Kettner Exchange — Restaurant in San Diego

This place is pretty much the direction we've been heading towards in this city since "Juniper & Ivy" opened successfully a few years ago and proved that San Diegans were ready for its downtown restaurants and chefs to up their game. Yes, Kettner Exchange seems annoyingly trendy. Yes, their chef has competed on television on Food Network. Yes, this place is a "scene" on weekend nights, bustling with very attractive people that maintain diets that don't permit them to actually enjoy their meals here.

But, beyond the razzle-dazzle, Chef Brian Redzikowski's kitchen serves some of downtown's best food, as I learned during a recent visit.

I started with the Big Eye Tuna "Pizza," essentially raw tuna drizzled with a truffle oil, garnished with fresh oregano, sitting on top of a garlicky aioli, shiso, red onions, and ponzu sauce, all on a crisp lavash cracker. Redzikowski is a Nobu alum, so this wasn't a surprising dish to find here. The big eye tuna tasted properly mammalian, cut to be more meaty than rich, and thus allowing the oil and crisp lavash to shoulder any textural pleasures provided on this plate. A great start to my meal!

I moved on to the Grilled Spanish Octopus, which took two different tapas staples and combined them onto a single plate. There's the "pulpo" of course, which is subjected to sous-vide cooking prior to being char-grilled into a tasty, tender submission. Then there are the roasted potatoes on the plate: think "patatas bravas," but instead of a traditional patatas aioli, a lip-smacking chimicurri sauce with the garlic turned up to "11." Hell yeah, I'd order this again.

Next I had the Duck Meatball, a heavier dish than the previous two, featuring a marinara sauce made of heirloom tomatoes and capped with a parmesan frico disc to add a smidgen of funk and umami. I guess I expected this meatball to taste "ducky," and it doesn't, so a slight disappointment.

My final savory course was the Fried Chicken and Biscuit, featuring a foie gras gravy spiked with buffalo sauce. I'm not gonna lie, melting foie gras down into a gravy sauce is a dirty (but delicious) cheat that would make ANY fried chicken awesome. I can barely objectively grade the chicken, because the foie gras gravy sauce was such a slippery, robust, and piquant delight. Redzikowski chooses to fry his chicken in the boneless style of Japanese karaage fried chicken, using thighs that he ensures retain their moisture through the cooking process. His is a decent variation on karaage but, to me, karaage is never very impressive by itself. Those who follow my reviews know I'm partial to eating my fried chicken off of bones.

I finished with the caramel Budino, which featured caramel sauce and crème fraîche on top of the custard. My waiter advised me to take all three tastes in one spoonful, which was great advice. The budino was a decadent dessert that really helped to fill in the corners of my stomach, and about the only thing I could muster after having 4 previous courses.

My waiter, Ryan, was awesome. He was one of the better waiters I've ever had at a restaurant that exists outside of the world of high-end fine dining. I wish I could also compliment the hostess and front-end staff, but they annoyed me upon arrival when they told me they couldn't honor my request to sit on the patio even though I made the request 3 weeks earlier and there were tables with "reserved" placards out there. They furthermore were not helpful at all when I tried to find a "first come, first serve" table outside. Whatever. I got over it. Ryan really helped me get there. Without his expertise, enthusiasm, and professionalism, this review would have had a much different tone.

Based on my experience here, I'd rank Kettner Exchange in my top 5 downtown dining destinations and I look forward...

My husband took me here last night (2/12/2025) for an early valentines dinner, and I was blown away to say the least. Even starting from the host stand, you could tell that the staff were professional and kind. I didn’t get the host or the seater’s name, but I saw both of them handle multiple customers with grace and speed, answering any and all questions with a smile and well-mannered small talk. When we were seated, there was immediately a food runner ready to get us some water before the waiter stopped by. When the waiter, Miguel, came by he was immediately on top of things and gave us a run down of the food and drink menu, his suggestions for serving sizes (tapas style) and his favorite recommendations (he knew what he was talking about with the duck meatball, and the half duck!). He was even kind enough to give me a warning about my drink (carajillo old fashioned), mentioning that it was VERY spirit forward. I personally was looking for a spirit forward drink, and I love mezcal, but as a bartender/server myself, I know that many people just see “old fashioned” and think it’s bourbon, or some don’t know what an “old fashioned” even is, so I absolutely adored that he was determined to make sure I got a drink I would enjoy. The food runners and expo were incredible, constantly pre-bussing and filling waters as needed (we got sparkling so we had a bottle at the table but I saw them making sure the tables around us were full). They were a big part of making sure the ambience was met, and I was extremely appreciative of that. The restaurant itself was very low lit and comfortable. We got a corner booth which was very spacious; we were able to hear other tables talking, but it added to the elevated-casual fine dining experience. Not to mention, we were able to hear some other table’s re-orders of plates so we got some ideas for what to order next time! My husband and I got the crispy spicy tuna rice, the seared halloumi, the duck meatball, and the half duck. The crispy spicy tuna rice was very good—though it wouldn’t be a “must get” if we went back—it was great to try. The seared halloumi had a lovely glaze and a nice texture, but I wouldn’t get it again because the portion was much too small to share. The duck meatball was TOO DIE FOR; the cheesy grits that came with it were amazing, and the texture of the meatball was fantastic—I would get that every time. The half duck was fantastic as well, I’d probably ask for more cucumber salad on the side, possibly even order more bao buns, but it was amazing to share with my husband and we both said it was some of the best duck we’ve had. All of the cocktails were brilliantly made, you could tell their lead bartender put a lot of thought into crafting the cocktail list (the pun names were also very cute). In total, the staff were all extremely polite and friendly; those I talked to at length were comfortable and built rapport very easily. The staff were patient and extremely knowledgeable, ready to answer any and all questions respectfully. My husband and I’s total was $159 before tip, which my husband and I both agree is more than fair for 3 craft cocktails and 4 plates—honestly we were expecting much higher! Overall, we were very impressed with Kettner Exchange and Miguel as our server, the food was fantastic, ambience was nice, and the service...

Let me start by saying we had only 2 days in San Diego, which means we only had 2 dinners to get the chance to try all of the amazing restaurants in San Diego. So glad I was able to grab a reservation at Kettner, the food and atmosphere were perfection for a romantic night of cocktails and lots of yummy food. The service was a bit lacking, and the pace of the evening felt off.

Atmosphere: Absolutely worthy of 5 stars! The style of decor here is masculine modern, with a touch of soft vintage vibes. Incredible and interesting to look at. The roof top patio is just as beautiful as each section of the dining room, and the downstairs bar. Well thought out seating and good options if you have a party of up to 12 people. We had a corner booth upstairs near the window, it was comfy and felt like we had a view of all the action.

Food: YES YES YES!!! Family style plates are my favorite, I want to try all the things. I felt lucky to be with an adventurous eater who was willing to indulge me in getting more than we needed so that we might be able to try a good sample of the menu. Highlights: The pear cucumber pomegranate salad- such a surprise when it came out, no lettuce to be found. The flavor was a 10, and very palate pleasing. The spicy shrimp was probably our favorite thing we ordered, it was not too spice forward but left you with heat. I want a bootle of that sauce!!! We loved the bao, and the shrimp crispy rice. We had a few others that were ok.

Service: This is where we could have seen great improvement. When we arrived we valeted, walked to the front and waited to be greeted by a gal who appeared to be training someone, ignored us for a few minutes? No smile, or how are you doing, DO YOU HAVE A RESERVATION? Yes, walked us to our table. Our waitress was nice, let us know we needed to order everything at once. Gave us samples of wine to choose from, we had to ask for water. Once the water came out, our glasses were empty most of the time we were there. This was noticeable because of the SPICY food! Our plates came out not well spaced, or coursed in a way that would allow us time to enjoy. We had 5 plates come out at once, that does not make sense for a table of 2. We were not offered desert or coffee, and felt as though the service while not bad was mediocre at best.

All in all I will return when we are back in San Diego later this year. Still have half the...