Trust Restaurant

Trust Restaurant is one of my favorite restaurants in San Diego. They serve urban rustic food with wood fired cookery. The restaurant was recently named Best New Restaurant (Critic’s Pick) by San Diego Magazine, which prompted me to want to revisit.

I remember when the restaurant first opened last year and my initial thought was that it would be hard for a restaurant to live up to such a name. But so far, they’ve exceeded expectations and even after a year in service, the restaurant still continues to be wonderfully inventive, creating dishes that are both pleasing to the eye and stomach.

HAMACHI TARTARE black sesame, cilantro, avocado, sprouts, cucumber, trout roe, taro root chips

This light hamachi tartare was the perfect way to ease into our meal. The presentation was beautiful. The thick, crispy taro root chips were the perfect vehicle for holding the marinated fish. The avocado and cilantro gave the dish a summery feel.

I do wish there was a little less salt on the taro chips as I found myself brushing some of it off, but other than that, this was one of my favorite dishes of the evening.

FRIED SQUASH BLOSSOMS halibut mousse, charred spring onion aioli, lemon zest, dill pollen

I was especially excited to try these because the squash blossoms were filled with a halibut mousse. Most of the fried squash blossoms I’ve had are stuffed with ricotta cheese, which I don’t really care for. I adored the savory and creamy halibut mousse filling though. The squash blossom were delicately crispy and the spring onion aioli was the perfect dipping accompaniment.

EAST COAST SCALLOPS sweet corn puree, face bacon, kumquat, english peas, israeli cous cous, vinegar chip

Another beautifully plated dish and the scallops were so perfectly cooked. I did feel that the flavors of this dish didn’t quite pop for me. Everything tasted pleasant but the overall dish felt a little muted.

WOOD GRILLED PORK SAUSAGE snap peas, gnocchi, sourdough bread crumbs, morels, kale, arugula cream

The flavor profile of this dish didn’t quite work for me personally. I don’t really like a lot of acidic flavors in my food, and this dish was just a little too sour for my liking.

DUNGENESS CRAB PASTA calabrian chiles, sweet garlic, thai basil, shiitake mushroom

While not the prettiest plate of the night, it was one of our favorites. We loved the spicy pasta sauce mixed with generous amounts of shredded sweet crab meat. The Thai basil and sweet garlic added some Asian flavors to the dish.

PROFITEROLES corn cream, caramel popcorn

I saw this dessert on Instagram a few months ago and have been wanting to try it ever since. The presentation is so creative and breathtaking. The profiteroles are actually held up by a rod running through the middle, but I love that they look so precariously balanced, with caramel sauce dripping off each one.

The cream puffs are filled with whipped corn cream and topped with caramel popcorn. I couldn’t really taste the corn flavor in the cream and wished they had been filled with a pastry cream instead. But they were still fun and delicious to eat.

PB & J goober ice cream, malted milk custard, pain de mie, celery

This deconstructed peanut butter and jelly sandwich was a very grown-up way to enjoy a childhood staple.

Overall, we had another wonderful meal here. It’s great to see that Trust is still doing well and continuing to push the culinary boundaries. The menu is always refreshing and well thought out and I hope the restaurant continues to thrive.

Be sure to check out my review of Cardellino which is also owned by Trust Restaurant Group.

Trust Restaurant
3752 Park Blvd, San Diego, CA 92103
https://www.trustrestaurantsd.com/#Menu