The Marine Room to Close Temporarily for Oceanfront Lounge Addition

La Jolla’s grande dame of dining, the Marine Room, is pausing operations this month to undergo a quick remodel and interior update that will usher in a fresh way to experience the 81-year-old restaurant. Temporarily closing from September 11 to September 30, the establishment will reopen in October with a redesigned space that’ll give diners even more access to its unparalleled sunset views and those dramatic high tide waves.

Though its two main dining rooms will remain, the Marine Room is turning the center of the restaurant into a brand new lounge, replacing the traditional tables with a mix of cocktail tables and banquette seating. There will also be an elevated terrace above the main floor with additional lounge seats.

With a more relaxed environment, the lounge will feature its own dedicated food and drink offerings, from an expanded wine and cocktail list to bottle service. Executive chef Mike Minor, who joined the Marine Room last fall after the retirement of the restaurant’s longtime culinary leader, chef Bernard Guillas, is developing a range of bar bites that’ll include small plates of seafood.

A Las Vegas transplant who’s worked for industry superstars like Wolfgang Puck, Mary Sue Milliken, and Susan Feniger, Minor also plans to add more seasonal dishes to the restaurant’s mainstay menu that’ll join the chef’s prior contributions like Baja swordfish with potato puree, spring onion, shrimp, and aji amarillo and grilled hearts of palm with aji verde and chimichurri.