Worth Looking For!
One of my wife's co-workers had told us about this beautiful restaurant in La Jolla. She said that it had been there for 4 or 5 years and that it was her favorite restaurant. We spend a lot of time in La Jolla and thought it was strange that we had somehow missed it. We phoned to make reservations and get directions. Azul La Jolla is located on Prospect Street, right alongside some of our other favorite restaurants, but without directions we would have missed it still. To get to the entrance, you must descent a brick staircase, located just next to a tiny dress shop. At the bottom of the stairs, a large sign confirmed the restaurant's presence, but this wasn't easily discernable from the street. Just beyond the front door to the restaurant was a very quaint overgrown courtyard patio with a large fire pit. Although we went straight in so not to be late for our reservation, we learned that this area was available for dining, or cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, and that there was even live music out there on some evenings. That night there was not. By the time of our reservation, all of the window tables and most of the tables on the main level of the restaurant were filled. We were just as happy to be seated in one of the high-backed booths on the upper tier. The view from here was spectacular. We watched seals, kayakers and scubadivers - all from the dry comfort of our seats. Our young server told us that San Clemente Island had been visible earlier in the day. Our server seemed extremely knowledgeable about the menu and made some very nice recommendations about wine. Several of our favorites were on the list, so we had no trouble selecting on our own. For dinner, we shared crispy risotto cakes as an appetizer, my wife had the spinach salad, and I had a butternut squash bisque, which was the featured soup of the day. All of the salads have cheese, and that would be my one criticism. For dinner, I enjoyed Sea Bass with a fennel coating and my wife had Lobster. She said it was the best she'd ever had, which is pretty impressive since she lived on Cape Cod for a number of years. Sadly, we were too filled to order dessert, although we did enjoy a small glass of port before calling it quits. For such an elegant restaurant, I was especially pleased that our server was so gracious, and not the least bit stuffy. She knew her stuff, but lacked the attitute we so detest in many of our nicer local restaurants. The food was flawless - as good as we've had anywhere - and the view is not to be missed.    [14 Feb 2004 18:09:20]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Crispy Shrimp Risotto Cakes, Lobster Americaine

     ­Joe, San Diego