Ocean Forest Cafe dries up...at least for now

Ocean Forest Cafe, a self-described "wild and artictic [sic]" -- and certainly eclectic -- restaurant, opened in Lakewood in 2007, but just last year, it rolled out a menu full of Sichuan specialties as well as Thai and Chinese-American dishes. But when we recently passed by the strip mall where...

By Laura Shunk

December 14, 2011

Audio By Carbonatix

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Ocean Forest Cafe, a self-described "wild and artictic [sic]" -- and certainly eclectic -- restaurant, opened in Lakewood in 2007, but just last year, it rolled out a menu full of Sichuan specialties as well as Thai and Chinese-American dishes.

But when we recently passed by the strip mall where this colorful spot had sprung up, we made an unpleasant discovery: Ocean Forest Cafe had gone dark.

A quick look at the restaurant's website gave us some hope -- it says the place is closed temporarily for roof repairs, but it doesn't indicate when it might be back up and running.

And our hopes were dashed when we discovered that the phone was disconnected.

Which leaves just one question: What happened to all that parrot-themed decor?

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Laura Shunk was Westword's restaurant critic from 2010 to 2012; she's also been food editor at the Village Voice and a dining columnist in Beijing. Her toughest assignment had her drinking ten martinis and eating ten Caesar salads over the course of 48 hours. She still drinks martinis, but remains lukewarm on Caesar salads.

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