Juniper and Ivy — Restaurant in San Diego

I've always been a fan of Richard Blais and cant even count how many times I've watched this appearances on Food network. When we finally booked our San Diego trip we know we had to come here and try this spot out.sing the freshest, most seasonal ingredients.

I've always been a fan of Richard Blais and cant even count how many times i've watched this appearances on Food network. When we finally booked our San Diego trip we know we had to come here and try this spot out.

The menu is separated into 3 main categories, small bites, small plate and mains. We opted to pick a little of everything in order to sample as much of the food as possible. We were so lost as to what to order but our waitress was extremely helpful in letting us know what they were famous for and the most popular dishes.

Corn Dog: Cheddar & Jalapeno Sausage / Honey Mustard

Peanut Macaron : Chicken Liver Mousse / Concord Grape Jelly

Spicy Tuna Handroll: Yuzu / Sesame Leaf / Wasabi This was a play on a fusion of sushi and taco. Sesame leaf acts as the taco shell and is eaten like you would a normal taco. Tuna was fresh and flavorful, avocado added a touch of creaminess while the puffed rice provided a nice finishing crunch to the bite.

Carne Cruda Asada : Quail Egg / Cotija / Jalapeno This is definitely a sharing plate, sourdough toast topped with Carne Asada then topped with a sunny side up quail egg. A very well balanced dish, nice fresh creamy flavor and texture. However I personally found the bread a tad too thick causing the balance of bread to topping ratio to be a bit off.

Bone Marrow : Tuna Belly Tartare / Sourdough This was simply amazing. Richness of the bone marrow paired with the tuna belly was rich on rich. I would have preferred several smaller slices of baguette instead of the two pieces of bread. With just the two pieces of bread, it was a bit cumbersome and in the end had more bone marrow left without any bread. Balance of flavor.. A++

Spot Prawns : Corn, Old Bay Butter and Lemon This dish was delicious but had a tiny bit of execution issues.. I get the concept and pairing of ingredients and was overall a delightful dish. However I believe a little restraint should have been considered with the addition of corn. There was just too much corn that it ended up over powering the natural sweetness and char of the spot prawns. After removing excess corn, the balance of corn and prawns balanced out and I believe it tasted like what its original intent was. The addition of fresh squeezed lemon helped cut the richness of the Old Bay Butter.

Oysters and Pearls : Charred Salsa Mignonette / Jalapeno Pearls If you've seen Richard Blais on the Food Network you'll know his obsession with the use of liquid nitrogen. These oysters are brought to your table and then liquid nitrogen is poured around the oysters instantly chilling them and providing an entertaining smoke show. This is quite the table side show with smoke billowing out of the dish and a slow reveal of the oysters as the liquid nitrogen dissipates.

Oysters were properly shucked... a big bet peeve with oysters is poor shucking and mouthful of shells. Charred Salsa Mignonette provide a nice touch of acid as well as a slight hint of smokiness from the char. As the pearls (jalapeno) thawed from the liquid nitrogen, it slowly melted into a very light and delicate sauce pairing very well with the oyster and salsa. If your an oyster lover than this is the dish for you. Refined, delicate, great concept and...

We're huge fans of Top Chef winner Richard Blaise - even though it's not clear for me what his involvement is in this restaurant - we had to try it out. First impression is that the decor is nothing spectacular, simple and elegant with an open floor plan and open kitchen. The hosts were very attentive, they started setting a table with a baby chair as a baby was taken out of a car at the valet area... Wow! I have one thing I'd point out in terms of service, maybe I'm just wrong or too European but it bothers me unspeakably when I'm being asked how everything is after EVERY SINGLE BITE. Mid-bite too. We've had 5 different people ask us how everything was within 60 seconds. Not kidding. Now on to the fun stuff: we've chosen the fixed menu for Easter Sunday. We both kicked it off with the ahi crudo which was sensational, though it's luiqid nitrogen frozen nature may be off-putting at first if you've never had anything like it before. I suggest slightly mixing it together so the frozen bits would thaw a little. Then we moved on to seconds, wifey went with the scallops with mushrooms which were really nice but nothing to write home about. I luckily chose the ricotta ravioli. It came with a breathtaking broth and perfectly cooked English peas, and the showstopper was the Meyer lemon zest on it. At first it hits you with a beautiful bittersweet lemon aroma which may feel overpowering but beautiful, only to find that the saltiness of the ricotta comes straight to the rescue and balances out the meal masterfully. Our third was the leg of lamb which I didn't find especially outstanding but the potatoes almost made me cry, I found myself reminiscing about my grandmother's garden and the fact that the simplest foods made skillfully and from garden-fresh ingredients can be the strongest showstoppers at any restaurant. My wife and I both agreed that dessert was the strongest course out of the 4. Her chocolate mousse and my carrot cake were both clever, decadent and still elegant. My wife went as far as saying that was the best dessert she ever had - and she's not even a dessert person. Hats off to the pastry chef! By the way I'm a BIG guy and I was a little afraid to walk away still hungry but that wasn't the case, we were full by the end of our visit. Service times - taking into account that the menu is a fixed set of 8 course options total and the restaurant was running at maybe 20-25% capacity at the time - left a little to be desired. We received a house-made sourdough bread with garlic butter which I would kill for - kicker is it came not before our first course but after. Our drinks also came after the first course. I wouldn't be this nitpicky but a place at this price point just has to make sure their foh is on top of it. The cocktail selection isn't too great but everything I tried tasted like it was crafted with care and garnished like it should be. We felt like we were being pushed out, halfway into our dessert with full glasses of cocktails we just received we already had the check on the table - though it had a very thoughtful and friendly twist - it came under a plate of 2 macarons :)

All in all it was a great food experience with less-than-perfect service, but we're...

Overall: To be honest...I was a little worried. Looking at other's reviews and pictures of the portion size, I was worried I might have needed a burger on my way out. Also, I was worried I was going to spend a good amount of money for terrible food (my biggest fear as one who lives on a budget!). However, I was pleasantly surprised by the amazing quality and I was so full (along with my 3 friends) by the end of the night, I had to unbutton my pants on the way home to let me food baby breathe! :D +1

Food: It was me and my 3 girlfriends celebrating my birthday. So we chose to splurge a little. +1 Sourdough Bread: It was nice and warm on the inside and thin layer of crunch on the outside. The butter was a nice touch but not significant difference. I felt a little salty having to pay for bread at a restaurant, but thus is the elegant life :) Carne Asada Tostadas: I like how they cut it into four pieces for me and my friends. VERY CONSIDERATE. Not sure if was intentional or not really. It was good. I usually don't like beef tartar, but they made it work -Rigatoni: Slightly overwhelming. I loved the asthetic of the squid ink pasta and regular pasta. However, the flavor did not pack a punch. If you will get it, make sure to mix the sauce that is on the bottom for more flavor. But it was good. Mushroom Risotto: It was SO flavorful. The edible flowers were a nice touch and tasted Iike dainty lettuce. Chicken dish: Chicken stuffed with ?? In ramen broth. Felt like I could have made it at home, but the chicken was MOIST! Which is nice. Hangar SteaK: I'm not usually impressed by steak but it was PERFECTLY done! Also the hint of lime on the Brussels sprouts was genius! Whole duck: I've NEVER had duck that was this good. On a bed of quinoa accompanied by long radish, the combination of all was good. The individual duck pieces had a thin layer of crunchiness, nice layer of fat that is not too overwhelming, and juicy tender meat. Worth the 45 minute wait and 110 $$

Service: It was fast, for the most part. Our server talked REAL fast but checked up on us enough. The reason we got so full is because they kept refilling our water and we naturally kept reaching for it. Feels like.a waste to change plates and utensils every course. It can be a little creepy sometimes because the servers would just stare to look for things to do like cleaning up tables, etc. PRO: The waiters explained to us the food quickly instead of the typical monologues you can get. +1

Location/Ambience: It was a little dark...even with all the candles. Not sure why nice places can't be bright. We chose to sit inside and the decorations were quite nice! If I was walking in the streets, I might easily miss it. Parking is TERRIBLE in Little Italy. However, the walk afterwards was nice. +1

Price: .....you know what you getting into if you decide to come here. It was good food and a good experience. I did not appreciated paying $5 per person for them to serve the cake that I bought.....I can just cut the darn cake. I get...