Reviews for AVANT Restaurant in San Diego, CA
Wow. Food, service and ambiance is all superb. We were celebrating our anniversary and the entire staff was kind and very... attentive. Chris was an amazing server and guided us through a delicious evening with great recommendations for both food andwine. Do the chefs 4 course with wine pairings it is worth the experience. Read more
It's been a while since we've been to Avant but we've been dining here for over 20 years. This was THE BEST dinner we've ever... had here (or anywhere, really)! We did the tasting menu from Chef Sergio Jimenez and were blown away! Each course was anamazing combo of flavors and presentation. My favorite was the waygu beef eclair with truffles. We will be back every time heputs out a new tasting menu because this 27 year old chef is a super star! Read more
Very fancy upscale dining experience. Ambiance was nice. Food was delicious. I ordered the Chef's Choice Four Course for $95.
This is great place to dine in slowly and enjoy your time. Every course is carefully prepared and designed that blows your mind.... Taste is unique and authentic. Read more
This place is a great experience! Their menu is a unique blend of fresh garden produce, experimented with some exotic vegetables... and edible flowers. Their dishes are really creative and amazingly tasty! This is my first time trying the truffle butter andbread, I was absolutely amazed by the taste. Being a vegetarian, there are not many food varieties one can have. But this placehas done a great job of serving well cooked vegetarian dishes. They have some turnip and daikon based dishes which I highlyrecommend to try. Don't miss the desserts. They are very artistic, unique and a prefect end to the dinner! The ambience isbeautiful, perfect lighting with a fireplace, green view outside. Read more
Chef Christopher Gentile and his beyond superb staff (thank you Gaby!) host an exquisite and refreshing palette of flavors... amidst a farm-to-table menu from their own, onsite garden, providing a culinary delight that rivals some of the best I've had inSouthern California. Not only was I delightfully surprised by the high quality but I was continuously reminded how fresh andhealthy the menu was as we enjoyed each dish! Truly a one of a kind experience. The ambiance is inviting, warm, and earthen asfireplaces and lanterns move to greet you against a backdrop of sweeping panaromic pine views. The cocktails are inventive withusing their onsite garden ingredients like red beet vinegar, thyme, basil etc. I had 3 cocktails: Honey's Alibi (gin, honey,basil and grapefruit), Thyme Change (vodka, homemade citrus-thyme syrup, prosecco and lemon) and a dessert cocktail (scroll downto see). We then ordered the tasting menu which the chef happily modified a bit for us! Crème fraîche ice cream, caviar ontop of a garlic crouton. Grilled, fresh oysters, seared scallops in brown butter and pureed asparagus, and 48-hour sous videpork belly and cheek bathed in dashi broth, wrapped in savoy cabbage. Japanese A5 Wagyu with aerated potatoes and anever-before-seen Wagyu confit (this tasted amazing!). To cap this insane meal, we ordered the chocolate torte with raspberriesand crème fraîche ice cream as well as the pièce de résistance, Dark Pedigree dessert cocktail (cognac, calvados, darkchocolate and coffee) . Extremely smooth finish with chocolate ganache balls, perfectly balanced between a digestif and sensualtaste experience. Hats off RB Inn! Read more
Been thinking of this place a lot lately. Hope it's still open when the COVID-19 lock-down ends. Reliable fine dining restaurant... in the Rancho Bernardo Inn -- definitely high-end, but not exorbitantly priced. Pleasant and accommodating front-of-house staffand fussy food made with premium produce and meats. Read more
I have been to Avant before, and this time we went to do the chef's tasting menu. It was $95 a person and another 55. If you... wanted the wine pairing. We decided just to get a separate drink. The tasting menu was an 8 out of 10. In my opinion. The thingsthat were good were really really good. The only disappointing part for me was the sculpin which was my main entré.Unfortunately. It was under seasoned and the relish style side was not complimentary to the fish at all. It was very bland as ifthe fish was not seasoned at all. It was however, cooked perfectly as was everything else. Everything on the menu wasbeautifully plated, thoughtfully crafted and we really had a wonderful time. The German chocolate cake dessert was amazing. Therhubarb dessert left something to be desired. It was essentially some fruit scattered on a plate. In comparison to the Germanchocolate cake log, that had a chocolate mousse under the chocolate shell, it really needed something else to even be on themenu in my opinion. Before we left they brought us a spiced rub to take home and use on fish, chicken, steak, etc... I use it onsalmon and it was absolutely incredible. If that's how the sculpin would have been seasoned, I would have lost my mind in a goodway! Thanks again to the chef! Read more