The Wellington Steak & Martini Lounge
729 W. Washington St. (Mission Hills)
619-295-6001
Prices: Salads and appetizers, $8 to $14; entrees, $12 to $37
By Frank Sabatini Jr. | Restaurant Review
Famed author Fran Lebowitz summed up her love of red meat unapologetically when she declared, “My favorite animal is steak.” Combined with her eye for high style, she’d feel right at home supping inside The Wellington Steak & Martini Lounge.
The Wellington surprises with an insular, upscale élan that feels more fitting of a boutique Manhattan hotel rather than a restaurant you’d stumble upon in a San Diego neighborhood. The intimate dining room is dimly lit by high-hanging crystal chandeliers that might seem otherwise gaudy without the support of elegant mirroring, bold wall patterns and twinkling tea lights below. In other words, leave your painter’s pants at home and make a reservation before visiting.
Wellington’s latest chef, Miguel Valdez, also oversees a completely different menu for the adjoining Red Door, which boasts a cottage-like charm that reflects its Mission Hills setting. Both restaurants are owned by Trish Watlington, who supplies the kitchen with a plethora of fresh organics grown in a quarter-acre garden at her Mount Helix home.
The namesake, signature entrée is beef Wellington, a labor-intensive dish involving tenderloin encased in puff pastry. Depending who you ask, the invention was named in the early 1800s after the first Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley. Or it may have already existed in France during Napoleon’s reign during the same period. Most culinary historians, however, are content settling on the theory that beef Wellington has its roots in American cookery, having risen to premier status in the 1960s.
If you prefer your flesh naked, the menu offers other organic-certified steaks that are grilled and accompanied with a choice of sauces such as chimichurri, au poivre or maître d’ butter. But with pastry-wrapped beef so scarce these days, we couldn’t pass up the thrill of poking through a golden brown crust to discover medium-rare filet and a tumble of mushroom duxelle nestled inside.
In addition, Valdez has begun introducing new items across the menu, such as an appetizer of Venus clams sourced from Carlsbad Aquafarm. Medium in size, he bathes them in white wine, garlic and butter. The clincher was salty pork skin appearing in small pieces along with firm cannelloni beans. The clams didn’t mind. In fact, the pork skins meshed more eloquently with them compared to the loud doses of bacon they often receive in casino recipes.
In the chef’s current version of the “Wellington salad,” juicy tangelos from Watlington’s garden impart a citrus flair to homegrown lettuces, pickled onions and candied pecans. The fruit seemingly played a role in the sprightly vinaigrette dressing as well. Our only complaint was that when a salad is this good, there should be more of it on the plate.
The filet tartare “taco” served in house-made wontons recently replaced the traditional version of the minced raw steak with no shell. We were lured instead by the filet crostini topped with goat cheese and generous heaps of the shredded beef braised in red wine. Dressed in lemon aioli, the dish was also expertly accented with shallots and capers.
In the entrée category, wild venison pan-seared in duck fat is a newcomer, reflecting Valdez’s intention to start adding more game meat to the menu such as elk and bison. Espying on the venison ordered by a nearby customer, I regretted passing up the beautiful-looking plate in lieu of beef bourguignon, if only because the beef turned out to be exactly the same shredded filet used in the aforementioned crostini appetizer.
The bourguignon contained all of the traditional French flavors from red wine, pearl onions, bay leaf and thyme. But the joy of fork-cutting into tender chunked beef, the classic textural element to the dish, was sorely missed.
Wellington’s slick, little bar fuels the carnivorous menu with sophisticated martinis, not to mention a decent wine list from which my companion discovered a delightfully earthy syrah from Santa Barbara’s Stolpman Vineyard that seemed tailor-made for his beef Wellington. We imagined the wine would have struck an ideal pairing also to the venison or Mary’s Farm duck breast that the chef treats with garlic butter.
I adopted James Bond for the evening by sipping down his famous Vesper martini, made with Gordon’s Gin, shaken and not stirred, of course. But we would later cast aside our libations for caffeine in preparation of mini pies.
Valdez rightfully prides himself on scratch-made banana cream pie constructed with walnut and graham cracker crust. Chocolate cream pie was also in the offing, tasting equally all-American and creamy. Or if your tongue craves that irresistible contrast of sweet and salty, his peanut butter chiffon torte deserves a blue ribbon.
Meal deals on beef Wellington are available on Sundays, when it sells for $40 with salad and dessert. Also, on Tuesdays, guests can dine to live, contemporary jazz performed by accomplished music professor Fred Benedetti.
