Restaurants in La Jolla Reviewed by Fine Magazine

When we moved to La Jolla it was a sleepy little village with very little restaurants whose population swelled during the summer season. While it still has summer visitors, the feeling of a little village has metamorphosed changed.  The La Jolla dining scene has changed remarkably. Let's take a look at the best La Jolla restaurants with some offering beautiful views. 

Marine Room - La Jolla

Bernard Guillas and Ron Oliver, the chefs at The Marine Room know how to generate seriously good food with flair - and not to mention, views. The menu creates challenges of choice as all of the dishes sound terrific.  Best of all, the appetizer choices are all terrific and there are wonderful entrée choices.  Monday is lobster night, however, all seven nights of the week are occasions for wonderful taste and presentation by these talented chefs.  Lots of good menu choices.  For the entertainment value, dine at a window table when the waves crash against the window and enjoy the show.

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The Lodge at Torrey Pines - A.R. Valentien

The Lodge at Torrey Pines under the direction of Executive Chef Jeff Jackson is to many a hidden gem.  The terrific burgers and other menu choices of the The Grill at The Lodge (under the direction of Chef Kyle Bergman) provide good eating for breakfast, lunch, after a round of golf, or dinner.  Both 
The Grill and The Lodge offer outdoor dining opportunities when the weather is accommodating.  However, the real star is the award winning food served at A.R. Valentien.  Jeff Jackson (winner in 1988 of the esteemed USA Bocus d’Or Culinary Gold Cup Competition) has shown his talent and inventiveness time and again.  He is also among the leaders of the Farm to Table Movement amongst the chefs in the area.  The freshness of the ingredients, the creativity of the culinary team, and the ambiance of A.R. Valentien put it in a class of its own.

Whisknladle In La Jolla

Whisknladle may surprise many with its whimsical menu and wine list, but the humor is dispatched with the serious food produced by Executive Chef and Partner Ryan Johnston.  Don’t let the playful name or the humorous menu comments fool you.  This is seriously good food at a price many can afford.  The fig and farm apple salad with balsamic roasted onions, frisee & pistachio can only be improved with a replacement of the frisee (I am not a fan of this salad green) with other salad greens.  The presentation and taste were terrific, but were trumped by the charred bone marrow appetizer served with parsley, lemon, capers & toast.  In a word, “Terrific,” with a capital T.  I will order this again.

The grilled swordfish with braised cardoons, anchovy butter, eggplant and pine nut-currant was delicious and perfectly prepared and served.  Swordfish can really be enjoyed when it is not dry and over-cooked (the problem in too many restaurants). The roasted chicken breast “Grand Mere” braised thigh, cipollini onions, chanterelle and bacon is a tasty dish. I also observed the presentation of other dishes served during our first dining experience at Whisknladle and again noted nice plating on everything coming out of the kitchen. We had to try a sweet and enjoyed their dark chocolate pots de crème. Our server was very professional and took pride and ownership in what is being done at this restaurant and recommended that we also try the pumpkin bread pudding with butter rum ice cream, and pecan streusel; a tasty seasonal treat. 

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