Whisknladle

La Jolla, United States

4.3

Open now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards
Free Wi-Fi

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 858-551-7575
Website:
www.whisknladle.com
Address:
1044 Wall St, La Jolla, CA, 92037
b/t Herschel Ave & Girard Ave
La Jolla
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.4 mi30
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
Yes
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Accepts Apple Pay
No
Accepts Bitcoin
No
Good For
Dinner
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
No
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Trendy
Noise Level
Average
Good For Dancing
No
Alcohol
Full Bar
Happy Hour
Yes
Best Nights
Thu, Fri, Sat
Coat Check
No
Smoking
No
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
Free
Has TV
Yes
Dogs Allowed
No
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
No
Has Pool Table
No

Today

Today 11:30 am – 9:00 pm
Open now
Local time (La Jolla) 16:58 Thursday, 28 November 2024

Business hours

Monday 11:30 am – 9:00 pm
Tuesday 11:30 am – 9:00 pm
Wednesday 11:30 am – 9:00 pm
Thursday 11:30 am – 9:00 pm
Friday 11:30 am – 10:00 pm
Saturday 10:00 am – 10:00 pm
Sunday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm

Description

Specialties

French, Spanish & Italian inspired farm-​to-​table fare! Happy Hour starts daily at 3 p.m. and includes $ 5.55 cocktails, $ 5.55 sangria and $ 5.55 tapas.

History

Established in 2008.

Whisknladle is a nationally-​acclaimed restaurant located in the heart of beautiful downtown La Jolla, Calif. Renowned for its Spanish, French & Italian inspired farm-​to-​table fare, Whisknladle was recently awarded both the Critic’s Pick and Readers’ Choice for «Best Farm-​to-​Table» restaurant by San Diego Magazine.

Corporate Executive Chef, Ryan Johnston, was named «Best Chef» by San Diego Home & Garden readers in 2012 and again by San Diego Magazine readers in 2013.

Meet the Business Owner

Arturo And Ryan.

Business Owner

What first started as an off the cuff partnership between a hungry & talented chef (Ryan Johnston)

in need of a kitchen and a desperate culinary school drop out in need of a chef (Arturo Kassel) has

blossomed over the last 9 years into Whisknladle Hospitality.

Together with our committed and passionate managing partners and our patient angel investors (?), we’ve continued to grow from one small and ambitious little restaurant to a small little restaurant group with even bigger ambitions.

Since opening Whisknladle’s doors in 2008, our company’s mission has been to bring good food, good wine & great people together.

Culinarily speaking, we take a back to the future approach to cooking by working with seasonal & farm to table products and taking the time to make most of our food from scratch; the way it used to be, they way it ought to be.

Whisknladle also recommends

Prepkitchen

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«Our little brother a few blocks away offers seasonal comfort food in a relaxed setting and is a true neighborhood gem.»

Prepkitchen

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reviews

American (New)

Arturo And Ryan. says,

«Located in downtown Del Mar, Prepkitchen serves artisanal, farm-​to-​table style cuisine in a beautiful coastal, neighborhood environment.»

Prepkitchen Little Italy

1255

reviews

American (New)

Arturo And Ryan. says,

«Our rebellious younger sibling. Also serving seasonal comfort food but with a lively bar scene featuring craft cocktails, local beer and great wine.»

Catania

255

reviews

Pizza

,

Italian

Arturo And Ryan. says,

«Some of the best food in town serving seasonal, authentic and inspired Italian food with a gorgeous view of La Jolla and the Pacific to match.»

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20 reviews of Whisknladle

No registration required
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
One of my favorite places to hang out in La Jolla! The décor is fresh and invitingly. I always enjoy the ambience and the friendly service. The sangria is refreshing and I noticed that the juices are freshly squeezed at the bar. At $ 5.55 per glass it can’t be beat.
The happy hour tapas specials are incredible for $ 5.55. You must try the Potatas Bravas!
Place rating: 2
La Jolla, CA
The ambiance is adorable, romantic, and hip, but the service and food are incredibly underwhelming.
I was super hungry and excited to try many different things. We got prawns, beets, and bacon wrapped dates, which were actually pretty delicious. Small portions for the price, but yummy.
However, when our main dishes were brought out, we were quite disappointed.
I got the braised pork shoulder prugo which was so salty with a gritty texture, it reminded us of Hamburger Helper… it was almost inedible. We couldn’t even tell our server because the food runners brought it out and she never really came by to check on us.
Then we were still hungry after choking down the salty pasta that we ordered a flat bread. It was more like a crispy flour tortilla with the smelliest cheese and again super salty, oily meat. My friends and I are adventurous eaters and eat basically everything, but we couldn’t even manage to eat more than a few bites.
My friend also ordered a salad which was so bland and boring. And our cocktails were basically just vodka with a squirt of juice.
Overall the food experience was not what we’d heard or hoped for and we probably won’t be back.
Place rating: 4
Palo Alto, CA
Really lovely place for brunch and lunch in La Jolla area. Had a really rustic and earthy interior and exterior design to the whole place, with an extremely friendly staff.
Me and my girlfriend had just run the SD half marathon, so we were ravishing and needed good nutrients. Luckily, we had all the choice in the world! I ordered the WNL burger and my girlfriend ordered the omelette. Both came out fairly quickly. The burger was really well made, with a beautiful over easy egg to top it all off. Bun was toasted golden brown, and the burger was meaty and packed with flavor. I asked for medium well, and it was cooked to perfection. The fries were a standout as well — beautiful seasoned, golden and crispy, and topped off with some garlic. I thought it was slightly on the salty side but it was still phenomenal. The omelette was really smooth, fluffy and rich, all the same time. It was packed with goodness in the mushrooms and kale, and the brioche was excellent as well. Really impressed with this place and was a great way to replenish our lost nutrients in our morning workout.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
I came here for happy hour without much expectation, but the food and wine are surprisingly good! We ordered Vietnamese wings which is very delicious (the citrus sauce is pretty good) and Cajun shrimp. I ordered Malbec which is also good, very smooth.
Place rating: 5
Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City, UT
We returned to Whisknladle since it was our best dining experience in La Jolla. I was recognized and greeted by Eddie the bartender, and Joey, Whisknladle’s resident bon vivant and Tummler. This recognition is a result of Unilocal and the notoriety a public review provides. Unfortunately, I am now known as the dude who called Arturo, the founder of the Whisknladle empire, an idiot for naming the restaurant Whisknladle.
They were as nice as can be and we settled into a wonderful evening of good drink, great food, engaging camaraderie, and boisterous laughter. Our Patatas Bravas were crispy and delicious, the grilled shrimp were marvelous and the blue cheese bacon wrapped dates rich & succulent. All these tapas are less than six bucks each! My Pork Shoulder Sugo pasta was so good, I almost licked my plate. Whisknladle’s bread was also fabulous. Notice how many times I have written Whisknladle. Is that penance enough?
We love this restaurant and just wish Arturo builds one in Salt Lake City, our new home base.
Place rating: 5
Saint Louis, MO
Beautiful restaurant located in the heart of a pretty happening neighborhood. The space offers a variety of seating options from outdoor, semi-​outdoor with an open view of La Jolla to totally closed off & private. As you walk up you’ll be greeted by a host/​hostess standing at the podium, this is you opportunity to give the place a quick once-​over. Note the wall covered wine rack, ginormous stainless spoon hanging on the rear door, refreshing greenery, vanity mirrors and the somewhat open kitchen. There’s a bar and televisions located toward the rear; separate from the dining area which creates a different element for patrons.
The service was wonderful. Our group had the pleasure of being waited on by Jess; such a beautiful personality. She made sure we were completely happy with our Whisknladle experience.
The food was superb. We enjoyed a magnificent spread consisting of Margarita Flatbreads, award winning French Toast (a much try), Meat & Cheese board, Chilaquiles, Chicken & Bacon Fat Biscuits (I didn’t touch it but the rest of the gang salivated over this dish), Albacore Tuna Sandwich, Sorbets, Lemon Poppy Seed & Strawberry Shortcake, Chocolate Peanut Butter deliciousness and the most spectacular fresh squeezed Blood Orange Mimosa I’ve ever had.
Don’t miss out on the ‘ladle
~Christy
Place rating: 3
San Diego, CA
I had a meh experience where the food was OK and the service was meh too.
Parking: a group of three of us decided to go get some happy hour around 5:30pm. Getting to downtown La Jolla is traffic central and trying to find parking is no better either. SO if you have a reservation or meeting with people, leave early to get there and find parking. I parked a couple blocks away and paid for parking.
Service: We went for happy hour so went straight to the back. I sat at the bar and it took waaay to long for the bar tender to notice me and get my order. I wanted to order for my friends and I suppose he heard me say something else so he put in an order of potatoes. When i confronted him about the wrong order he was a bit irritated and didn’t charge me for it. Halfway through our meal when more of my gf’s came and a table cleared up we moved from the bar to the table. Don’t think that bar tender was happy again lol. Our waiter was meh, we were waiting for him to come around and when we really really needed something, we had to hunt him down!
Food: I got the potatoes (by accident), Carnitas taco, and a beer on the happy hour menu. I got to admit they had a small selection of beers on the happy hour special. The food was overpriced for a tiny portion that was okay. The carnitas was kinda dry but i drenched it with sauce. Small tapas menu.
Place rating: 5
Sebastopol, CA
Lovely brunch spot in the cute village of La Jolla. Lots of great food, bevvies and people watching. So Cal at it’s best.
Yeah, I changed this review from 4 stars to 5 stars because it really is such a sweet spot and La Jolla is as cute as it gets!
Place rating: 5
Baltimore, MD
Nice place with a casual atmosphere and a
very good staff. I had the burger and it was prepared perfect. I’d come back if I didn’t live 2636 miles away!
Place rating: 4
San Diego, CA
This place is GOOD. Dinner here is always memorable. I did the Sunset Menu during happy hour today in the bar area. It’s not the same experience so do come during dinner hours.
The cutting board is my favorite! Such a conversation piece!
The water tastes like spa (cucumber) water. Everything is fresh and tasty.
Service is wonderful.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
I’m as happy as a rabbit nibbling in the garden. My Coastal Roots Strawberry Salad at Whisknladle was so fresh and light! I skipped the beets as I don’t like beets, and I added Yellowtail for an extra charge.
Whiskladle grows some of their own veggies at a property near Ramona. That’s how much they care about the quality of their produce. Their menu changes according to the season. Last spring I first fell in love with their strawberry salad, gently accented with fennel, and dotted with feta, then lightly dressed in Honey Vinaigrette. So I returned today to have the strawberry salad again! Hurry before strawberries are out of season.
Later in the summer they will feature a salad which includes corn freshly cut right off the cob. Can’t wait for that one to return, it’s another favorite.
My Yellowtail was flaky and perfectly cooked. It was tender inside, with a nicely cooked texture on the outside. When I order fish in any of the restaurants in the Whisknladle group, it’s as fresh as you can get here.
Whisknladle is highly recommended. (-; It can be a little pricey, but it’s worth it.
Place rating: 5
Minneapolis, MN
Awesome spot in the heart of La Jolla! Good drinks, excellent menu, and great service.
Being here in mid-​March they left the windows open to allow fresh air and a light breeze but have porch heaters keeping you toasty from the ceiling. Best of both worlds! The building has a dark wood ambiance while still providing enough light to easily see what’s going on, a good mix compared to other spots that try this décor.
We both started with the Caesar salad, crispy romaine, nice tartness in the dressing. Solid choice. We then had the bone marrow, which had been highly recommended by other Unilocalers. Very good, full flavor, huge portions!
My wife had the mussels appetizer as an entrée, definitely makes a great meal. Good flavor and spice to the dish with enough broth to make a great soup. Definitely ask for more bread, you’re going to want/​need it.
I had the rack of lamb, mint on the side. The flavors came together very nicely with this dish. Great pureed root vegetables and peas go well with the tender meat, which has just the right amount of fat to bring it all together.
We will make this a repeat visit when we come back to San Diego!
Place rating: 3
San Diego, CA
I’ll keep this short and sweet…
Service was A++ however the food fell short for me.
I had the free range chicken and bone marrow.
The chicken was bland with no flavor that I needed gravy or salt. :(
I wasn’t a fan of the bone marrow however Tupac loved it. To me, you either like it or you don’t. It’s like a butter slime fat that you’d spread on a slice of bread.
I’ll return to try the other dishes since I love the Whisknladle restaurants. This restaurant is the least favorable.
The atmosphere is awesome and the patio is available if you have a pet. I opt to sit inside.
Place rating: 4
National City, CA
Went here for breakfast on Valentines Day. The place itself is cute. Nice atmosphere. Our server was exceptional. Very upbeat and came by regularly to see if we needed anything. Food was great. Will definitely be back.
Place rating: 4
Kirkland, WA
Whisknladle was much trendier than I expected for La Jolla village. It really did have a great vibe, good music, friendly service, and really excellent food! Overall, we had a great time.
The cocktails were delicious, with amazing ice cubes (my favorite!) Try the Ochoa’s Island if you like spicy! All the dishes were super yummy especially the octopus, mussels, and pork shoulder sugo. The key lime tart was also a treat.
Looking forward to trying brunch next time!
Place rating: 5
Carlsbad, CA
Walked up on the unassuming entrance and came into a very welcoming host. We were asked if we wanted to sit Side by side or across from each other.
Bobby, our waiter, was awesome from the start! Very friendly and helpful and checked on some drink ingredients for us that we weren’t sure about. The house water with cucumber and lemon was very tasty.
Bobby provided extremely detailed descriptions of the food and you could tell the staff has a Total team effort with different people filing your water constantly, taking your finished plate, etc.
Bobby never interfered or interrupted at the wrong time. I saw him look over a ton of times but he waited until it was just right. Didn’t ask how the food was when I was chewing or anything crazy. Excellent excellent service.
Drinks–
Rose orchid
Buck-​a– neer
Old fashioned
Pyrus— her favorite drink of the night
…all great
The charcuterie board was good overall but a substantial amount of olives. Don’t overdo it on the house bread before you get your board.
The Peanut crusted poke shoulder with carrots and perogies — pork chop was very flavorful and zesty, perogies are some of the best I’ve had and absolutely delicious, and the shredded apples gave everything a sweet crunch.
Pork shoulder tagliatelle was «magical». Creamy, balanced, and just booming with taste.
Butterscotch budino with donseca
– «salty sweetness that melts in your mouth.» Enough said.
We purchased a Kitchen Sixer which buys the cooks a beer if you loved the food. The fact that this appears on the menu sends a message that they have very high standards and want the customer to love the food as much as they love to prepare it. One of the cooks brought out the dessert personally to thank us.
Great great place for a date.
Place rating: 4
Santa Monica, CA
Food. 8
Service. 10.
Atmosphere. 10
Great meal. Service was frequent and unobtrusive.
Cauliflower soup was fantastic.
Chicken in bone was ok. Weird accouterments on the plate which did not go well together.
Place rating: 5
Torrance, CA
Cutting board did not come with a list of what types of charcuterie items it would come with but don’t fret, all of it was delicious. Ours came with Brie, blue cheese, soppressata, salami, an assortment of olives, cubed beets, 2 types of pickles, charred bread, breadsticks and some mustard/​chutney spread. All in all, great for sharing and drinking snacks.
Bone Marrow comes served with capers which really enhance the marrow when eating it with bread. always a great choice
Crispy Veal Sweetbreads were surprisingly great. The breaded veal was very soft and tender and paired great with the lentils. Although I’d wish that it came with more brussel sprouts but that is just my love for sprouts.
Pork Sugo pasta was also very delicious. It looked like a light pasta but was packed with flavor. You can tell the noodles were high quality.
Our server was phenomenal, I wish I remembered her name but I do remember she was black and was really enthusiastic when describing the food.
Place rating: 4
Pasadena, CA
Incredibly posh!
Keep in mind 4 stars means yay I’m a fan. And I am. But when you’re bumped up into Whisknladle’s category of posh and fancy, 5 stars is as good as it gets. I really love it here, and I will be back! But I will say the food menu is limited and poorly organized. What are the appetizers? What should I order if I wanted to share some tapas or if I want something larger for myself? Yes, you can ask the staff, but they’re going to talk up everything. I didn’t hear one single negative thing from the waiter when I asked all my questions. Not to say he wasn’t being honest, I just like a bit more direction when I’m paying 70 bucks just for myself.
The cheese and meat board has a lot more bread and olives than meat and cheese and can easily be split between two people.
The seating is amazing and the ambiance is wonderful but not the best view in the cove.
The service is super friendly and helpful but not 100%.
Place rating: 4
Anaheim, CA
I was happy to come here after bookmarking this place almost 4 years ago!
Legit SD Brunch spot!
Cannot go wrong here with any dish you order!
I had their french toast, which is good, but I’ve had better!
Service was very friendly! Great ambiance, good spot for a group meal or a date.
I want to come back here someday to try their bone marrow dish: «Charred Bone Marrow» :)