Whisknladle Restaurant Review

1044 Wall St. (Herschel Ave.) Send to Phone

858-551-7575 | Make Restaurant Reservations | Menu

Price

From bread to charcuterie to ice creams and sorbets---everything is homemade at this La Jolla eatery.

Whisknladle Restaurant is one of our 2012 Hot 10 San Diego Restaurants | Top 10 San Diego Brunch Restaurants | Top 10 San Diego American Restaurants |

Cuisine

American

Open

Lunch & Dinner daily, Brunch Sat.-Sun.

Features

Full bar
Reservations suggested
Outdoor dining
Casual dressy

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Dining room at Whisknladle , La Jolla, CA

What is it they say about the third time being a charm? First Fresh, then Fresh(er) and finally Whisknladle---this morphing La Jolla restaurant has finally hit its stride. Chef Ryan Johnston and proprietor Arturo Kassel have offered different takes on the locally-sourced ingredient theme since taking over this prime spot from restaurateur Sami Ladeki. The previous two incarnations were adequate, but with Whisknladle, their original vision finally shines through. Take the pan-roasted sweetbreads with fava beans and lardons; the main ingredient is complemented, not overpowered, by the bacon notes, while the favas add a welcome toothiness. We also recommend the house-cured meats and cheeses, unpretentiously presented on a cutting board with waxed paper. The only misstep on the menu is the spicy Catalan shrimp. Although cooked to a pleasing tenderness, spicy they are not; in fact, the only discernable flavor in this dish is the olive oil. EntrÃ©es are served in bowls, making them fine for sharing. We like the fried chicken with fingerling potatoes, watercress and harissa. Although the wine list is not of the fine dining caliber, it has been carefully created and contains many fun boutique selections that will appeal to the adventurous.

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User Ratings & Reviews for Whisknladle

Average rating

2.67

Add your own experience

Reviews 1 - 3 of 3 1

Great Neighborhood Spot by SDJKP on 01/12/2012

The food is great, very fresh and well prepared. Drink menu is very solid. The New Fashioned is an especially refreshing take on a traditional cocktail. Suprisingly good fish tacos. We enjoy this place a lot and visit quite often.

Great Service, Bad Food by KellyHara on 01/20/2010

I visited this location during restaurant week. I chose it because I read great things about it and thought, "Why not?" I was thrilled with the service and thought it was top notch, but disappointed with the food. That Crows Pass Farm greens salad was absolutely amazing, kudos! Very delicious and satisfying. The Maine Scallops were not very good, unfortunately. They were gritty -almost like there was still some sand on them? But to be honest, I'm not sure why they were gritty. The thing that was really bad was the salt. They were super salty. I couldn't even eat more than one scallop. I didn't even bother taking it home for leftovers. As for the dessert: I wasn't too pleased with that either. I ordered the banana mousse (the exact name escapes me) but there was no mousse at all. The banana filling had the texture of flan. I ate maybe two bites. The chocolate on top was congealed and very unappetizing.

bad waiters and busboys by clay717 on 07/01/2008

I ate here friday night...there were 5 of us and we each ordered salads to start with and each had entrees and a bottle of wine with 2 rounds of drinks while waiting for a table. The food was ok but the treatment of the customers was pretty bad. We were at the restaurant pretty close to closing time. We were sitting at the left side of the restaurant in a table in the corner and there was no one else left on that side when we were leaving. as we got up to leave, our table was being cleared already by the busboy. We were about 5 minutes out the door when we realized that we left our camera. we went back into the restaurant right away and the busboy and waiter deny seeing anything. Then they started to question whether we even had a camera or not to begin with. We spent a lot of money at that restaurant and the manager defended his own employees without acknowledging that as customers that paid for a service at his own place we suffered from a loss. We don’t even get an "i am sorry that this happened in my restaurant i will do everything i can to help u" nothing comforting or somewhat helpful whatsoever. I would not want to be supportive of a business that does not take care of its customers