The Hake Kitchen & Bar

This is total bullshit. The Hake sells hundreds of $ 84 Groupon’s on the web and then close down for a six month renovation right afterwards. Total bullshit, especially since the Groupon expires in March and they won’t reopen from the renovation until summer. I want my money back ASAP!!!

Thank you fellow Unilocaler’s! Visiting SD for business, and decided on Hake for dinner. Ended up going for Happy Hour (4−6pm), and was able to try many of the small plates for half-​price. Highly recommend doing this if it works for your meal schedule. All of the plates were great, but the standouts for our group of 5 were the tuna tiradito, ceviche, Rosarito shrimp tacos, and shaved ribeye. The shrimp fideo and tuna chicharron were a bit salty for my taste. Friends really enjoyed their grilled octopus entrée. The drinks/​cocktails and service were excellent as well. It could have been due to our stuffed bellies, but the desserts that we got (key lime, and tres leches) were just okay.

Nice job. Great atmosphere, friendly staff, quality food. We spent a nice evening sampling the many dishes and a few of the wines. This is not a super fancy place, rather a comfortable dining atmosphere to enjoy.

My wife and I enjoyed New Year’s Eve dinner in La Jolla at The Hake. For first timers, the restaurant is located on the lower level and can be found easily once you descend the stairs from street level. Parking is typical, make sure you allot some extra time just in case you have any troubles. With reservations at 7:30, we were seated immediately at a table in the middle of the dining room and given glasses of cucumber-​flavored water.
Our server greeted us and I started with the One Hot Cucumber which definitely had some kick from the jalapeño infused tequila and the chili rim. For this particular evening they served a prix fixe menu, $ 55 per person, with an optional wine paring for $ 25. I chose to have the wine pairing which were all fitting beverages for each course. To briefly summarize, the courses (photos attached) were a tuna tiradito, burrata, sworfish, and a tres leches corn bread cake. The sworfish was my favorite with lemon butter and lemon vodka risotto providing nice acidity to the nicely grilled fish.
I noticed excellent teamwork from the servers and management as everyone had their head up and were looking to clear empty plates and refill waters for tables that weren’t theirs. I didn’t like how our server pressured my wife to order a drink to up sell our tab. And luckily, I took a photo of the menu, because descriptions of the wine or food were completely absent upon delivery. Plates were just dropped off with the assumption that the customer had committed the menu to memory and I was left pulling out the phone to read descriptions myself.
For the price, we enjoyed our food. And after looking over the menu and other reviews, many other entrees looked appetizing and I would come back to enjoy more of their seafood dishes.

LOVED the Hake. Don’t even know where to begin. I had three drinks, all were some of the best I had. We only ordered off the small plates menu (which are half off at happy hour– crazy good deal). I loved everything we ordered, but the hamachi and the grilled octopus were definitely highlights. We sat at the bar and had awesome service and great conversation with the bartenders/​waiters.
Now I just wish they would open a location in San Francisco, it would do so well here!
Can’t wait to come back next time I am in San Diego.

I’ve been to The Hake twice now with my wife. I feel like this place has a lot of really good things going for it. There are some hits and misses on the menu. For example, love the Salmon with dill and pickled onion but not such a big fan of the rib eye cups. The cups are good don’t mistake them for being poor but there are other items on the menu that are more unique and delicious. There is a Latin/​Asian fusion flare to the cuisine so you can find a good amount of variety and perfect for sharing. Small plates are the way to go. My wife and I shared 3 – 5 plates and it works out perfectly. Wine and cocktails lists are great and its SD, you can get 5 – 7 craft beers on draft at all times. I think its a great addition to La Jolla which can sometimes be focused on the scene instead of the cuisine.

Growing up not eating seafood, I’ve just recently started exploring seafood dishes in the last year– and I must say, this restaurant definitely opened my eyes to what GOOD seafood should be. Everything is fresh and cooked perfectly with just the right amount of seasoning.
Spent the day with out-​of-​town friends showing them La Jolla and came here for dinner in a group of 8. Made a reservation that same day and was able to get a table. Everyone got something different, and everyone LOVED their food (and they are all definitely seafood snobs!). Heard great reviews about the Roasted Octopus appetizer so we tried it– very fresh and amazing flavor! I tried a bite of some other dishes and I personally looooved the Grilled Swordfish. The Pan Seared Scottish Salmon and the Catch-​of-​the-​day Talla were also terrific.
The food and wine is pricey but definitely worth it. Perfect for a special occasion. Can’t wait to have friends visiting again so I have an excuse to go here once more!

Nice local restaurant, friendly services, very good and relax atmosphere around. Food and drink are good too, a little bite pricy though. Will recommend to friends.

If you’re considering eating here, the answer is yes, Yes, YES! I cannot say enough good things about our experience. We came in during happy hour, which was a pleasant surprise, and ordered several dishes and drinks.
The roasted octopus was tender and packed with flavor. The ceviche had a light, fresh taste to it. The hamachi with jalapeño was sliced slightly thicker than other restaurants serve it, but was still great. Fish tacos were delish. We also ordered the grilled octopus and squid ink risotto — the octopus (2 large tentacles) was slightly over cooked and chewy, but the flavor was good.
Our server/​bartender was amazing — I’ve been craving mulled wine and he made some on the fly, even though it is not a menu item.
Can’t wait to come back in the future.

I made a last minute reservation here tonight over The MED at the hotel we are staying at (la Valencia) down the street and am so glad I made this decision! The food was fresh and unique and left us very satisfied
«Panzanella» Farm salad-​ginger infused beets, Brussel sprouts, thyme-​buttered sourdough, arugula, persimmon purée, radish, pickled onion, sherry vinaigrette
We asked for a salad recommendation and I was apprehensive because. Brussel spouts ew but this ended up being my favorite dish. The salad is served over the sourdough and the taste is a perfect balance of sweet, sour, and salty. We were told this was the most popular salad and now I can see why!
Grilled baby octopus-​angel-​hair pasta, squid ink, fennel, kalamata olives, green onion, Serrano chile.
I love squid ink pasta and was so excited they had it on the menu today. It was fun to eat and see our black mouths. The spiciness was a surprise but not bad. Baby octopus was good!
Tuna tiradito-​seared ahi, Asian pico de gallo, guacamole, sesame seeds
Very refreshing and delicious dish served on a wooden slab. Good balance of the fish and lemony guac!
Shrimp fideo-​shrimp, short angel hair pasta, avocado chipotle, tomato, chorizo, saffron aioli
This was a miss for us. The dish came out looking interesting, shrimp on a bed of what looked like long rice. The taste was oddly bitter at the end and the creamy chipotle sauce just made the flavor too overwhelming.
Side of crispy broccoli and Serrano ham-​flavorful and crispy, flavor overwhelming after one too many. Not a healthy dish as you would assume broccoli to be. Still good but the vinegary oily taste was unappealing.
Meyer lemon tart-​has a cheesecake quality to it and difficult to cut through but great taste and wonderful end to an overall delicious meal!
Service was great, attentive but unobtrusive!

Overall great experience. Perfectly located by the La Jolla Cove, so a great spot for viewing the sights before dinner. Came here in a group of 8 on a Thursday evening. Our waiter was very proficient and clearly had a great comprehension of the menu and answered all our questions. Started off with octopus– great flavor but small in portion. Also enjoyed ceviche. My entrée was the catch of the day talla– delicious! I loved the rub applied to the fish– roll into a tortilla and enjoy, Especially for those who enjoy Mexican food.
Another big winner at the table was the pork chop. Ambiance was clean and with light music in the background.
Everyone enjoyed this dinner, will definitely come back here.

We went here for lunch. The service was very slow, as they were understaffed. I had ceviche app and ribeye entrée, while my friend had gazpacho and tuna entrée. Our meals were pretty good, but really nothing notable or memorable.
We both had cocktails, and these were really not worth the price at all. So, for slow service and overpriced cocktails, but fairly good food, I’m rating the overall experience at 3 stars.

I was so glad the restaurant upstairs was too busy and full! My husband and I went to Hake as a default because our other choice had a 1.5 hour wait.
Hake turned out to be such a welcome treat. Every dish we ate was a terrific blend of flavors. We started with the seared ahi tune with Asian pico de Gallo and guacamole. Then had the roasted octopus and hanger steak. I just wanted to keep eating. I could have easily eaten my way through the menu.
Service: great. Our server was pleasant, helpful and attentive.
Atmosphere: nice. Whether you eat on the patio or inside, the restaurant has nice surroundings, pleasant and relaxing.
Worth the visit.

The Hake is an upscale seafood restaurant, right on the coast, in La Jolla. The best part of upscale restaurants in California is that you don’t have to dress up: I showed up in shorts and sandals.
The server was happy to offer vegetarian options, even though The Hake is a seafood restaurant. I ordered corn esquites, the seasonal farm salad, and the server offered to me a pasta with mixed vegetables that wasn’t on the menu.
The seasonal farm salad was incredible. The fruit on the side — grapefruit and watermelon — looked like raw fish. The avocado and fruit together was fantastic. The rest of the salad was a mix of red onion, spinach, radish, and dressing. The pasta with mixed vegetables was okay. It included mushrooms and button squash. I just spent five minutes googling button squash because I didn’t know what they where. Search queries included keywords like «little yellow vegetables.» The pasta was in a light, buttery sauce. The corn esquites, which Google is telling is a Mexican snack, was phenomenal. It was this shaved corn in a creamy sauce, and I regret not ordering two.
The service was pretty attentive, and again, accommodating. The area has a $ 10 public valet.
I’d return if I were with others that wanted seafood.

The place had been on my list for a while, turned out to be a disappointment.
For how much I paid for my dinner, I would expect better quality food and service. I ordered the tuna entrée. Here is the description on the menu «Panko-​Parmesan crustm, salsa verde jam, tomatillo, red onion, radish». The freshness of the tuna was okay, but the flavor of the dish was really unpleasant, not the best recipe for tuna to me. Super small portion by the way. Service… sucks! The server also had very limited knowledge of their menu, she recommended me a glass of cab for my tuna. Hahaha

Food and service were pretty good. Overall it’s solid 4 stars. But if I came without a Groupon, which gave me a $ 41 discount. I would honestly rate it 3.5 stars because the prices were unreasonable and unjustified. I understand it’s the location, but there was no ocean view available and the décor was more casual bistro style while the prices were not. It’s nice there was patio seating though. Overall we had a great experience, but it’s sad that we don’t see ourselves coming back.
Servers were friendly and attentive. They checked on us at a reasonable interval and were happy to accommodate any requests. They were still courteous and friendly after knowing we came with Groupon. However, the hostess at the top of the staircase could use a bit more eagerness and smile to welcome customers at the door.
Food was above average, not yet spectacular. We honestly were not blown away by the roasted octopus ($ 16) that many Unilocalers were writing about. The flavor was pretty simple with an overwhelming flavor of paprika. The octopus was tender but I had some good pulpo in a few Mexican taco joints before so it wasn’t that mind-​blowing. However, we very much enjoyed the hamachi tiradito ($ 19). The fish was extremely fresh and buttery, and we could taste that it came from a good cut of hamachi. With the ponzu and garlic chips, the chef created a great appetizer that we couldn’t get enough of! We also liked the salmon belly crudo ($ 18) a lot. But hands down the hamachi was the best dish of the night!
For entrees we had the squid ink pasta with octopus ($ 28) and the swordfish ($ 33). The swordfish was very tender and cooked perfectly! Good job, chef. Both had good flavors, however, they were too salty. We had to keep drinking liquids to wash down the brine.
We wrapped up our meal with the Gorgonzola cheese cake ($ 9) and the lime semifreddo ($ 9). If you’re a fan of heavy cheese, you’ll like the cheesecake. I personally prefer the lighter cheese. Lime semifreddo was pretty delicious but not addicting, I had better lime desserts before.
The food overall was pretty decent and the only thing that we’ll want to have more is the hamachi tiradito, everything else was decent but wasn’t one of a kind that would keep us coming back for the price.
They were really nice to try to call me the day after and ask about our experience but unfortunately I missed their call.
Great service! However, if we’re planning to spend $ 50 or more per person, we think we would rather go to a more formal, fine dining kind of restaurant with exceptional dishes. If we want to dine at a bistro, then we would expect a lower price tag. Hake is a bistro style restaurant with a fine dining price tag so I don’t think this will work for us. It was a good experience though!

The place is lovely even though it’s kinda underground, the décor is chic and simple. it was kinda empty on Saturday lunch hour.
The food was good, I didn’t find it spectacular. I had the Ahi sandwich, more of a burger, was OK. The octopus was good, but yet again not memorable.
For that price I was expecting something a little more tasty.

La verdad no regreso nunca. Me pareció caro, escaso y mediocre por lo que pagas.
Pedimos al centro :
Tacos de Rib eye — son dos mini tacos en una hoja de lechuga por $ 10, buen sabor pero nada del otro mundo.
Ensalada de kale con una vinagreta súper ácida y tres ralladas de parmesano mas $ 8 por 4 mini callos de hacha. Ofensivo
La pesca del día a la Talla estaba rica pero mini para $ 27
El hamachi muy bueno pero obvio caro y cuando digo caro es en relación a la calidad /​valor
Lo mejor son los postres:
El mejor fue el pastel de queso de cabra cubierto con miel; el Key lime pie se defiende pero esta muy casero, estilo postre de galletas Marías con lechera
Yo no regreso hay lugares mucho mejores en la Jolla y con precios más justos

Came here on Wednesday for an early dinner and was seated immediately. I cannot believe that more people do not come here given how great the food is! It’s really close to George’s by the Cove but maybe it’s not that popular because of the location? It’s located sort of underground and not too easy to spot from the street. But i definitely don’t mind a more intimate, quiet setting.
We ordered the Tuna tostada, roasted octopus, and shaved rib eye. All 3 dishes were excellent, but the roasted octopus was by far my favorite!
The Tuna tostada was very fresh and the fish was marinated in a soy/​ponzu marinade which definitely gave the fish some great flavor. The crispy leek (sort of like fried shoestring onions) added a great crunchy texture as did the thick tostada chip.
The shaved rib eye was pretty good, and came out on a piping hot platter with shishito peppers and onions. Warm corn tortillas are also served on the side in case you want to make it a taco. The rib eye was cooked just right, not too tough and had some a pretty good flavor. Reminded me of a good steak fajita. Good, but probably wouldn’t order it again as it was nothing too special.
Last but not least, the roasted octopus which was amazing! The octopus was cooked perfectly and the spicy aioli sauce was just delicious! The potatoes were also a perfect addition as they were slightly crunchy on the outside and paired perfectly with the octopus. Do not skip this dish!
Service was great, and the waiters were very attentive. I will DEFINITELY be coming back here!

Taste– *****
Service– *****
Ambiance– ****
Parking– **
The Hake has become one of my favorite spots in SD for seafood. The husband and I love all the Tiraditos, ceviche and tartares. Our favorite dish is the Hamachi tartare– absolutely amazing! I know this is a Mexican restaurant, but that totally tasted Asian with the ponzu. The shaved rib eye is great, with perfectly caramelized onions and charred shishito peppers, not to mention the corn tortillas are fantastic. I also love the burrata– home made mozzarella, mushrooms and tapenade. The octopus was a little tough for me, but had great flavor.
My husband also loves the Mezcals here; the Hake’s probably got the best Mezcal selection in SD. The liquor selection is not extensive, but they ones they have are good. Just this fact brings him in the restaurant. :)
We rounded off our meal with a key lime semifreddo, which is one of the best desserts I’ve ever had. I’ve been here a few times and can’t seem to order anything else off the dessert menu. Yum!

Great new spot in La Jolla with great service, delicious food and fine wine. I came here with a friend a few weekends back for just a small bite and a glass of wine on a gorgeous afternoon. I’ll have to come back and have actual dinner here but the tasters were so good that I can’t imagine how good the dinner would be.
First off we had a very nice server by the name of Max, okay he was also very cute and charming so of course us 2 single ladies took his food and drink recommendations. I enjoyed a nice glass of proseco, my friend had a glass of white wine and we were also given cucumber infused water. We each had the ahi tuna tostata that came with a good sauce and avocado, it was a little messy to eat but we still ate every bite. We also shared the ceviche which I loved. I like shrimp but I prefer other types of seafood and what I liked about their ceviche is that it’s made with a white fish, it truly was delicious. I really wanted the tuna tacos that come with jicama but they were out of them this day but I knew any other tuna dish I would love and I did.
The restaurant is very nice inside, plenty of seating inside, tables on the patio and several stools at the bar. My only thing about coming for lunch is that I love the views in La Jolla and the Hake is enclosed and of course it’s next door to George’s which has one of the best views in all of San Diego. I don’t think I’d come for lunch if you’re wanting that «La Jolla» treat and view but I’d definitely come back for dinner.