We arrived early on Friday and headed to have lunch in SD before we headed off to La Jolla, we were craving Nobu, the famous restaurant by Chef Matsuhisa, located in the Hard Rock Hotel in the gaslamp district. When we got there they told us they opened only for dinner and only open for lunch when real large conventions are going on. We still craved sushi so we asked for the best sushi close by and they recommended Sushi Ra on Broadway and 5th right on the Gaslamp corridor.
Sushi RA is average at the most. The place is nice, trendy and the service was very good but the food was lacking. I would give Sushi Ra 3 stars out of 5. After that we decided to go have a couple of beers @ Whiskey Girl and then off to La Jolla.
Sushi Ra:
Food: 2 *
Ambiance: 3*
Decor: 3*
Service: 4*
We booked the fabulous La Valencia for our stay at La Jolla. La Valencia is a historic hotel in what they call "the village" in La Jolla. It is a 4 diamond AAA rating property with an incredible location on Prospect Street.
When we first drove up to the hotel I was shocked that there was no driveway to drop off / park as most hotels do as I did not know what to expect, we saw a pink set of buildings and La Valencia written on the side of a wall. Basically the hotel is right on the edge of the sidewalk and basically spills out onto the street. The hotel has a bell boy podium right on the sidewalk and we immediately had two bell boys helping us out and explained the way to the lobby.
As you walk in to the pink building you notice it's a classic spanish hacienda style hotel and on the left side there is an open air courtyard where they serve breakfast, lunch and set up brunch on Sundays. As you walk inside there is a restaurant on the left side, The Whaling bar (a rustic place with a long nice bar) immediately to the right and the check-in desk also on the right side. The check-in was speedy and always with a smile. Our bell boy was ready with our luggage as we showed him our room number, #818.
When the old fashioned elevator opened to my amazement it was operated by a La Valencia employee. It was always a she operating the elevator and my hats off to them as it was no easy task doing this all day and always in good mood and with a smile. They had to ask what floor, that was the easy part, press a button, open/close a steel fence door and then the actual elevator door with a lever they had to push and pull.
Our room was a partial ocean view room as La Valencia is kind of a long rectangular building pointing towards the Pacific Ocean, which meant there were basically only two ocean view rooms per floor to my understanding. Room was a little smaller than the standard US hotel, specially for the price. I paid 278/night considering I found a special on tablet hotels for paying with my AMEX. The room had three full set of windows looking out into the courtyard, pool and ocean to our side, flat screen TV (no HD) and an extremely comfortable king sized bed. The bathroom was very small and the shower head was probably around 5'8", extremely short for US standards, which was ok for me as I'm around that height but I'm sure ton of taller people have a hard time taking a shower. The room really is nice considering it's an old landmark hotel it was just a little tight at times when two people are getting ready to go out but both my wife and myself agree that the bed was top notch comfortable.
After the check-in area you can find a sort of a long hall that is used to have snacks and drinks and on the left there is a door that leads to an outside balcony that is also great to have some snacks, drinks and watch the sunset. The inside area on the weekend really kicks it into gear with their live music and the ambiance becomes very energetic, specially with the spanish guitar group that played on saturday. The little food we tasted at the hotel was excellent. I give the hotel 4.5 stars. The hotel does not have that "aweness" when you immediately walk in but believe me, this property sure grows on you and fast. The service is incredibly stupendous to say the least and the hotel's cozy, warm fell and charm just become part of you. Brie , the concierge is extremely wonderful, down to earth with great local tips, always willing to help with a smile and remembering our last name. This is the type of concierge you wish every hotel had.
La Valencia Hotel: La Jolla, CA
Decor: 4.5*
Ambiance: 5*
Service: 4.5*
Rooms: 4*
Facilities: 4*
Location: 4.5*
La Jolla is truly a relaxing city and luxurious city to live in. Within walking distance from the hotel there are so many shops, restaurants and bars that you can spend days walking around the village. I recommend walking on Prospect Street, immediately to the left as you go out of the hotel, in and around Fay, Girard and Herschel Streets. I was impressed at the amount of fitness, yoga, pilates, etc. business around just the village and you can constantly see people going to/from their classes on the weekend.
On Sunday we visited the farmers market on Girard St, which was incredible compared to what we have back home. It is a pretty large market (to my standards) which included crafts, flowers, organic food (beef, chicken, seafood, fruits, vegetables), gifts, art and a very nice open air food court. My wife and I had breakfast there.
The only night we left La Jolla we went to dine at Bertrand at Mr. A's for our anniversary. This restaurant is located on the last floor of a financial building in or around little Italy in San Diego.
The view was incredible. We could see the downtown high rises to the left and the ocean and airport to the right. We did not know but when we had dinner there it was the last day of restaurant week, which affected our experience somewhat. One downer was that they had a fixed menu for restaurant week and did not allow us to order A la Carte, which was a bummer.
We were seated in about 10 minutes to our arrival which was great considering they were extremely busy. The waiter immediately presented the restaurant week menu and explained we had to order one appetizer, one entrée and one dessert, price was 40 USD per person which was not bad and there were additional charges marked for certain appetizer or entrée substitutions that were allowed. Just as an FYI, I'm not a sweet tooth so seldom do I order dessert but I thought the price was not bad. The service was very fast, in fact too fast for our liking. Since we had to order appetizer, entrée and dessert right away it seemed they had a ton of each dishes already made and they were brining them out in a hurry. Fast service is usually not a bad thing but we had finished eating in less than an hour and it was too fast for a nice restaurant which doesn't cater to fast food, specially for a special occasion dinner. Anyway the food was good, not incredible and with good service. Overall 3.5*, I probably would of given it 4* if it had not been restaurant week. I think they were just trying to cater to high sales when that is not their niche but maybe I'm wrong.
Bertrand at Mr. A's:http://bertrandatmisteras.com/
Food: 3.5*
Ambiance: 4*
Decor: 4*
Service: 4*
Saturday night we had reservations in a La Jolla at Whisknladle. A local organic restaurant with some great reviews. This is a small restaurant located on Wall St, a block from the hotel. The restaurant had very nice and intriguing decor, low lit but simple and modern. Most of the seating was outdoors with view of the kitchen through a large glass window and a bar on the inside with few tables. They also had, I think two private rooms for large parties. What was exceptional was the food, they had incredible fresh ingredients and some creative dishes.
The best for me was a charred bone marrow appetizer. The bones came cut in half, charred with the marrow inside and I believe some parsley and toast on the side so you can use the marrow as butter, incredible! Oh and the bread was already smacked with butter also. Not for the faint hearted and healthy bunch but you have to live it up once in a while. Our green salad was also very good with some creative mixed flavors. My wife's scallops and my mussels n fries were extremely good too. My wife thought the chocolate tart was just ok. www.whisknladle.com
Whisknladle: 4.5* for me
Food: 4.5*
Ambiance: 5*
Decor: 4*
Service: 4.5*
Our last night we went to George's California Modern http://www.georgesatthecove.com/ one of three options that George's offers. They are right around a block from the hotel on Prospect St. This was an incredible restaurant, probably the best of our short trip. Incredible modern setting, mood was a little more serious and formal than Whisknladle as well as the clientele. Fish tacos appetizer were incredible (not your everyday tacos, hard to explain) as well as our main dishes. My wife had the albacore which was very good and I had what was probably my 2nd best pork dish ever, only second to Momofuku in NYC. It was a pork belly dish that was superb (not on the menu online).
George's California Modern: 5* Overall
Food: 5*
Ambiance: 4.5*
Decor: 5*
Service: 4.5*
Of the other restaurants we sampled during the day during our trip here are our ratings:
Burger Lounge: Grass fed beef and incredible salads www.burgerlounge.com
Overall: 4.5*
Food: 5*
Ambiance: 5*
Decor: 4*
Service: 4.5*
The Cottage: Excellent for breakfast with very nice outdoor seating. Expect at least 20 minute wait on the weekend. No reservations. I'm not a french toast guy but you have to try their stuffed french toast. Eggs benedict are also good.
Overall: 4*
Food: 4*
Ambiance: 5*
Decor: 4*
Service: 4.5*
Osteria Romantica: Country Italian restaurant with italian waiters on La Jolla Shores. Incredible food and ingredients is all I can say. The beef carpaccio is one of th best I've had in a loooong time.
Overall: 4.5*
Food: 5*
Ambiance: 5*
Decor: 3.5*
Service: 3.5*
Please drop by a comment or let us know if this report was useful to you. We appreciate the visit and see you next time!
