With a powerhouse team, Vistal, InterContinental San Diego’s signature restaurant offers upscale dining not just for hotel guests
by Wendy Lemlin
Vistal’s harborview patio
Yes, the food is excellent, the open, contemporary space compelling, and the views out over San Diego’s harbor gorgeous. But one thing that is sure to entice locals to experience Vistal, the signature restaurant at San Diego’s new bayfront Intercontinental Hotel, is COMPLIMENTARY 3 hour valet parking! Yes, as in FREE. In an area overlooking the Embarcadero and cruise ship terminal, where meters are enforced 24-7 and charges add up quickly, that is huge! Think of trying to park anywhere near most of the other premier fine dining restaurants in San Diego or La Jolla, especially at luxury hotels that seem to charge for anything they can, and you know why this is a big deal.
Chef’s Paul McCabe & Amy DiBiase
But, of course, free parking alone wouldn’t mean much if Vistal wasn’t serving food worth coming downtown for. With the powerhouse team of Chefs Paul McCabe and Amy DiBiase at the helm, however, damn good food is pretty much a given.
McCabe is Director of Food, Beverage and Culinary Operations for the entire 400 room hotel, and DiBiase is Vistal’s Executive Chef. Those who have followed San Diego’s culinary scene for the past decade or two will remember Paul McCabe, a James Beard-designated “rising star”, for bringing his innovative style to such kitchens as L’Auberge Del Mar, La Valencia, Top of the Cove and more. We lost him for a while to his native Arizona, but, lucky for San Diego, he’s back in a big way at Vistal. “It’s good to be back in a luxury property in San Diego,” McCabe enthuses. “For almost my entire career, I’ve opened hotels—this is my fifth hotel opening and 14th restaurant opening. When I was approached for this position, my first inclination was to say no, but then I went on a hard hat tour, saw the vision, and fell in love.”
Amy DiBiase’s California coastal style cuisine has been much lauded during her tenures at a number of high profile San Diego restaurants, including Tidal at Paradise Point, The Shores Restaurant, Roseville, Laurel and The Cosmopolitan Hotel. She oversees Vistal’s kitchen, the fourth floor pool bar, and 24 hour in-room dining. She also left San Diego briefly—for Hawaii—but when she was asked to recommend someone for the Vistal exec chef position, she realized she certainly could—herself! “And then when I heard Paul would be on board,” she says, “there was no question in my mind that this was where I wanted to be.”
Vistal’s dining room
With the mantra of “Mindfully Curated Coastal Cuisine”, DiBiase has infused the menu with hyper-locally sourced, organic ingredients. Produce and poultry comes from area farms, the wild-caught seafood from waters no further south than northern Baja and no further north than central California. Dairy products are from Sonoma—the closest organic dairy she could find that had the capacity to fulfill the hotel’s needs. The salt used at Vistal, whether in the kitchen or in the tabletop shakers, however is not local. Instead, only high quality, mined Himalayan rock salt is used, because, according to McCabe, it has been found that all sea salt today has been tainted with microplastics, and Himalayan mined salt is a much purer—albeit pricier—alternative.
To get a good representation of the seafood-forward dinner menu (there are a number of non-seafood options as well, of course) I put my appetite in the chefs’ hands and let them create a tasting menu for me.
The first thing to come to the table was a plate of warm epi (French wheat rolls) from San Diego artisanal baker Con Pane, accompanied by local olive oil for dipping, and housemade citrus fennel butter and beet hummus for spreading. All were wonderful, but I resisted the temptation to eat more than a few bites of these, as I knew I had six courses ahead of me.
Con Pane epi with local olive oil, citrus fennel butter, beet hummus
The meal began with pieces of Pickled Black Cod, seved with Persian cucumber, fennel, preserved plum, horseradish crema, and malted toast croutons. The light and refreshing dish was a standout for me, with an acid, sweet, and horseradish balance right on point.
Pickled Black Cod
Next came a very flavorful, slightly peppery Caramelized Cauliflower Ravioli with ricotta and an airy curried brown butter froth, topped with a cilantro pine nut gremolata for wonderful texture. Another standout!
Carmelized Cauliflower Ravioli
The third course consisted of slices of perfectly cooked Garlic Butter Ahi Belly, seared on the outside, rare on the inside, just as it should be. The ponzu sauce with maitake mushrooms provided lots of umami and there was a nice bit of zestiness from pieces of radish and green onion.
Garlic Butter Ahi Belly
A tender yet meaty slice of Cornmeal Dusted Sturgeon starred in the fourth course, perched on a mound of sloe gin braised cabbage and surrounded by rounds of rutabaga fondant and daubs of malt mayo. There was a bit of saltiness on the back end, which I felt could have been lessened slightly (I’m not a heavy salt user), but all in all, another excellent choice.
Cornmeal Dusted Sturgeon
For the final, pre-dessert course, I chose Baja Blue Prawns, which were accompanied by purple sweet potato gnocchi, oyster mushroom, roasted poblano, and cilantro pistou. While I enjoyed each element of this dish individually, I felt that, unlike in all the previous dishes where the main ingredient really shone and the other ingredients embellished but didn’t overwhelm, the delicate flavor of the prawns was somewhat lost in everything else going on in the dish.
Baja Blue Prawns
Just to mix things up a little, my dining companion went with the Chicken Fried Steak for her fifth course—a beautiful dish which was not at all like those heavy slabs of battered fried meat you’d find in a Southern diner. Rare slices of chicken skin topped–Snake River Farms Ribeye Cap shared the plate with creamy potato espuma and purreed carrot, surrounded by foie gras gravy and garnished with wild mushrooms, baby veggies and microgreens. My friend declared it “divine”.
Chicken Fried Steak
Dessert was Sweet Corn Poundcake, moist and satisfying without being overly sugary, and topped with slices of fresh fig and vanilla gelato. The corn motif was accentuated by clusters of honey caramel popcorn playfully scattered atop the cake and gelato.
Sweet Corn Poundcake
Thus, a truly memorable meal was accomplished by the creativity, symbiosis of flavors, and attention to detail that are long established hallmarks of both Paul McCabe’s and Amy DiBiase’s individual culinary styles.
Vistal’s patio by night
The bar and lounge at Vistal
While the locally-sourced, organic ingredient-driven cuisine definitely qualifies as fine-dining experience, it should be noted that the price points land in the moderate range of that category, with most dinner entrees in the $27-$33 neighborhood. Breakfast and lunch are also served at Vistal, and the bar, integrated into the open dining area, offers a full range of cocktails, wines and beers. An outdoor patio with sweeping waterfront views, firepit and twinkling lights offers both a convivial gathering spot for a group of friends, or a romantic candlelit corner for a special rendezvous. And then there’s that free valet parking…..
Vistal, 901 Bayfront Ct., San Diego CA, 619-501-9400