Fresh, healthy California-Mediterranean cuisine with an emphasis on organic produce, a casual atmosphere with both indoor and outdoor seating and friendly wait staff are the hallmarks of the Fig Tree Café, a newcomer to the Pacific Beach dining scene. Located at 5119 Cass St. between Sapphire and Opal streets, the new eatery, which opened in October, currently serves breakfast and lunch six days a week, aiming to appeal to local residents who enjoy well-priced gourmet fare within easy walking distance of their nearby homes or offices. “Our concept is healthy food — 80 percent of our produce is organic. The going trend is toward a healthier lifestyle. People are more conscious of eating organic,” explained first-time restaurant owner Johan Engman, 27, a native of Sweden who settled in San Diego 10 years ago with his California-born mother. His goal is to build a classy yet casual neighborhood restaurant where diners are comfortable enjoying everything from a croissant and coffee to an elegant dinner. The café focuses on selecting high-quality, locally sourced ingredients and turns out generously-sized servings. Among its most popular dishes are the organic veggie-filled Windnsea Omelet made with locally laid free-range eggs, a Cobb salad featuring an interesting twist of dried cherries and a BLT served on a croissant with the unexpected addition of turkey and avocado. A noteworthy Fig Tree specialty is the smoked salmon-topped potato cake garnished with capers, red onions and crème fraîche, made with organic wild Alaskan salmon chosen for its intense flavor. And beware — another Fig Tree specialty, the Belgian chocolate-filled buttery croissant, is addictive and hazardous to the waistline. With its name inspired by the towering ficus trees shading its spacious dining terrace, the Fig Tree Café now boasts its own recently planted fig trees. Fragrant rosemary bushes line the café’s white picket fence, providing an abundant supply of the herb which features prominently in the café’s signature rosemary potatoes and other dishes. Engman oversaw remodeling the location previously occupied by Rafaela’s Italian Restaurant and built the new wooden canopy and a stone wall fountain for the garden dining area himself. For the interior dining room he commissioned San Diego artist Gina Faulk to paint trompe l’oeil murals of Tuscan-inspired vineyard scenes. Engman formulated his café’s concept based on his experience working in restaurants after his arrival in San Diego. He joined Fresh — now Whisknladle — in La Jolla before its opening and migrated to Trattoria Acqua, also in La Jolla, following a year’s travel through 35 countries in Asia and Europe. His exposure to new cultures and cuisines only deepened his fascination with food and dining. “I always had a passion for the restaurant industry,” he said, beginning with his exposure to fishing and hunting with his Swedish father and uncles in northern Sweden, where he grew up in Östersund. The freshness of this food fostered his appreciation for fine quality and local ingredients, an experience enhanced by observing and working with the La Jolla chefs. While readying his new restaurant, Engman consulted with a prestigious local chef in setting up his kitchen, training staff, devising menus and selecting purveyors. “Before we opened we bought samples of food, both organic and non-organic, and tried them side by side. The foods that were organic seemed to have more flavor,” he said. Engman plans to debut a new all-day breakfast and lunch menu in January with a renewed emphasis on good value, with everything priced between $5 and $10. Among the anticipated offerings will be a $5 pasta dish with house marinara sauce. Add-ons, such as Italian sausage or shrimp, will cost extra, but always a more economical option will be available. “You need to adapt to what people want. Everyone is watching every dollar now,” he said. Engman envisions opening again for dinner when warmer weather returns and expects to adjust the café’s winter operating hours. Sensitive to the Pacific Beach community’s concerns about adding new liquor licenses, Engman hopes to work with local residents to build trust and support for an application for a beer and wine license. Nearby resident John C. Wheeler, a regular at the café with his wife, is an enthusiastic patron who extols the “gourmet food at family restaurant prices,” and also advocates granting the Fig Tree Café the privilege of serving beer and wine. “This is exactly the kind of establishment that should be given a beer and wine license. It’s a tragedy that good restaurants go out of business because they can’t get a liquor license while bars are perpetuated,” he said. The Fig Tree Café is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays except Wednesdays, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekends, with hours subject to change. For latest information call (858) 274-2233, or visit their website www.figtreecafepb.com.
