both came with a generous fresh salad.

PLAQUE in front of the building recalling its long history (OC Tribune photo).

Marilyn, more of a seafood fan, fell in love with the lobster salad, which had lots of lobster meat with a delicious and unusual cilantro Green Goddess dressing on a bed of lettuce. Add to that a cherry tomato, avocado, hard-boiled egg and asparagus and she was in lunch heaven. She also enjoyed a great margarita to complement her meal.

The Longboard has a very long bar with just about any beer or spirit you can imagine, and – by our count – a dozen TV screens. It’s a cozy place for lunch during the day, and a bit more of a sports bar in the evening. It especially caters to fans of the New England Patriots.

We liked everything about the place, with one – possibly unusual – exception. On one of our visits, we sat in the outdoor seating area. And sat. And sat. We were probably there for 10 minutes with no sign of a server. So we went inside and everything was back to normal terrific. That’s all that keeps us from giving this historic and pretty good place our highest “Great” rating.

The Longboard Restaurant & Pub, 217 Main St., Huntington Beach, is open from 11 a.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to midnight Friday through Sunday. Prices are moderate. For more, to go https://www.longboardpub.com .