The Cork and Craft Restaurant Shares Space With Urban Winery & Brewery

Abnormal Wine Company, which opened two years ago in Rancho Bernardo, recently expanded its footprint to 5,000-square-feet to include two new ventures - a new brewery dubbed Abnormal Beer Company and a restaurant called The Cork and Craft - with plans to conduct wine, beer and food education under one roof.

Abnormal co-owners James Malone and Matt DeLoach brought on head brewer Derek Gallanosa (Karl Strauss Brewing Co.), who also manages the beer program for Abnormal's new beer bar, which holds over 40 taps. Their house beer hasn't been released yet, but Gallanosa plans to use their 10BBL brewhouse to makes beer to pair with The Cork and Craft's menu as well as experimental beers that use culinary techniques and ingredients.

Chefs Mike Arquines and Phil Esteban are behind The Cork and Craft's food, overseeing an open kitchen and a fine dining menu that's a mix of old world and avant garde with house made charcuterie and dishes that include 72-hour marinated black cod with green tea soba noodles and miso dash broth, topped with mushroom dashi foam. Arquines, who trained at New York's Le Bernardin, is also the co-founder of local Mostra Coffee along with Jelynn Sophia, who happens to be engaged to Abnormal co-owner James Malone; a side benefit is that Abnormal has Mostra's popular cold brew on tap and Gallanosa has plans to brew a coffee beer.

The restaurant is open for dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday and from 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The beer bar opens earlier, starting at 2pm, Tuesday through Sunday.

The Cork and Craft
16690 Via Tazon, San Diego, CA. 92127
858-618-2463

-Text and photos by CJ Sullivan