In early 2015, the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa will unveil its new multi-million-dollar restaurant with a chef-driven concept introducing California casual cuisine.
The yet-to-be-named restaurant at 3999 Mission Blvd. will operate under the direction of executive chef Steven Riemer, who has 25 years of culinary experience, including The Lodge at Torrey Pines.
“The Catamaran has had an Asian-fusion theme, and that has slowly segued into what I call California comfort cuisine, things we’re familiar with here: backyard barbecues, tri-tip steak, seafood and produce — big salads — that kind of thing,” said Riemer, noting the new menu, under revision, will focus on food indigenous to California.
A resident of Crown Point, Riemer said the direction the Catamaran’s new restaurant dovetails with the Pacific Beach community’s plan to create a self-sustaining ecodistrict.
“Most of the guys I work with walk here and I ride my bike,” Riemer said. “This is my neighborhood. I’m excited about the new restaurant project for our community.”
Riemer has cooked alongside culinary icons Pierre Troisgros and Paul Bocuse, as well as modern-day pioneers Yvon Goetz and Christian Rassinoux. He has also worked alongside longtime friend and mentor, and one of San Diego’s powerhouse chefs, Jeff Jackson at A.R. Valentien at The Lodge at Torrey Pines.
The 8,200-square-foot Catamaran venue is undergoing a complete design overhaul by Delawie Architects and Kristine Smith of KS Design Studio. The new configuration will combine more indoor/outdoor seating with sweeping, unobstructed views of Mission Bay and downtown San Diego.
Robert Gleason, president/CEO of Evans Hotels, which has owned the Catamaran since 1958, said the Catamaran’s old restaurant has been completely demolished in favor of the new.
“We’re adding some exterior seating and quite a bit of circulation space through it,” Gleason said. “There’s a lot more indoor/outdoor (space) taking advantage of the location and the year-round (good) weather.”
Gleason said the outdoor section of the new restaurant will have covered patios, a bar and more lounge seating with heaters. He said construction on the new restaurant began Oct. 6. It took two weeks to demolish the old structure. Construction of the new restaurant will take about four months and is expected to be done by the end of January 2015.
The Evans Hotel executive said Catamaran’s new restaurant is “very substantial” and a “reimagining” of Catamaran’s well-known Polynesian theme.
“This is not just a simple rehab; it’s an entirely new way of looking at our restaurant changing the food, drinks and décor to enhance the experience at the Catamaran both for guests and locals,” Gleason said. Inspired by Polynesia, the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa offers a tropical elegance, steps from Mission Bay, featuring guest rooms and suites, each with its own private balcony or patio and views of the water or tropical gardens.
The Catamaran showcases San Diego’s only beachfront spa, along with an open-air fitness facility with a 180-degree view of the bay. Spa treatments and specialized rituals are based on Polynesian, Thai and a variety of other South Pacific traditions. The Catamaran’s 14 function rooms offer 20,000 square feet of versatile space and space for meetings, conferences, weddings and special occasions.
Evans Hotels was founded more than a half-century ago by the late William Evans and his wife, Anne. Alongside the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa, the company owns and operates two of San Diego’s highest-profile establishments, including the Bahia Resort Hotel on Mission Bay and The Lodge at Torrey Pines that overlooks the Torrey Pines golf course and pristine coastline. Today, much of the success of San Diego’s tourism industry can be traced to the mudflat in Mission Bay where two young hoteliers saw the future. Now, Anne Evans and her adult children, Bill Evans and Grace Evans Cherashore, continue the family tradition of successful hotel entrepeneurship.
For more information, visit www.catamaranresort.com or call (858) 488-1081. For more information on Evans Hotels, visit www.evanshotels.com.