California - Californian Restaurants !

I'm heading to California with my better half for a 17 day trip around California in March/April next year. We have 3 nights in LA then get the train to San Diego for 3 nights there. Hire a car and spend 3 nights driving to San Fran and then 4 nights there, with a final 3 nights in Vegas.

Flights are done, hotels are booked and car hire sorted and now, as i'm a real foodie, i'm onto the case for restaurants. After speaking to some people and doing some research, my list for each venue is listed below and i'd like any feedback on locals in these areas if i am making any mistakes or some gems i don't know about.

LA
Providence
Cut at Beverly Wilshire
A Sushi place near West Hollywood - the name of i've forgotten.

San Diego
BO Beau kitchen + bar
Trellises Garden Grill

San Fran
Gary Danko
The house

Las Vegas
Le Cirque
Hank's

Appreciate any comments

Regards

What are your crtieria, besides good food? Unusual food or decor or experience? I assume you have already checked prices of the restaurants you list, and your budget is high. I envy you. You should also say where you plan to stay, especially for L.A., since transportation time is a big factor.

What are your crtieria, besides good food? Unusual food or decor or experience? I assume you have already checked prices of the restaurants you list, and your budget is high. I envy you. You should also say where you plan to stay, especially for L.A., since transportation time is a big factor.

My criteria, is that as long as it's excellent food, friendly and attentive service and a good atmosphere, i don't care. I wouldn't want to travel for more than 30 min in a taxi unless it's seriously good. Hank's in Vegas i;ve been told is worth the journey.

These are the places we have decided to stay.

LA - http://www.lemontrose.com/
SD - http://www.tower23hotel.com/
Santa Barbara - http://www.hoteloceanasantabarbara.com/
Carmel - Small B&B
San Fran - http://www.hotelvertigosf.com/
Vegas - http://www.wynnlasvegas.com/

I've not heard of the Hotel Vertigo but judging by the rates (the random October dates I tried gave a starting rate of $134 for AAA/AA/RAC members), I wouldn't expect your room to be very impressive.

I've not heard of the Hotel Vertigo but judging by the rates (the random October dates I tried gave a starting rate of $134 for AAA/AA/RAC members), I wouldn't expect your room to be very impressive.

A Hitchcock film was filmed there and i am a big Hitchock fan. We have also had two sets of friends stay there and said it was a wonderful boutique hotel, incredibly good staff and if you book their best room, it's lovely and well positioned. $596 for 4 nights is great. It looks perfectly nice to me;
http://www.hotelvertigosf.com/

The other thing is that we like to stay in a different range of hotels, you have too much of the same thing it becomes boring. So we have a suite in a luxury boutique hotel in LA, a nice modern beach front hotel in SD, 4* hotel in Santa Barbara, Tiny B&B in Carmel, A boutique hotel in San Fran that has something special for me and a big 5* flash place in Vegas.

Every place we stay has something very different about it, which for me is perfect.

Fine, hope it all goes well. Based on looking at their website, Le Montrose in LA doesn't look like a luxury hotel, but I've never stayed there so could easily be wrong. And I am pretty sure that the Wynn, while nice, is not 5* luxury.

Me, I can't ever get enough luxury, so I guess I've learned to live with that particular type of boredom!

Don't know where your "research" came from re: San Diego.......

Bo Beau is wonderful, but very casual.

My firm frames all of the restaurant awards for San Diego Magazine. Bo Beau won an award this year.

Trellises - is in the Town And Country Hotel - basically a convention hotel and is in Hotel Circle. Don't know how it made the cut as there are MANY better places in town, including the restaurant at the hotel you are staying at! JRDN is a very happening place!

If you are looking at trip advisor, can't believe that the reviews of Trellises aren't rigged or posted by the "favorite waitperson's" friends and family. I can't think of anyone I know who lives here that would ever consider going to the T & C for a meal unless they were at a conference and could not drive elsewhere.

If you do a search in this forum you will find a lively discussion between SanDiego 1K and myself re: our San Diego favorites.

As a "foodie" you can do much better than your list, including Bo Beau (which I love, but if I had to choose two San Diego restaurants, it would not make my top two.).

Boy, if I were you I would hire a car and drive from the train to the hotel in PB and also to whichever restaurants you choose. The cab from the train and then to/from Bo Beau and even to Mission Valley from Pacific Beach and back would be 2 x (or more)the cost of a car rental for three days. With a car you could get to restaurants like Bertrands at Mr. A's, Mille Fleur, The Shores, The Marine Room, Seersucker, Market, or any of the much better restaurants San Diego has to offer.

Fine, hope it all goes well. Based on looking at their website, Le Montrose in LA doesn't look like a luxury hotel, but I've never stayed there so could easily be wrong. And I am pretty sure that the Wynn, while nice, is not 5* luxury.

Me, I can't ever get enough luxury, so I guess I've learned to live with that particular type of boredom!

'luxury' for me becomes monotonous and un-interesting. I prefer smaller, more intimate and personal hotels anyway. I'm the kind of guy who is as happy in a tent as i am a 5* hotel, the important thing is that i get to experience both.

About the Wynn

The resort has earned AAA five diamond, Mobil five-star, Forbes five-star, and Michelin five-star ratings, and is considered to be one of the finest hotels in the world. Wynn Las Vegas and its sister property Encore Las Vegas collectively hold more Forbes five-star awards than any other resort and casino in the world. Wynn Las Vegas also made Forbes Award history by earning five-star ratings in every category - Hotel, Restaurant, and Spa - for two consecutive years.[1] It has held the distinction of winning the award in the Hotel Sector for 4 consecutive years, since 2007.

Don't know where your "research" came from re: San Diego.......

Bo Beau is wonderful, but very casual.

My firm frames all of the restaurant awards for San Diego Magazine. Bo Beau won an award this year.

Trellises - is in the Town And Country Hotel - basically a convention hotel and is in Hotel Circle. Don't know how it made the cut as there are MANY better places in town, including the restaurant at the hotel you are staying at! JRDN is a very happening place!

If you are looking at trip advisor, can't believe that the reviews of Trellises aren't rigged or posted by the "favorite waitperson's" friends and family. I can't think of anyone I know who lives here that would ever consider going to the T & C for a meal unless they were at a conference and could not drive elsewhere.

If you do a search in this forum you will find a lively discussion between SanDiego 1K and myself re: our San Diego favorites.

As a "foodie" you can do much better than your list, including Bo Beau (which I love, but if I had to choose two San Diego restaurants, it would not make my top two.).

Boy, if I were you I would hire a car and drive from the train to the hotel in PB and also to whichever restaurants you choose. The cab from the train and then to/from Bo Beau and even to Mission Valley from Pacific Beach and back would be 2 x (or more)the cost of a car rental for three days. With a car you could get to restaurants like Bertrands at Mr. A's, Mille Fleur, The Shores, The Marine Room, Seersucker, Market, or any of the much better restaurants San Diego has to offer.

Thanks for that, i'll look into the car thing. I did want to be as car free as possible on this trip, but i take your points on board.

'luxury' for me becomes monotonous and un-interesting. I prefer smaller, more intimate and personal hotels anyway. I'm the kind of guy who is as happy in a tent as i am a 5* hotel, the important thing is that i get to experience both.

About the Wynn

The resort has earned AAA five diamond, Mobil five-star, Forbes five-star, and Michelin five-star ratings, and is considered to be one of the finest hotels in the world. Wynn Las Vegas and its sister property Encore Las Vegas collectively hold more Forbes five-star awards than any other resort and casino in the world. Wynn Las Vegas also made Forbes Award history by earning five-star ratings in every category - Hotel, Restaurant, and Spa - for two consecutive years.[1] It has held the distinction of winning the award in the Hotel Sector for 4 consecutive years, since 2007.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that no hotel with 5,000 rooms, such as Wynn/Encore, can ever possibly be a luxury hotel, regardless of what AAA or Forbes say. If you pay up for a sufficiently high level suite to qualify for the special Encore check-in area, you might come closer to getting there.

We'll have to agree to disagree on your hotel choices and I'm sure you'll have a great time on your trip regardless.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that no hotel with 5,000 rooms, such as Wynn/Encore, can ever possibly be a luxury hotel, regardless of what AAA or Forbes say. If you pay up for a sufficiently high level suite to qualify for the special Encore check-in area, you might come closer to getting there.

We'll have to agree to disagree on your hotel choices and I'm sure you'll have a great time on your trip regardless.


I understand what you are saying, but it's my first time in Vegas, i wanted big and brash. I use another forum where there are three guys who live in Vegas and they all told me that the Wynn is bay far the best of the big hotels, and without going absolutely insane on the price, the 4 seasons and the Cosmopolitan are the best of the quieter hotels.

Besides, i spend very little time in hotels anyway when i travel.

If I were doing three dinners in LA...

Totoraku (Best sushi in town, impossible to get a reservation, insane $$$)
(...if you want 85% the experience for 40% of the price, try Ajisai (http://www.ajisaisushibar.com)...)

Animal (http://www.animalrestaurant.com)(forget the ambiance, this is amazing innovative meaty food of the Gods...)

Instead of Providence (which I think has gone seriously downhill and is vastly overpriced for the service/food you get), I'd go to Roy's Restaurant (http://www.roysrestaurant.com)and eat their Hawaiian/Asian/American fusion...

The Cut certainly would NOT make the list, as it's way over-priced, very inconstant, and no better food than top chain steak house restauraunts like Ruth Chris, Morton's, etc. Frankly, I'd rather go to Fogo de Chao (http://www.fogo.com) or Saddle Peak Lodge (http://www.saddlepeaklodge.com) if I'm looking for good meat...and not the name.

As for the Wynn being luxury - I would say that by the standards of a large Vegas Casino, Wynn is a luxury hotel if any of them are. You will never mistake any Vegas Resort for a true boutique luxury hotel, but there is no question that the rooms are extremely well appointed and the amenities are nice. As far as service, it's big an impersonal, but so is every other top end casino hotel in Vegas.

I have been pretty underwhelmed with just about every name restaurant in Vegas that I've been to that involves a celebrity chef licensing out his name and menu, but is actually run like a Vegas establishment.

Thanks for that, i'll look into the car thing. I did want to be as car free as possible on this trip, but i take your points on board.

San Diego is a wonderful city, and probably my favorite place I've ever lived, but it is NOT great in terms of public transportation, and the taxis are some of the worst I've encountered. Parking is generally inexpensive here, and most of the time you can find free street parking after six.

I'll also second the recommendations for avoiding Trellises, and Hotel Circle in general. Our favorite restaurants in town (and the ones we take guests to) are The Prado in Balboa Park (ask for a table on the terrace) and the rooftop at George's Ocean Terrace, but there are many good ones.

Our favorite restaurants in town (and the ones we take guests to) are The Prado in Balboa Park (ask for a table on the terrace) and the rooftop at George's Ocean Terrace, but there are many good ones.

Both are great choices! The wild mushroom risotto at the Prado is a favorite :).

San Diego is a wonderful city, and probably my favorite place I've ever lived, but it is NOT great in terms of public transportation, and the taxis are some of the worst I've encountered. Parking is generally inexpensive here, and most of the time you can find free street parking after six.
.

Depends on where you are and where you're going, of course. Public transportation better, and parking worse, in areas such as Gaslamp Quarter/convention center. And for some areas you have to worry about during the day: parking fees at hotels can be $25, $30, $35. When my wife attended a conference at the convention center, we avoided having a car until the end of the visit, due to parking fees. I relied on light rail, buses and walking. Even made it to the UCSD/Scripps aquarium in La Jolla that way (that was a bit of a trek). SD may not be great for public transportation, but at least as good as L.A. and a lot smaller area.