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Image 1 of / 10 Caption Close Image 2 of 10 Image 3 of 10 Image 4 of 10 Image 5 of 10 Image 6 of 10 Image 7 of 10 Image 8 of 10 Image 9 of 10 Image 10 of 10 Is this the nicest Taco Bell on the planet? 1 / 10 Back to Gallery

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When I hear the word “destination restaurant,” I think of cloth napkins, waiters who anticipate your every move and six month waits at The French Laundry. I definitely don’t think of $2 meal deals, self-service soft drink machines and salsa in packets.

That was before I drove 35 miles to visit a Taco Bell. And it exceeded expectations.

I was surprised when several readers included the Taco Bell in Pacifica among their suggestions in last week’s Underrated Landmarks of the Bay Area post on The Big Event. I grew up on the Peninsula and don’t remember a seaside Taco Bell, much less one that deserved to be on a list that included the Marin Civic Center and the Moffett Field Dirigible Hangar.

I hate fast food, and a seagull defecated on me during my meal. But I still have to join readers in their endorsement of this restaurant, located at 5200 Coast Highway along Linda Mar beach. It’s beautiful outside, and has a surprisingly nice interior, with high ceilings, soft lighting, large windows and artwork. Replace the Chalupas with Chilean sea bass, and I would have felt 100 percent comfortable holding my wedding rehearsal dinner here.

I took several photos and included them in the gallery, above. A few more thoughts below …

* I chatted up one of the friendly employees, who said the Taco Bell was an A&W hamburger stand many years ago. (Hoping a Pacifica historian can provide the correct date in the comments.) I still don’t know what the structure was built for originally, but I’m guessing it was a warming hut or lifeguard station before it served burgers and tacos. (Ed. note: It was built in early 1970s and always a fast food restaurant — great info from reader iguy in the comments.) Another longtime resident told me there used to be a fireplace along the wall.

* My favorite feature: A walk-up window on the deck for surfers. The bathrooms are also outside — This is probably to keep the restaurant sand-free as much as customer convenience.

* I was expecting the interior to look like any other Taco Bell, but it was very nice (as you can see in the photos). It reminded me of that nice seaside Chevy’s in Emeryville, with high-backed chairs in the center, booths along the walls and large windows overlooking the ocean.

* Yes, there was framed Taco Bell-themed artwork hanging. I’d make fun of it, but it wasn’t worse than anything I had on my walls in college.

* The menu looked like any other Taco Bell.

* I didn’t want to eat outside, in part because I was worried about birds. But my 6-year-old son said he wanted to “try to spot some sea mammals,” which is cute, so we sat at one of four or five outdoor tables. The jerkface seagull in the photo to the right managed to foul three out of the five articles of clothing on my body with one shot. But I took his photo, and will have my revenge — in this life or the next.

* Look for Part II of the Underrated Landmarks of the Bay Area, with your suggestions, later this week!

PETER HARTLAUB is the pop culture critic at the San Francisco Chronicle and founder/editor of The Big Event. He takes requests. Contact him at phartlaub@sfchronicle.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/peterhartlaub. Follow The Big Event on Facebook