[Update - Closed]
I meant to post this earlier but am actually doing this on Sunday 11/25 (more than a week later). TC had a long dance practice that day so we decided to have lunch at the Guild while she learned her new dances for the upcoming Parol Festival. Here's the view under the bridge from the I-5 to Cesar Chavez Parkway.
Make a left on Cesar Chavez Parkway and a right on Newton...
where you will end up at 1805 Newton Ave - The Guild in the historic neighborhood of Barrio Logan . Here's the review from the local paper, and from yelp .
Their menu is folded in half around a wooden board. They have Brunch on Saturdays from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm. The bottom half was their regular lunch menu and the left half (which is folded under) were the drinks menu.
Turns out that the owner of this place is also a furniture designer. He designed all of the ultra modern decor in the restaurant. Check out their chairs - you can see the "G" is incorpated in the design. While the chairs may look "cool", they are a bit heavy and hard to maneuver. Since we came for lunch, there was plenty of space and seating (mostly in tables that seat two, I noticed). We're not into the whole "going out at night" deal and I heard that you needed a reservation a week in advance just to eat here for dinner. Hunhhhh. There were a few other folks there at the same time but they were sitting in the back. The restaurant is small, but there is also an upstairs area (also small). The guy working at the bar who greeted us was pretty friendly. He looked like a young Filipino American dude (finally, brethren!) Our waiter was Daniel who was very knowledgeable about all aspects of the menu and each dish. He was friendly and not pushy at all.
The utensils lay atop a black napkin and were held together by a thick metal ring (cut off in the photo). 
Bert ordered the Soju Espresso ($9). Our waiter said that was the way he liked to start his mornings - a shot of Soju (which is Korean hard liquor/vodka) in his coffee. Seems like soju is the latest "it" mixer for these Yuppy/Urban Hipster places. You can get Soju, sometimes spelled 'shoju' at Zion pretty cheap. I didn't care for it, but Bert thought the bitterness of the espresso masked the alcohol flavor quite well.
I splurged on a Strawberry Lemonade ($4). Sorry for the crappy quality of the photo. Each table has a dangling pendant light with kind of screwed up my lighting, so I took this without a flash and it wasn't much better. This drink was quite refreshing. I normally don't drink a lot of liquid (yes, I know that is bad for me), but I nearly finished this glass during this lunch.
Some fancy ass water from some spring in Wales. We didn't drink it. The restaurant didn't offer tap water. We ended up drinking the melted ice (at the end of the meal). Yeah, we're cheap.
One thing about this place - don't expect huuge portions. I knew what to expect since I had read all the early press when this place opened midyear. I had been curious to try it but didn't have the opportunity until today. Anyways, the plates are meant to be shared (kind of like Bite's setup). Don't come here expecting chain restaurant portions. For starters, our waiter recommended a salad for us to share - the Pressato (forgot the price):
The salad was layered into a ring mold and consisted of arugula with an olive oil balsamic reduction, sauteed crimini mushrooms, toasted pine nuts (as well as pecans), and topped with aged asiago cheese. I normally eat my greens "dry" but the balsamic reduction was actually quite nice. I liked the different tastes and textures in this salad - with the crunchy nuts and the cheese and the bitter arugula. The portion was a bit on the tiny side, but it proved to be just right for a shared starter. This salad also had a bit of a kick to it and when asked if there was a spice, the waiter told us that it was "pimenton" or smoked Spanish paprika. There are threw types- mild, sweet and hot. This one was hot. Lucky for me, I have a small tin of pimenton ahumado (smoked paprika) when I checked out Pata Negra (the mini Spanish market next to Costa Brava) earlier this summer. I'm going to try to replicate this salad at home.
Bert had the Seared Sesame Yellowfin with microgreens ($12). His dish had six tiny squares of seared Yellowfin tuna with a sesame crust. The dipping sauce was a spicy chili/sesame mixture and the dish was scattered with microgreens. They even had a glob of wasabe shaped like a fish!
Here's a close up of that sweet and spicy chili sauce. Bert liked his yellowfin while I declined to taste it. I don't really like raw fish. Yeah, I'm a wimp like that.
My Mini Kobe Beef Sliders with Frites and dipping sauces ($11) . I wish this dish had more than just two mini "sliders". They were unwieldy to eat unless you hold the tiny burger with both hands and eat it in one bite. I was trying to hold it but was afraid the meat would shoot out so I ended up dissecting it on my plate. The meat was cooked pretty rare, which I did not like. They didn't ask how I wanted it done either. Instead of the conventional bun, the beef is served on buttered and toasted (grilled?) circles of artisan bread. Inside, there is a basil leaf, a slice of hothouse tomato and a bit of Humboldt fog cheese, which I hate. I knew the sliders came with this type of cheese, but no matter, I just scraped it off and gave it to Bert. I cannot stand any type of cheese that smells like feet (all blue cheese). The sauces were some sort of a pesto and housemade ketchup, which tasted like it also had pimenton in it. The frites, while nice and thin, were too thin. They were just crunchy sticks. I liked the frites at Modus better. They are a little thicker and you don't feel like you are eating a bagged snack food.
The mini sliders:
The deconstruction of the slider:
The cool sink in the unisex bathroom:
They even had their custom made chairs in here!
Our dessert - the Butterscotch Pot du Creme with Chocolate Sauce and a trio of Tempura fried Marshmallows:
This was quite good! I normally don't like pudding type desserts. Anything soft and gooey is normally avoided by me, but the other choice was a flan which to me, is ho hum. So, we went with this and I must say, the butterscotch flavor was really smooth. It was even better with the rich chocolate topping the glass. The marshallows were dipped in a tempura batter, fried and speared on sticks. The sugar from the marshmallow caramelizes to make a nice crust.
Gooey:
After lunch, we headed back to National City to pick up our daughter from practice...
Would we go again? Yes, for lunch, not dinner since we're not fans of the night scene. Lunchtime is more relaxed and less pretentious. There were a few other items I wanted to try on the menu. For the most part, we liked our dishes (except for my rare meat and gross ashy cheese). The portions could be a tiny bit bigger, but we're not talking about supersizing it or anything! Our service was great and we enjoyed the ambiance. They were playing a mix of 80's music. Man, I hadn't heard "Straight to Hell" by the Clash (from "Combat Rock) in a loooong time!
I meant to post this earlier but am actually doing this on Sunday 11/25 (more than a week later). TC had a long dance practice that day so we decided to have lunch at the Guild while she learned her new dances for the upcoming Parol Festival. Here's the view under the bridge from the I-5 to Cesar Chavez Parkway.
Make a left on Cesar Chavez Parkway and a right on Newton...
where you will end up at 1805 Newton Ave - The Guild in the historic neighborhood of Barrio Logan . Here's the review from the local paper, and from yelp .
Their menu is folded in half around a wooden board. They have Brunch on Saturdays from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm. The bottom half was their regular lunch menu and the left half (which is folded under) were the drinks menu.
Turns out that the owner of this place is also a furniture designer. He designed all of the ultra modern decor in the restaurant. Check out their chairs - you can see the "G" is incorpated in the design. While the chairs may look "cool", they are a bit heavy and hard to maneuver. Since we came for lunch, there was plenty of space and seating (mostly in tables that seat two, I noticed). We're not into the whole "going out at night" deal and I heard that you needed a reservation a week in advance just to eat here for dinner. Hunhhhh. There were a few other folks there at the same time but they were sitting in the back. The restaurant is small, but there is also an upstairs area (also small). The guy working at the bar who greeted us was pretty friendly. He looked like a young Filipino American dude (finally, brethren!) Our waiter was Daniel who was very knowledgeable about all aspects of the menu and each dish. He was friendly and not pushy at all. 
The utensils lay atop a black napkin and were held together by a thick metal ring (cut off in the photo). 
Bert ordered the Soju Espresso ($9). Our waiter said that was the way he liked to start his mornings - a shot of Soju (which is Korean hard liquor/vodka) in his coffee. Seems like soju is the latest "it" mixer for these Yuppy/Urban Hipster places. You can get Soju, sometimes spelled 'shoju' at Zion pretty cheap. I didn't care for it, but Bert thought the bitterness of the espresso masked the alcohol flavor quite well.
I splurged on a Strawberry Lemonade ($4). Sorry for the crappy quality of the photo. Each table has a dangling pendant light with kind of screwed up my lighting, so I took this without a flash and it wasn't much better. This drink was quite refreshing. I normally don't drink a lot of liquid (yes, I know that is bad for me), but I nearly finished this glass during this lunch.
Some fancy ass water from some spring in Wales. We didn't drink it. The restaurant didn't offer tap water. We ended up drinking the melted ice (at the end of the meal). Yeah, we're cheap.
One thing about this place - don't expect huuge portions. I knew what to expect since I had read all the early press when this place opened midyear. I had been curious to try it but didn't have the opportunity until today. Anyways, the plates are meant to be shared (kind of like Bite's setup). Don't come here expecting chain restaurant portions. For starters, our waiter recommended a salad for us to share - the Pressato (forgot the price):
The salad was layered into a ring mold and consisted of arugula with an olive oil balsamic reduction, sauteed crimini mushrooms, toasted pine nuts (as well as pecans), and topped with aged asiago cheese. I normally eat my greens "dry" but the balsamic reduction was actually quite nice. I liked the different tastes and textures in this salad - with the crunchy nuts and the cheese and the bitter arugula. The portion was a bit on the tiny side, but it proved to be just right for a shared starter. This salad also had a bit of a kick to it and when asked if there was a spice, the waiter told us that it was "pimenton" or smoked Spanish paprika. There are threw types- mild, sweet and hot. This one was hot. Lucky for me, I have a small tin of pimenton ahumado (smoked paprika) when I checked out Pata Negra (the mini Spanish market next to Costa Brava) earlier this summer. I'm going to try to replicate this salad at home.
Bert had the Seared Sesame Yellowfin with microgreens ($12). His dish had six tiny squares of seared Yellowfin tuna with a sesame crust. The dipping sauce was a spicy chili/sesame mixture and the dish was scattered with microgreens. They even had a glob of wasabe shaped like a fish!
Here's a close up of that sweet and spicy chili sauce. Bert liked his yellowfin while I declined to taste it. I don't really like raw fish. Yeah, I'm a wimp like that.
My Mini Kobe Beef Sliders with Frites and dipping sauces ($11) . I wish this dish had more than just two mini "sliders". They were unwieldy to eat unless you hold the tiny burger with both hands and eat it in one bite. I was trying to hold it but was afraid the meat would shoot out so I ended up dissecting it on my plate. The meat was cooked pretty rare, which I did not like. They didn't ask how I wanted it done either. Instead of the conventional bun, the beef is served on buttered and toasted (grilled?) circles of artisan bread. Inside, there is a basil leaf, a slice of hothouse tomato and a bit of Humboldt fog cheese, which I hate. I knew the sliders came with this type of cheese, but no matter, I just scraped it off and gave it to Bert. I cannot stand any type of cheese that smells like feet (all blue cheese). The sauces were some sort of a pesto and housemade ketchup, which tasted like it also had pimenton in it. The frites, while nice and thin, were too thin. They were just crunchy sticks. I liked the frites at Modus better. They are a little thicker and you don't feel like you are eating a bagged snack food. 
The mini sliders:
The deconstruction of the slider:
The cool sink in the unisex bathroom:
They even had their custom made chairs in here!
Our dessert - the Butterscotch Pot du Creme with Chocolate Sauce and a trio of Tempura fried Marshmallows:
This was quite good! I normally don't like pudding type desserts. Anything soft and gooey is normally avoided by me, but the other choice was a flan which to me, is ho hum. So, we went with this and I must say, the butterscotch flavor was really smooth. It was even better with the rich chocolate topping the glass. The marshallows were dipped in a tempura batter, fried and speared on sticks. The sugar from the marshmallow caramelizes to make a nice crust.
Gooey:
After lunch, we headed back to National City to pick up our daughter from practice...
Would we go again? Yes, for lunch, not dinner since we're not fans of the night scene. Lunchtime is more relaxed and less pretentious. There were a few other items I wanted to try on the menu. For the most part, we liked our dishes (except for my rare meat and gross ashy cheese). The portions could be a tiny bit bigger, but we're not talking about supersizing it or anything! Our service was great and we enjoyed the ambiance. They were playing a mix of 80's music. Man, I hadn't heard "Straight to Hell" by the Clash (from "Combat Rock) in a loooong time!
2 comments:
hi, this restaurant's furniture are pretty neat and the food looks good, too. I can never remember to take pictures when we go out to eat.:)
hello oggi!
thanks for stopping by! the food was good but a bit over-rated in my opinion. i always feel a bit self conscious taking photos at restaurants.
by the way, your blog is quite cool! great recipes too!
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