It’s no news to anyone that San Diegans are huge seafood fans. How could we not be? We live by, play in, and interact with the ocean all the time. With such an intimate relationship with the sea, we also have a deep respect for its ecosystem, how it feeds us, and how we treat it. Chef JoJo Ruiz, a San Diego native, feels the same, and cooks with these values in mind. Cue in Lionfish, downtown San Diego’s premier sustainable seafood restaurant.
For those California diners with enlightened palates, Chef JoJo has curated a menu with impeccable attention to detail, melding together fresh, local seafood, with seasonal produce. His culinary genius somehow brings out the best characteristics of every ingredient in his dishes while creating a symphony of harmonious flavor in each bite. It’s as though a unicorn met a mermaid, produced a love child, and named it Lionfish.
Take for instance the Braised Salt Spring Mussels; simmered in chorizo sofrito, saffron butter and Albarino (Portuguese white wine). These are served with the most delectably crunchy grilled bread, buttered just the right amount for soaking in the sauce of the mussels. My mouth is watering thinking about dipping the bread in the perfect white-wine mussel sauce right now. If you close your eyes and savor each bite, you can pick out each ingredient we listed above. But take another bite as you casually sip a cocktail and chat with your dining partner, and you’ll notice the flavors seamlessly combine in their complexity to evoke a simple and telling “Mmmm” from your lips.
Or let’s talk about the Japanese Style tomato salad. I know what you’re thinking: “I can make a tomato salad at home.” But can you? Like Chef JoJo? Real talk, folks. In this dish, we are looking at farm fresh heirloom tomatoes, in a reduction of red shiso, boucheron (goat’s milk cheese), rye chili oil, white ponzu and nori furakake (a Japanese seaweed, JoJo’s ode to the ocean). Farm, meet ocean. Ocean, meet my taste buds. This ain’t no ordinary tomato salad. This is the tomato salad that Disney’s Arielle imagined when she dreamt of what food tastes like when she wanted to be “part of [our] world”. We sure are glad we are part of YOUR world, Lionfish.
And who doesn’t love local yellowtail, especially when it’s coal-grilled? Oh, and served in a reduction of butter confit wild mushrooms. And then accompanied by daikon, savoy cabbage, and Tozazu sauce. You had me at coal-grilled. But the real triumph comes when your fork easily sinks into the yellowtail filet, with the just the right amount of steamy, delicate flakiness you would expect from fresh caught, local fish.
We could keep talking about all the amazing food at Lionfish, like the wild mushroom and potato gnocchi, local oysters (check out the happy hour menu that includes $1 oysters!), and bone in rib eye. And did we talk desserts? You might say you’re too full from all the amazing seafood… except you won’t be. Because we always have room for layers upon layers of chocolate cake or a sticky toffee pudding (they may seem like staples, but these are anything but ordinary!). But, let’s also not forget the impressive cocktail menu, replete with drinks like Dante’s peak (Activated charcoal, Casamigos Reposado, El Silencio Mezcal, Agave, Lime, Peach Bitters), and our personal favorite, Rice-Paper-Scissors (Plymouth Gin, Junmai Ginjo Saké Pimm’s Mix, Lemon, Cucumber, Ichimi Togarashi Syrup). We could have kept drinking the Rice-Paper-Scissors (in fact, who has two thumbs and drank polished of two of them before dinner even started?), but we also had to turn our attention to their impressive wine/bubbles/sake selection to accompany our sustainable seafood dinner. The cellar is vast, diverse, and makes impressing your client/date/parents-in-law so easy that its impossible to go wrong.
And we should not forget to mention how beautiful Lionfish is. The elegant décor makes us want to don our favorite nautical cocktail attire, which is a new term we just made up. Imagine being invited onto your millionaire best friend’s yacht in Monaco (because we all have one of those, right?). What would you wear? Instead of white or pastel colors you might associate with California seafood restaurants, Lionfish is heavy on the sexy downtown mood-setting, boasting black leather bar seats and wood tables, and giving off a sophisticated but non-pretentious vibe. The decor revolves around its mission: enjoy good food and drink, sustainably and elegantly. We can get down with that.
We have so much more to say about Lionfish and Chef JoJo. Our admiration for what he has created may be limitless. Not only does he make innovative, mouth-watering food for us to enjoy, he does it in a way that aligns with his values, and ours too. We want to mention that Chef JoJo is also executive chef at Serea, Hotel Coronado’s gorgeous, beach-side seafood restaurant. Both Serea and Lionfish have been recognized as a James Beard Foundation Smart Catch Leader, a program affiliated with the prestigious James Beard Institution with the purpose of increasing the sustainability of the seafood supply chain. We applaud both Chef JoJo’s for his commitment to our earth, and our bellies! Another cue in here; this time, for a happy face emoji with heart eyes. Thanks, Chef JoJo.
You can dine at Lionfish with a clear conscience and a happy belly at 435 Fifth Ave, San Diego, 92101. 619-738-7200.
