After a ten-year dormancy, Roppongi Restaurant and Lounge retakes its La Jolla spot, offering a beloved culinary experience.
Longtime La Jollans often mourn beloved businesses that have folded over the decades but this week they’re able to celebrate a rare return: Roppongi Restaurant and Lounge is back in La Jolla, reopening Thursday, Dec 4 at 875 Prospect St after closing a decade ago.
Created by restaurateur Sami Ladeki of Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza fame, Roppongi first opened on Prospect in 1998, quickly becoming a favorite of locals and visitors with an innovative Asian fusion focus.
Roppongi’s reopening presents Asian cuisine and immersive design into a familiar but fresh experience, offering a menu that features signature dishes like the Crab Stack, Hot Rock, Mongolian shrimp and Tahitian bananas, along with a variety of sushi dishes, wok-fired creations, shareable plates prepared with seasonal ingredients, craft cocktails, Asian spirits and an extensive wine and sake list.
“Roppongi is more than a restaurant,” Ladeki said. “It is a celebration of living well.”
Roppongi closed in 2015, prompting residents to clamor for its return.
Ladeki renewed his collaboration with interior designer Stephanie Parisi, who designed Roppongi’s first iteration, creating the new Roppongi to be a convergence of art, architecture and dining marked by bending walls, bronzed screens and arched ceilings, anchored by a leathered quartzite bar and the original Roppongi fireplace.
Roppongi will offer a Happy Hour daily from 2:30 to 4:30 pm, with 50% off tapas and drink specials. Dinner is served from 5 to 10 pm; the bar and lounge will remain open until midnight.
For more information, visit roppongiusa.net/restaurant-and-lounge.
