Laurel Restaurant

I am still so sad that this restaurant is gone. I miss it so much. Bring it back! This is a San Diego classic that most everyone LOVES!
Miss you Laurel.

Why is that on our culinary exploration of San Diego, L and I seem to always stick out from the crowd, ethnically and age-​wisely? Well at least this time there was a table of prom girls (who probably adored the entry staircase you practically parade down in front of all the other patrons) to make us feel less inconspicuous.
There’s only two things I have to say about Laurel:
1). Food and service were excellent.
2). It doesn’t exist anymore.
We very glad we caught Laurel on its last opening night and enjoyed very much sitting in the sunken below street level dining room and our server was very attentive. He made suggestions for indecisive brats like us and continuous walk-​bys to see if we were ready to for the next course, plate-​clearing, etc. I really appreciate when my utensils are automatically changed and the table is scraped clean.
We also don’t believe in snapping pictures of our food, so you’ll just have to imagine the Flatbread (goat cheese, bacon, arugula, caramelized onions maybe?) & Bib Salad starters; Paella (dry chicken, chorizo, lots of mussels and clams) & L’s cod; great sorbet sampler (green apple was the real thing, prickly pear & watermelon was too sweet for me).
Not sure about the drinks here. L’s blueberry lemon drop was refreshing; my ginger mojito sucked, had not ginger flavor at all.
Anyway, the restaurant is exchanging its fine dining, modern luxe French décor for Italian & tapas under $ 20. It will be closed for renovation until beginning of July. Pluses for great food and wonderful service (dining room was full when we rolled in), minus for disappointing drinks and dry chicken in my paella. May stop in again if décor is nice, otherwise I’ll stick to Little Italy for my Italian.
4.5 Stars
— J.
I was pleasantly surprised when J and I walked in, to be honest, the online pictures of the restaurant itself were kind of a turnoff, everything seemed neon and like disneyland on an acid trip, but colors were way more subdued in a very good way. It was like stepping into a trendy hobbit hole with a splash of an urban outfitters vibe thrown into the mix.
Appetizers were great, lovedddd the flat bread and the salad was good but nothing to write home about. J got the paella, little different than what I am used to but then again different places always serve it bit differently and this wasn’t a Spanish restaurant. I got the cod and really liked it, super moist so I was very happy, nothing worse than overcooked fish: p The sorbets for dessert were good too, I agree with J and the apple was my favorite but I definitely still like the other flavors, but then again I have an awful sweet tooth!
Service was awesome, loved our waiter (cant remember his name though) he had the patience of a saint, I couldn’t decide what to have all night. Liked my blueberry lemon drop a lot, tried J’s drink and she described it perfectly, like drinking liquid toothpaste :/​not our thing, plus kind of a kill after downing mint juleps together for like a week straight! gross.
Overall thought it was great, great service, even better company, and there on its final night in all its glory. RIP laurel… you will be missed.
xx, lisa

I went to Laurel last night with my husband and we really enjoyed it! Not only was the service and atmosphere top notch, but the flavor of the food was off the charts!
I ordered the beef duo and my husband ordered the Waygu beef burger. The beef duo came with these AWESOME ricotta gnocchi served with a snow pea purée… yum yum! The burger and fries were also AMAZING and I just loved the aoli sauce. It was delicious with the fries which were cooked with either parmesan or some sort of cheese and spices.
We had ordered a cheese plate for an appetizer but our server forgot to put in the order. He more than made up for the mix up by buying us a round of drinks. He also did a great job answering all of our questions about the food and explained that the burger is from the same lineage (I think that was the word) as Kobe beef and the cows are given beer to keep the mellow. No wonder the burger was so good!
The prices were reasonable considering the quality, but there are some cheaper options too. There are some early bird specials including a burger, fries, and beer deal for $ 15! You better believe we’ll be back on Monday for this special!

What an awesome restaurant which is doing plenty to bring in business and cement customer relationships. I would definitely be a regular if I lived or worked around the area. If you do, please go visit them and prepare to be hooked.
I went in for the «7 before 7» specials – several appetizers and drinks for $ 7 each from 5pm (opening) to 7pm. These are not dainty bites or weak drinks. This is real food which is priced on the menu from nine to twelve dollars, and legitimate wines and other libations.
On Monday, they have a «burger and beer» special for $ 15 – the wagyu burger and fries which costs $ 19 on the regular menu, PLUS a local microbrew. Wednesday is 50% off select wines. These are amazing deals, people! And the ambiance is arty and elegant but welcoming; the décor is sort of vaguely French-​Provencal with slight Moorish influences; the service is very solid; and the food is fantastic!
I started with sangria (because I wasn’t feeling like wine and the other cocktails were a little frou-​frou). This was good, robust stuff that tasted like wine with brandy and fruit, not watery, vaguely alcoholic fruit punch. Before ordering, they start each diner with a little dish of edamame tossed in cardamom, cumin, orange zest, and oil. Nicely done.
«Appetizer» #1: Calamari. This was a very unique presentation and, like everything else, a generous portion – enough for a meal by itself, really. It was very lightly breaded and fried, then tossed with some cabbage, olives, feta, some kind of nuts, and a «spicy piquillo and pepperoncini coulis.» Truly amazing and wonderful. A+.
«Appetizer» #2: Lamby joes. Yep, that’s two palm-​sized sloppy joes made with lamb, served with a token leaf of greens and – get this – garam masala aioli and carmelized fennel! What a brilliant stroke. A bit greasy and the buns slightly too thick, but so delicious. Spilling over with meat, these were very filling but worth every bite. A.
I had a glass of pinot grigio, but there was no hope of cramming dessert into my stomach after eating two meal-​sized dishes within four to five hours of lunch. Too bad, because they had some amazing stuff on the menu, including a s’more bread pudding which two of my lovely bar neighbors got. Seeing this dish and hearing their raves made me weep with jealousy and regret.
Sitting at the bar is actually a great way to dine alone at a restaurant like this. You get to hear and see a lot about the various dishes and drinks. All of my neighbors – a fair cross-​section of personalities comprising a couple, two sets of friends, and two other singles – were fine conversationalists. They all heaped praise on their own dishes such as the wagyu burger, the fish and chips, and the bacon/​leek/​feta flatbread. And Shawn B. took good care of us; two others, I believe the manager and owner, were present for much of the evening.
Several of my fellow diners seemed to be regulars, and with good cause. Make a beeline for Laurel, especially between 5 and 7pm. My meal was just over $ 30 including tax. How can you beat that kind of value?

I’ve really enjoyed my eating and happy hour experiences at Laurel.
I’ll speak to the happy hour first. The 7 before 7 deal is great as most of the appetizers are quite delicious. The lamby joes, mussels, and flatbread are delicious and a great deal. The calamari hasn’t been that great or consistent so I’d take a pass on it. Besides, why order something so common at Laurel? The happy hour drinks are great and I highly recommend the sangria. The happy hour isn’t cheap (drinks are $ 7), but you’re paying for the location. The bartenders have all been great and often I’ve found myself sharing drinks with them. My only complaint is that the burger is on the happy hour menu but is NOT discounted — WTF is up with that? I wanted it a couple of times and passed when I found out it was $ 19 — that’s not even close to happy hour. Give us a discount if it’s on the happy hour menu.
My dinner experience has been top-​notch. I had the Brandt Farms Beef Duo which was fabulous. For sides, the mac-​and-​cheese is delicious though I wish they would bring back the cauliflower dish they had a while back — that was something special and I don’t know what they did with it.
For value, I’d also recommend the Tapas Tuesdays.
I’d definitely go back to this place and recommend it either for a celebration dinner, a fancy date place, or just making a nice night on the town. I find myself coming back to this place whenever I’m in San Diego.

I love Laurel. For San Diego this is definitely a place that knows what their doing. It’s has three fabulous components.
1.) Service is impeccable (Shawn the bartender is awesome).
2.) The food has always been consistent.
3.) The ultra chic décor.
I went tonight and had the Wagyu beef burger and truffle frites. The frites were better than average but the Wagyu was delish. Decadent, layered and fresh tasting. I recomend the smoked bacon/​leek/​feta flat bread, lemongrass chicken skewers and calamari. For dinner I recommend the paella.

I really like this restaurant.
The food is very interesting, particularly for San Diego. I started with Kung Pao sweetbreads, which was great. Companions had salads (not sampled) and tuna tartar, which was perfect. We all then had the «burger and beer» special ($ 14.95! Great deal!). Burgers were excellent — mine was perfect (rare), but companions had ordered medium rare and they were closer to well. We had sides of mac and cheese (no butter or cheese in that, no sir) and mushrooms.
Service is perfect. The restaurant looks great, too. While it may not be for everybody (the meat and potatoes/Rainwater’s crowd probably won’t enjoy the menu), anybody who is interested in eating in SD, a town crowded with over-​hyped and disappointing fine dining restaurants, should go. Laurel provides interesting cooking, great service and an attractive dining room. Here, it is a stand out.

I have been here for Happy Hour a few times (that’s about all I can afford), and I had very good experience everything. I’ve probably tried everything on the $ 7 menu. I really like the calamari, it’s tossed in a light sauce with feta and olive, that adds a lot of flavor and does cuts the greasiness of plain fried calamari.
The most recent time we tried the kobe burger, it comes on a very nicely toasted ciabatta bread. I really liked that ancho ketchup and the cheese on top of the fries. as for the burger itself, nicely cooked and very tender, the short rib on top tasted good too. too bad that’s not on the $ 7 menu.
Service has been great, the bartenders were very attentive and nice. I wish they have more drink selection added to the happy hour menu.

This place is super eye candy. The décor is modern vibrant granny chic, my kind of décor, but what a shame. For dinner, this place is so dim, everything looks black and white. We were SO excited to dine at this place, mainly for the lovely pictures that captured us from the website and Unilocal, but we didn’t get to even see it, even though we were there!
The food is just OK. I had the fried spinach risotto with bacon and cheese and it was good, but for an appetizer, it was too huge. My BF got the raw beef plate. That was yum.
My entrée, Veal Three Ways, was just OK. It was kind of bland. Veal cheeks were good, but when I was done with it, the other two were cold. It’s because the plates are cold. Here’s a tip — WARMED PLATES! It really helps, especially when the restaurant is so airy and dark. My BF got the short ribs and that was tender, but not original. I’m sick of seeing short ribs and mac n’ cheese on menus, and that’s what my BF decided to get as a side. It wasn’t unique. mac n’ cheese made with a strong cheese. eh.
Friendly service, very attentive. She noticed I didn’t really drink my wine and asked if she could bring me something else.
thumbs up: décor, risotto
thumbs down: the food needs to be as interesting as the décor, warm the plate and turn on the lights!

I went back. We had the fixed Valentines Day menu. The veal we had as the entrée was nice. Some of the best I’ve ever had. The other entrée was duck, two ways, it was just OK overdone and over-​seasoned. The appetizers were OK, not great. The scallops were way overcooked. Service was not so good this time. Had to ask for things a few times, almost wasn’t given part of the appetizers (oysters) and just wasn’t treated like I was about to spend all that damn money. The deserts were very good. Bar and bartenders were good.
So I dropped it down a star and I think if I had another meal like that I won’t be returning. It’s hard not to think about all that money being spent when things aren’t consistently good.

It hurts me to give this place 3 stars because I really wanted to give it 5 when I walked in. The décor is amazing in this place. The back wall has an intricate white design on top of a mirror, and has matching wall paintings and wallpaper. It has vaulted ceilings and is surrounded by glass walls, which gives it a nice open feeling.
However, I ended up being seated at a table with booth seating on one side, and chairs on the other. I hate this type of seating because anytime someone along the same booth seat shifts, I bob up and down in my seat along with them; not really conducive to eating.
The food: I had the oysters, which were topped with a vinegar-​y sliced cucumber and caviar. It was good, but the cucumber overwhelmed the taste of the oyster, which I wasn’t a fan of. I like my oysters RAW. We also had the venison carpaccio, which was my favorite moment of the meal. YUM. I had the sea bass for my entrée, and was a bit bland. I didn’t think the napa-​wrapped rice and sauce did anything for the fish at all. I have had much better prepared sea bass at other places, including Osetra downtown, or Baleen at Paradise Resort. However, my date ordered the Trio of Veal and that was phenomenal. I think this place is more of a meat place.
Service was ok. I asked change for $ 20 bill for the $ 7 valet cost, and the server completely forgot and left me hanging for about 15 minutes. Also, I didn’t really see him much… I think I saw the bus boys more than him.
I like this place, but don’t love it. I would definitely go back for happy hour, or wednesday 50% off wines night.

I decided to try out Laurel for my 24^th birthday dinner, I was not disappointed and had a great dining experience.
I am in love with the design of this place, everything about it is absolutely beautiful. The décor is amazing and it just feels clean and modern but without being pretentious and confusing.
I started off with a French Pair, one of their martinis. It was pretty good and stiff.
Food was great. I had the duo of beef which consisted of a piece of filet and a piece of braised beef. They were both delicious and wonderful. My mom ordered the free range chicken and my dad got the salmon and crab cakes, they both enjoyed their dishes. We also ordered a side of pommes frites, they were drizzled with truffle oil and topped with some Parmesan cheese — delicious.
Only gripe I have is that my table wasn’t cleaned pre-​dessert. Minor complaint and when all is said and done, Laurel deserves 5 stars.

Happy Hour is the way to go here! 7 different appetizers, 7 drinks, $ 7 each before 7pm.
Sometimes we much rather enjoy the atmosphere of the bar than sitting down to a 4-​course meal. The bar is nice and dark, plus you still get the view of tho whole restaurant.
We had the soup of the day (carrot and celerey root-​amazing, plus great presentation), calamari (in a mixed green salad-​so original and yummy), mussels (which the were enough as a meal on their own) and chef’s choice street tacos (pork belly-​which d said were great and came 3/​order). Add a few cocktails and we had a lovely dinner for just under $ 70 including tip.
We will def be coming back for happy hour and dinner, I’m sure.
PS — We love our server Rebecca — such a sweetheart!

Dear Laurel Restaurant,
What the hell?
My friends ask me to pick the place for our Last Day of Christmas Vacation Happy Hour and, after driving past you dozens of times, seeing how lovely it looked through the window, I chose you.
First stop was Unilocal,to see if you were any good. Most here seem to think you’re top notch, so that was encouraging. Then I went to your website, which says you offer a happy hour, it says you open at 5, daily, and the photos of your insides looked divine. Right there on your home page: «Open Daily at 5».
We got there and it was dark at 5pm. Despite again, the «Open at 5 Daily» etching on the glass front door. Silent. Wouldn’t you think the kitchen staff would at least be there? We called. No one answered. We knocked, no one came. There was no sign, no «In these hard economic times, we’re closed today…», nothing.
I don’t know what happened here, but I recommend updating your website and your hours here on Unilocal.We ended up at another bar where I had a martini with chunks because you weren’t open and had no signage, website posting, voicemail or anything.
The two stars are solely for the adorableness of the décor, which would have been far more fabulous with the lights on. I really wanted to go here, so this was very disappointing.

Laurel is a gorgeous, modern restaurant with creative dishes to please any palate. The portions are very small, which is great in my opinion because it allows you to try many options and not get SO stuffed that you can’t move.
The service is slow, so do not go here if you are looking for an hour dinner… plan for at least two hours. We did a prix fixe New Year’s Eve menu with fives courses and added a supplemental scallop dish and everything was so tasty. I did the wine pairing with my meal and all of the wines served were nicely matched.
The beet, caper, endive salad with baked goat cheese round was absolute heaven, and my duck entrée was prepared very nicely. We also had a lemongrass coconut soup that was pretty much one of the best soups I’ve tasted. The dessert– wow. I ate TWO bananas foster cheesecakes and they had a black and white noel also that wasn’t too shabby at all. LOL…
Beautiful atmosphere and good food… a must try.

Definite improvement over the last time I was there a year ago. New Chef?
I haven’t had veal in forever and it was fantastic! Service was a little spotty and the menu make up is a bit all over the place. Décor is great unfortunately like most restaurants they aren’t busy.
Worth going back, more of a date place than special occasion.

Not sure what sparked that bitter string of deliberate reviews, kind of makes me wonder who wrote them all!!? :)
Anyway, I consistently have wonderful experiences at Laurel. Went there last Friday, sat at the bar and tried first to find a spot at the bar since it was so packed, and then tried two of their newest menu items: the Loch Duart Salmon and Cod Wellington. Loved the imagination of the chef on daring to put a twice on the standard Wellington… it was a good move, the cod came out super moist, and the phyllo dough which wrapped around it, was flaky and delicate. Favorite part of the dish was that each bite I took had pieces of cured smoked salmon which gave this dish the balance it needed. The salmon dish met my expectations as well. The salmon was perfectly cooked and sat atop a potato chard salad with pancetta viniagrette. It was accompanied with a solid lump crab cake and savory yellow pepper whole grain mustard sauce. Impressive footnote on this dish — the fact that the crab cake was made of only lump crab, aioli and nothing else — finally a place that stays away from all the fillers. Love when the food I’m eating is quality. Great new dishes. Thank you Laurel for always delivering such a great dining experience.

Love it. LOOOOOVE IT! Really completely magical experience. Of course, the setting was wonderful … a romantic dinner with my husband right before a Seal concert at Humphrey’s celebrating my birthday. What could be better?
I believe this restaurant has the BEST DECOR & AMBIENCE IN ALL OF SAN DIEGO. The lighting is romantic. The color palette is black, white with some mild lime green accents. There are «roses immersed in water» like you’ve never seen before! It’s art … really!
The dinner was fabulous. I ordered a tasty salad and the well presented and delicious scallops appetizer. I wanted to order more … but I’m still in training for my triathlon so I was good — too good with a light dinner and no vino. (NEXT TIME I WILL GO ALL OUT!). My husband ordered the Paella (so I did taste some yummy carbs). If we had more time, I would have had ONE BITE of dessert and I’m certain I’d be raving about it, too!
Also, I need to say the service was attentive but still offered my hubby and I some privacy for some ‘juicy’ conversation!
Note: Next time, I would go to watch the sunset at Mr. A’s (kiddy corner from Laurel), then go to dinner at Laurel. Great date night!

The food is the main reason for the 5 stars. It was very good.
Not to say that the service or the ambience wasn’t as exciting. They were good too. But the food was impressive.
I found the duck confit to be one of the best I’ve tasted and the duck’s partners were perefect for it. A purée of carrots and dark al dente lentils with asian greens and cherries. The sweet and tart of the cherry lightened up the richness of the duck itself. Really a perfect mélange.
The paella was up there with some really good paellas I’ve eaten at Spanish owned joints or even in Spain. The chorizo was spicy and plentiful, the fish fresh and firm. The shrimp could have been bigger than embryos though. Almost bay shrimp! Really good though.
The pâté was also delicious with some cracked sea salt and black pepper. mmm…
I had a «shock top» belgian beer that was spicy and slightly sweet with some hop to it. hoppier than most whites (I wouldn’t normally describe white beers as hoppy at all).
The service was good, attentive, fairly friendly. The food came with very little wait.
Laurel’s décor is probably one of the finer examples of an eclectic, quality setting.
Prices are up there! Can’t afford to come here on a regular basis unfortunately.
Great, creative cuisine.

Old dude rockin’ out to some tunes with a pianist. (HA! I said «pianist!!») — Ma? did I spell that right? Oh, and by «rockin,» I mean «leausirely swooning «to some jazz tunes… That rocks. Nice way to enter the area.
Anywho– it’s a Tuesday, we sat at the bar. There was this 30-​something floozy hanging all over this PA… as in GRAND-​PA. Ew! Is this this norm? Yeppers. I think it might be.
We arrived at 6:00ish and there were older men salivating all over (and fondling) much younger gals. Poor bastards shuffling out on their walkers checking out my rack. It was pretty much awesome. (Hey! I gotta good rack, ok!?)
Hey– whatever you’re into, right?
The bartender comes up and says, «It’s Topless Tuesday!»
What the fuck?!
Oh… nevermind… he said «Tapas Tuesday.» (Thank god.)
Anywho, am I am totally rambling and digressing?
Here’s the goods:
$ 7 for menu items usually ranging anywhere from $ 9 to $ 13 bones before 7:00pm. Sweet.
Everything I ate was really, really, really good. The endives had figs and prunes and blue cheese and some citrus oil orgasmate in my mouth. (Is that a word? «orgasmate??») The tartness of the endive, the sweetness of the fruit, the creaminess of the cheese= Heaven.
I also had to flatbread (sans pig.) Amazing! Loved it!!!
I like this place a lot… go here. Get the goods while the goods are goin’ for cheap!
I am taking one star off because the décor that was put in is just a little «shmutz.» It isn’t the high-​class-​suga-​daddy-​warranting-​pricey-​joint kinda place. It looks like Ikea threw up on it and I have to admit I kind of hate it.
But Hey! 4 stars for great apps, nice pours on wine, and old dudes checkin’ out my rack!