Luxe, Las Vegas-Style Lounge Lands at the Marine Room

After a two-week pause, the Marine Room is reopening on Wednesday, October 5 when it’ll officially unveil a brand new lounge space and an overall glow up of the 81-year-old La Jolla institution. Designed by Studio UNLTD to help attract a younger clientele, the 30-seat lounge, located at the center of the restaurant, will have its own exclusive food and drink offerings and a separate reservation system that’ll require guests to spend a minimum of $100 per person for a two-hour dining experience.

Executive chef Mike Minor, who took over the kitchen in 2021 and also oversees culinary operations at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club and the Shores Restaurant, moved to San Diego from Las Vegas where he spent the better part of more than 25 years working with Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken at their Border Grill in Mandalay Bay. Minor, who has appeared in several shows on the Food Network and the Cooking Channel, is bringing a slice of Vegas nightlife and indulgence to the oceanfront restaurant where his dedicated menu for the Lounge at the Marine Room includes caviar service as well as dry aged bluefin tuna carpaccio with black winter truffles, beef tenderloin tartare with bone marrow butter, and a caviar-topped surf and turf of Hokkaido scallop and kurobuta pork belly. New cocktails include an Old Fashioned with wagyu-infused whiskey and the Sunset View, a tropical mix of Plantation Pineapple rum, coconut syrup, lime, and strawberry.

Nancy Ingersoll

The Marine Room will continue serving its existing menu, updated with specials from Minor, in the traditional dining areas from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. The Lounge at The Marine Room will be open on the same days from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.

The Lounge at the Marine Room Menu