Kirbie's Cravings

Addison

photo of the outside of Addison

Addison is often regarded as the fanciest restaurant in San Diego. While we’ve dined at some of the finest restaurants in various cities we’ve visited, we never dined at Addison until now.
photo of the inside of Addison
Part of the reason is that I was afraid I’d be disappointed. While I love the diverse restaurant scene in San Diego, it tends to be a more casual dining environment. However, after several of our friends recommended Addison to us, we finally went to check it out.

From the moment our car arrived on the premises, the service was flawless. Every staff member we passed by greeted us warmly, the servers were always quietly watching, seats were pulled out for us when we returned from the restroom, and our car was ready at the valet once we exited the restaurant. We really felt transported to another place and at times it was hard to remember we were still in San Diego.

We started our night with some premium cocktails. I didn’t write down the names but both were excellent.
photo collage of two cocktails
Addison offers two menus: a full tasting menu and an à la carte menu. The à la carte description is a little confusing because it is actually a preset meal. It’s a four-course meal and you choose from a list of dishes for each course. Since this was our first time here, I wanted to give them a test run before going full out, so we chose to do the à la carte menu.

whipped yogurt, baked honey, raspberry
photo of the amuse bouche
Dinner started with this light amuse-bouche to open the palate. It was light, airy, and a good balance of sweet, tangy, and tart.

sherry mascarpone cheese gougère
photo of a sherry mascarpone cheese gougère
Our second bite was this delightful filled gougère. I love gougère and make them often but I’ve never had a filled one before. While the first amuse-bouche was an awakening of taste buds, this savory bite really let the anticipation for the meal to start flowing. I love the mousse-like cheese filling and will have to try to replicate it at home next time.

lavash bread
photo of lavash bread
The thin, unleavened flat bread was the third complimentary bite of the evening.

FOIE GRAS POT DE CRÈME
photo of FOIE GRAS POT DE CRÈME
For my first course, I chose the foie gras pot de creme. The foie gras custard is topped with a passion fruit gelée and accompanied by a Belgian waffle. I’ve had foie gras starter courses before mixed with a sweet element and didn’t care for it, so I was a little apprehensive before ordering this. However, I really enjoyed it. The foie gras pot de creme was a perfect balance of sweet and savory. The passion fruit gelee didn’t detract from the rich foie taste at all. This may have been the best foie gras starter course I’ve ever had.
photo of the belgium waffle

SAKE CURED KAMPACHI
photo of SAKE CURED KAMPACHI
This was Mr. K’s first course choice. Beautifully plated, the tower consisted of balls of pickled pear, cucumber slices and cured kampachi. We both enjoyed it, but agreed that the foie gras was better.

Parker House Roll
photo of a Parker House Roll
After our first course, we were each given a warm Parker house roll. Buttery and soft, Mr. K finished his in no time and the server quickly came over and asked if he’d like another one warmed up for him.

CARAMELIZED CODFISH
photo of broth being poured over CARAMELIZED CODFISH
I loved the presentation of this second course. The hot broth was poured at the table. The cod fish had such a beautiful, deep brown caramelized surface. The glittering, gold-speckled leaves gave the dish an elegant finish.
close-up photo of the CARAMELIZED CODFISH

CODDLED FARM EGG
photo of CODDLED FARM EGG
My coddled egg was accompanied by smoked pork and sourdough crisps. Every element was wonderfully executed and I think I was mentally kicking myself at this point for waiting so long to come here.
close-up photo of CODDLED FARM EGG

COFFEE-ROASTED CANARD
photo of COFFEE-ROASTED CANARD
After two exceptional courses, my third course was a slight letdown. While the duck was cooked just right, I felt that the hoisin and peanut flavors overpowered. My duck was paired with a bowl of koshihikari fried rice.
photo of koshihikari fried rice

PITHIVIER AUTOMNE
photo of PITHIVIER AUTOMNE
Pastry dough stuffed with tender beef. This was quite satisfying, though we also felt that it didn’t quite excel as much as the previous courses.
photo of a salad
photo of the PITHIVIER AUTOMNE sliced in half

Sauvignon sorbet
photo of Sauvignon sorbet
Before dessert, we were given this cool and refreshing palate cleanser.

COCONUT CRÈME PÂTISSIÈRE
photo of COCONUT CRÈME PÂTISSIÈRE
I really loved the touch of gold foil balancing on top of the coconut creme.

CHOCOLATE PAVÉ
photo of CHOCOLATE PAVÉ
Rich chocolate balanced with vanilla ice cream, this was like chocolate paradise.

Tahitian Vanilla Macaron
photo of Tahitian Vanilla Macaron
Our meal came with one more complimentary bite, their vanilla macarons. I’ve experienced Addison’s macarons before and they are one of my favorites in San Diego. The shells are delicate and chewy.

When we left the restaurant we were also presented with a fresh baked shortbread cookie to eat at a later time.
photo of the view at night at Addison
Overall, we had a fantastic meal at Addison. The service was impeccable and the food was excellent. We do hope to come back for the full tasting menu at another date, but the 4-Course menu is a great option as well.

Addison
5200 Grand Del Mar Way, San Diego, CA 92130
https://www.addisondelmar.com/

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8 comments on “Addison”

  1. I’ve always been tempted to try Addison during Restaurant Week. I heard the hotel is absolutely beautiful. 

    • the hotel is beautiful. I don’t recall Addison being an option for RW. I think only the other restaurant in the hotel, Amaya, is an option

  2. Wow!  That place is really fancy!  The desserts tempted me the most.  Ruth’s Cris is about as fancy as I go…

    • It is quite fancy! Actually the desserts weren’t quite the most amazing–they were good, but the rest of the meal was better for me

  3. We splurged on dinner at Addison for our first wedding anniversary and I loved every moment of it. It’s hard to justify sneaking it into our regular dining budget, but it’s always on my mind for special occasions. When we were there, we saw someone enjoying the full tasting menu, complete with cheese cart, and I was a little envious. I’m glad you finally went and you enjoyed it!

  4. This sounds lovely. I’ve never been to the Addison either even though I also always try to eat at a nicer restaurant in every city I travel to. The passion fruit + foie combo sounds lovely as I always like pairing something acidic to balance out how rich foie gras is 🙂