Whisknladle (Restaurant Week)

San Diego Restaurant Week is back. Between September 21-26 (and some restaurants extend into a second week) select restaurants offer a a 2-course lunch (priced at $10, 15, 20) or a 3-course dinner (priced at $25, 35, 45). Last week, I was invited to preview Whisknladle’s restaurant week offerings.

I’ve dined at Whisknladle several times (the latest visit can be found here),  but this was my first time getting their restaurant week experience. I’ve actually always wanted to eat here during restaurant week because I think they have one of the best deals. While most restaurants offer a limited special menu with 3 choices, Whisknladle offers their entire regular menu to choose from. You choose an appetizer, entree and dessert for $45, and they even let you choose one of their large appetizers usually meant for sharing. To get an idea of the savings, I’ve included the regular menu prices for the items we chose.

Appetizers

Cutting Board | Chef’s Selection of House Cured Meats & Artisan Cheeses ($24)

The cutting board consists of a selection of house cured meats and cheeses. It’s something we always order when we come here. I love trying all the different items on the cutting board.

Baja Mussels | White Wine, Garlic Butter, Creme Fraiche, Herbs, Chili Oil & Bread Crumbs ($17)

This was my first time trying this dish and it has now become my favorite dish here. I really love mussels in white wine sauce and we order it a lot at various restaurants, but this is by far the best version I’ve had. The crunchy bread crumbs adds a bit of texture to the dish. The garlic butter cream sauce is swoon-worthy and gives such a great flavor to the tender mussels. I honestly wanted to just drink the broth. The waiter provided plenty of bread for soaking up every bit of the sauce.

Main Courses

Scallops | Spanish Chorizo Puree, English Pea, Lima Beans, Carrot, Heirloom & Cherry Tomatoes (RW +$3; $33.25)

This was the one miss of the night. The spanish chorizo was far too salty and just completely overwhelmed the rest of the dish. The scallops also need to be cooked just a tad longer to fully bring out the sweetness and brininess of the sea.

Duroc Pork Chop | Boquerones, Fried Capers, Charred Lemon, Radish & Mizuna ($31.75)

The thick cut pork chop was perfectly cooked, with a hint of pink in the center. It paired well with the lightly sauteed greens.

Desserts

Caramel Corn Parfait | Popcorn Gelato, Brown Butter Blondies, Caramel Popcorn & Peanuts ($10)

This reminded me of a grown-up version of Cracker Jack caramel corn.  It was a fun dessert, both sweet and salty.

Flourless Chocolate Olive Oil Cake | Cherry + Vanilla Ice Cream, Cherry Compote, Chocolate Crumbs ($11)

This was my favorite dessert of the night. The flourless chocolate cake was rich but had an almost airy texture. The cherry compote added a good balance to keep it from being overly rich.

Overall, we had a good meal here, as always. I think the restaurant week deal a great deal and Whisknladle will definitely be one we return to for restaurant week in the future. You can check out their restaurant week menu here. You can view all the participating restaurants for San Diego Restaurant Week here.

Please note, as discussed above, I was invited here to preview the restaurant week menu and our meal was complimentary. I was not further compensated for this review and have dined here several other times when it was not a complimentary meal and had great experiences. My opinions, of course, are my own.

Whisknladle
1044 Wall St, La Jolla, CA 92039
(858) 551-7575