Dining Review: Lucien

Many are the restaurateurs with Michelin stars in their eyes, but few have put as much into erecting a star-worthy establishment as the team behind recently launched Lucien. That group’s collective résumé includes a host of celestial entries from the NYC section of the guide, including Thomas Keller’s Per Se, Restaurant Daniel, and l’abeille. It’s while working as chef de cuisine at the latter that Elijah Arizmendi lassoed a Michelin star in just six months. Now he’s back in his home state of California — along with Pastry Chef Bella Alicea (Per Se, Le Bernardin) and Wine & Beverage Director James Meringer (l’abeille, l’abeille à côté, Sushi Ichimura) — lured by the wealth of seasonal riches springing forth from local farms, ranches, and fisheries. Arizmendi isn’t the first chef to be entranced by that siren’s song, but he and business partner Brian Hung (a colleague from Per Se) are the first to present The Golden State’s bounty as they are via Lucien’s inventive format and tasting menus marrying Japanese and French sensibilities.

Ascending multiple staircases to the restaurant’s third-story perch atop La Plaza La Jolla feels like leaving everyday life behind to partake in an all-encapsulating gastronomic experience in a culinary wonderland. Guests’ intro to that Edenic netherworld is an open-air courtyard complete with a focal fruit tree, but the calamansi hanging from its branches are far from forbidden. Rather, that Southeast Asian citrus fruit’s tart juice is served as a palate-awakener along with a trio of amuses. A recent visit turned up a Charentais melon granita with fennel crème and Chartreuse gelée that tasted like a cantaloupe-anise creamsicle, a nori-wrapped cylinder of Masani Ranch ribeye tartare, and an avocado tartlet with a Mezcal-like smokiness topped with tart finger limes and N25 Oscietra Caviar. 

The above would not be the last encounter with the ribeye (an American wagyu-angus hybrid hailing from Northern California) or caviar, both of which showed up later in the meal, thankfully unaccompanied by the word “supplement” and an additional fee. Hung does not believe guests should only get a restaurant’s full experience if they are willing to be upcharged. The printed menu is the full menu at one cost for all (save for an optional beverage pairing made up primarily of selections from Meringer’s Californian and European list, the volume, thoughtfulness, and harmony of which make it worth the splurge) so that every patron can enjoy the full range of what Arizmendi and his brigade have to offer. And they will enjoy plenty. Hung has consumed too many scant Michelin-starred meals requiring a “supplement” in the form of a trip through a McDonald’s drive-thru. As such, Lucien’s 12-course tasting menu is sating and bolstered by treats such as the amuses and mignardises (small confectionary endnotes).

With early temptations consumed, guests are ushered from the shade of the calamansi tree, beyond a heavy bronze door, and into Lucien’s dining room. That 30-seat shotgun space features sea-blue walls and a trio of banquettes set into cave-like recesses evocative of La Jolla Cove which face the open kitchen with its custom, L-shaped Molteni stove. Imported from France and abutting a hearth fueled by almond wood and binchotan charcoal, that multi-ton behemoth had to be craned in, but given the deft cookery taking place at Lucien — especially this early on — it would appear it was worth the effort and expense.

Lucien’s menu progression is logical — seafood and delicate flavors first, with backloaded red meat and desserts — but not necessarily predictable. Some courses are two-parters. The best of those is a charred banana buckwheat toast served beside an edible ode to ova, egg dashi topped with caviar. As delicate as the eggshell it’s served in, the custard has a maple sweetness that works well with the salinity of the caviar à la syrup and bacon, while the accompanying toast is full-on banana bread, making for a heightened breakfast-for-dinner combo. Another impressive one-two punch comes mid-meal with a velouté of red kuri squash topped with an intense Madras curry foam sidled by Santa Barbara uni on top of toasted pain de mie. Like the egg dish, alternating bites between the two components enhances each of them.

On the sea fare front, medallions of spiny lobster delivered to the restaurant 20 minutes before service are arranged in a passionfruit froth with rainbow beets, thornyhead (AKA: kinki fish or channel rockfish) is served with a rich, butter-mounted fumé made with smoked fish bones and topped with (yes, more) caviar, and an uni ice cream melts along with a purple Japanese sweet potato foam and mushroom gelée to form what looks and tastes like an earthily sweet and umami Jackson Pollock work. 

A third of the way through the meal is when the rulebook goes out the window with bread service — a round loaf of ancient-grain sourdough with cultured seaweed butter, which is served with a unique ancient-grain pilsner from Napa’s Hanabi Lager Co. with the beverage pairing. Next up…sauternes? It must be foie gras time. Wrong. Looking to prove the versatility of Château d’Yquem’s archetypal sweet wine, Arizmendi sends out a cube of pressed chicken breast and leg meat wrapped in deeply seasoned skin and served in a decadent, coating jus with plump Muscat raisins. The sweetness of the latter creates a bridge to the sauternes in what is perhaps the best dish on the current menu, the bold meatiness of which is only exceeded by medium-rare ribeye with broccolini, turnips, vibrant green parsley purée, and sauce anchoïade (a Provençal meat jus fortified with anchovy).

During a ninth-course stretch, guests are welcomed to the pass to speak with a member of the kitchen team while enjoying a seasonal beverage, such as pluot juice mixed with Earl Grey tea spirit and topped with green shiso foam to simulate the texture of an egg-white cocktail. Back at the table, seasonally driven desserts are brought out. On the night I visited, a baba cake soaked in champagne (as opposed to the traditional rum) was plated with multiple forms of Granny Smith apple (poached, crisped, butter) and Chantilly cream, followed by what has become one of Lucien’s signature dishes: eggplant ice cream with Asian pear, tapioca, black cardamom foam, and soy anglaise. Soft in every sense, the latter resets the palate as the meal winds down versus sending one home in sugar shock. 

New dishes are rotated into Lucien’s menu based on what is in season, as well as what purveyors and Arizmendi are enthused about, so the bill of fare is fluid, but the above is representative of what one can expect. Regardless of what hits the table, be assured that it will have been preceded by a great deal of thought, from ingredients to concept to cookery to plating (the restaurant’s ceramic vessels were crafted by Arizmendi’s mother and glazed by his father). Every fine detail of Lucien has been fretted and fussed over. After all, that’s what you do when you’re going for a Michelin star. luciensd.com

Service 4.5
Timeliness 4.5
Ambiance 4
Culinary Innovation 4.5
Food Quality 4.5
Wine List 4.5
Cocktail Program 4
Value 3