Lei Lounge: Romantic ambience in University Heights

Lei Lounge--4622 Park Blvd., San Diego, CA (619) 813-2272.  www.leilounge.com.

On Thursday night Toni and I went to Lei Lounge in San Diego's University Heights neighborhood.  Lei is a hip, little place with a really cool atmosphere that emphasizes small plates.  And though a look at their website might raise the fear of a high douche factor, (for instance, they offer hookah service.) I have been there three or four times now and they have generally been friendly and pretty laid back.

The front of the restaurant is the bar.  It is narrow and has been cramped and loud every time that I have been there.  Tonight was not different; we had to squeeze/push our way through to get to the hostess stand.  But then when you get through the bar, the dining area is wholly different.  Even though it is fairly narrow, it feels wide.  First of all it is outside.  Though you are surrounded with buildings there is no roof.  Along the sides is banquette seating around gas powered fire pits and semi-private huts.  The table seating is elegant and pretty comfortable even though it is fairly close together.  The music is generally hypnotic, repetitive indie sounding stuff that is not intrusive.  Along the side of one building they project groovy patterns to go along with the music, like you might see at a dance club.  The lighting is subdued and pleasant.  Also, smoking is allowed in the dining area, with ashtrays provided on request.  I actually haven't seen may people smoking outside during dinner hours.

We requested a table for two.  I thought the hostess made a skeptical face and acted like it might be a problem.  Toni says its the same hostess that has accommodated us before, on a busy Saturday night when we didn't have a reservation.  Toni says she was fine.  As it was, there were lots of open tables, but the hostess mentioned something about a large party coming in.  When we were there, it stayed about half full and no large party ever materialized.  As it was, we were seated and only waited a minute.

We noticed one change from the last time that we had been there;  the servers were mostly women now, whereas before the large majority had always been men. [Really cute men, in tight, white outfits--T.]

We ordered drinks.  I wasn't feeling adventurous so I had a Maker's Mark, neat.  The server knew what that meant, not all do, and I view it as a plus.  Toni got a Madrid Mojito, containing liqueur 43, crushed pineapple, rum, mint, simple syrup, topped with soda.  Both of the drinks were in the $8.00 range.  After we got our drinks, we noticed that the table wobbled annoyingly.  Toni fixed it with a folded up piece of paper.

Lei does offer entrees but mostly tapas or small plates.  Toni ordered a chicken quesadilla (brie cheese, grapes, topped with sour cream and cilantro pesto and a side of strawberries.) for $11.00.  Toni said that this dish was perfect, unexpectedly well-balanced, with the sweetness of the strawberries nicely juxtaposed with the flavor of the brie and the cilantro.  She also ordered the asparagus basmati risotto ($5) which she enjoys, but I don't like simply because of the flavor. 

The spring roll sampler

To share we got the spring roll sampler ($16), which comes with eight spring rolls, two philly  cheese steak, two southwest chicken, two asparagus and shitake, and two lobster.  These came with three different dipping sauces, sour cream, avocado, and salsa.  The sauces were tartar, ketchup, and something that tasted like spicy ketchup.  The food runner brought the dish without telling us what was what, which was rather inconvenient.  We muddled through as best as we could.  The spring rolls themselves were very crispy, delicate, and delicious--very nicely done.

I got a petite filet mignon ($16) that came with bleu cheese infused mashed potatoes and a tomato salad and a side of  A1 sauce.  The steak was about 4oz and well prepared, though it did have a big hunk of gristle, which I don't care for when I am eating a filet.  The potatoes were delicious, but the consistency was lumpy and thin.  The salad was good--it's hard to mess up tomatoes, onions, and pepper.  Lastly, I got the giant Sicilian meatball ($5).  This was the biggest disappointment of the evening.  It started promisingly enough; it was a meatball completely surrounded by what looked like a ball of Parmesan encrusted rice and a piece of garlic bread.  However, the meatball was burnt--it was the color of rye bread all the way through and so hard that I couldn't hardly cut it with a steak knife.  I sent it back and did not have another go at it.

the petite filet mignon

We did not get dessert today.  On a previous occasion, I remember not being impressed with the dessert menu, but getting the donuts, which came in Chinese restaurant takeout carton and were good.

Toni feels the drink menu deserves more mention.  It features the aloe vera collins--vodka, aloe vera juice (good for digestion), lemon, simple syrup, and 7-Up;  Toni's favorite, the Gorgeous Geisha--strawberry liqueur, lychee juice, topped with champagne; and Tokyo Bubbles-- sparkling sake, mangosteen juice, and simple syrup.  They have about 20-25 signature drinks listed, and all run $8.50.  None of the drinks that I've seen are big.  The one's I've seen are served in highball sized glasses.

Also according to Toni, Lei has a romantic vibe that makes a regular night out special.

So one our rating scale--Toni gives Lei a rating of GREAT, while I come in more cautiously at GOOD.  I have gotten a few dishes here that weren't quite up to par, but overall they do a very good job here.