James' Place Prime Seafood Sushi

We have always enjoyed eating at James' Place before our La Jolla PLayhouse visits. This past season the food has gotten better, although the prices have gotten higher. This visit we had the Airline Chicken Tappenyaki again. The chicken was delicious and the presentation with the steaming platter is dramatic and it always ensures your dinner will be piping hot. This time the seasonal vegetables were a lot of cabbage and 2 tiny pieces of red pepper and most of the sauce had steamed away. Much better the first time we had it when it was swimming in sauce and had a nice variety of vegetables and plenty of sauce to soak up the rice. Service was excellent and the wait staff is friendly. We will keep trying because the quality of the food has gotten much better and being right next to the theatre complex and the three venues is a big plus.

The service was great, everyone was accommodating and helpful. The ambiance was spacious and clean with beautiful scenery looking out into a eucalyptus forest on one side of the restaurant. I had a lycee martini that was delicious as well as potent. The salmon dish had flavorful sides but the salmon was a bit dry with not much flavor. I had the bread pudding for dessert which was really tasty.

We have been to James Place three times. The reason is not because it's close to the theaters but because the food, drinks, and service are excellent! This time I ordered the Bunless Kobe Burger. It was huge and the meat was cooked to perfection. I could only eat half of the burger. I brought it home and ate it the next night. Now, I want to go and order it again. My partner order the flatiron steak prepared in a tepanyaki skillet. There were grilled vegitables and a bowl of the best tasting garlic rice as a side. He loved it. We both ordered cocktails and, typically at other restaurants, the drinks are 'watered down' or lack the amount alcohol described on the menu. The drinks we ordered were not only perfect, but had the appropriate amount of alcohol required for the drink - and tasted great. My partner is a self-described expert on mixology and he was very satisfied with his drink. The wait staff were all very friendly and attentive. Our server was always checking to see how we were doing but did not pressure us. We love the comfortable chairs that could be moved in a 360 degree format; which was great to look around outside the restaurant' s many windows. We have already booked our next visit for a September event. We highly recommend this restaurant and the staff who prepare the amazing food.

This is my 3rd season of subscribing to LaJolla Playhouse. Before every play I ha ve gone with my party of 4 to James Place for dinner. For the first 2 years, it was absolutley terrific. It was clear at the end of last season that something significant occurred in the kitchen. The fish is still great and fresh, but there has been drastic changes in the menu, and the food does not seen to have the same spectacular presentation and wonderful cooking that I have gotten used to the last 2 years. We miss the sushi that was part of the menu the first 2 years. Also, it seems like there are fewer waitstaff working on the nights when I now come to have dinner before a show. I am not sure how to understand the changes that have occurred, but I think that my personal rating of this restaurant has experienced a drastic decline in the presentation from the dinner menu. I hope that the restaurant is able to recapture the previous excellence that made James Place an outstanding dinner venue. Otherwise, it is hard to see myself and others continuing to use James Place as our pre-play dinner destination.

We almost always have dinner at James' Place before attending a Sunday evening performance at the La Jolla Playhouse. Recently our favorite has been the bunless Kobe beef burger and we both had it again last night. It was perfect. Ordered drinks and edamame to start. The table next to us ordered the poke tacos and crispy rice appetizers, among other things, like the Chilean sea bass, and they looked amazing and the customers seemed to enjoy it all. Our waiter, Elvis, was attentive and friendly and made sure we had our food and drinks in a timely manner. Ended our dinner with a nice glass of tawny port wine before heading to the show. It's very convenient to have the onsite dining with consistently good food and service - makes for a perfect evening out.

There were three of us and we decided to share the short ribs entree which coupled with individual beet salads was very filling. The short ribs were melt in your mouth delicious especially with the mashed potatoes. Cocktails were also very well done. We finished with a share of the bread pudding...highly recommended. Overall was a great meal and the service was above and beyond.

We have eaten at Jame's Place on numerous occasions. The food quality and service is highly variable. They seem to turn over their chef and servers very frequently. They have a captive audience of La Jolla Playhouse patrons, but they really should raise their game.

Really great atmosphere and ambiance. The wait staff was very nice and the food and drinks very good. Very pricey on items that normally would be about $10-$15 less even at high end restaurants. Salads were $20 and up for the most part. Again, very good, but very high in price.

The food was good, though no sushi on the evening's menu seemed to upset many diners. Service was acceptable, setting was nice. Loved the adjacency to the theatre though it was very pricey.

In the theater complex of the La Jolla Playhouse, so it is very convenient to have dinner or drinks before a show. Nice menu and good quality food.

A nice place but the VERY LIMITED hours makes it inconvenient. Next to a theatre and they are NOT open before matinees nor are they open after the show. Food was tasty but a little overdone. Portions were large and the prices were higher than I expected for the food.

Very nice dinner before seeing a show next door. The food was delicious, excellent service, and overall very enjoyable.

Our server, Kohana, was exceptionally competent, professional, and friendly. The food was fabulous, and despite the fact that virtually every seat in the restaurant was occupied, including bar seats, our meals were hot and delivered promptly. A terrific experience!

The restaurant was conveniently located right next to the La Jolla Playhouse. We ordered edamame, a rainbow roll and the salmon caesar salad. The edamame came out right away and was very good. But for some reason, our main dishes took forever. Patrons that came in 20 minutes after us and looked to order the same thing were served and we were still waiting. By the time the food arrived, we had to wolf it down to be able to make the show on time. These things happen sometimes so we considered it a one off. But the server (who was very good) told us the anchovies were excellent, so we made sure to ask they be served with the salad. But the salad showed up with no anchovies (turned out they ran out) and no dressing; so definitely some kitchen issues. The rainbow roll was excellent as was the salmon on the salad. Just be sure to give yourself some extra time in case your meal is delayed. (Our reservation was for 6pm and the show started at 7:30). BTW, the manager gave us the salad at 50% off for our issues, which was nice.

Service is slow, food was slow. Bartender didn't know the menu and for 35 dollars you get a burger patty (no fries) on top of a mushroom with 2 pieces of sauteed peppers and 2 asparagas in a balsamic sauce. Such a waste of time and money, there needs to be more restaurants over there serving the play-goers because without competition, this place can charge astronomical prices and just be extremely mediocre. Never again

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 2