Georges at the Cove

Georges at the Cove has a lovely ocean-side setting in fashionable La Jolla, just up the coast from San Diego. There is a bar with a view upstairs, and a further bar with the main dining room downstairs. The place is clearly popular with the locals, the bar being packed out on a Monday night.

The cooking is reasonably simple, and aims to use seasonal ingredients, including local ones where possible. The wine list had selections including Philip Shaw No 11 Chardonnay 2007 at $50 for a wine you can buy for around $20, Cuvee Frederich Emile Riesling 2001 for $90 compared to a retail price of about $58, up to the opulent Opus One 2006 for $340, which will set you back around $183 to buy.

“Fish tacos” ($15) was a variant on the usual street-food dish, here consisting of a trio of pieces of yellow fin tuna, marinated in olive oil and herbs and then grilled. These are each accompanied by a small, thin rolled-out corn tortilla filled with cheese, which appeared not to be made fresh but just heated up, and a little salad. The tuna was fine but the tortillas were rather soggy, having been grilled from a pre-baked preparation, and the seasoning was very subdued (12/20).

“Mano de Leon” scallops ($29) are hand-dived from the Baja California coast; the name is because their large orange shell resembles a lion paw. These were fresh and lightly cooked, served with smoked ham hock, peas, carrots and ricotta gnocchi. The gnocchi was soggy and the peas a little hard, but the scallops themselves were excellent (13/20). To finish, doughnuts were decent, but no more; the batter was rather disappointing (11/20).

Overall this is a perfectly pleasant, simple place to eat if you want a meal with a view over the ocean.

I first came here in October 2002, and ate at the bar, having a tuna burger that was generous in size, cooked well and served with a tasty sauce, served with fairly crisp quality French fries.