Chef and co-owner Elijah Arizmendi brings his lengthy resume to La Jolla, planning a hyper-seasonal, dynamic menu based on expert knowledge of local farms.
Positioned above La Jolla but firmly entrenched in its culture and lifestyle, a new restaurant is preparing to fire up, with a concept inspired by the coastal community it serves.
Lucien, overtaking the former third-floor Sushi on the Rock spot in La Plaza on Girard Avenue, is set to open in June, with co-owners chef Elijah Arizmendi, Brian Hung and Melissa Lang planning a fine-dining experience they hope will fill a local, culinary void.
Arizmendi’s resume includes turns at Spago, Michelin-starred Robushon, Restaurant Daniel, Gunter Seeger and Per Se. Most recently, Arizmendi was chef de cuisine at L’Abeille in Tribeca, which earned a Michelin star within 6 months of opening.
Lucien, a 30-seat restaurant, will feature a 10- to 14-course tasting menu, with two seatings per night, focusing on hyper-seasonal, hyper-local food highlighted in a dynamic manner.
Renders by Tecture
Renders by Tecture
Renders by Tecture
“This is not an easy concept to pull off,” said Arizmendi, who named the restaurant after his toddler son. “But it’s very fun as a chef. And we’re a very chef-driven restaurant.”
Lucien will tell “the story of the farmers and the produce and the terroir and everything that is Southern California,” Arizmendi said.
“No two meals will ever be the same,” Lang said, adding Lucien will be reservation-only to accommodate the amount of preparation the constantly-changing menu requires.
“it was very important to me that we give the best of what’s around us,” Arizmendi said.
Lucien’s local formula will be heavily influenced by Arizmendi’s breadth of experience from around the world, though the chef, who hails originally from Sacramento, maintains that even with a “nomadic lifestyle” cooking in various cities, “I’m very much a California boy.”
Lucien is going to be about “time and place,” he said. “I hope people can look back … at this menu and say, ‘Oh, wow, I remember exactly when this was,’ without even seeing the date.”
The memory-making goes beyond food to Lucien’s high-touch service, Lang said. “As guests come in, we’re going to know what they’ve had in the past” and customize dishes to their history and preferences.
And above all, local is law, with Lucien’s dedication to La Jolla “first and foremost … reflected in the food,” Lang said. “If it’s not local, it’s probably not going to be the star ingredient of any of our courses.”
“Sense of place is central to the spirit of Lucien,” Hung said, adding the restaurant’s interiors “were inspired by La Jolla’s raw coastal beauty. … We’re proud to take full advantage of the incredible bounty of San Diego’s produce.”
The Lucien team is “inspired by how singular La Jolla is,” Hung said. “It’s a town that can only exist in San Diego and one that embodies the very best the region has to offer.”
Hung and Lang, who are married, moved recently to San Diego from New York, where Hung worked with Arizmendi at Per Se and the two would talk about their shared ambitions to have a restaurant in California.
“Opening the restaurant here was very much a goal of mine, since I was a very young cook,” Arizmendi said.
To further Lucien’s shine, the owners have assembled a galaxy of restaurant stars, including general manager James Spencer, whose experience includes Michelin-rated Melisse, Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, Gwen and Valle; wine and beverage director James Meringer, formerly of Loring Place, Restaurant Daniel, The River Cafe and Sushi Ichimura; and pastry chef Bella Alicea, whose resume includes Per Se, Zaytinya and Le Bernardin.
And though Lucien will only seat 60 per night, La Jollans will be at the front of the list, Lang said, as Arizmendi has “always been able to build a great following of regulars. … Our passion and our interest is building a base [who] put their trust” in Arizmendi.
Every Lucien meal, she said, “is going to be consistently excellent, even if the food is not quite the same.”
Visit luciensd.com for opening updates.
© lajolla.ca
Chef and co-owner Elijah Arizmendi brings his lengthy resume to La Jolla, planning a hyper-seasonal, dynamic menu based on expert knowledge of local farms.
Positioned above La Jolla but firmly entrenched in its culture and lifestyle, a new restaurant is preparing to fire up, with a concept inspired by the coastal community it serves.
Lucien, overtaking the former third-floor Sushi on the Rock spot in La Plaza on Girard Avenue, is set to open in June, with co-owners chef Elijah Arizmendi, Brian Hung and Melissa Lang planning a fine-dining experience they hope will fill a local, culinary void.
Arizmendi’s resume includes turns at Spago, Michelin-starred Robushon, Restaurant Daniel, Gunter Seeger and Per Se. Most recently, Arizmendi was chef de cuisine at L’Abeille in Tribeca, which earned a Michelin star within 6 months of opening.
Lucien, a 30-seat restaurant, will feature a 10- to 14-course tasting menu, with two seatings per night, focusing on hyper-seasonal, hyper-local food highlighted in a dynamic manner.
“This is not an easy concept to pull off,” said Arizmendi, who named the restaurant after his toddler son. “But it’s very fun as a chef. And we’re a very chef-driven restaurant.”
Lucien will tell “the story of the farmers and the produce and the terroir and everything that is Southern California,” Arizmendi said.
“No two meals will ever be the same,” Lang said, adding Lucien will be reservation-only to accommodate the amount of preparation the constantly-changing menu requires.
“it was very important to me that we give the best of what’s around us,” Arizmendi said.
Lucien’s local formula will be heavily influenced by Arizmendi’s breadth of experience from around the world, though the chef, who hails originally from Sacramento, maintains that even with a “nomadic lifestyle” cooking in various cities, “I’m very much a California boy.”
Lucien is going to be about “time and place,” he said. “I hope people can look back … at this menu and say, ‘Oh, wow, I remember exactly when this was,’ without even seeing the date.”
The memory-making goes beyond food to Lucien’s high-touch service, Lang said. “As guests come in, we’re going to know what they’ve had in the past” and customize dishes to their history and preferences.
And above all, local is law, with Lucien’s dedication to La Jolla “first and foremost … reflected in the food,” Lang said. “If it’s not local, it’s probably not going to be the star ingredient of any of our courses.”
“Sense of place is central to the spirit of Lucien,” Hung said, adding the restaurant’s interiors “were inspired by La Jolla’s raw coastal beauty. … We’re proud to take full advantage of the incredible bounty of San Diego’s produce.”
The Lucien team is “inspired by how singular La Jolla is,” Hung said. “It’s a town that can only exist in San Diego and one that embodies the very best the region has to offer.”
Hung and Lang, who are married, moved recently to San Diego from New York, where Hung worked with Arizmendi at Per Se and the two would talk about their shared ambitions to have a restaurant in California.
“Opening the restaurant here was very much a goal of mine, since I was a very young cook,” Arizmendi said.
To further Lucien’s shine, the owners have assembled a galaxy of restaurant stars, including general manager James Spencer, whose experience includes Michelin-rated Melisse, Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, Gwen and Valle; wine and beverage director James Meringer, formerly of Loring Place, Restaurant Daniel, The River Cafe and Sushi Ichimura; and pastry chef Bella Alicea, whose resume includes Per Se, Zaytinya and Le Bernardin.
And though Lucien will only seat 60 per night, La Jollans will be at the front of the list, Lang said, as Arizmendi has “always been able to build a great following of regulars. … Our passion and our interest is building a base [who] put their trust” in Arizmendi.
Every Lucien meal, she said, “is going to be consistently excellent, even if the food is not quite the same.”
Visit luciensd.com for opening updates.
© lajolla.ca
