Market

Delicious smoked salmon & MAHI MAHI… festive ambiance. Definitely a returning customer

We were just here again last week. I prefer to sit in the bar area since it’s just a bit more relaxed. We split everything and started with the foie gras which melts in your mouth and then had the grapefruit and avocado salad which also has little balls of goat cheese and some pistachios. To top it off we went for the short ribs — whatever sauce they are cooked in is so rich and amazingly delicious I want to lick the plate every time. The service is always impeccable and friendly. Don’t forget to ask for the corn muffins when you arrive. They usually come out warm and have whole corn kernels in them. A great place to splurge every once in a while.

Market is perhaps the best restaurant in San Diego; it is certainly our favorite. Over the last eight years we have found Market to be one of the few restaurants in San Diego that consistently offers the kind of creative food that friends from other cities and other countries find exciting.
My wife and I have seen great servers, somms, and GMs come and go from Market, with each departure leaving us anxious that the service or the food might suffer. In every case, our worries were unfounded – Market has consistently been a place to take important clients or simply enjoy a cocktail after work. Somms like Brian, Mike, Jen, and now Alex have built a smart wine list, full of $ 40 finds but also trophies like Screaming Eagle and Harlan – and ’95 Bordeaux that suggest a smart, connected wine buying régime that goes beyond big-​name distributors.
The food, of course, is imaginative and delicious and has always been the star of the show. We love the blue cheese soufflé, and the fish courses are nearly Providence-​level.
But it’s also worth pointing out that the chef/​proprietor has created a culture where young people grow and learn about excellence. Market «grads» go on to start their own restaurants or take sales positions for wine distributors. From the people who bring bread, muffins, and the amuse-​bouche to the excellent front-​of-​the-​house leadership, this is simply a very well-​run restaurant. My wife and I have enjoyed more than a hundred meals – perhaps two hundred – at Market, and we look forward to a hundred more (punctuated by a few workouts, I guess). So glad you are here, doing what you all do so well.

In a city so riddled with big corporate-​branded mediocre restaurants, Market is a refreshing surprise. Though not yet ready to be considered world-​class, I get the sense that the objective isn’t to achieve that status.
Market is very San Diego in that it’s casual and seafood-​dominant. A factor I found to be a bit odd was that the physical setting of the restaurant doesn’t match the casualness of the atmosphere. It has that upscale seafood house look but the feel is more Prepkitchen. The servers are in jeans, which isn’t a problem but just doesn’t match the white tablecloth. Or does the crisp white linens not match the denim?
Everything from the salad to the mains to the dessert had an enjoyable «next level» element. For example, their fish isn’t just fish. Instead it comes together very well, incorporating the complementing sauces and spices, which turns it into a well-​composed dish. Overall, good dishes; can’t recall a dish that was outstanding and superb but if you’re looking for an upscale (er, casual?) seafood-​dominant restaurant, Market is worth a shot!
Friendly and attentive San Diego service.
Crowd: the Del mar Gen X crowd, 40s to 50s, with a little bit younger set hanging out in the bar.

Restaurant week’s inaugural night when we tried this find!
Sophisticated ambience and impeccable service!
Good food, check. Their prix fixe menu had great options and no one was disappointed.
Yellowtail tartare, the skirt steak and the carrot cake is but a winning combo.

Market is an absolutely delicious spot with a great menu that is perfect for entertaining clients or just a solid night out. This place has an awesome ambiance and the service is solid too. The food itself is extremely well presented and delicious to the taste. The foie gras is an absolute must for the appetizer and the entrees I’ve tried are all awesome, love the scallops or Dungeness crab. Whatever you do, make sure you wash it down with either a well made gin or a nice Pinot. Overall, Market yields some solid dining experiences.
Pros–
Menu
Service
Wine menu
Cocktails
Ambiance
Friendly valet
Cons–
Odd location
A bit pricey
Main room can be a tad noisy

Best meal ever! Went here for the very first time for restaurant week and loved every minute of it. Free valet so you get out right by the door. The ambience is classy and mature but not stuffy. Everyone is very friendly and prompt. They don’t look down at you if you don’t order an expensive glass of wine or use the right utensil. They never hover but give you your space. There is no music except the soft murmurs of your fellow diners and the lighting is dim but surprisingly great for taking pictures of the artistically beautiful masterpieces set before you minutes before it’s devoured and enjoyed. The bread basket is filled with sliced fresh baguette and mini corn muffins. Both delicious. And better yet, they got us seconds without us having to beg (they probably saw the desperation in our eyes though!).
Now for the food! We were presented with a lovely amuse bouche that got us excited for what’s to come. I ordered the grapefruit and avocado salad for my appetizer, steak for my main entrée and chocolate smore for dessert. I can’t rave enough about the meal. A burst of flavor in every single bite. Artfully presented. So many flavors and ingredients but everything worked so well. I’ve heard about amazingly crafted cuisines but never experienced it until that moment. Then with our check they brought us each a piece of caramel which was heavenly and a perfect way to end the most perfect meal ever. Suffice it to say, I’m in love with this place and I highly recommend Market in Del Mar for any special event.

Our experience wonderful! The serve staff were prompt, informative, friendly-​even witty.
We couldn’t believe you .
The ambience was spectacular. The lighting was perfect.
Every bite was an adventure. I had the grapefruit/​avo appetizer– which was blending of citrus/​bitter and smooth savory favors. Yum!
The sea bass entrée was moist and delicious.
And we tasted every dessert off each other’s plates. One of our party has an «allergic» reaction to exquisite food– seriously. I’ve seen it a few times before. She gets runny eyes, sneezes a few times, and gets a little congested.
When she started doing this I laughed and said: really good meal, right?
And her response was: yes, so many amazing flavors, so perfect.
So– the meal was so great!
Recommend this restaurant for a romantic
Or special occasion!

I asked my husband where he wanted to go to dinner for his birthday this year and he said he wanted to try Market. His birthday always falls on Restaurant week and so I’m always a bit iffy about checking out a restaurant on a different menu. I figured that I can at least order something else besides what they offer on the Restaurant Week menu. However, the day before, they called to confirm the reservation and told me that they will be only serving what’s on the menu for Restaurant week. It made me really really hesitant since it limits you to what you can get. I called to tell my husband and he said he wanted to check it out anyway. I’m glad we did.
When we arrived, we found a spot and parked the car ourselves, turns out it was valet. The entrance of the restaurant was really nice and with our reservations, we were seated immediately. I was excited to try Carl Schroeder’s food and be enveloped in what’s to come. I saw the menu already so I had an idea of what to get.
My husband got a Russian beer and enjoyed it and in the meantime, they came out with the bread basket with corn bread and delicious sourdough bread. The corn bread was phenomenal! We were offered additional baskets of it but we declined because we didn’t want to fill up on bread, even though it was delish! While we were waiting for our food, they came out with the amuse bouche which was delicious, it was perfect.
For our appetizers, my husband got the cauliflower soup with spiced lamb meatballs, it was perfection in one spoon. For me, I got the applewood smoked salmon with crispy potato latkes with dill crème fraîche, roe caviar, chopped egg, apple sticks, and capers. I was in heaven, hands down the best appetizer I’ve ever eaten. Put a bit of the crème fraîche and caviar on the latkes, top it with the smoked salmon and some apple sticks and capers and your mouth is happy. I hope this is a regular thing on their menu, because it’s phenomenal. I would come back just for that appetizer.
For our entrée, I got the grilled prime steak with white cheddar potato soufflé with crispy bacon on top. There were some melted leeks, roasted broccolini and underneath the steak… caramelized sweet onion, perfectly cooked. I licked the plate clean or at least it looked that way. Not one morsel left on my plate.
For dessert, I got the carrot cake just because my husband already decided he’s getting the smores bar so I felt like we can taste each other’s dessert the way I’ve been tasting all of his food and him, mine. When my carrot cake came out, it looked so pretty and I didn’t expect it to taste too great since I usually don’t like carrot cake. THIS wasn’t just ANY carrot cake, it was hands down the BEST carrot cake I’ve ever eaten. The carrot cake had cream cheese ice cream with walnut crunch, caramelized apples on top, plated on top of salted caramel sauce. MY dessert ended up tasting better than my husband’s. He kept asking for more of mine. My husband’s dessert, the smores bar, was also delicious, it had malted chocolate ice cream with a candle on it for his birthday. It had bittersweet chocolate mousse with cocoa chiffon and the smoked sea salt made it taste like it was a smores in one bite.
With our bill, we got these homemade caramels as a sendoff and that too, was delicious. It makes me want to go home and make some of my own.
Our service from start to finish was wonderful and our waitress did an amazing job suggesting what to order and she was very knowledgeable of the menu and what her favorites are. The interaction alone is enough for me to come back. I will now be making this restaurant my go-​to date night restaurant.

Hesitant to visit because of the hype but very impressed with food, service and ambiance. We will be back :)

Everything here was perfect. From the cocktails, to the beer & wine selection. We truly enjoyed the foie gras and tuna tartare starters immensely. I had the prime grilled strip which was perfect. But also sampled the braised short ribs, lamb chops, scallops, and chorizo artichoke salad. It was all spot on. Bravo!

I ended up going back home in time for an early celebration of Mother’s Day — found this place
and decided to take the whole family here for a fancy feast because we REALLY wanted to try their tasting menu! We almost missed this place since it’s located right in the middle of a T-​junction, haha. They had complimentary valet and I saw some cool cars in the lot (including a BMW i8) and immediately my expectations went way up for this place!
We had arrived early so we were offered a table at the bar to wait — I was immediately enticed by the truffle fries on the bar menu… but stopped myself because I wanted to make sure I save all of my stomach for the tasting menu.
Unfortunately, after we were seated, our waitress informed us that because they were «very busy» that night, the kitchen couldn’t accommodate tasting menu for our party of 5… hmm, what?! Never heard that one before (!) but we made the best out of the situation by ordering a la carte and shared a variety of dishes. They also served complimentary corn bread & sourdough bread.
— truffle fries (from bar menu… ended up getting this for a pick-​me-​up since I was SO bummed about not having the tasting menu!)
— calamari and asparagus salad
— duo of foie gras
— truffle mushroom and bacon soup
— cast iron seared yellowtail & ginger-​chili potato roast
— farmers’ market vegetable tasting
— braised prime beef short ribs
— sesame-​prawn crusted Alaskan halibut
— apricot almond cheesecake
— Tahitian vanilla flan
— chocolate butterscotch trio: there was a single paintbrush bristle inside our dessert (!), probably from when they were dressing it…
Overall, the food was very good and service was great. I’m still bummed that we couldn’t try the tasting menu — it’ll be awhile since we can go back again since I don’t get to go home much, but I’ll definitely keep this place in mind when we’re down south again!

This is my favorite restaurant in Del Mar. Just take a look at the tantalizing pictures enough said. Every soup here is amazing from the Gazpacho with lobster to the Jidori chicken and dumpling.
On the appetizer menu try the Yellowtail tartare with crab or the Ahi tartare with mango.
This month’s seasonal cocktail was the Labuena Vida Drink: green chile vodka, tarragon, apple slice, jalapeño, lemon & lime.
Soups:
Gazpacho with lobster
Jidori Chicken and dumpling
Cioppino shrimp and lobster
Shrimp and crab
Potato and leek with shrimp
Surf:
Red snapper with shrimp dumplings or with lemon-​caper linguini
Miso black cod and crab cakes
Seabass with calamari
Turf:
Duck pâté.
Duck confit with pear salad
Foi gras
Amuse Bouche
Cabernet braised prime beef short ribs
Skirt steak with lobster

The tasting menu at Market was one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten, and as a NYC resident I’ve eaten plenty. The restaurant itself is a bit out of the way from the main area of San Diego but it’s worth the trip. They have complimentary valet parking too. The lighting is a bit too dark for my taste, but that’s not a big deal. As for the food, we decided to go with the four course tasting menu but we also ordered the four gras with rum raisin purée which was simply fantastic. My entrée consisted of a split of braised short rib and ribeye caps; both were sublime — so tender! The short rib was so soft — it jiggles when you move it around with your fork. The pumpkin cheesecake was also impressive. I normally prefer my cheesecakes to be dense, but I was nonetheless quite pleased with this airy creation.

Market is expensive. It’s out of the way. It’s not in a particularly scenic location.
But if you’re looking for an amazing restaurant and cost is not an issue, go to Market.
Their tasting menu is amazing. The chef’s passion for food is evident in the meal. The ambiance is classy, but never stuffy. The service is amazing.
My only complaint — if you take a date here, you’ve peaked. You’re not going to find a nicer restaurant in this town.

5 stars is the most I can give? I wish I could give 10 stars!
We came here for my birthday dinner, as I have been wanting to try this restaurant for quite some time. We were absolutely blown away by the amazing service, first off. Everyone was extremely nice, from the valet to the hostess, to the bartender to our server. Top notch service.
As far as the menu, I couldn’t decide what to get because everything looked AMAZING. Looking back, I wish we would have done the tasting menu. Next time, we will. So we can try more items. But, we LOVED the dishes we ordered. Everything was super fresh, delicious, and the portion sizes were good.
We will for sure be back!

This is easily one of my favorite restaurants in San Diego. We generally come here for special occasions and every restaurant week. I love how it is a hidden away little gem off of Via De La Valle, and you can easily drive past in without noticing.
My girlfriend and I went there for our anniversary a few days ago, and it was just as good as every other experience we have had there. After walking through the heavy door into the reception area, we were quickly whisked through the simple yet elegant dining room to a table along the perimeter of the room. I had a dirty kettle martini with blue cheese olives, she had a glass of pinot (at least I think she did. Her dress was pretty low cut so I had issues focusing on anything other than that). While pondering the menu, we snacked on the amazing little flavor nuggets (corn muffins and butter) that were brought to our table. I would honestly go to this restaurant for these corn muffins, they are light and savory and in noway sweet like most other versions of the same dish.
After settling on our food choices (it wasn’t easy) the sommelier came over to discuss our wine options with us. He gently nudged us in the direction of a blanc de noir. yes … a white red wine (take a minute to think that over) he explained to us it is made from red grapes with their skins removed. It was a new and fun experience, the wine a light copper color, the cleanliness I like from a white combined with the mouth feel of a red. It was wonderfully complex and bright, with flavors of apple and honey, an underlying nuttiness, and a buttery back end. Granted, I don’t know much about wine so i could be wrong, and I wasn’t too worried about it at the time, because, like I said… dirty martinis with blue cheese olives.
My fish stew was incredible. A light, smokey broth with curry flavors filled with potatoes and snapper. I lived in the West Indies for a while, and this dish transported me back in one bite. In my mind I was back at my favorite roti bar, eating the same curried fish stew, drinking a strongbow and staring at the sunset. My girlfriend had the crispy bacon salad, reminiscent of a deconstructed cobb. It was nice, but couldn’t hold a candle to my stew.
I passed on my usual order of black miso cod (always incredible) in favor of the special… the ribeye cap. She had the prime tenderloin. Aside from the cut, these dishes were identical, and both spectacular. The forest mushrooms were perfectly tender, with a great umami sauce. On the side was a bacon potato cake, which was nice but really heavy with such a rich dish. While I did like dredging the potato in the cabernet reduction, I would have liked to see something lighter and crisp. The only thing slightly off about both dishes would have been the cook on the steaks. We both ordered medium rare, and mine came out rare, hers on the medium side. The tenderloin was so tender that the medium doneness didn’t really detract from the experience, and well… I’d eat a ribeye of that quality completely raw.
We were both too full to order dessert, and instead had another round of my ever favorite martinis. Since it was our anniversary, they brought a dessert anyways. It was a really nice gesture, and the chocolate cake with the hazelnut ganache was airy and delicious.
Overall, Market is a wonderful experience with a romantic and understated ambiance, attentive and friendly service, and thoughtful and elegant food.

Valet is provided as a service (only tip)
The food is prepared to perfection and comes out like art.
Service was excellent.
Pricy! But I hope to return.

I got a gift certificate for this restaurant — had never heard of it before so I went into it with zero expectations. That being said…
Pros:
— The service was great and attentive. Our waiter Alex was patient and friendly. He gets 5 stars.
— They served an amuse bouche on the house and left the alcohol out of mine, considering my pregnancy, without asking. Loved that.
— The little corn muffins before dinner are SO good. Light and fluffy and perfect.
— The beet salad with local citrus was delish. I do wish they had pre mixed in the little strip of brown mustard on the side of the plate — it seemed over-​thought.
— The short ribs that my husband got were perfectly tender and juicy. Decent flavor but was missing an element of depth.
— We were given a small dessert on the house because it was my birthday.
Cons:
— While the bison/​shrimp relleno dish (mostly the relleno) was tasty, there were a couple mis-​steps. The presentation was a horrible mess, the bison needed salt desperately, and the relleno was drenched in crema and avocado which made it soggy. Those are two things that needed to be on the side rather than the mustard mentioned above. It was also laid on top of a sauce which made it doubly soggy.
— All the dishes have a lot going on. It needs to be toned back a tad.
— The room is FREEZING. I should’ve brought a coat — didn’t think to since it is summer. It was probably in the low 60s.
Overall, I loved the service more than the food. If it weren’t for our waiter, I’d give 3 stars. But everything on the menu sounded great so I will probably be back to try something else.

Trendy, fine dining restaurant with a heavy emphasis on local organically grown produce and small farm meats and poultry.
The vegetables are so colorful and vibrant that simple dishes like the grapefruit and avocado salad and the Jidori Chicken and Dumpling Soup were true delights.
For my main, I had the NY Strip /​Braised Short Rib duo, twice baked potato with andouille sausage gravy, mashed potatoes, and local root vegetables. Everything went down in a velvety dream and my pants were a little snugger in the waist area because of it.
The sweet finish was the «S’mores Bar.» Luscious chocolate mousse, soft housemade marshmallow spread, caramel ice cream, and applewood smoke sea salted dark chocolate bark. A campfire treat from Neverland.
Located near the freeway and providing complimentary parking, Market is a convenient and luxurious option for a special night out.