Deckman's NORTH Park at 3131 — Restaurant in San Diego

We were first-time visitors to a Chef Deckman restaurant and had such a great time!! The food was amazing, stunning even. We shared different options for each course so we could try as much as possible. Our favorites were the quail, tomatoes/urchin, and abalone low tide soup. The Piedro de Sol Grenache Blanc from Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico, was a great accompaniment for both our appetizers and our four-course meal.

We were greeted with the smiling faces of the host staff upon entering. The service both at the front bar and our table was top notch! I can't recall his name, but our server was a young man who recently was back after 10 years in Puerto Vallarta. He was amazing and answered all our questions. What a special experience.

Here's what our evening's fixed price menu included. My friend and I shared everything so we tasted as much as we could...

A complementary course: Aged ribeye in a crab emulsion with cucumber and black sesame seeds.

Appetizers: Black Hat Sourdough Boule with 3131 pickles and pickled vegetables, speck, and goat butter. House cured anchovies with fennel potato relish and pain au levain (aka sourdough toast).

First course (option 1): Connelly Farms tomatoes and Halmay sea urchin with opal basil. Pete Halmay is a San Diego-based diver who sourced the urchin. The Chef prides himself on sourcing only the best ingredients, and this sea urchin certainly qualifies.

First course (option 2): Rock cod with ogo seaweed, garden water, bergamot orange (yes, it's green) and kaluga (sturgeon native to Japan) caviar.

Second course (option 1): Whale Cove mussels, lemon chèvre fagottini (filled pasta with lemon goat cheese), uni nage (sea urchin broth), and chicken skin.

Second course (option 2): Farm-raised Baja abalone in the Chef's "low tide soup" (e.g., seaweed, et. al.) with chapuline (deep fried grasshopper) oil.

Third course (option 1): Pacifico striped bass, eggplant, San Diego calamares (squid) and saffron.

Third course (option 2): Wolfe Ranch quail with chanterelles and turnips. (Wolfe Ranche provides quail to only three restaurants: 31THIRTYONE, The French Laundry in Yountville, and one other restaurant.) This was my personal favorite of the evening.

Surprise pre-dessert course: Tangerine sorbet and melon ice. (Another favorite!)

Fourth course (option 1): Chocolate baked mousse with toffee, bay leaf, and honey caramel salted ice cream

Fourth course (option 2): Peaches with mousseline, cardamom, and goat cheese ice cream. This was another favorite. Every flavor came together perfectly, and the cadamom...(mwah!)

Post-dessert surprise course: Salted chocolate bownie and passionfruit gummy.

Thank you, Chef Deckman, and the entire staff for a truly memorable experience. We will be...

I am saddened to write that 31THIRTYONE really disappointed--we were so excited for this restaurant to open here in SD. We have eaten at a number of Deckman restaurants and they are ususally pretty great.

The good: the food (e.g. the mushroom starter) had some real bright spots and the decor, though a bit minimal, is calm and inviting.

Now, the bad: 1) the food is very expensive for what it is and at every turn one felt that the restaurant was watching every single penny--portion size control beyond any comfort level. A $145 price fix in SD North Park should mean at least five courses or at least one of four courses that is bigger than a smallish appetizer anywhere else. We were with friends who are very light eaters and even they pointed out how little food we got. 2) the wine pairing was similarly miserly. $65 for three 2 ounce pours and a shot-glass sized cocktail with desert. We could not have consumed more than about a glass and a half of wine for our $65--and this was not exactly first growth bourdeauxs....... 3) the service was so not great. The server was joyless and added to the soviet-style reserve around the portions and wine pourings (though I will give her an A for being able to never once over-pour the 2 ounce limit). One of us was celebrating a birthday and she actually said, "you have to celebrate these things because life is short." Fortunately, the wine pairing had left me completely sober so this registered as odd as opposed to depressing. 4) more service--the staff is just not well trained yet. One server brought a dessert amuse bouche, dropped in front of us and left without a word. Not sure what it was but it was pretty good.

Anyway, if you are not looking for festive but instead want something very restrained, overpriced, and generally unfun, 31THIRTYONE is definitely your place. Hopefully, it will improve in time, and once they really get going you won't feel the oppressive spirit of nervous investors making sure they get their margin on every...

31ThirtyOne by Drew Deckman is more than just a high-end dining spot—it’s a thoughtful journey into what it means to eat sustainably while also indulging in luxurious cuisine. Imagine a dining experience where the distance between farm and fork is almost nonexistent. Every dish carries with it a story, often a local one, with ingredients coming from Deckman’s own farm just outside the city or from carefully selected purveyors within San Diego County. From a purely gustatory perspective, expect to encounter bold flavors, yet nothing is overly complicated—each dish presents a simple harmony between fresh ingredients and precise execution.

The environment at 31ThirtyOne is intimate, with its warm, earthy design pulling you into a space that feels both exclusive and down-to-earth. The open kitchen is a statement of transparency, letting diners peek into the careful choreography of Deckman’s culinary team as they plate up each course.

Where the restaurant truly stands apart is in its approach to sustainability. It’s not just a buzzword here—sustainability is part of the DNA of 31ThirtyOne. Not only does Deckman source everything locally, but the restaurant has a firm commitment to reducing waste, recycling, and composting wherever possible. Add to that the partnerships with environmental initiatives like Zero Foodprint, and you feel as if your meal contributes to something greater than just a great evening out.

Unlike many high-concept restaurants, 31ThirtyOne doesn’t just rely on technique or creativity; it leans heavily on the land, sea, and community that supply its ingredients. This relationship between food and environment is tangible in every bite.

If you’re seeking a dining experience that isn’t just about the food but also about the story behind it, 31ThirtyOne delivers a compelling narrative with every course. The result is a meal that feels connected—to nature, to the local community, and to a larger vision of what the future of dining could be. Thank you for my best birthday...