Alyssa S.
Yelp
Loved our visit here. Hot new* (revamped menu with new chef) place on the rooftop of a boutique hotel in Little Italy.
Great view: CHECK
Cutting-edge and delicious mixology: CHECK
Delicious and creative food: CHECK
Friendly servers: CHECK!!!
First, I need to say I'm a fan of this chef! Chef Phil Hoffer worked many years at Grant Grill as the Chef de Cuisine, and put in time as a sous chef in many other top places in San Diego, including at AR Valentien and Vistal in the Hotel Intercontinental (under Amy DiBiase). I love his food and have been waiting for him to be able to run the show somewhere and create his own menu. He's now executive chef for the whole Carte Hotel, and we're so glad we got to visit!
First, the VIEW: there are several different terraces. One has a giant full screen TV, looking toward Petco. Others have sunset views or look over other parts of the city.
Second, the DRINKS! Look at the cocktail menu, which was designed by a mixologist who just moved down from LA. It is off the hook creatively, whether you want pandan cocktails, a Green Leaf Collins with verdita and verjus leaf, or whatever! I love that the menu shows you whether a cocktail is up, long or short. I got the STEEL RANGER, which was INCREDIBLE: Limavady single malt irish whiskey, italicus bergamot, giffard peach, cream sherry, meyer lemon oleo saccharum. YUM. I'd get this again but I want to try other things!
Since we love Chef Phil, we wanted to try a bunch of different apps amongst us. We got:
--PIQUILLO PEPPER MUHAMMARA (fun middle eastern spread, with carrots, pita etc.). It's also super healthy. I wouldn't get this alone but if you're getting a bunch of dishes, it's very tasty.
--BLOODY MARY FINGERLING POTATOES: *absolute winner*. Chef Phil is the king of potatoes - the fingerlings are off the hook. PLUS really delicious brussel sprouts, pickled onions, feta, olives and an awesome horseradish chile sauce. This is a must get dish if you like brussels & potatoes and generally yummy things.
--TRUFFLE POUTINE: french fries, beer braised short ribs, truffle + mushroom gravy, truffle zest, cheese curds. I don't eat meet but my sweetie was raving about the short ribs (this is not just french fries + gravy) and we all loved the cheese curds.
--CHARCUTERIE PLATE: we didn't get a full one but tried some of the cheeses (YUMMMM), the marcona almonds and fruit. Ditto I tried tinned anchovies in olive oil (not on the menu I don't think). I don't usually like anchovies but they were so good.
--LITTLE GEM WEDGE: (we got pancetta on the side). The smoked blue cheese dressing was SO good. Definitely recommended.
--POISSON CRU with taro chips: very fresh fish and we loved the taro. This might need a little tweak, with more lime in the coconut lime vinaigrette to give it more of a kick. I liked it - but with all the food on the table I just didn't finish this, and wouldn't say it's the #1 thing to get if you're only doing 1 app.
ENTREES: we ordered too many apps and were starting to get full! But we had:
--California White Seabass with purple cauliflower puree, romanesco, braised rainbow swiss chard, tarragon beurre blanc. The seabass could use some lemon or lime on the side to moisten it, but the sides were awesome. I could eat the purple cauliflower puree every day, and the rest was yummy.
--BUFFALO MOZZARELLA AND WATERMELON SALAD: one of us got this for an entree and loved it (I didn't taste it because I was getting full but it looked yummy)
--30 DAY DRY-AGED NY STRIP: the meat eaters in our group got this. I can't speak to the steak, but the twice baked garlic confit potatoes were again REDONKULOUS. As I said, Chef Phil is the king of potatoes.
We waited a bit and shared 3 desserts.
--SMORES: The smores eater in the group liked the smoked marshmallows best. I don't like marshmallows but LOVED the chocolate mousse on top.
--SPUMONI PANNA COTTA with cacao nibs, strega infused luxardo cherries, candied pistachios. Ayy! A very refined and creamy dessert that even my teen liked. The cherries especially... MMMMMMM.
--CREAMSICLE: I didn't taste it but my kid loved it.
Lots of details for y'all - but I hope that gives you a taste of this FAB new place. Go just for drinks and sunset - or have a full meal. It's so yummy and I'm thrilled to have this new place with such great outdoor dining AND drinks AND views (!!) in Little Italy.