Lucien, now open in La Jolla Village, aims to tell ‘story of the season’ with food

Masami Ranch Wagyu ribeye cooked over woodfire embers sauteed blue foot mushrooms and confit young potato Photo by Kimberly Motos Lucien LA JOLLA A lately opened -seat fine-dining restaurant in La Jolla offers guests a new tasting experience a multiple-course tasting menu Named for chef Elijah Arizmendi s son Lucien at Girard Ave showcases local farms The new upscale eatery takes only seasonal ingredients at their peak and attempts to elevate them The career of Arizmendi Lucien s co-owner along with Brian Hung and Melissa Lang has taken him through acclaimed Michelin-starred restaurants such as Per Se Robuchon l abeille Spago and Restaurant Daniel Arizmendi and business partner Hung sat down with the La Jolla Village News to discuss their entry into La Jolla s dining scene The whole management unit authentically came from New York explained Hung who praised San Diego s produce as fantastic and a very big reason why we came here He noted that ingredients grown in the region are unique because of the area s micro-climates You don t see chefs all fighting for the same thing Of Lucien s business concept Hung noted It s hyper-seasonal working closely with farms to see what s coming two months from now and what s great right now Lucien is unique in a number of techniques starting with the wide-open location of its kitchen easily viewable by guests It s kind of center stage noted Arizmendi We put it in the center of the dining room Addressing Lucien s menu concept Arizmendi revealed We re doing something very different It s a -plus syllabus tasting menu very ingredient-driven I work with local fishermen trying to source as close to the restaurant as I can We re not importing The menu is very San Diego Southern California and West Coast-focused A poached nectarine resting on a vacherin of white chocolate ganache and finished with a peach nigori sake sauce and coriander flower Photo by Kimberly Motos Lucien Arizmendi described Lucien s culinary experience I like to think of it as a journey he explained What we re doing is telling the story of the harvest season We have such close relationships with these people that we source from we re able to put forward exceptional produce that people otherwise wouldn t necessarily have There s something else unique about Lucien It s somewhat of a special occasion restaurant or even a business dinner place where you want to bring a large party here noted Arizmendi Lucien has two distinct halves separated by a central courtyard One side offers fine dining mostly by reservation only in an area that surrounds the kitchen while the other half features a walk-in bar serving a smaller menu We genuinely start people in the courtyard which has the bar next to it open declared Arizmendi We like to have finger food and champagne cocktails outside Lucien has a distinctively hybrid cuisine My training is in French and Japanese but I m from California stated Arizmendi noting that he grew up eating produce requiring less cooking and utilizing a lot of open fire With the kitchen layout I ve combined two very different styles he revealed One is a more primitive rustic open fire and then on the other side we have a cooking suite from France using very technical precise cooking It s California cuisine with Japanese and French influence Regarding the menu Arizmendi noted The great thing about doing a menu so big is that it s very well-rounded with a little bit of everything It s very heavy on seafood but we also have things like an American Wagyu Right now we have a few squab I like to keep it captivating We have pork sometimes a lot of poultry but I perpetually have something for everyone Lucien Girard Ave open Tuesdays through Saturdays with seatings at and p m Closed on Sundays and Mondays