Black Radish — Restaurant in San Diego

Overall, really really lovely dining experience. Have passed by many times and have always wanted to try after reading the rave reviews but was just waiting for the right occasion, which finally came. For the prix fixe, you can choose any item from each menu section which I thought was awesome. There were two of us, we each chose different items so that we could taste more things. The flavor profiles, presentation, and thought that went into both was 👌 their a la carte prices are in the $20+ for appetizers and $35+ for mains (give or take) which I thought was reasonable. And their drinks are standard price for the area. We thought the portion size was perfectly adequate and expected for dishes of this type. The courses are well spaced out giving you time to mildly digest the previous course; neither of us left hungry. There was no rush to get anyone out of there and many people were enjoying their time and chatting for a while, it kind of felt like eating dinner in Europe in that sense. It was very refreshing.

The one issue I had, and why I dinged the service rating - transparency. Note that certain items are additional $ on top of the prix fixe cost if you select it. During my visit, the only menu item that had an additional fee was the wagyu main course dish ($9 extra). I ordered the sea bream as my main course and my waiter informed me they were out of sea bream and the replacement item was a sol dish (not listed on the menu) instead which sounded delicious so I ordered that. When I got the bill, I was charged an extra $19 for the fish. I was shocked. It wasn't obvious what that charge was for either, so I had to confirm with him. When he initially informed me it was the replacement option I assumed it was one for one, there was no mention of additional costs. I was there for my boyfriend's birthday dinner and we were having such a lovely evening, I didn't want to make a stink about it but as I sat on it it has bothered me more and more. It's really a shame because everything else was great, and I did enjoy our waiter but that left a really sour taste in our mouths. A dinner like this is not cheap. Two prix fixe meals, two drinks each, plus tip ran $300. So it feels really sneaky and sly when something like this happens.

All in all, I highly recommend checking them out. I will go back when I have another reason to, but I will certainly be more cautious when I order. My advice to the consumer , if money doesn't grow on trees for ya, confirm prices for anything not explicitly listed on the menu. My advice to the restaurant, don't be that guy. Have your waiters disclose price differences in situations like this. While we still had a nice night, it inevitably put a damper on our experience that could have been...

Black Raddish in my opinion is a star restaurant waiting to be discovered. I believe they are up there in taste with those that are Michelin recommended or starred.

Space: Smaller comfy, warm space. A smaller bar that was run by the owner. A partially open kitchen, and what appeared to be a fairly limited seating. We were the last seating and enjoyed the entire restaurant towards the end. P.S. the bathroom is through a secret door and it's great.

Service: Very friendly and helpful. She was knowledgeable about the menu and able to give personal insight (always curious when the staff don't know what the food tastes like). Gave heads up with additional costs.

Food: We all got the coursed meal with our choice from the appetizers, Soup or salad, and main. We had a table of 5 so we were lucky to try most of the menu. We did 2 bottles of wine, one which was a recommendation from our server, and she didn't even push the most expensive bottle. A amuse-bouche of a tempura asparagus. We had Langostine, King Crab (additional and Pork Belly. All were delicious, but the Halibut Tartare with Strawberry was the most interesting. The 2nd was a Poussin Consumme or a garden salad. Both light and refreshing. Acompanied by bread that the ownee himself bakes in the morning. The main was Halibut in a Linguini Lemony sauce, Wagyu Picanha and Rabbit were all delicious, each accompanied by a vegetable and starch. Each cooked to perfection, but the one we enjoyed the most was the Duck Breast. It was moist, flavorful and again stands up to a Michelin Star duck. There was also the dessert that wasn't shown on the menu. We again were able to have a spread due to the number of people. Watermelon mint sorbet, Peach and Canteloupe (separate) ice cream, Chocolate Creme de Pot, and my personal favorite Pavlova. It was an amazing dessert that stood with the whole meal and blew our minds.

Chef Itze Behar was nice enough to come out and thank us for coming. She explained the menu changes seasonally (roughly 4x a year, with some that stay and go). The only request was to have a vegetarian option (no main course) for our vegetarian/vegan friends. It was also requested for an option of wine pairing. Again, I said it before. We loved this place. I think the atmosphere is warm and comforting. The food was memorable, complex, with high quality ingredients, unique and absolutely worth the $69 (hehe) tasting menu cost. We absolutely left full with very fair portions. I'll be filled with bitter sweet emotions to see this restaurant recognized, filled with customers and a waitlist that I can't get on, but I do believe they are currently one of Sam Diego's unrecognized...

Let's just cut to the chase... we have a new favorite restaurant! Black Radish was recommended to us by some good friends that also appreciate great food. They said it was one of their favorite.

We showed up right when they opened at 5. We had a reservation for later that evening, but were starving so we headed there early in hopes of them being able to seat us early. They were more than happy to accommodate us.

The entire staff was warm & welcoming. Shout out to Lucas & Kelly for taking such amazing care of us our entire visit. We had noted in the reservation that we were celebrating love, and they generously brought us 2 flutes of champagne. When we mentioned that we were on an alcohol break, the immediately swapped it out for some delicious non-alcoholic bubbly! Generally, N/A wines are overly sweet, but this was quite subtle and delicious. Actually, subtle flavors was the theme of the evening.

We were excited to be informed that most of their cocktails could be made as mocktails. We eagerly ordered our first round. These mocktails were AMAZING! We could definitely appreciate the use of N/A spirits as opposed to other places that just make mocktails with juices. I had a blueberry smash & in no way did I miss the bourbon. The smokiness the N/A spirits added were (again) subtle, but added a complexity to the mocktail that made it amazing. We ordered 4 mocktails in total and they were all incredible. We cannot wait to go back and try some more & have those again.

But wait, there's more greatness! The food was delightful. Once again, all of the flavors were so subtle and blended together so well. We did the 4 course pre fixe menu, and left satiated, but not overly food. They even had GF options for ever course for my wife who is celiac and for some of the courses, she even had multiple options.

My wife is going back this week with a friend & I've already made a reservation for our anniversary towards the end of November. I cannot...