What came first—Coronado or Hotel del Coronado? In 1886, two eager businessmen, Elisha Babcock and Hampton L. Story, were starstruck by Coronado. They bought the island and founded a hotel with a goal of it being “the talk of the Western World,” where “people would continue to come long after [they] are gone.” Well, their desire came to fruition: 11 presidents resided here; Marilyn Monroe’s Some Like it Hot (1959) was shot here; L. Frank Baum penned at least three books here, and finally, Dr. Seuss’s ‘I Dreamed I was a Doorman at the Hotel del Coronado’ (1970) is his rendering of the resort when he lived in San Diego. In 1977, the hotel was designated a National Historic Landmark. Given this extensive history, it might be a safe assumption to have high expectation for the restaurants in the resort. One of them is Mediterranean restaurant, Serẽa.
On their website, Serea prides itself on being the experts of cuisine and they applaud chef JoJo Ruiz even more in ‘igniting a new passion for local seafood in the heart of upscale dining in San Diego.’ He says that his place stands out from the others because he ‘understands that the real key is to let the natural beauty and intricate flavour of fresh, sustainable seafood stand out on its own… you just need fish, simple ingredients and culinary artistry at its finest.’ I’m from a Mediterranean region in Turkey, and fresh fish is something I regularly eat when I’m back home. I was sold.
So my friend and I journeyed to Coronado while listening to Frank Ocean’s ‘Sweet Life’ for the 50th time. Coronado was perfect, idyllic. It was preparing for American Independence day, and streets and buildings were emblazoned with blue, white and red. The Hotel del Coronado’s red roof, pitched against the blue of the sky and the Pacific Ocean, seemed to join in on the celebrations. The Hotel del Coronado depicted the ideology of the American Dream—optimistic, nostalgic, glamorous, rebellious, and youthful. After a seemingly endless walk, we found Serẽa. The roof shimmered against the cloudless blue sky, and families, children and dogs were all running around the grass as my friend and I were waiting to be seated.
What do Americans mean by ‘Mediterranean?’ The region covers an expansive area: Spain, France, Monaco, Portugal, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Malta, Cyprus, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine. I looked at the one-paged menu: the Mediterranean country was Greece.
And yet, San Diego’s influence still crept up on the menu: I started with the Al Pastor Margharita—California’s drink. The drink is inspired by an al pastor taco: pineapple, chili peppers, and fresh cilantro. It was delicious, though the garnish was maybe too influenced by the ocean. The garnish ended up getting into my mouth; like the seaweed tangling between your feet. I had to remove it with a knife. There also wasn’t a coaster, so the condensation created a little pool on my table.
The ceviche presented itself like a soup: the halibut was doused in the extremely sour and acidic liquid. I couldn’t fault it, though: I like my fish to be engulfed with lemon juice. The dish was a masterpiece in taste and texture: the spice dances it way through, and the nachos, cucumbers, and red onions provided a much-needed crunch to the otherwise soft dish. The cilantro further elevated the halibut.
The chicken soup (avgolemono) was smoky, slightly salty and very subtly spicy, and the carrots gives the dish a hint of sweetness. You don’t taste the citrus at first; it takes a few mouthfuls for the lemon to welcome itself. Oddly enough, the tomatoes also take a little while to warm up in your tastebuds.
The West Coast oysters—with your usual pickle and hot sauce garnishes– tasted like they came straight out of the ocean. The lobster rigatoni with the tomato sauce, which came in a cute white and blue bowl with painted flowers made you feel a sense of comfort. It includes 8oz of lobster. Like the avgolemono, the spice is extremely subtle, and the cherry tomatoes gave it a much-needed sweetness. However, the dish was a bit too salty for my liking.
The service, when it’s there, is amazing. The servers are all so friendly, and they have intensive knowledge of the dishes, as well as the different parts of the fish. The fashionably late 1.5lb lubina was the star of the show, which we chose to have grilled. Our server did such a great job of explaining the fish to us as he was deboning and serving it. We also got a side of gigante beans which were topped with some Mediterranean feta cheese. The beans worked well with the fish. But when I tried them on its own, it was starchy, incredibly dry, and salty. The Mediterranean feta cheese topping only intensified the saltiness. I tried to ask a server for more lemon, but they were all busy.
I feel like the restaurant being located in the Hotel del Coronado is a catch-22 for Serẽa. On the one hand, it’s at an amazing location, and it is very easy to get hypnotized by the Pacific Ocean that’s literally in your view. On the other hand, the location is the catalyst for extremely high expectations of the place. I wouldn’t go as far as describing it as ‘upscale dining.’ But it is family friendly and interesting experience.
To find out more about Serẽa, visit hoteldel.com/dine/serea-restaurant/
Review Sanem Alti
Photography Serẽa
