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Cohn's Colossal Coasterra Takes Shape on Harbor Island

The restaurant and event venue launches this summer.

Premium patio space will be available in abundance at Coasterra, the Cohn Restaurant Group's massive new project, eight and a half years in the making, that's nearing completion adjacent to the hospitality group's C Level. Of the 300 seats in the restaurant, more than two thirds will be outdoors just steps from the bay, with a view of the San Diego skyline, located on a large dining deck with a bar and on a smaller lanai that will also hold a fire feature and two cabanas.

Recently, Eater took a hard hat tour of the 24,000-square-foot space, which should be completed by July. The main dining area, which seats 80, will be dominated by a floor-to-ceiling mural custom-painted by San Diego artist Rafael Lopez, who has also completed a mural for the front of the restaurant. Sitting adjacent, a bar with communal and lounge seating will feature a tequila well.

In addition to a full-service restaurant, Coasterra will also function as an event venue; a new banquet room with its own outdoor deck will have nearly 600 seats, but the most significant piece is an in-construction, 6,000-square-foot floating event center that'll soon be towed over to the waterside restaurant. It'll sit in the same footprint as the legendary, now-sunken Reuben E. Lee barge, and host everything from large-scale concerts to weddings.

Partner and executive chef Deborah Scott told Eater that she'll soon bring on a new chef to helm the kitchen and contribute to a developing menu that will span Mexican regional cuisine, with signature dishes from Oaxaca, Mexico City and more. Scott says the lunch and dinner menus will be high-end and the service will include tableside-made guacamole, customized with a variety of add-ons. A more casual menu is planned for the lounge and bar.