Lucien
Restaurant · San Diego ·
10+ course tasting menu celebrating local farms and fishermen
10+ course tasting menu celebrating local farms and fishermen
"An all-star team from New York City’s Michelin-starred rooms lands in La Jolla with an ambitious, hyper-seasonal tasting menu that channels California cuisine through French and Japanese techniques and is anchored by local farms like Chino Farms. Led by chef Elijah Arizmendi alongside Brian Hung, Bella Alicea, and James Meringer, I’m treated to courses that may include Amber Eden ancient grain bread with aged cultured butter, Masami Ranch wagyu, egg custard crowned with N25 Oscietra caviar, seasonal California seafood, and multiple desserts, including truffles. The $245 drink pairing even comes with a surprise dish paired to Château d’Yquem." - Helen I. Hwang
"An ambitious, Michelin-pedigreed tasting menu restaurant in La Jolla, led by chef Elijah Arizmendi (with experience at Per Se, Le Bernardin, L’abeille, and Sushi Ichimura), this intimate 30-seat, 3,100-square-foot space begins with canapés and a glass of calamansi juice under a courtyard calamansi tree before guests pass through a wide bronze door into a dark, moody dining room lined with cognac-colored leather booths and views of the open kitchen. The $260 experience spans more than a dozen courses plated on French porcelain and ceramic stoneware hand-thrown by Arizmendi’s mother, showcasing hyper-seasonal West Coast sourcing from local producers like Chino Farms and JR Organics and a striking contrast of techniques, from induction on a customized Molteni stove to an open-fire hearth. Signature plates include egg custard with Chantilly topped tableside with N25 Oscietra caviar, while other dishes might feature California spiny lobster aquachile with uni and passionfruit, Iberico pork pâté en croûte with mustard cream, mussels, clams, and abalone in a seafood froth, and squab with pine nuts and pine-smoked matsutake; dessert wraps with three courses that currently include Japanese eggplant ice cream with brown cardamom and a trio of truffles. A $195 drink pairing covers Champagne, California whites, Japanese lager, and French Bordeaux. The bar welcomes walk-ins with a la carte selections—such as Amber Eden ancient grain bread with aged cultured butter and Masami Ranch wagyu rib-eye—and cocktails like the Enzoni Bello, all set against an elongated oak bar perched on sculpted quartzite rock behind floor-to-ceiling patio doors. Inspired by La Jolla’s caves and sandy beaches, the design underwent a major overhaul by Tecture Design Group and Encinitas Design Group and sits on the top floor of La Plaza La Jolla near Prospect Street in the former Sushi on the Rocks space, channeling Arizmendi’s goal to tell a California story using French and Japanese techniques at a high level while highlighting local farmers and fishermen." - Helen I. Hwang
"An ambitious, 30-seat tasting-menu restaurant from a team with Michelin-starred backgrounds is under construction on Girard Avenue in La Jolla and is slated to open in Spring 2025. Chef and co-owner Elijah Arizmendi — who grew up in Sacramento, started working in restaurants as a teenager, and whose résumé includes Cotogna (San Francisco), L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon (Las Vegas), and the two-Michelin-starred Daniel (New York) — teamed with business partner Brian Hung after meeting at Per Se and cooking together at l’Abeille. Since moving to San Diego earlier this summer he has been getting to know area farms, fishermen, and producers; he told Eater that his dishes for a preview dinner are “a first opportunity to show how he’ll work with the local ingredients that will be core to [the] eventual tasting menu,” which will feature extra courses and a more elaborate guest experience. Seafood will be at the forefront — the preview collaboration dinner (Tuesday, December 3) will include spiny lobster, Pacific mackerel, and sea urchin paired with seasonal produce like winter radicchio from Chino Farm and hachiya persimmons from Shaner Farms in Valley Center. Menu for the collaboration preview: Spiny lobster | passion fruit | hoja santa; Ossetra caviar | bánh xèo | crème fraîche; Pacific mackerel | potato mille-feuille; King crab | pomelo | cilantro | thai chili; Sea urchin | okinawan sweet potato | umeboshi; Amadai | caramel fish sauce | tofu; Heritage pork loin | nuớc chấm | rice vermicelli; Aged duck | winter radicchio | satsuma citrus; Mezcal | makrut lime | chartreuse végétal; Hachiya persimmon | earl grey | grilled vanilla; Perigord black truffle | brioche | wildflower blossom honey; Pandan marshmallow | sesame butterscotch | lychee pâte de fruit." - Candice Woo
"Coming to downtown La Jolla’s La Plaza La Jolla complex on Girard Avenue, Lucien is a 30-seat fine-dining restaurant due to open by early 2025; named after chef Elijah Arizmendi’s newborn son, it’s his breakout project after a career that began at 14 and took him through acclaimed kitchens including Wayfare Tavern, Cotogna, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Spago in Las Vegas, and the two-Michelin-starred Restaurant Daniel. Co-owned by Arizmendi and Brian Hung—who will run the restaurant with his wife Melissa—Lucien will focus on hyper-seasonal tasting-menu dishes (with a la carte offerings at the bar and outdoor courtyard) reflecting influences from French, German, and Japanese chefs. After traveling to France to stage and check on a custom Molteni stove, Arizmendi plans to spend the rest of the year building relationships with local farmers, fishermen, and ranchers; the chance to work directly with area producers, which he wasn’t able to do much in New York, is what excites him most about cooking in San Diego." - Candice Woo
"Opened in 1998 and still operating, Lucien is another French bistro from the 1990s that I identify as a continuing presence in the neighborhood." - Nick Solares