Best Californian Restaurants in San Pedro

This restaurant is the highlight of any trip to Terranea Resort. It’s a Michelin star experience without Michelin star prices. The cocktail menu is creative, and even the dips served with the bread are unique. The soups go beyond the ordinary with special toppings - be sure to try the butternut squash soup or the lobster potage. Desserts are among the best I’ve ever had - especially the Old Fashioned or the house specialty Pot de Crème. Our server Steven was both attentive and delightful/ we had such a great time. Looking forward to returning in the near future.

I reserved a table at 7:30 pm for my boyfriend’s birthday so we could see the fireworks at 9:30 pm. We self parked at the hotel and our server validated it for 2 hrs. A heads up, take the West elevator to enter the restaurant. The fire works were further than we thought however, the vibes and ambiance were SO spectacular props to the DJ mixing songs that we would dance to at our table. Our server was so amazing she gave us complimentary birthday cake slice and took perfect pictures of us. We ordered Margherita pizza, truffle fries, their seasonal tempura hand roll, and churros, all were 11/10 we ate so good. We will remember this special night forever thank you for having us. Hope to dine again soon.

The Vespertine experience is off the charts amazing. This was our second visit (our first was pre-pandemic). Some things have changed about the experience, but what you truly are there for, the food, hasn't and it is absolute art. I've been a Jordan Khan fan for a long time, and every time I'm at one of his restaurants, I'm always awed by his creativity. The menu items always work together to tell a story, but the flavor profiles are so different with each course. The service is first rate knowledgable and friendly. Both times we've visited we've had a great time with the service staff. They know the menu deeply, and love to talk about it, or any other fun topic that comes up. The restaurant isn't pretentious at all. It's a bit like being at home, especially if you sit upstairs with a larger party, sitting on your patio or deck and being served the meal of a lifetime. If you do sit upstairs, definitely bring a jacket b/c it's open air. There's heaters and blankets, but it still can be chilly. We went two days ago and all of us are still thinking about he experience, and not the cost. Which is pretty remarkable considering how costly this restaurant is, but both times I've gone to Vespertine, I've left thinking, 'That was totally worth it!'

The food was outstandingly fresh, high quality, and creatively prepared and served. The price fixe menu of many courses seemed to climb a bell curve, with the least interesting being the shrimp chip and dip starter ‘snack’ , climbing to a magnificent crescendo with the the scallop and mussel small plate, and an equally exquisite plate of the freshest sliced kampachi. Each plate was beautiful, graced with curated vegetables, flowers, and delicate sauces that completed, never overpowered. Our only complaint: we found the dessert disappointing in flavor, appearance and texture: a choux pastry ball with a heavy dull filling, sitting on top of a scatter of what resembled stale cocoa puff cereal pieces. I would have traded it for the rich creamy mascapone ice cream served earlier, sans the caviar topping. The service was outstanding: gracious, helpful, attentive, knowledgeable and well orchestrated. Overall we had a fabulous dining experience, exceeding our highest expectations. In most every way, including price, dining here is a special occasion; we could not understand how or why most diners we observed were wearing gym clothes, T-shirts and jeans, sneakers, fuzzy slippers. What’s next: dining in our underwear? How about a dress code?!

I took my boyfriend here for his birthday and when we first walking into the building it was really cool and nice getting to look at the cars, the little shop, and cafe. I also now see why the wait to land a reservation here is pretty long because walking in, it did not feel packed or too chaotic. I’m a very anxious person and get uncomfortable whenever I’m at a setting where there’s a lot of people so this was extremely nice for me. Now, for the restaurant, I’m a pretty picky eater so not much stood out to me on the menu other than the classic 917 burger which happened to be delicious along with the side of fries that it came with. The bill for me and my partner didn’t come out to a lot or what I was expecting but I mean we did only have the burgers and no alcoholic drinks. Overall really nice and calm place, I felt comfortable and like I could talk to my boyfriend freely and admire the cars together. The service was also really good! I loved everything and my boyfriend enjoyed it a lot as well.