Japanese restaurant Zuma opening in San Diego
A London-based restaurant chain with high-end hot spots around the globe is finally coming to California — although instead of targeting San Francisco or Los Angeles, the restaurant has chosen a laid-back Southern California beach city instead. Zuma, an upscale Japanese restaurant that launched in London’s Knightsbridge neighborhood in 2002, is set to open its first Golden State outpost at the Guild Hotel in downtown San Diego on Aug. 10. The brainchild of chef Rainer Becker, Zuma is known for high-design, artful izakaya dishes and its sushi counter, all wrapped up in big, energetic dinnertime spaces. After debuting in London, it quickly became a celebrity favorite.
Expansion was swift: Its second location opened in Hong Kong in 2007. Its first stateside restaurant, in Miami, debuted in 2010, and the group now has outposts in travel destinations all over the globe, including Dubai, Cannes and Bangkok. In the U.S., Zuma is also in Las Vegas, New York and Boston; its new Vail, Colorado, location started serving just weeks ago. Although San Diego may seem like a surprising choice, the city’s culinary scene has really started to blossom in recent years. “The city has a reputation for being casual and fun, albeit a little less sophisticated and less ambitious when it comes to hospitality. Sort of like Los Angeles’s younger sibling,” Amber Gibson wrote in an April Conde Nast Traveler article that makes the case for San Diego’s culinary scene catching up to LA’s. “But over the past several years, a slew of new openings and passionate chefs have made it clear that fine dining has arrived in San Diego. You don’t have to drive to LA for a mesmerizing tasting menu.”
Case in point: The California Michelin Guide ceremony was held in San Diego in June. For years, Addison was Southern California’s only three-star Michelin restaurant; tasting menu restaurant Lucien in the ritzy coastal enclave of La Jolla earned its first star at the ceremony. Carlsbad, just around 25 miles north, is home to acclaimed restaurants Lilo, Jeune et Jolie and Campfire.
For Zuma’s team, that growing restaurant scene was part of the reason it chose San Diego for its first venture into the Golden State. Of course, it helps too that San Diego is home to many high-net-worth folks, boasting one of the most expensive housing markets anywhere in the United States. “San Diego combines coastal energy with a cosmopolitan outlook, attracting both local residents and visitors from around the world,” Nick Fielding, senior vice president at Zuma parent company Azumi Restaurant Group, told SFGATE via email. “That balance aligns perfectly with Zuma’s approach of creating restaurants whose priority is to become part of the local community while also serving as destinations for international travelers.” He added, “We felt San Diego represented an exciting opportunity. The city has continued to evolve as a culinary destination, and we believe there is room for a globally recognized contemporary Japanese concept that delivers not only outstanding cuisine but also a vibrant atmosphere and memorable hospitality.”
Zuma will join a vibrant Japanese restaurant scene in San Diego, with legendary sushi spots like Sushi Ota and omakase destinations like Soichi still going strong. Angelenos and San Franciscans will have to wait to see if Zuma heads north anytime soon.
