The Palette

Great opportunity to do something a little different with your lunch hour. This quarter they are serving lunch on Wednesday and Thursday. There’s a great selection of dishes (make sure you get the right menu, we first got the abridged menu which would have been a huge shame!). Service is not perfect, as these are students in training but they are very gracious and the food is very good. The seafood poppers and the lobster Mac n cheese were the highlights of the meal. We also got the crab ceviche and Hawaiian sliders. Things that were a little off was an herb in the crab salad and the fries that came with the sliders. All in all a great meal and experience. Looking forward to coming back next quarter to see what offerings they have then!

Great restaurant! The food is excellent and is always changing! This is a student made menu and food. Charles Denham is the man! Thanks for cooking my food to perfection!

Another winning lunch. Apricot glazed chicken stuffed with ricotta. Dessert was an upside down cheesecake with caramel and chocolate sauce and pomegranate seeds. I could eat two of each.
The service was again awesome and they really are quick now with the check and change. I was surprised that this time it was fairly empty.

Great way to taste some of the culinary school students’ works of art! Had a yummy pan seared duck breast and husband had porkchops! It was pretty delicious with good presentation. For $ 10 – 12 for entrees, it’s not a bad deal!
Tips: they open seasonal! So make reservations for either Wednesday or Thursday for lunch or dinner. They don’t open all day either, only limited slots of time during those days.

Saw this place on Unilocal and figured i’d give it a try since it was down the street from my place. We didn’t make reservations and it did not seem that busy, maybe people just don’t know about it yet. I guess the menu changes every semester or quarter. I tried the mushroom toast which I thought was the best dish I had, super flavorful. Went with the pork cheek tacos, which was good but very small for an entrée, did not come with any side, and also tried the lamb shank which was cooked to perfection. I’d definitely come back here again, service was good and prices were very reasonable.

First off, everyone should know that the chefs here are current students of the Art Institute of California that this restaurant is housed in. It’s a student run real restaurant which is head by one of the chef instructors. I’ve heard that getting a reservation here is tough because they only open on Wednesday and Thursday and only for two hours for lunch and dinner. They were gracious enough to accept my reservation on the day of my birthday for lunch because I had just looked them up on Unilocal.It seemed like a very unique concept so I definitely wanted to indulge my curiosity.
There are a lot of private parking slots right in front of the building but make sure you park in the visitors parking. You’ll need to sign in when you arrive at the front desk and get a visitors sticker. Upon entering the restaurant, you’ll forget at it is student run. It seems like a professional restaurant with their very own hostess, waitress, and table decorations. You also get a nice 180 degree view of Mission Valley from the restaurant’s level. I came in with a group of six and they accommodated us very quickly. Their menu is a bit limited but I prefer that since you’ll know that they’re working on perfecting the dishes. For the appetizers, we ordered the cheese platter and squash blossoms. The cheese platter was your typical plate, whereas the squash blossoms were very crispy and flavorful. For the entrée, I got the duck risotto and others got their steak. The duck wasn’t the best dish because it was warm and not tender. Kinda on the chewy side. The steak was mediocre. My coworker ordered a medium rare and basically got a medium well done. The flavor was there but it was because of the sauce and not the way the steak was cooked. We ended it with some desserts which were delicious and togo bag of treats. I want to mention that this me u may not be the same because they change every quarter.

They never answer their voicemail, so it’s tricky to make a reservation, but if you’re tenacious, you are rewarded.
Imagine find dining at chain restaurant prices.
Friendly and enthusiastic server-​students and chefs!

This was first exprerience with this restaurant It had such a lovely view and the servers could not have been nicer. Sorry to say I really didn’t love the food. I had the pork stack and it was a very salty. The dish just didn’t hit the mark for flavor with the fried wanton being overdone. We tried the s’mores for dessert and found it to be a bit of a disappointment. They used sweet bread as a crust and it was chewy and almost stale.

This is definitely one of the most interesting restaurants to go to. A perfect date night spot that is a unique hidden gem in San Diego. There is always something to watch considering it’s an open kitchen where graduating culinary students run everything including front of house operations while the Chef Instructors oversee all. Service may not always be spot on, but they try their best and it’s worth it considering prices are insanely low for high quality fine dining dishes. Appetizers are usually $ 5 – 9, entrees $ 10 – 13, and desserts are usually $ 5.
Keep in mind that the hours a change EVERY QUARTER considering it’s a class for the students. ALWAYS call ahead to get information on hours and reservations. There are times where the restaurant gets bought out for private events or is entirely booked full and won’t take walk ins. The menu also changes every quarter and varies between lunch and dinner services! Certain items on the menu are known to change due to availability and freshness (one week there was octopus on the menu and the next was clams).
On to the actual food: for Spring 2015 quarter the lunch menu was Caribbean inspired. With fish torched tableside, jerk chicken, pork belly, and black bean soup as some menu items. The dinner menu was Mexican Flare with items like chorizo and clams, grilled quail, ceviche, and tender braised short ribs. All menu items had many different components and were all plated beautifully in addition to being delicious. The skill showcased in these dishes are amazing! I can’t wait to see what the menu is like next quarter!

This was our best experience so far. Since it was the last day of this menu I won’t get too detailed but the short ribs fell apart like they should, the sopes (sp) were really good and the catch was on target. Also the clams were slightly overcooked but small mistake for a great meal.

My Husband decided to show support and eat at the Palette, because He wanted to see if the food was as good as I was raving about. He went into His dining experience with very high expectations knowing about the school and the types of students it tries to produce. When I came home talking about the monkey burger He decided to try it. The burger is huge, made with multiple cuts of quality meats, variety of cheeses and house made sauces. The fries inside are cooked to perfection. He said His absolute favorite part was the fried egg. It is a French style egg cooked and seasoned just right! When you smash the burger down (because that is the only way to make it fit in your mouth) and the creamy, rich yolk breaks THAT makes the burger!
Today and tomorrow from 11AM– 1PM are the last two chances to get this burger this Quarter! The Palette closes until the 22^nd of July with a whole new menu! See you soon!!!

Two tips:
1) Make an early reservation rather than a late one. By the time we ordered dinner at 7:45, they were out of literally every entrée except one.
2) If you lack patience and forgiveness, particularly for service, you’d probably do best to go somewhere else.
Our food was mostly good or very good. I would put it in the 3.5 star range. Some of the best was actually the variety of breads we received while we looked at the menu. The vegetarian rice entrée (the only one available, remember), was surprisingly good. Another standout was the pork sopes.
The service was abysmal, but these are students, so it was actually quite endearing. And for the prices we were paying, it was absolutely no problem to wait five minutes for silverware, or get our desserts 10 minutes apart.
I gave one more star than the meal would deserve even considering that it is a student restaurant because we had so much fun with the experience. It was so dang cute, and actually really interesting to be able to watch through the glass wall into the kitchen while the food was being prepared and lessons were being learned. If I was local, I would absolutely be back.

The place is easy to find, but just know that you will have to individually sign-​in at the entrance to get a name tag.
They started us off with complimentary starters (salmon & mustard seed spread on crackers & bread with butter), pictured below and were delicious! The server was very nice and attentive but it’s worth noting that they do NOT serve alcohol here. (b/​c they’re all students) womp womp…
The entrees: my friend got the lamb and I got the pork cheek tacos. I would HIGHLY recommend the lamb. My tacos however. were just okay. Maybe it was b/​c we had so much fun catching up that my tacos got cold but… in all honesty it was just okay.
While we were waiting for our desert, my friend stepped out and I found out a few things from one of the students:
— Call ahead b/​c they will close for school breaks, etc
— When you do call, ask about their special events, such as Mystery Murder Nights!
— Only the graduating students get to work at The Palette for their last quarter. During this quarter, the schedule is split in that ²⁄₃ of the time they are in the back but ¹⁄₃ of the time they are serving the front of the house
Lastly, the desert. I told them this is for my friend’s birthday so they comped a desert for us. We decided to go with the Neapolitan and it was just the right amount to end the night.
All in all, a great experience, and I definitely want to look into getting my friends involved in their upcoming Mystery Murder Night!

I had my birthday dinner here tonight and we had the whole restaurant to ourselves. Service was great and food was good. I gave only 4 stars because one of the dishes had to be taken back because it wasn’t cooked right, also the dessert still had plastic film on it where the chocolate piece was set to cool. overall I would definitely come here again, we had 7 people and we each ordered an appetizer, entrée and dessert and it came to $ 23.50/person.

When I treat myself to a high end dinner, I expect high end service. What is amazing is when I receive that same high end service when the entrees do not exceed the $ 10 threshold. Absolutely amazing! It’s easy to spot the servers that are working for a tip as opposed to those who truly enjoy their craft. Finding what you love to do is a lofty goal, but the staff here has found their nirvana. You must add this restaurant to your regular rotation, great food, great staff, and amazing prices.

Where do I begin to describe the desserts in this place.
Well last quarter, I tried the baked Hawaiian or baked Alaskan, whatever the name. it was deliciousness in your mouth. The white chocolate was so sweet and the pineapple wow! Did I mention it was delicious?
This quarter the menu changed. Oh my god! Oh my god!!! The brûlée’d ice cream bar wow! I can’t believe my fellow students come up with such beautiful creative tastes, the different infusions of flavor! Oh no, everyone needs to come here!!! Forever! I need to gather my family to come eat here sometime :))) I love the palette :3

The Palette is the best value in all of San Diego — hands down. Where else can you go and have a delicious three course meal for $ 20? Seriously this place is legit.
How can you get such a great meal at such an amazing price? Allow me to explain… this is the restaurant for the Art Institute of California San Diego. The final course before students can graduate involves running this restaurant. With free labor, the restaurant is able to keep costs down. The kitchen is visible and quite possibly the cleanest in all of San Diego.
The food is fresh and clean. Everything is made from scratch. And it is delicious. The student staff is good and attentive (sometimes too much) as they are working towards graduating.
The only downsides are that the restaurant is only open a couple of days a week and they don’t serve alcohol (although they do have «mocktails»).
Looking for a fine dining experience at a casual dining price? Do you like eating great food but don’t like paying high end prices? Then this is your spot. I eat here once a week — it’s that good.

What a superb lunch! The chef’s table was a treat and any time you can share a gratitude lunch with a friend … all the better. As the service and the course came out, the stars remained solid. They are doing great things here at the School and it shows. Be sure and save room for dessert (s). Or just go and have coffee and all the desserts … they are incredible!
As mentioned — no alcohol but the mock-​tails are tasty!
They make the bread on site too and it was delicious.

This is my fine dining restaurant to go to.
Everything is just perfect:
–The food and its presentation
–The service
–The views
I don’t believe they serve alcohol.
They close at 8pm though :(

I went to The Palette twice for Lunch in Spring 2013.
I like it so much because they provided quality food and service for a very low price. I’ve tried the fish dish, fried chicken breast sandwich, the seasonal sober, salad and soup of the day. They were fresh, yummy and served at the right temperature!
The dining room is clean and modern and you can also see the kitchen.
Just some tips for you:
1. there is salad and soup buffet on Thursday.
2. Make reservation
3. Check out their menu online
4. Ask for the daily special menu
5. Check your bill
I enjoyed myself so much!