Top Pan Asian Restaurant in La Jolla
Cherrywine Modern Asian Restaurant & Sushi
8008 Girard Ave #210, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
We had a last minute request to provide lunch for some VIPs who were from out of the country. I called Cherrywine because they were the only restaurant i could find online who served a variety of Asian fusion food. Most others were either more traditional or only Japanese fusion. At first, I was skeptical because the hostess couldnt give me a straight answer about whether or not they catered. This was on Saturday afternoon and the event was for the following Monday at lunch. On my third call, I was assured that they do catering and that someone would get back to me.I didnt hear back from anyone that Saturday, so I called right when they opened the following day to confirm that they could do the job, or else I would have to go to Plan B. I spoke to Art who was very accomodating, to say the least. We talked several times throughout the day to make sure the order was squared away.It has always been my policy to never use a restaurant or catering service for important, or large events that we had not tried 2-3 times, yet with smaller requests. I was desperate, however, and decided to take a chance with Cherrywine. I felt more hopeful when I spoke to Art.They were a little late arriving, but after seeing the work they had put into the lunch, the anxiety and fear I felt all weekend completely went away. The presentations were beautiful, they brought actual warming trays and fancy utensils and plates which we didnt ask for but they thought of bringing themselves, the staff was super friendly and accomodating, they even explained the different dishes to the attendees, and, most importantly, the food was delicious! On top of all this, we were their first catering job ever! They really went above and beyond. We couldnt have been happier with the way things turned out. I highly recommend them for catering, or even just checking out their restaurant, which is something I plan to do soon.
Top other services in La Jolla:
Cove House
8030 Girard Ave, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
Arrived on a Saturday afternoon, looking forward to this spot because my cousin absolutely hyped it up. Don't get me wrong, it's a cute, near the cove, walking distance to Scripps Park but I am just so disappointed in the hostesses. I assumed who ever greeted us must be the owner's daughter or too young to be a Maître D because both had high attitudes, probably didn't want to be at work on a Saturday?We (Three of us) were told it would be about a 20min wait. We noticed 2 seats at the bar to the far right, closer to the inside tables. There was another single bar stool in between 2 couples, we knew before we got an answer from the hostess, we would ask for it but instead she turns around and says; Yes, the bar is open seating (Eye rolling) but you can't stand at the bar. We just said OK, thanks, please add us on the waitlist then walked over to the bar. Our server Kaitlyn was superb, she was great and took our order without writing it down =) The drinks were delicious and the food came fast, hot and delicious.The reason they are missing 2 stars and I say they are a solid 3.5 is because we finally get a text that our table is ready after 35 mins, as we were getting ready to leave.. (Looking around there were plenty of seats)After walking around checking out the vendors at the park, I needed to use the restroom and thought, oh well I was just here and I should go but again, I was stopped by the Hostess and I just said I needed to use the restroom she seemed annoyed about it (another eyerolling session). The restrooms were not clean, it was hot, humid, stinky because of the temp and lacked décor. A nice place like this should have nice, cool and clean restrooms.
Qin West Noodle
4353 La Jolla Village Dr, San Diego, CA 92122, United States
Qin West Noodle is located on the east side of the UTC Mall in La Jolla. Parking at UTC is free for the first two hours. There are two options to order: place your order at a kiosk or at the register if you are paying cash. By paying cash, you get a 3% discount. This restaurant doesn't want customers to pay tip or the 4% service charge that some restaurants are now imposing on patrons. Their menu stated: Self Service. No tips. Enjoy. Patrons have to find their own tables after placing the orders. Since there are no waitstaff, patron has to clean their own table, if needed. Inside the restaurant, each table has a tub of disposable disinfectant wipes, chopsticks and napkins for customers perusal. They have a free purified water station next to the cash register. We like the concept of 100% self-service and didn't mind cleaning our table and taking our trash to the designated area after our meal. This restaurant has open kitchen. There is plenty of indoor and outdoor seatings with umbrellas. Also, there is outdoor mall seating just right outside the restaurant. We ordered the traditional beef noodle soup with round rice noodles and extra gai lan; spicy won ton noodle soup with ramen noodle, pan fried dumplings and cold thick cut beef tendons. Wait time for our food was about 20 minutes. The last item to come out was the pan fried dumplings which was brought to our table by the kitchen staff. The hot noodle soup bowls were hot and delicious, good portions with generous amounts of won tons and tender beef chunks. The noodles were cooked perfectly. The broth was clear, flavorful, not greasy and not salty. We loved the cold beef tendons, chewy texture and full of collagen and marinated in a delight sauce. Pan fried dumplings were crispy outside with a tasty filling inside. We couldn't finish the noodle bowls and ended up with some leftovers to take home. Overall, Qin West Noodle offers authentic casual Chinese comfort food, friendly kitchen staff and the food was very well priced given that is located at the UTC Mall. You can get desserts, made by others, here such as Koconut Coconut Pudding. We will definitely come back to try other dishes.
Coffee Cup
1109 Wall St, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
This place!!! We absolutely loved it! From the location to the food to the awesome staff! I will start off by saying that I am a very picky person, I am a planner, a worrier, a perfectionist (you get where I am going) - so with that said... I am hard to please, LOL! However, Coffee Cup Cafe far exceeded any expectations I had! It was my birthday weekend (a long bday weekend) and we went down to La Jolla early on a Monday morning with 2 main focuses... The beach and to eat! We found parking right in front and walked inside and were greeted with a big smile and a welcoming vibe! We chose to eat outside and it was just perfect! We got this quaint, local vibe and I loved it! Also, sitting outside you can day dream over the beautiful buildings and their architecture, people watch etc!Thank you for an unbelievable birthday breakfast!They serve their food like a work of art!
Blue Ocean Harumama
1250 Prospect St, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
A little confused by the experience we had here tonight. Short and sweet version: Do not get the duck bao bao buns. Do get the sushi. Do get the garden party ramen. Expect slow service if you're a small table.Everything started well: We were seated quickly on arrival by the excellent hostesses. That's when things went a little off the rails. After we were seated, we waited for about 10–15 minutes to order drinks. We also ordered a round of the bao bao buns. I can't speak to the other types of bao bao buns they have available but I ordered duck and it was, unfortunately, very bad. The duck was very tough, almost like a jerky, and the tender layer of fat that normally surrounds the duck meat had become rubbery. This was very sad and it was the state of both of my bao bao buns.While the bao bao buns were not good, the sushi roll we ordered was fantastic. Fresh, light, perfectly balanced. It was everything sushi should be. We had the Marine Boy roll and I would recommend it to anyone. Their sushi chef is clearly very skilled.I also ordered the garden party vegan ramen. The broth on this ramen was stellar. It reminded me of my favorite paitan broth from home. It was very creamy and flavorful. The vegetables served with the ramen complemented the broth and the spinach noodles were very good. The only thing I was not happy with was the tofu. It was very bland. It surprised me because the broth was so flavorful and every other element was so delicious that the phoned-in tofu situation was unexpected. It tasted like they basically took the tofu directly out of the package, sliced it, and let the broth warm it without giving the tofu any love.The kitchen was very fast and overall their flavors were on point, so the primary sticking point was the service. Our table was often ignored for larger tables and at one point we did need to get up and request additional service. It seems like speed of service is based on your estimated bill.
Spice & Rice Kitchen
7734 Girard Ave C, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
My family and I were visiting San Diego and went to Spice & Rice for dinner. I used to work here when I lived in San Diego from 1997-1999. The food was great back then. However, it was a different story when I took my family this time around. We order 2 Thai Teas and a Thai Coffee. Those were fine, it was the entrees that were the most disappointing. My 3 kids orders 2 Pad See Yous ($10.95 ea) and a Pad Thai ($10.95), my husband ordered a bowl of Tom Kha chicken ($5.95), and I ordered the Grilled Shrimp Salad ($14.95). The Pad Se Yews and Pad Thai were grossly bland. All you tasted were the rice noodles. Thai food is supposed to have a good balance of saltiness, sour and sweet, and at times, some spice. These entrees did not. It didnt seem like they used any fish sauce at all in the noodle dishes, which in turn made the sweetness from either the sugar or the sweet soy overpowering. As for the soup, it tasted like pure coconut milk and nothing else. Thai soups especially are supposed to have bold flavors. The Tom Kha is supposed to be sour, salty, spicy and sweet at the same time. All I tasted was the coconut milk, and the sweetness from that. Not much else. My shrimp salad was probably the only dish that had any flavor, but the shrimp was extremely overcooked. Grilled shrimp should still be tender and juicy. These were tough and rubbery. Overall, I was extremely disappointing. We paid $186 for an extremely disappointing meal. I did not complain to the waitstaff about the meal because after he took our order, he was pretty absent. He came back maybe once to check in on us. I had to flag down other waitstaff to ask for more rice and to get our waters refilled. As a rule of thump, you should at least check back at your table right after they take their first couple of bites, so that you can attend to whatever concerns or needs they have right away, then maybe a couple of times later to ensure that they acknowledge your presence and know that you are available. We had to flag other waitstaff down to get our food boxed up and to order our desserts. We ordered 2 Sweet Rice and Mangos. The pandas flavored sweet rice was alright. They obviously microwaved the rice again after having prepped it ahead of time because there were areas of the sweet rice that were over cooked and tough. It is fine to rewarm sweet rice in the microwave, I do it all the time at home, but dont do it so long that it causes the rice to harden in certain areas. All in all, the food was bland and the service mediocre. I would not waste my money at Spice & Rice. Everything here is pricey, so think long and hard before you end up spending $12 on a sub par noodle dish or $15 to eat overcooked shrimp.
RED O Taste of Mexico
4340 La Jolla Village Dr, San Diego, CA 92122, United States
Red O: Taste of Mexico is the fourth and latest location of Rick Bayless small southern California chain of upscale Mexican restaurants.Red O has set up shop in my neighborhood in what used to be Donovans, clearly intending to compete with Trulucks and Flemings. I was excited for my first visit, a mere few weeks after Red O opened. My experience was mixed, perhaps due to the restaurant still trying to find its feet, or perhaps due to it simply being mediocre. Ill need to visit again in a few months to see if things have improved, assuming Red O survives that long.The complimentary tortilla chips and salsa were great -- they were the best part of my meal, as they unfortunately are at many Mexican bar-and-grill restaurants. And thats kind of what Red O reminds me of: a chi-chi interpretation of an On The Border or El Torito or Chevys-like chain restaurant with a cooler and prettier crowd, a luxurious and regal décor, friendlier and more professional bartenders, live music, and higher prices.My first food order was for the Carnitas Empanadas ($12), which were mini masa pastries stuffed with carnitas, a house cheese blend, and an unidentified sweet fruit-like flavor. The unidentified fruit-like flavor in these empanadas was cloying and unwelcome. These would have been 10X better had they kept a simpler, savory flavor profile provided by the carnitas and the cheese. The empanadas were served with an avocado tomatillo salsa that I could take or leave; I preferred the house salsa served with the tortilla chips.Next up was the Skirt Steak ($29), a grilled 8 ounce steak served with red chipotle crema and cotija mashed potatoes. Sadly, the floppy skirt steak was missing an important flavor component: there was no sear. Why wouldnt Red O sear their skirt steaks? Is their grill not hot enough? The steak was not a total failure, it was tenderized via obvious marination, and decently seasoned, accompanied by a buttery and addictive chipotle sauce, and cooked to my requested temperature -- but wow, Red O, you need to look into how your grilled steaks are not picking up grill marks or a noticeable sear of any kind.I enjoyed Red Os rich cotija mashed potatoes more than I expected I would, though I wondered why this restaurant wouldnt take an a la carte approach to sides for the steaks. Im in a Mexican restaurant, I kind of wanted some rice, or beans, or corn with my steak. This is a minor quibble, admittedly.I ended my meal with the Tres Leches ($12), a decent take on the classic triple-soaked milk cake, served at Red O with lots of whipped cream, strawberries, and blueberries. The portion size was significant and could easily satisfy two.After a couple of tasty but miniature-sized House Margaritas ($10 each), I asked the bartender for the best cocktail on the menu, and was served the Red & Fluffy ($15), made of Avion Silver Tequila, ginger essence, fresh lime juice, and pomegranate syrup. A bit sweet for me -- and, in fairness, my request was obnoxious -- though I could see my wife enjoying this one. This is, after all, the exact kind of bar and grill type of joint Id lure her to for the purpose of getting her happy and drunk when we were dating. Im just not sure I would have ever taken her here for the food.
Residence Inn San Diego La Jolla
8901 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
Ive been a member of Marriott since 2004, and weve stayed at many Residence Inns over the years. We planned to stay here for 6 days for family vacation. It started off badly because we were met at front desk with some very unprofessional attitude, from an individual who wasnt very helpful with dealing with an issue, that was because of their system, but I had to call Marriott rewards support to address the problem for them. Not what youd expect from a Marriott employee. This is a very old facility, so the smell of smoke was clearly there in our room, as well as gnats flying around. It was just bad. We had very loud neighbors and what sounded like drunk guests in the parking lot fighting our first night. Loud cussing that woke us and the kids up. As a result, we decided to leave the hotel and find another Residence Inn locally because of the gross smell, gnats and noise. One other hospitality issue I had... we have a dog and I know we are responsible for the one time non-refundable pet cleaning fee, and as we left, because of hotels issue, we had to pay it. What stinks is because we had to move hotels, because of the low quality of our stay, we essentially had to pay a one time pet fee twice for our vacation because of having to find a second hotel. I dont think that was right. Combine that with a lost day of vacation due to no sleep and having to find new hotel, re-pack and move to new hotel, it just was a really bad experience and Id suggest you stay away unless youre ok with an old hotel combined with some potential front desk bad attitude, noise, bugs and bad smells. Cherry on top of all of this, as I checked out, one front desk lady was very nice, but the other front desk guy (who was friendly) suggested I not take a lower room to avoid noise... I dont think it was his intention, but a solution to the problems at a hotel doesnt lie on guest to know better how to book a better room.
Mandarin House
6765 La Jolla Blvd, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
So I try to avoid writing negative reviews, but this has to be one of the worst restaurants Ive had in recent years.To begin with, when I walked in, the inside is run down and smells rather funny with a drab an unkempt appearance. It almost smells like your grandparents basement that they havent cleaned in decades. Its dark and kind of depressing, but Ive also had really good food from questionable places, so I decided to go ahead.We were the only ones in the restaurant. Somehow, the service was still terrible. While we were seated rather quickly, it took forever to try to get anyones attention after that point.We ordered sesame shrimp, fried wontons, spare ribs, chef shrimp, cashew chicken, and crispy beef. A lot of food, but hey, we were hungry, and it came recommended. Let me start off by saying that had I not looked it up, I would not have known what any of the food I ordered was.The sesame shrimp was pooled in a pile of nondescript liquid, yet it was probably the best thing that we ordered. I couldnt have the spare ribs because I dont eat pork, so I cant honestly comment on those. That being said, I did have the cashew chicken and it was hardly cashew chicken at all. It tasted like it was bathed in rancid oil with soft and chewy cashews. Now, onto the fried wontons. Like the other food, they werent the best, and they also tasted a bit old and stale. Last but not least, the crispy beef was almost inedible. I took two bites of it and I was done.To make matters worse, I got sick later and I know it was from this food because thats the only thing I had to eat. So if I had to give a recommendation, it would be to STAY AWAY at all costs!
P.F. Changs
4540 La Jolla Village Dr, San Diego, CA 92122, United States
Where do I even begin to express my admiration for the exceptional service provided by Ethan at PF Changs? He is the true embodiment of a server who goes above and beyond to make dining experiences memorable. While the restaurant itself may have its shortcomings, Ethan single-handedly turns it into a must-visit destination.From the moment we walked through the door, Ethans warm and genuine smile set the tone for an incredible dining experience. His infectious enthusiasm and attention to detail were evident as he guided us through the menu, offering insightful recommendations tailored to our preferences. His passion for the cuisine and knowledge about the dishes were truly impressive.Ethans exceptional ability to anticipate our needs was uncanny. He effortlessly anticipated when we needed a refill or an extra napkin, ensuring our comfort throughout the entire meal. His attentiveness was matched only by his remarkable efficiency, managing to attend to all of his tables with grace and poise. Despite being busy, he never made us feel rushed, taking the time to engage in friendly conversation and make us feel like valued guests.What truly sets Ethan apart is his genuine care for each and every customer. Its clear that he takes immense pride in his work, as he consistently went the extra mile to ensure our satisfaction. He attentively listened to any special requests or dietary restrictions, making sure our meals were prepared to perfection. Ethans commitment to providing an exceptional experience extended beyond the confines of our table, as he checked in on us throughout the evening, ensuring our happiness.Ethans ability to create a welcoming and enjoyable atmosphere is simply unparalleled. His infectious positive energy and friendly demeanor lit up the restaurant, making us feel like we were among friends. He effortlessly struck the delicate balance between professionalism and creating a comfortable, relaxed environment, turning a mediocre dining experience into an extraordinary one.In an industry where genuine and remarkable service can be hard to come by, Ethan is a shining star that outshines the shortcomings of PF Changs. His dedication, passion, and unwavering commitment to providing a memorable dining experience are truly commendable. It is solely due to Ethans exceptional service that we continue to choose PF Changs as our dining destination.To Ethan: You are the reason we come to PF Changs. Your extraordinary service, attention to detail, and unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction are an inspiration. Thank you for transforming a lackluster restaurant experience into an unforgettable one. Your impact is immeasurable, and we eagerly await our next visit, knowing that well be in the capable hands of a true hospitality professional.To the management: Ethan is a gem that deserves recognition and appreciation for his outstanding service. Investing in employees like Ethan is an investment in the success and reputation of PF Changs. Bravo!In conclusion, if youre looking for a memorable dining experience at PF Changs, look no further than Ethan. His exceptional service, warm personality, and dedication to customer satisfaction elevate the entire dining experience. Request Ethan as your server, and prepare to be wowed. He truly is the best!Rating:Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Restaurant: ⭐⭐⭐