Dining Review: Amaya

For decades, French cuisine was the pinnacle of dining in the United States. Then came multicultural fusion, elevated comfort food, and (lord help us) the smoke and mirrors of molecular gastronomy. Such trends relegated tried-and-true classics to the back of the food truck, despite the fact most were rooted in French culinary technique. It’s a travesty that fueled chefs Bryn McArthur’s and Roman Garcia’s decision to install a French brasserie concept when crafting a new identity for the Fairmont Grand Del Mar’s on-property eatery, Amaya.

Self-proclaimed lovers of the classics, the duo has developed a menu of familiar French dishes composed of locally procured ingredients, including exceptionally fresh produce from the likes of Girl & Dug Farm in San Marcos and Escondido’s Sage Hill Ranch Gardens. The menu reads like a novel you’ve read a hundred times over, but the dishes comprising it are anything but the same old thing thanks to numerous tweaks and creative touches.

A tartare of wagyu beef goes from a single-note indulgence into a multi-textured masterpiece with the addition of cured egg yolk, aerated Parmesan, and potato gougères that can be split in half and stuffed. A take on a classic Basque tuna preparation sees raw bluefin served in a pepper broth that gets clean heat from the addition of espelette and faux grilled-in char care of smoke oil. Meanwhile, the refreshment factor of chilled scallop crudo is increased exponentially by a gelee infused with one of Garcia’s favorite indulgences, herbaceous Green Chartreuse.

Even bread service ventures beyond the expected, trading baguette for soft, pull-apart brioche sprinkled with a salty, garlicky everything-bagel spice blend balanced by a compound butter made with honey sourced from a pair of rescued bee hives on-property.

But, by far, the largest tear-down-and-rebuild effort went into Amaya’s escargot starter. In an effort to make this delicacy more approachable, Garcia ditched shells and heavy condiments, instead pairing his tender snails (flown in weekly from France) with similarly textured, earthy mushrooms and serving them in a puff-pastry turret (vol au vent). A lemon vinaigrette uplifts the entire dish, elevating it beyond the oft-weighty standard to must-try status.

A duo of large-format show-stoppers — a 32-ounce wagyu tomahawk steak with sauce au poivre, and a honey-lacquered duck crown sliced into medallions to resemble that piece of coronet — headline the entrées section of the menu. Of the single-serving mains, the saucing of a bouillabaisse is light enough to allow the adept cookery on flaky striped sea bass and deeply caramelized scallops to show through. And coq au vin, a standard that sometimes comes across dry, sticky, or tannic, is a revelation, with moist, sumptuous chicken served atop a sweet carrot purée. Smoky bacon permeates the entire dish, creating something downright addictive.

More French mainstays abound — French onion soup with gratinéed Comté cheese, country pâté of pork, duck, and chicken, sole meunière with capers and Bloomsdale spinach — along with inspired vegetarian (Parisian gnocchi with mushrooms, peas, and ramps) and vegan (eggplant with sumac and marinated cherry tomatoes). And being a French concept, there are decadent — not to mention spot-on — desserts, including profiteroles, a fruity vacherin, and an indulgent chocolate tart soufflé featuring multiple textures of chocolate (cake, brownie batter, silken) with a palate-cleansing passion fruit sorbet.

There is plenty to love on the bill of fare, but the most endearing thing about Amaya is the manner in which the gastronomes behind it have poured their passions into arguably the world’s finest cuisine, adding pieces of themselves in the process, to bring added flavor, charm, and relevance. fairmont.com/san-diego/dining/amaya

Service: 4.5
Timeliness: 3.5
Ambience: 4
Culinary Innovation: 4
Food Quality: 4.5
Cocktail Program: 4
Wine List: 4.5
Value: 3.5