Whenever a restaurant revamps its image, it’s newsworthy — especially when that restaurant is a grand old Victorian dame standing on the same corner since the turn of the last century and has been, under one guise or another, a restaurant for almost that long.

The newly re-named Ocean House, located at 300 Carlsbad Village Drive (at the corner of Hwy 101), is a lady with a dubious reputation.

Known as Neimans for more than 20 years, it’s fair to say the restaurant never found its true identity with the previous owners.

Called Neimans because of one owner’s proud display of Leroy Neiman prints on the restaurant’s walls, the artwork never really jibed with the Victorian ambience.

Because of its fancy exterior, some assumed it was a suit-and-tie establishment with high class cuisine and prices to match.

On the inside, locals associated the place with a lackluster menu and marginal service. All that time, the stately mansion was known primarily for its Sunday brunch.

Current owners Martin Blair and Chef Max Gutierrez want to make a fresh start. After an extensive renovation, they’ve given the old girl a facelift and spruced up the menu.

“We wanted a more beachy feel and to celebrate how close it is to the coast,” says Blair, who has also owned Kansas City Barbeque in the Gaslamp since 1983.

Catering manager Larry Steckling agrees, “It used to be Victorian with lots of topiaries and that sort of thing, but they’ve decided to change that while still honoring the tradition of the beautiful architecture.”

In fact, the Ocean House has unique historical significance. The original house was one of two mansions built at the location in 1887, in the same period and style as the Hotel Del Coronado.

Private residences until the 1900s, the properties were then owned and operated by Miss Reedy and Miss Whiting and called the Twin Inns.

In 1922, the Rotunda was added to the house that still stands today.

A huge space with dramatically high, beamed ceilings and a beautiful hardwood dance floor, it can seat almost 300 and serves as the main dining room with picture windows that look out over Carlsbad Village Drive.

In the ’30s, the property was purchased by the Kettner family and became famous for serving family-style chicken dinners. It remained with the Kettners until 1985.

Walk into the restaurant today and you’ll be struck with the gracious quality of the sunlight and large spaces.

Just off to the side is the Sand Bar Café, with its full bar and lounge area. Light streams in through French windows.

The Leroy Neiman prints have been replaced with marquee cards from all the old “Beach Blanket Bingo” movies. And big-screen plasma TVs have been installed to lure the sporty crowd.

A stage has been added to the Café, in addition to the stage and full bar in the Rotunda room, with ample room to host events. Entertainment manager Steve Town is fine-tuning a calendar of nightly entertainment and hoping to turn the Ocean House into a hot spot for North County nightlife.

“I have a lot of friends from 35 to 55 that are tired of going to the Gaslamp and they’re looking for somewhere else they can come in North County,” said Town.

Tuesday nights there’s swing dancing, and Sundays it’s salsa with dance lessons (and a $10 cover after 7:30 p.m.). Wednesday nights there’s a blues jam. Town is trying out DJs for Club O, on Friday and Saturday nights, and the bars serve until 2 a.m.

As for the new menu, it’s continental with coastal flair. New items like coconut shrimp served with a tasty citrus dip ($11) and The Taste of San Diego — jumbo shrimp sautéed in garlic and fresh chives with a Dijon Marsala sauce ($15) — round out a selection that has something for everyone.

According to Chef Gutierrez, Sunday brunch is still the big draw, especially on holidays.

“The brunch is even better today because we’ve added a lot of fresh, homemade items,” he says. “We’ve added a fajita area where we make fresh tortillas to order, with chicken, beef, shrimp and all sorts of different things.”

This Mother’s Day, the Ocean House will host a “super brunch.”

For $39.95 per person, the buffet will include prime rib, lamb, pork loin, ham and turkey on the carving stations. Also, fresh Carlsbad strawberries with cream, or served atop homemade waffles.

On the seafood side; shrimp, crab legs, smoked salmon, mussels and oysters. And sweets will include a full assortment of pies, cheesecake, carrot cake, chocolate rum cake and the Ocean House’s own homemade bread pudding with whiskey sauce.

For reservations, contact the Ocean House at (760) 729-4131, or visit them at www.oceanhousecarlsbad.com.