San Diego Restaurant Week is hitting the scene again from January 13-18 and you locals won’t want to miss it! Check out the site to see the participating restaurants and make your reservations.

We had the pleasure to preview The Marine Room, and here is the recap of our exquisite dinning experience.

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At the end of the day, sometimes it’s hard to find true relaxation; even when we step out of the kitchen and go eat elsewhere, worries and responsibilities seem to come along for the ride.  I’ll admit that this happens more times than not, with a busy schedule and a lengthy to-do list. When we are always on the go, it’s hard to slow down even when we are in the perfect setting to do so.

The Marine Room provides just the atmosphere for guests to truly enjoy their time away from routine, while sharing good conversation over an impeccable meal.

These dishes are so creatively built. Before digging in we couldn’t help but admire the beauty of what was placed before us. As we began to work through the food, we would uncover various components, which had been neatly tucked behind the main attraction or carefully nestled underneath a delicate garnish. It was like uncovering gold, only better because you could eat it.

Due to Lauren’s current situation, my friend, Brittany, joined me for dinner. We both melted over the following dishes…

To start, we had the Mushroom Torte and the Humboldt Fog brûlée.

Trumpet Mushroom Torte {white asparagus, artichoke, truffle, royal ambrosante sherry}

The torte was a completely unique way of enjoying mushrooms and was richly blanketed in a sherry sauce that was to-die for.

Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog Brulee {butter lettuce, squaw crisp, Angelino plum coulis, chestnut agridolc dressing}

This is probably the only kind of brûlée that I will ever eat, from now on. Very few words were spoken at the table once I cracked through the sugary brûléed top. Simply amazing.

We moved onto the entrees, of which we both chose Chef’s Specials. Fancy that!

Sesame Togarashi Crusted Ruby Ahi Tuna {avocado fritter, black thai rice, harvest corn, honshimeji, white port pomegranate reduction}

Ever so lightly seared, this rare hunk of ahi melted in my mouth. The black thai sticky rice was subtly sweet and paired perfectly with the pomegranate sauce and sesame ahi. Fried avocado? Yes, please!

Neptune’s Trilogy {Maine lobster tail, diver scallops, wild prawns, mochi rice, persimmons, la quercia prosciutto, elysium black muscat essence}

The plate was fit for King Triton a king. A perfect seafood trio, you couldn’t possibly want anything else in life. The mochi rice was packed with flavor and the surrounding moat of sauce was lovely with the buttery lobster.

Luckily, we saved an inch of room for dessert and, naturally, we asked our server to point us in a chocolaty direction.

Feuillentine Gianduja Crunch Pyramid {Rose Pomegranate Consommé, Griottine, Pistachio Tuile}

I’ll tell you, this was a one chocolate champion of a dessert. A pyramid of dense chocolate with a hazelnut crunch and fruit accents to round it all out, wrapped up our night of sheer food coma bliss.

After a couple hours of relaxing, eating, and truly enjoying what each dish had to offer, we agreed that Marine Room is the place that you can sit and linger at — without asking promptly for the check. On the contrary, with the best seat in the house, watching the ebb and flow of the night tide from inside the cozy candle-lit dining room, we were quite content.

From the Little Yellow Kitchen,

Chrissy