The Desmond

Excellent food and service! Our bartender/server, Aria really made it such a wonderful experience :) Give her a raise! They mostly did well to accommodate my allergies too. We did the Pride special pre fixe menu which was $110 per person for 5 courses, each paired with drinks. About half of the drinks are full strength and the others are maybe half. To find the restaurant, enter the hotel and walk up the stairs on the right side of the bar. Overall, really great deal and it was such a chill and beautiful atmosphere. We were there for 4+ hours too, started at 7pm (which is why the photo lighting starts to get worse lol)Welcome cocktail--Eastside: light and refreshing!Course 1--Tuna crudo & Love Potion #619: tuna was mid and the watermelon on top was nice. Lactose intolerance alert: it's with avocado crema and I experienced that :/ At least the bathroom was clean and pretty. The Love Potion was my favorite cocktail of the night! Course 2--Glazed pork belly & Summer in the City: pork belly was to die for! Well balanced, melt in your mouth dish with a great drink if you like whiskey.Course 3--Cacio e Pepe & Lunette: Decent pasta, al dente. Nothing to rave about but solid. This drink is not for the faint hearted. I only recommend if you are a fan of dirty martinis. Also just not sure about this drink pairing in general.Course 4--Half chicken & Gary Farrell Russian River Pinot Noir. Juicy chicken with crispy skin and paired well with the snap peas and rice. Wine felt more like a steak wine though nice. Was perhaps envisioning a lighter fruitier wine to go with the chicken.Course 5--Pecan Carrot Cake/sorbet & Sincere Cider. (Only got the sorbet because lactose intolerant.) Carrot cake was moist, tasty and we liked the unique flavorings. It just doesn't pair with the cider. However!!! The apricot and mango sorbets were excellent and went incredibly well with the cider. Particularly tasty cider as well--light, refreshing and good way to end the night :)

Special occasion? Trying something new? Craving a private oasis in the heart of Downtown? My boyfriend and I came to the Desmond back in March for SD restaurant week, and to say we were stunned by the experience is an understatement. For a place that is somewhat difficult to find and had only one other party on that initial day we visited, the food and drinks were breathtakingly good. How can this be, we asked, literally around fifteen times on that first night. A true hidden gem in Gaslamp?The spring 2024 restaurant week menu was great for the price, matching George's (La Jolla) in quality and appeal. These were the two places we enjoyed most at that time, and I added some of the dishes from here to my personal "best dishes of 2024" list. Among the options for that week (and happening to be what we ordered) were the crudo with grapefruit; pear & mozzarella salad; braised beef cheek; sweet potato gnocchi with duck confit; basque cheesecake; and chocolate budino. All delicious, but the beef cheek is what made the top dishes of 2024 for me.Anyhow, so when I was deciding where to bring my father for a belated Father's Day dinner, this place quickly popped into my head. I knew the menu would be different because it changes seasonally, but since everything had been delicious, I didn't doubt my confidence in their ability to make our night special. And thus, they did, and it was.We ordered the garlic and herb focaccia with whipped feta and tomato, the tamarind pork belly, the nodi marini, the half roasted chicken, and were very sweetly surprised with a complimentary piece of carrot cake in honor of our belated Father's Day celebration. The place was as chic as I recalled it to be, while slightly busier this time (around five other parties besides us), but the service remained as friendly as it was before. I can't recall the name of our server on the first visit, but Aria took care of us on the second visit, and she did a stellar job. Super friendly and attentive, with great recommendations and effortless ability to make us feel both relaxed and like we were the center of attention (in a good way).I can't recommend this place enough--it's probably my overall-favorite restaurant in Gaslamp--and I hope they make it last for a long, long time!

Where do I start....Love the ambiance, great drinks, good food, great music, exceptional service! Our server & another gentleman made an organic connection with us and made us feel welcome! Located in the Kimpton Alma, we didn't find The Desmond easily. My man asked one of the bartenders in the main lobby where we could find The Desmond & he kindly walked us upstairs (I was sold at that point!) The vibes start on the staircase with the beautiful lighting! We were sat immediately! Our waiter was very attentive and got our drink & appetizer order within 10 min. The Desmond serves some of THE BEST ceviche I've ever had! If you're looking for a place where trendy meets mature, this is the place! What could be better: upon entry, directions to the restaurant & the hotel is located next to the train station and all of its surroundings.

I recently had dinner here with my daughter, a belated Father's Day meal.I was not expecting such an occasion as this, a wonderful surprise on behalf of my daughter.The meal was terrific. All items were prepared well, tasted delicious, and the service was simply perfect.Our server, Aria, made the evening enjoyable with her professionalism and kindness. She was the icing on the carrot cake!If you haven't had the privilege/opportunity to dine here... you need to...And ask for Aria.

Given how good the food and the entire team behind 'The Desmond' is, I'm surprised it's not way more popular that currently it. One of the few restaurants in SD that changes its menu a lot based on seasonality/trends and so there's always something new and adventurous to check out. Love that they have a really cool exclusive menu for mocktails along with lot of vegetarian options too.

What a beautiful space and dining experience at this Kimpton Hotel Restaurant in downtown San Diego. We arrived on a quiet Thursday night which gets harder to find at good SD restaurant spots the more that we creep into summer and peak tourist season. My friend and I opted for taking an Uber to dinner because we wanted to enjoy some cocktails, but they have a very good valet offering if you're dining at the restaurant -- only $10! It was really hard to settle on food choices because so many items on the menu spoke to me. We ended up ordering a handful of things and splitting it all. We had the ceviche, tuna crudo, pork belly, cauliflower and seared tuna entree. The ceviche stood out as my favorite. I just can't resist a good creamy, tangy, spicy and fresh pairing. I also loved the flavor bomb of the pork belly, but you honestly can't go wrong with anything at Desmond's. The service was excellent from the entire staff. Whether I'm looking for a classy night out with the girls or a more intimate date night, Desmond's will be an excellent choice.

I was treated to my birthday dinner here last weekend and I was pleasantly surprised. Situated on the second floor of the Kimpton Alma Hotel, Chef Neroni envisioned an intimate , "Mad Men" chic, "James Bond-esque" space, and I think he accomplished that. We sipped cocktails with 80s inspired names like Fantasy Island, Rick James and Magnum PI. I had an Alma G&T that was a little on the sweet side. But our server Aria took care of that by adding a little soda water. Aria answered all our questions and made sure that we had everything we needed. We ordered the tartare, kale and citrus salad, lobster bucatini and whole fish. We enjoyed the meal overall! The beef tartare, although delicious, I felt the meat's flavor was hidden by the seasoning. The bucatini was perfectly al dente with a nice amount of lobster pieces. The kale and citrus salad with beets was perfect. It cleansed the palate, dressed with a light citrus vinegrette. Lastly, and the pièce de resistance was the whole fish, which barely fit in the serving dish! The local bass was de-boned and was half dressed with schug, a paste made with cilantro and half harissa, made with red chili's!! Wow, two very different flavors!! It was served with freshly made blue tortillas and Indian rice. We initially mistakenly thought the rice was undercooked. But now realize the crispness was intentional. Lastly, I ordered the basque cheesecake for my birthday treat! It was delicious, topped with meringue and served with a side of horchata ice cream! It certainly topped off a great meal.

Located inside the Alma Hotel. Giving The Desmond 3 stars but closer to a 2.5. We went on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend at 6:30 and it was empty, which was weird. Only maybe 3-4 groups arrived while we were there. Drinks: The drink with the strawberries was good and the espresso martini had a mint taste to it, which I didn't love but my fiancé was okay with. Apps: We got the pork belly and ceviche, which were both really good! These were definitely the best dishes of the night. Mains: We got the Tonnarelli Fideo and Nodi Marini, and where do we start.... The Nodi Marini was good, not great - nothing to write home about lol. The Tonnarelli Fideo, was rancid... literally. When they brought the dish, the smell of the mussels was strong and just not right. There's the typical seafood smell, and this was not it. Even with the rancid smell, I still tried to give the dish a try but the mussels were not great, which should've been obvious from the smell. I'm actually surprised that this dish made it out of the kitchen and no one caught the smell. We let our server know, and they let me order another dish with the Tonnarelli not being on our bill. I decided to order the Cacio e Pepe, and this honestly wasn't much better as it was pretty bland and the Pepe portion of the dish seemed to be missing. On another note, the hotel elevator has an advertisement for this restaurant with an image of a different seafood pasta dish, which is misleading given it's not the dish on the menu and honestly, that dish looked much better than the Tonnarelli Fideo. Long story short, service was good but food was lacking for the price point.

Celebrated a friend's birthday at The Desmond and enjoyed our overall dining experience. Aria did a great job guiding us through our dinner experience.Highlights of our experience was the beautiful space, attentive service, the Kale and Orange Salad, and the star of the whole night, the whole Sea Bass fish dish. The kale salad was bright with the right amounts of nuts and beets to complement the salad. The fish dish was very shareable, cooked perfectly, juicy, with great flavor from the harissa and schug.Most of our drinks were on the sweeter end, so I wouldn't recommend the cocktails here. The lobster bucatini, although packed with lobster, lacked flavor in the actual sauce for the pasta. For a Friday night, the restaurant was relatively empty.

My review was based upon our experience for their New Years Eve Pre Fixe which featured a five-course menu, a complimentary midnight champagne toast, and live music! The restaurant is on the second floor located in the Kimpton Alma Hotel on the second floor. For parking, there was valet ($10) and we parked on the lot across from the hotel ($25 after 6pm). Our waitress, I remember her name being Randi(?), hosted us and she definitely amped up the experience for us for us first time goers and also being the earliest out of everyone (we wanted to celebrate early, end early).Drinks:Magnum P.I. (5/5): The pandan, apple, matcha, coconut, lime, and vanilla flavors blended perfectly for this drink! On the creamier side but really delicious and tropical with the cup.Non-Alcoholic* Akira (5/5): This mocktail had sesame, lemon, and black pepper which really went well with our courses! Starters:Baja Oyster (4/5) The mezcal mignonette took away from the briny oyster and was a strong starter to the course. Parker House Rolls (4/5): Can never go wrong with them! They were sprinkled with some sort of everything seasoning and whipped butter.First Course: Rib Eye Tataki (4/5) & Big Eye Tuna (5/5)The tataki came with a rice cracker and strangely tasted like pho, but I liked it anyways. The Big Eye Tuna was served with a puff cracker and the pieces of tuna were so huge. Contrasted with a little sweetness from the yuzu gelee and candy grape this worked magically together!Second Course: Shumai Dumpling (5/5) & Fideo (3/5)I personally liked the Shumai Dumplings more and they executed this well with the right amount of meat and wrapper ratio. The fideo I have to say wasn't my favorite, but they were very generous with the seafood cooked in it.Intermezzo: Champagne Sorbet Third Course: Black Cod (5/5) & NY Strip (4/5)My choice was the cod, and it was the softest cooked fish I've ever tried! The skin on the cod was crispy and the sauce was a creme fraiche made with champagne, very fitting to the theme of NYE.Fourth Course: Chocolate Silk Pie (3/5) & Elderflower Creme Brulee (5/5)Loved the creme brulee! The chocolate silk pie was very decadent and sweet, so not for me.Every part of the course was so fun yet remained upscale. We underestimated the amount of food in the pre fixe menu as we got so full towards the end. I am happy about my experience at The Desmond and can rely upon them for a great pre fixe menu!