When developer Andy Anderson closed Jameson’s by the Sea in 2015, some North Shore residents worried about what would replace the restaurant, which became a neighborhood landmark during more than 30 years in business.

I’m not sure why there was so much drama, because the new Haleiwa Beach House is a beautiful space that provides the same open-air dining environment that made Jameson’s so popular. And once you walk upstairs to the second-floor bar and lounge area, the experience goes from good to great.

A well-designed lounge area can cater to different types of customers simultaneously. That’s what’s going on upstairs, with three distinct seating areas that offer alternately spectacular views of Waialua Bay and the Loko Ea fishpond. Eight wicker chairs are positioned in front of the bar, with a mix of high lounge tables and regular dining tables providing space for approximately 100 guests.

Stopping in around sunset means mingling with tourists, but show up earlier with friends to snag seats near the fire pits and you’ll be rewarded with an epic pau hana overlooking the water. If you have visitors from out of town to entertain, a midday stop here for brunch and cocktails will leave a lasting impression long after they return home. And service industry workers have started to discover the upstairs bar is a great place to visit for a nightcap after their shifts are finished.

More choices are in store once you open the drink menu, with a variety of specialty cocktails and craft beers to go with affordable wines by the glass. The number of options isn’t overwhelming, but I like how I can geek out on beer during one visit, then come back again for a glass of prosecco, Malbec or one of the cocktails bar manager Eric Caldwell developed for the new restaurant.

“Andy challenged me and said he wanted a signature cocktail he couldn’t find anywhere else,” said Caldwell. “So I came up with 10 of them.”

Most of the cocktails rely on local flavors like lilikoi, guava, lychee and ginger to put an island twist on familiar recipes. The Whistling Up a Storm ($12) takes the traditional Dark and Stormy with its dark rum and ginger beer and elevates it with an extra hit of ginger syrup. Slotting in dry orange curacao in the Ku‘ula-Kai Mai Tai ($12) and using a healthy dose of Angostura bitters ensures the Beach House’s version of this classic cocktail isn’t as cloyingly sweet as you might find elsewhere.

Caldwell is also proud of the Lighter Shade of Mary ($12), which he said is “nothing like a bloody mary” and utilizes house-made slow-filtered tomato water as its base.

“It takes a while to prepare,” he said. “We make tomato juice infused with rosemary, Thai basil and Thai chili, filtered through a coffee filter. It’s like a salad in a glass. It’s something totally different that I know isn’t being done anywhere else out here on the North Shore.”

A beer fan himself, Caldwell actively curates the list of brews available at Haleiwa Beach House. Popular craft breweries like Ballast Point and Left Coast Brewing share tap space with local beers from Maui Brewing Co. and Honolulu Beerworks. And Caldwell said he makes sure to stock the bigger brands like Budweiser, Heineken and Pabst Blue Ribbon.

“I don’t want to leave anyone out,” he said. “We don’t want to be too pretentious. I’m looking at eventually getting a few more local beers in here … and we’re looking to get the late night going for our local customers.”

Jason Genegabus has written about Honolulu bars since 2001. Contact him at jason@staradvertiser.com with suggestions of places to visit and drinks to try; read his blog at inthemix.staradvertiserblogs.com.