Restaurant review in San Diego

Ate at The Sky Room in the La Valencia Hotel on Friday night 8-7-9.
The Sky Room | Fine Dining Restaurant | La Valencia Hotel (http://www.lavalencia.com/dining/sky-room.php)

It's pretty well Zagat rated and was pretty good.

We had the 5 course tasting menu and I had the wine pairing too.
Amuse bouche was a scallop ceviche and this was a pretty big let down, Scallops seemed not so fresh as they weren't super sweet and had a light fishy taste. 1/5

First course was a melon salad with a vinaigrette dressing, this was ok. Melons were good but the salad need something else I think a walnut to contrast the sweetness with the tannins would have been good. The wine was a riesling which was pretty mediocre. 3/5

Second course was a hamachi tartar which was sorta meh, I think tartars are overdone and should be left to beef in all reality. Doing a fish tartar is such a cop out since its just fucking sushi. Wine was a very dry chard which is ok for the dish but not my idea of a good chard. 3/5

Third course was the pork tenderloin (kurobota pork) This was probably the best thing there and the wine was a pinot noir. The pork was nicely cooked and pan sauce was a nice flavor. 5/5

intermezzo was a raspberry sorbet, good palette cleanser and a nice change of pace. 5/5

Fourth was the wagyu steak with a cab sav. The flavors weren't bad but the tenderness wasn't there. Wagyu's are the american/international version of kobe and the differences are striking. Kobe's are much more tender and seem to be maybe worth their price. Wagyu's not so much. 3/5

Dessert was a lemon verbena cake with vanilla ice cream. The cake seemed stalish but the ice cream was very good. This came with a botryis style dessert wine. The wine and ice cream were good but the cake could have been bought out. 3.5/5

For dessert I had a glass of Macallan 18.

Overall I'd say this restaurant was like a 3.5/5. It's pretty good for San Diego but I'd recommend Candalas instead.
Cost was $300 for two.

good review. it's unusual to see one that actually reviews the food critically, and not how good a time was had and how clean the bathrooms were.

god damn 300 for two and you only gave it a 3.5? bummer :\

sweet review though

the most expensive meal ive ever bought for myself was $16 :o

holy shit $300

you could have ate at in and out and then bought me a PS3

you better have gotten laid

Heh I'm married so getting laid is still happening, hopefully this continues.

TBH fancy dinners are one of the few things I really splurge on. We don't do it all the time but when we go out we do like to hit some nice ones.

The 3.5 is based on that I've been to some phenomenal restaurants. I live in the SF Bay Area which is a food mecca for the US and while The Sky Room is one of the best in San Diego its not much to write home about when compared to the SF dining scene.

Restaurants I'd give 5's to are:
Gary Danko's
Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton
Your mileage may of course vary.

I don't know if I'd call the Sky Room one of the best in San Diego. I've never heard anything about the food there, just the location and the view. You may want to look into one of the places like Donovans, or Bertrand at Mr A's, or Blue Point, or Baci Ristorante.


edit-good review of the cuisine though :)

I don't know if I'd call the Sky Room one of the best in San Diego. I've never heard anything about the food there, just the location and the view. You may want to look into one of the places like Donovans, or Bertrand at Mr A's, or Blue Point, or Baci Ristorante.


edit-good review of the cuisine though :)

As I've said its a got a good Zagat rating and the Chowhound reports were favorable. I've been to a few places in SD and I've never been wowed. I've not been to those on your list but I've hit up George's and Jake's in Del Mar.

I'm sorta spoiled though. Living in the Bay Area means I have access to world class chefs and luckily enough we don't have NY style reservation issues.

I'd be interested in seeing additional restaurant reviews too.