Back in 2008 my wife and I headed to the Torrey Pines Golf Course to buy some U.S Open gear for a few of our friends back in Australia. The same year that Tiger Woods won the U.S Open at Torrey Pines. We could see it was a very beautiful golf course with an adjoining upscale hotel / restaurant complex called The Lodge at Torrey Pines. Years later we brought a couple of our visiting Aussie friends who stayed at our house in Solana Beach to the golf course to have a look around.
In the latter part of 2019 we had lunch at The Grill at Torrey Pines and we were quite impressed with the food and service. Since then we have made multiple visits during 2020 for either breakfast or lunch and it has been excellent every time. Amazingly we had never been here for dinner. My wife and I chose this classy restaurant to celebrate our wedding anniversary in mid June, 2020. From our house in Solana Beach it is a 10 mile trip mostly alongside the beautiful coast with amazing views of the ocean. In fact we ride our electric bikes up here every few weeks to have lunch. I had made a reservation for 6pm inside ( a bit chilly outside at that time of the evening ) and we arrived at the host desk a few minutes early.
Brad the Host looked quite happy ( or maybe surprised ) to see us for a dinner visit and we were happy to see Brad who always treats us so generously. He kindly offered us our favorite corner booth table with a commanding view of the restaurant interior. There were very few diners inside but there was quite a gang outside on the side patio near the fire pit and the main patio facing the ocean. It was a little chilly outside as we thought it would be but very cosy inside the dining room.
Within a couple of minutes a server named Talia came to attend our needs. My wife and I had already examined the ( NEW ) dinner menu online and we knew exactly what we were going to order. First up 2 glasses of chilled water and a Duckzilla Double IPA. So for appetizers we went with a Shrimp Cocktail for my wife & Kung Pao Calamari for me. For entrees my wife selected the Miso Glazed Loch Duart Salmon while I couldn’t resist the Frutti Di Mare Pasta. We told Talia that our dessert order will come later.
My Duckfoot Brewing Duckzilla Double IPA in the elegant stem glass tasted very good . . a new one for me. Talia brought out our appetizers and my goodness . . . the Kung Pao Calamari looked extraordinary and the shrimp with my wife’s Shrimp Cocktail looked perfectly juicy. I pinched a few of my wife’s shrimp at her insistence but my wife couldn’t keep her hands off my calamari. And that was a surprise because it contained Fresno Chili which kicked things up in a devilish way.
The mouth watering oh so delicate calamari was cooked to perfection. We totally demolished our sensational appetizers between the 2 of us. Jason the restaurant manager spotted us in the corner and came over to have a hearty chat. We mentioned what we had ordered so far and Jason told me it was Bonus Scallop Night . . for my Frutti Di Mare Pasta. After a few minutes Talia our thoughtful & attentive server brought out our entrees. Wow did they look a treat !
Fresh Salmon ( mostly from Whole Foods Market and not cheap ) is a regular staple of our diet at home . . my wife always cooks it expertly. The moment I jabbed my fork into a fat tender scallop I knew I was in for a special meal. My Frutti Di Mare Pasta would have to be the best seafood combo pasta dish I have enjoyed . . the perfectly cooked Squid Ink Linguine enveloped the multitude of seafood delights on my plate. My wife pinched a succulent scallop & some linguine . . she loved it. On the other hand my wife ( who has never ordered Salmon at a restaurant in our 22 years as a couple ) raved about her Salmon & the accompanying Forbidden Rice Yuzu Miso. I tried a bit of both and the Salmon was obviously very fresh . . pan fried to perfection.
Pretty amazing evening so far. I ordered a Karl Strauss Boat Shoes Hazy IPA and my wife ordered a Decaf Latte when Talia returned to take our empty plates away. So the piece de resistance for us when we dine out at a classy restaurant is usually ( and hopefully ) dessert but our fantastic appetizers and entrees were going to be hard to top. When Talia brought out my wife’s decaf latte and my Boat Shoes Hazy IPA we ordered the Strawberry Shortcake and the Chocolate Butterscotch Cream Tart.
What a pair to share ! My wife thought her latte tasted very good and I have always been a fan of the Boat Shoes Hazy IPA. Before too long KT Weber the Head Chef delivered our exquisite looking desserts to our table. We had a quick chat with KT who said the Chocolate Butterscotch Ice Cream Tart was a beauty. So we shared our desserts or should I say we shared much more of the one I ordered. It was mouthsational ( patented ) but hey the Strawberry Shortcake was outstanding too !
We had a nice chat with Brad the Host and Jason the Restaurant Manager at our corner table before we left to get a photo of the sunset at 7.59pm. My wife and I have dined at many highly awarded restaurants in the USA, Australia & New Zealand in our 22 years together but only a handful could match the excellence we enjoyed here last night. This classy restaurant with it’s consistently sensational cuisine and amazing staff is 5 stars every single day of the year !
