Best Contemporary European Restaurants in University City/Golden Triangle

As always, excellent food and service. The decor and ambiance are so welcoming and nice. Love this place! The view too!

There are always many ways to praise Valentina, but in few words it is one of the best, if not the best, dining experiences in all of San Diego county.

We were greeted right away and get seated even though our group is not complete yet. Food was awesome, we loved everything we ordered and service was superb. Our server was very attentive and friendly. Ambiance was great too, we dined inside since it’s a little bit chilly at night. Highly recommend this place for any celebrations/occasions. Love to come back someday 👍

Man, I noticed a few bad reviews for this place but we totally disagree. This is a cool, smaller restaurant attached to the Hotel Valencia. It has a nice u-shaped bar with what seemed to be mostly locals hanging out talking with the staff. Upscale vibe but not "stuffy" La Jolla vibe. The cocktails were amazing and fairly creative. We also thought the food was excellent, contrary to what a few other folks have said. The braised short rib Mao, crispy pumpkin squash, and twinkie ceaser were the standouts. Only minor downsides were that you can smell the seals a little bit and it was a bit chilly inside, as the door was kept open. Overall we really enjoyed our experience.

My girlfriend and I go there a lot. We usually split the Caesar salad, which is the best ever Caesar! Today we split the avocado toast. It was pretty bland for our taste. We usually think of avocado toast as having some sort of little kick, but this had none. Salt and pepper helped a little, then we asked for some aoli, which was chipotle mayo, which also helped. But we both decided that we wouldn’t order it again.