Shangri-La now paradise lost; to be replaced with American bar and grill

Shangri-La, a shuttered Chinese restaurant at 138 Cambridge St. at the foot of Beacon Hill, will be replaced by the Tip Tap Room, under plans presented to the Boston Licensing Board.

Gordon Wilcox, who has been involved with several other Boston restaurants and bars, including the Rattlesnake on Boylston Street in the Back Bay, plans $800,000 and four to six months' worth of renovations to the restaurant - on top of the $275,000 he's paying for Shangri-La's liquor license - his lawyer, James Byrne, told the board. The board votes tomorrow on whether to approved the transfer of the liquor license.

The new restaurant will have room for 200 patrons, with a bar area that can seat 40, Byrne said.

Tom Clemmons, co-chairman of the Beacon Hill Community Association's Zoning and Licensing Committee, said the association "does not oppose" the re-use of the restaurant. He said Wilcox proved very amenable to neighborhood suggestions for ways to minimize noise and other impacts from the restaurant and bar, which would be open until 2 a.m. - with food served until 1:30 a.m.