Mr. A’s to offer the popular weekend meal for first time in 48 years

Morgan M. Hurley | Downtown Editor

Bertrand at Mister A’s will be offering their own take on Brunch starting this weekend, something the restaurant has never offered in its 48 years of operation. Brunch will be made available on both Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and starting on Sunday, April 7, and will consist of a complete new food and beverage menu and require a whole new staff to support it.

“Brunch has become a huge thing all over the United States,” said Bertrand Hug, owner of Mister A’s and the famed Mille Fleurs French restaurant in Rancho Santa Fe. “It was time.”

Hug said he first approached Mister A’s original owner John Alessio in 1993 about purchasing the historic Bankers Hill rooftop property, because the restaurant’s “perfect view” was always the first place he took out of town guests. “At that time, it was the cat’s meow,” he said.

Initially, Hug said Alessio had no interest in giving up even a majority share, but eventually the two restauranteurs reached a verbal agreement. Unfortunately, it never made it to paper before John Alessio passed away in 1998.

Next, Hug had to convince the family and in 2000, the sale was final. Hug said he then closed the restaurant for three months to refurbish the kitchen and redo the interior design of the restaurant.

Since then, he’s uncovered all the floor-to-ceiling windows – and the magnificent view they offer. He also moved the bar to another wall offering even more viewing options for customers and more recently, opened up the deck that surrounds the outside of the building for dining and drinks.

Another important change Hug made in recent years was promoting floor manager Ryan Thorsen to general manager. A Bankers Hill resident, Thorsen is arguably the youngest GA in the local restaurant industry.

“I feel confident about my staff, I’m really happy with Ryan, and the Chef has a really solid staff in the kitchen, although he has to hire a bunch of people for this, ” Hug said.

Thorsen is really happy with working for Bertrand, too.

“Honestly there’s a lot of challenges to [working here] – it makes every day new and fast and that challenge is what makes me want to get up for work and run in every day,” he said.

“This place has a certain energy that you can’t find many places in town … it’s got that history … everyone comes here expecting a certain experience and it is our job to make sure that never falters,” Thorsen said.

Opening for brunch was a dream of Thorsen’s and he is excited about the new venture. “It’s kind of like opening up our own little restaurant inside the restaurant because it’s never been here before.”

Hug, Thorsen and Chef Stephane Voitzwinkler all worked together over several months on both the food and drink menu, finally agreeing on draft number 20, which Thorsen said could still see minor changes before April 6.

Menu options will be ala carte and vary from standard brunch classics with Voitzwinkler’s specific spin, to the types of menu items one would come to expect from Mister A’s.

“You can piece together your own meal,” Thorsen said. “It’s a good entry way for new customers.”

A number of clever Bloody Marys and beer cocktails will be taking a prominent position on their new drink menu along with other unique offerings. No bottomless mimosas, of course, but refills will be offered.

Thorsen encourages people spending their weekend days at Balboa Park to stop in for a drink or check out the new brunch. The weekend day dress code will be the same as their current lunch and happy hour – shorts only if they are Bermuda shorts – with close-toed shoes. Flip-flops are never an option.

“We understand it is San Diego but we do want to maintain a certain status … we think that builds the experience for everyone,” Thorsen said.

Bertrand at Mister A’s is located at 2550 Fifth Ave, #12.