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Animae San Diego Tripadvisor Reviews
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23 Reviews
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Excellent Birthday Dinner
Made a reservation a couple of months ago to visit Animae for a birthday dinner. Very difficult to get a reservation one or two weeks in advance. It was a rare cold and windy evening in San Diego and Animae's decor was warm and inviting. The mgmt must have reacted to past criticisms because the lighting and background music were about right. Animae's cuisine is Asian-fusion with a focus on Filipino food, which is pretty rare, especially outside a few places like San Diego. Be prepared with an open mind (palate) for some novel flavors. Our waitress took our drink order. I decided to go with sparkling wine by the glass knowing that the food would have intense flavors. Turned out to be a good choice. Four people ordered six appetizers and two main courses and shared everything. And we shared some Wagyu steak. All of the dishes were excellently prepared and delicious. Was great to be able to taste 9 dishes. overall, I would say this was too much food for a group our size. My only criticism is that all of the dishes were pretty intensely flavored. Would be good to have a couple of bland dishes to break up the flavors and cleanse the palate. Didn't get to that until we ordered the Yuzu sorbet which was very refreshing. Finally, service was friendly and professional. Dishes arrived at a nice cadence. I would definitely go back.
Be the first to ReplyDARK, LOUD, OVERWRAUGHT AND OVERPRICED
Since the chef's recipes are convoluted, heavy and dense you really need to see what you are eating but the room is so dark it was impossible. (All of the publicity photos are brightly lit with colorful fresh-seeming ingredients and it was simply impossible to tell the Chinese sausage from the beets.) And forget about having a conversation! The room was so loud we ended up having to shout at each other throughout dinner. The feeling of the room is the decor of a large Hyatt Hotel. On the plus side the staff is attentive and especially pleasant. The manager came by the table near the end of the meal and when he saw that I had not eaten even half of the (peanut) oily, (fat) ladened short rib he immediately offered to bring something else and in the end quickly said he would remove it from our bill....so someone in charge of staffing is doing a good job. The restaurant was full with a mix of mostly younger couples and small groups. I hope they all can afford the $150 Wagyu steaks. The chicken was well cooked and moist. The crispy potatoes were lots of things but not crispy. Sadly, tonight's meal was a complete disappointment. PS. Plan ahead. Valet was efficient and cordial but will cost another $25, because there is no place to park.
Be the first to ReplyMust check out place!
Went here with colleagues for the experience. Ambiance was spot on and food was refreshing! A lot of dishes are based on the Filipino cuisine and the chef sure gave it a personalized touch. Everything we ordered were good....especially the short rib kare kare. Now some might say it is overpriced and that you could get one at the usual Filipino restaurant but remember you came here for the whole experience. Meaning ambiance, service and good food and drinks. Just helping to set expectations.
Be the first to ReplyHad a wonderful dining experience!
First off the ambiance upon entering is first rate, beautiful inside. Very classy. Our server was Andrew who was excellent. Very knowledgeable and great with advice…(not the response that everything on the menu is excellent). His suggestions were spot on! The hamachi appetizer was so well done, lots of different flavors that came together beautifully. The branzino could very well have been the best preparation of this fish I have ever had! The octopus was also delicious! Corkage was $35. Highly recommend! We will be returning and I know what I am going to be ordering!
Be the first to Replyvery unsatisfied
I'm sorry to have to make such a negative review, but unfortunately the reality is that I had a really bad dinner in this restaurant, the food not only disgusted me in terms of taste, heaviness and greasiness, but it also gave me nausea and food poisoning for the whole night. None of the dishes magnify the flavor of the main ingredient, everything was heavily cooked and dipped in fat. Low quality cuisine, unsuccessful “creativity”, non-existent delicacy of the dishes. In short, not just a huge disappointment, but a huge disappointment having paid $250 with just one beer and tap water. In reality it would have been a disappointment even if we had paid 80$, given the disgust that accompanied us during and after dinner. Bad experience. It was the first time that, having dined in a high-end/medium-high-end restaurant, I ate really badly. Sure NOT RECOMMENDED. The "A5 wagyu tartare" could have had a discreet taste, a little spicy and a little acidic, but it navigated in fat and oil and was served with slices of pan brioche fried in poor quality oil, which had not been dried from the frying oil and therefore were very greasy and completely soaked in oil inside, causing disgust, even though they were crunchy on the outside. Overall it was a dish of extreme heaviness. The “caviar shrimp toast” was the same repetition of the fried pan brioche soaked in oil, a sort of French toast, with tasteless shrimps inside and salmon caviar on top (nothing special). No fish taste at all, but only the taste of heavy frying, full of oil that had killed every taste. Taste of sea: not received. After eating a quarter of the toast I was already disgusted and lost my appetite. We should have asked to cancel the rest of the dishes ordered, but stupidly, in order not to appear rude, we continued with the dinner, in the hope that once the "fat-soaked and fried bread" effect had passed, we could hope for at least a decent combination of flavors. Unforgivable mistake! "Short rib Kare kare" was an abundant portion of meat sailing in fat, peanuts oil, meat fat... the whole was not pleasant but cloying. “Chili octopus” was a portion of 2 large (fried and crunchy) octopus tentacles. In itself the taste was not bad, especially if they were accompanied only by the eggplant puree. But the addition of the strong sour taste of the pickles covered the other flavors, making it impossible to amalgamate the components of the dish, otherwise its taste would deteriorate. The roti bread would have been good if it wasn't also soaked in grease. Unfortunately we had ordered desserts from the beginning too, and although we said we would like one of the two we had ordered, they brought us both. Here too we made a mistake in not having it brought back, but it seemed rude to us. “Ube profiteroles”: a useless, meaningless dessert. It tastes of nothing, lots of ube cream and zero flavor. Again heavy and tasteless. “Chocolate cremeux”: how to kill the taste of chocolate (what quality of chocolate??!!). Bad taste, which did not add anything special to the chocolate but rather took away its flavor making it unpleasant. Good chocolate crumble, but you had to discard the korean cashew (flavor that does not bind with anything) to be able to eat it. In short, a dessert with an ugly taste and whose elements did not amalgamate with each other. The environment is pretty nice, except for the carpet which is a bit kitsch in my opinion, the tables are large and the seats comfortable. The staff are friendly, kind and in some way attentive.
Be the first to ReplyBig disappointment
I ate really badly, there was not one of the six dishes we ordered that did not disgust me. In the aftermath, I still haven't digested their food. Evidently it is a very overrated restaurant in terms of food. Nothing to say about the service, but the food is not good. The dishes are all too greasy. The Wagyu tartare was filled with oil that covered the flavor of the seasonings, and the fried milk bread was completely drenched in oil no matter how crispy it was. The flavor of the short ribs was profusely covered by the grease from the peanuts dressing, which no matter how much I tried to put aside was plentiful on the plate. I found the two desserts to be of low quality. The profiteroles were too soft, the ube cream had no flavor, and the only tasty thing was the parmesan topping. The chocolate creamy was disconnected from the accompanying cream, and the Korean Chili Cashew did not improve its situation. Unfortunately, the food at this restaurant was a real disappointment.
Be the first to ReplySuper busy on a Tuesday evening
I thought the whole thing was overrated. The food was average at best. Lots of energy in the place and the staff was certainly attentive, but overall, meh.
Be the first to ReplyAsian Fusion Experience
Amazing eclectic experience. Yummy share plates and good choice of meals with option for Waygu beef. Something for everyone. Spacious atmosphere with good distance between tables. International wine list and creative cocktails. Definitely returning when back in San Diego!!
Be the first to ReplyNot sure I buy into the hype
Lovely ambience, very good service - verging on upselling, and beautifully presented dishes. Unfortunately, very few of the dishes we had were memorable in any way which was a great shame. As a beef tartare connoisseur (if it's on the menu I have it) what a disappointment it is when the dish is so overseasoned and overmarinated that the flavor of the beef cannot shine through. The beef tongue was OK - and was probably overshadowed by a really well done pomme puree, and noodles were meh at best. My favorite dish would have been the most basic fried chicken which came with a nice aioli emulsion. This restaurant is not cheap, which is fine if it was delivering a unique gastronomique experience, but it is not, and I find it really difficult to see why I would return to it again.
Be the first to ReplyIncredibly expensive but very good food and outstanding service
The restaurant menu has a variety of very good and unique dishes, mostly Asian. Even more impressive is the extremely professional yet unintrusive service by the entire staff. The prices are nevertheless excessive, in part to cover the costs of the high rent space, but apparently also to establish a measure of exclusively and invite patronage by "the beautiful people." There is no need to order the grossly expensive wagyu and other steaks, as these can be obtained elsewhere. Go for the Asian dishes.
Be the first to ReplyGreat food and well curated wine
Really lovely and relaxing atmosphere with knowledgeable staff. Had an excellent cocktail, wonderful wines, and very good food with two good friends. Definitely the best food I had in San Diego.
Be the first to ReplyAmazing Asian fusion
Fantastic dining experience. They were very accommodating as we were late for our reservation and the kitchen was closing soon. The service was very quick but it did not feel rushed. Our waitress was very attentive and happy to recommend dishes. The soft shell crab bun and the lamb ribs were delicious. The caviar toast was good but didn’t compare to the rest for my taste. The Wagyu and the duck fried rice were both mouth watering and an explosion of flavors. Lastly the dessert was a really interesting mixture of textures and flavors. Very happy I ordered it in the end. All in all will definitely be coming back.
Be the first to ReplyA Great Find. Fantastic Food. Outstanding Service.
Every dish we tried was superb. We got to sample many items as we shared with others at our table. I especially enjoyed the Caviar Shrimp Toast and Wonton. However, the Wagyu Beef was hands down the best I have ever tasted. The service was top-notch. The staff was knowledgeable and helpful, but not stuffy like at some high-end restaurants. Animae earns my highest recommendation.
Be the first to ReplyNice Filipino Asian restaurant
Nice Asian fusion restaurant with a Filipino twist. Food and drink menu is exciting. Food and drinks was great. Service and ambiance were very good.
Be the first to ReplyOne of the highlights of out trip
Wonderful food ( especially the bao bums and the shrimp toast .
Kayce was a fantastic server- good knowledge about the menu, very friendly and helpful
Great for couples or a romantic night.
The experience for New Years was great, the food, the ambience, the staff were all great. I really recommend this restaurant!!
Be the first to ReplyMusic too d@^^ loud to enjoy the food
Love the food here, this was our sixth visit and food continues to impress and not disappoint. However, I’m gonna make a complaint and suggestion here. The music was LOUD, between the servers mask (which can’t be controlled) and the music volume I heard about 25% of what our server said. I could barely hear my guest…sitting right next to me. I was so annoyed by the volume by the end of the meal I skipped another glass of wine and didn’t bother to even look at the dessert menu… it was just too annoying to sit there a minute longer. Perhaps this is a plan to keep the tables turning, but it (the music volume) had a direct & negative impact on our experience.
Be the first to ReplyLovely atmosphere. Well prepared food.
Very good service with an Asian fusion menu. All dished were delicious. Had the whole fish and the presentation was great. The Lumpia and Cauliflower appetizers were amazing. Our favorite was the Som Tam Salad was our favorite. Full bar.
Be the first to ReplyExcellent menu!
We just enjoyed dinner at Animae last Friday evening. The menu covers quite a few palettes with its array of choices. We started with the Hamachi and cucumber salad and Wagyu for the main course. Drinks are very expensive at this restaurant and at $15 each, yikes. My son planned this dinner for my husband's birthday and when he requested the reservation, he noted the special occasion. Had our waiter looked at the notes, it would have been an excellent way to finish off the evening, but he did not and we had to ask if the note was received. Kind of spoiled the surprise for all of us.
Be the first to ReplyGreat Wagyu, excellent service
Enjoyed our evening at Animae in San Diego. Located in a new condo tower, this restaurant is reminiscent of Las Vegas, with beautiful two story surroundings and pounding, pulsating Muzak.
Filled mainly with Yuppies and hipsters, this restaurant has a very good vibe going for it.
Our service, headed by Savannah, was attentive and professional. It was seamless and did not miss a beat.
Food is a bit uneven, but some dishes were outstanding. The Japanese Miyazaki A5 Wagyu was absolutely the best course. Perfectly cooked; melt in your mouth delicious!
Bao Buns, Wontons, Wagyu Carpaccio and a Coconut Cashew Napoleon dessert, were also outstanding. An Ahi Tuna appetizer was a disappointment, with so little Ahi mixed into overly salted Soy Sauce and rice. Not recommended. Wagyu Fried rice was bland and Coal fired Cabbage was a letdown. Would appreciate a Riesling or Gewurztraminer by the glass to match with the cuisine.
We would dine here again, but would try other dishes. Valet parking available.
Just enjoyed an outside dinner
Just enjoyed an outside dinner at Animae. The flavors are fantastic. I had the charred corn and lamb ribs. Both had great flavors, the ribs were a bit tough, I’m no chef but I’d say go back to the usual lamb lollipops. Definitely going back to try some other items on the menu.
Be the first to ReplyIn San Diego, it is the cream of the crop!
Animae was as delightful and unique dinning experience as I have had and I am a long time San Diegan. From the décor of art deco and modern animation design to the staff who were willing participants in providing you the “diner” a clear understanding of the restaurant’s concept and menu. To the menu, which as I had followed Chef Joe (who I loved at Cucina Urbana where he was the executive chef) in his travels earlier in the year up north where he was tasting and building this menu into a one that offers a unique and flavorful selection. All the staff were on board and there when needed without exception. I had an early reservation and having the privilege having owned fine dinning establishments in NYC and LA I witnessed something I rarely if ever see in San Diego. One of the serving staff was measuring a table to ensure the proper placement of all the settings. To me that was of particular delight as it shows the commitment is universal and held to a high standard to make the diner’s evening a memorable experience whether you are in for just the tasting menu or the full approach. The wine list and sake’ selection was great, but I did not partake this time next I will. Kudos to the staff, Chef Joe and of course its purveyor Brian Malarkey. This should set a standard for others if they wish to be in this arena. As for myself I am looking forward to returning soon.
Be the first to ReplyDelicious
Our visit to Animae began with disappointment. As we always do, we had picked their Happy Hour because of the food offerings listed on the internet. But the actual HH menu had about 25% fewer items on it than the website, and some of them were different.
KEEP YOUR WEBSITE UP TO DATE !
The second, less major disappointment was the bar seating. Since there were four of us we could not comfortably sit at the lively bar and converse, so we sat at one of the sofa groupings. The tables were not big enough for food and drink for four, and the uncomfortable couches needed large pillows (at least for short people).
The drinks were overpriced, both the HH and the regular drinks, but that is to be expected in a celebrity chef restaurant.
Our server was a lot of fun. But we did have to remind her--twice--to bring one of the appetizers we ordered.
But the food--with one exception--was delicious, and very different. The miso butter rolls were incredible. The spring rolls with spinach and mascarpone, ditto. The bulgogi beef skewers, the crispy rice, and the sashimi rice dish were all very good. The one exception was the chicken skewers, which were undercooked (still pink in the center) and made of tough chicken thighs instead of tender breast meat.
Overall, worth going back to, probably for dinner--now we know how to find it !