Best Contemporary Asian Restaurants in National City

Charming staff. Great location before the play at La Jolla playhouse. Food is always delicious and interesting

The food and service were excellent. They went out of their way to accommodate our changing party size and make us feel taken care during our dining experience. Everything we ate was amazing!

Well now. It was a romantic date night and Animae was the Choice. Parking is $20 just know that. On arrival we weee greeted by three lovely ladies and they were most welcoming. We were escorted to our table (the very first table off the lobby and right next to a service station. So not the best, but o chose to let it be and see how it goes. How it went was marvelous. The staff was very quiet and courteous and the service staton was not noisy at all. Being the first table by the lobby and right next to the bar made it a bit more noisy, but nothing to complain about. The server was great. She knew the menu and when we were chatting about menu items she hit it out of the park with recommendations. We ordered some drinks and -low - in your face fantastic. $18 each or more so the tab runs up pretty quickly. The crudo and the cucumbers were a delight. The mains, the filet and the tomahawk pork chill were a 10 out of 10. The sides- the potatoes and the wagyu fried rice were stellar. Probably the best Fride rice we’d ever had. Really. We did not have dessert as we were full. When anyone got up from the table, the server put the chair in place and re-folded the napkin and laid it on the table. A nice touch. This is a high end of high end places. $395 all in for two. 100% worth it. If there was one thing I would change is that I would lay cocktail napkins or a coaster because our drinks would sweat, make a water puddle on the table and then drip on us both as we raised them to our mouths. A smallest of small nits to pick. Near flawless.

Great ambiance and perfect place to wind down after a long day. Food and drinks are amazing as always. Highly recommend to come for a special occasion or whenever you get a chance to go.

Guest Chef Mike was amazing! Great food. Great service. Great restaurant