Serẽa Coastal Cuisine: Exquisite Sea-to-Table Coronado Dining

Serẽa Coastal Cuisine: Exquisite Sea-toTable Coronado Dining

By Noreen Kompanik

Located just steps from the beach at the legendary 1888 Hotel del Coronado resort, Serẽa is a diamond in Coronado’s crown jewel of the San Diego waterfront.

Making quite a splash on the foodie scene in the summer of 2019, the restaurant has been a welcome addition to the resort after a $200 million redevelopment. With renowned San Diego chef Jojo Ruiz at the helm, this dining establishment with distinctive Baja and Mediterranean influences is a culinary treasure.

Ruiz’s unrivaled dedication to craft cuisine has earned him two James Beard Foundation Smart Catch awards, one at Serẽa and the other at San Diego Gaslamp’s renowned Lionfish. This prestigious recognition honors chefs who promote sustainability within the seafood supply chain.

Dinner is served nightly along with a weekend brunch. Reservations are highly recommended as this restaurant is always busy, and for good reason.

The setting is spectacular, with stunning ocean views, yet there’s an air of casual sophistication. With San Diego’s almost picture-perfect weather, it’s no surprise that 60 percent of its seating is outdoors on its spacious terraced patio. A sleek outdoor bar area serves as an attractive focal point of the restaurant. For those who dine inside, the open-air setting still provides stunning views.

You won’t find a bad table at Serẽa, and my husband and I were pleased with our seaside fabric-covered booth with decorative pillows near the outdoor fireplace. Surrounded by swaying palms, strings of romantic lights, and the sun setting into the Pacific, we reveled to each other “This is a perfect date night.”

A wide selection of wines and bubbles by the glass or bottle, beer, sake, cocktails, and liquors are included in the extensive beverage menu. We decided on a bottle of Mer Soleil Chardonnay from California’s Santa Lucia Highlands region of Monterey. Intense, complex, and golden-hued with fresh bright aromas and lush flavors of fully ripened fruit, it was a perfect selection to pair with our meal.

Aromas from foods prepared from a wood-fired grill wafted through the air as we perused our dinner menus. Cuisine here is sourced locally and responsibly from area farms, markets, and California and Baja waters, then impeccably prepared. As a result, selecting a menu item can be challenging to diners.

Having a server familiar enough with the entrees to make recommendations is always appreciated, and we were fortunate. Though Seréa’s menu isn’t extensive, it is impressive with a selection of salads, appetizers, oysters, sashimi, wood-grilled and flash-fried fresh local fish, and other delights from the land and sea.

That being said, we decided to go with what we called our “sampler platter,” choosing several very appealing appetizers in order to get a taste of what makes Seréa so popular. Local Halibut Ceviche prepared with cucumber, avocado, lemon, coconut, agave pickled serrano, and spring onion was an explosion to the palate. Served with housemade chips, it was a winner.

Another great choice was the addictive Charcoal Grilled Octopus served with marble potato, red onion, sumac, olive, and red chimichurri. This was one of the best grilled octopus dishes we’ve ever had as the melding of flavors and textures was beyond perfect.

Tuna Tartare was another favorite with citrus, cucumber, avocado, pine nut, mint, cilantro and pita chips. Of no surprise, the ahi is top-grade and the whole combination of ingredients works incredibly well together.

Finally, perhaps our best-loved selection of the evening was the Patatas Bravas. It’s simply impossible to find a more tantalizing potato dish anywhere. The chili garlic aioli and chive accompaniments lift this amazing dish to an even higher plateau. Those ordering it for sharing will wish they hadn’t. It’s that good.

We were too full for dessert, however, it’s great to note that even the dessert menu changes to reflect local availability of ingredients. Loyal diners rave about the Greek yogurt cheesecake, wrapped in crispy Phyllo dough. This is exactly the reason we’ll have to return again. Well, that, and to also try some of Seréa’s other highly touted creative entrees.

British celebrity and Michelin-award-winning chef Marc Blumenthal once said “To me, food is as much about the moment, the occasion, the location, and the company as it is about the taste.”

This couldn’t be truer than our spectacular dining experience at Coronado Island’s Serẽa for it exceeded the mark in every one of these elements. It’s definitely the place you’ll want to go with the one you love!

Of note: Common to the travel industry, this dining experience was hosted by the restaurant. However, this does not influence the review fom this writer.

Photo opposite page: Hotel del Coronado; Photos this page (from left): Patatas Bravas; Charcoal-grilled octopus; Tuna tartare; Chef Jojo Ruiz ©Hotel del Coronado