Bertrand at Mr. A's - the full post

On the last Friday of Lent, we wanted to check this place out and possibly have lunch here...

at this nondescript liquor store on Adams near Felton...

I was reading an old "summer" issue of "Normal Height" magazine/newsletter which featured an article about two guys who started a fishmarket/deli counter, called the Alaskan Seafood Connection. It's located inside the Corner Store Liquor shop on Adams. Bert and I were especially curious to try their Lobster Roll. I also saw on Y*** reviews that they offered lumpia with a tuna filling (For the record, it's been done. My mom beat them to that, years ago.) which is pretty unusual.

I took a half day from work to be with TC (who gets out early on Fridays) and Bert (who had the week off from work). It's a rare occasion for all of us to have lunch together on a "school day".

So, here is ASC's menu board...

Looks good right?  Well, unfortunately, the guy working the seafood counter wasn't there yet. The liquor store clerk said he would be in after 2 pm. Hmmm....WTH, we didn't want to wait more than an hour for that.

I'd read that their hours were a bit dodgy so we got stuck with the short end of the stick that day. So Plan B kicked in.

Taking the surface streets from Normal Heights to Banker's Hill in the early afternoon sucked with all the traffic, but we made it to the very swanky Bertrand at Mister A's.

Mr. A's was supposed to be our "dessert" after ASC, but now it would be our actual lunch venue. I had some birthday gift money (thanks mom/dad and MIL!) that helped fund our lunch experience, haha.

In all our years of living in San Diego, and as a native San Diegan myself, we'd never considered eating here. It seemed "out of our league". In the old days before the restaurant got a makeover (both decoratively and with a new chef), I always associated Mister A's as a place where the rich folk ate, a place with awesome city views, and a place that had a strict dress code (coat and tie for men).

I'd heard that they have relaxed their stuffiness over the years (but still maintained their high prices) and that lunch could be 'doable' by the common folk, haha.  If you go here, you can try to find street parking (which sucks) at a meter, or you can park in the 5th Ave Financial Building's parking structure ($1.50 per half hour), which is what we did.

We didn't have reservations, but waited only a few minutes for an open table.

I called ahead of time about the dress code and the lady working there said as long as it was not "beach attire" (no shorts and flip flops) and no holes in clothing. Darn, I guess that meant I couldn't wear my favorite pair of jeans and my spaghetti strap tank top. Not.

I've read that the restaurant used to be dark with red velvet booths or something like that. It looks like the decor is much lighter and more modern looking and not as "Godfather'ish".

This was the view from our windowside table...

Since it was the last Lenten Friday, we all chose a dish with seafood...

I saw the dessert we originally wanted as part of this 3-course tasting menu, so that is what I selected.  The paella had seafood in it, as well as chicken and Spanish chorizo, which was definitely not seafood, but I had to give this a try!

The rest of their menu offerings:


Did I mention the cool VIEW here?

Every few minutes we'd see planes en route to Lindbergh Field...

Bread rolls with whipped butter:

The first course of my tasting menu, Caesar salad:

The portion, while small, was actually perfect. The salad was composed  of these items: an anchovy fillet, one halved cherry tomato, parmesan cheese crisp, and the biggest caper I've ever seen.

Bert and TC splurged with these housemade sparkling drinks. Bert's was an Italian soda (Marasca cherry syrup and fresh lime)..

TC had an apple vanilla lemonade, which was actually a very delicious combination. If you look closely, you can see the vanilla bean seeds in the drink.

Our lavish lunch:

TC's Fish 'n Chips - Ling Cod with fries, coleslaw and housemade sauces (tartar, ketchup and malt vinegar):

Bert's Trout Amandine stuffed with spinach and garnished with asparaus...

Yay, no bones!

The trout had nice, crisp skin with crunchy almonds. Bert liked it so much because the fish was so fresh and "melted in his mouth"...

My second course, the paella, was like the definitely te gourmet version. I loved how each ingredient stood out on its own. I was surprised to see such big pieces of chorizo. At first I thought it was pepperoni, but of course, I knew it wasn't.

There were substantial pieces of fish in there, along with a couple of clams, mussels, and a very large shrimp. The sliced peppers and beans (both green and yellow) were still crisp.

I enjoyed trying all of the little bits and pieces and ate most of the rice, which soaked up all the flavor at the bottom.  

The "shell bowl" with the seafood fork I didn't use, haha.

Since we were going "all out", desserts were also enjoyed:

Here's a zoomed view of the Coronado Bay Bridge, the Convention Center, and downtown.

Our desserts:

TC's Coconut Tapioca with tropical fruits and dragonfruit sorbet.

The sorbet quenelle was nestled into a super thin and crisp cookie. We loved the look of her dessert, which she really enjoyed. The dragonfruit sorbet hue was quite brilliant and beautiful to look at.

Bert's Wildflower Meados Honey Semifreddo with cranberry granita, orange segments and pistachio cake.

Here is another view. I thought both Bert and TC's desserts were prettier than mine.

THIS is the reason we wanted to come here for dessert, the Salted Caramel and Chocolate Bar over a praline crisp with brown butter ice cream and garnished with caramel popcorn!

The portion is a third of the size they would serve if you ordered the dessert apart from the tasting menu. I hated cutting into this, but it had to be done, haha.

I would totally get this again and only this!

From the outdoor patio, a few last looks at the view of Downtown, the Bay and in the distance, Point Loma.


The northwestern side of the building overlooking Banker's Hill:

Looking down 5th:

The service here was as good as it could get. Our main server was this personable young man (who TC thought looked like a bearded Adam Levine) with a really smooth and deep voice. It was fun hearing him speak, actually. It was his first day on the job as well!  We noticed the servers brushing crumbs from the table behind us. We didn't get that service since we didn't make a mess, but we noticed how attentive and respectful every server was.  We also noticed that the majority of the crowd were elderly folks, with a few younger folks thrown in. Lots of "ladies who lunch" and business suit types.

Bertrand at Mr. A's
2550 5th Ave, 12th Floor
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 239-1377

www.bertrandatmisteras.com

One of these days, Bert and I would like to go back for their Happy Hour (when it's waaaay cheaper) and sit out on the deck! It was a really cool way to spend the afternoon atop this San Diego landmark restaurant.