I’ve been wanting to check out Bella Vista Social Club for awhile after I had read Jinxi’s post about it earlier this year. At the time it was too far away for me to go for lunch, but since our office move to mid-Miramar/Mira Mesa, it’s much closer and easier drive.
It’s right near the turn off for the Torrey Pines Glider Port and there’s a small sign out front indicating that there’s a restaurant nearby, otherwise you’d probably never know it was here. You can see a tiny bit of the ocean here. When I revisit, I’d like to take the food to go and then watch the hang gliders or at least check out the view over there!
This is inside. There are slats on the wall to the right which let in a lot of light and an ocean breeze. There are large open doors to make it a bit drafty and very airy. I loved it!
[bella vista panini with brie cheese, prosciutto di parma and fig jam / $9.70]
I zoned in on this sandwich just at the mention of “brie”. The more I think about it, the more I realize I lean heavily toward the softer cheeses and brie is definitely one of my favorites.
The combination of the brie with the delicious prosciutto di parma and touch of fig jam gave this sandwich a wonderful salty-sweet combination that I adored. The brie was perfect and just melted and the bread had a nice light crunch to it. The prosciutto gave the sandwich the right amount of balance between the flavors to off set the sweetness of the fig jam. If I could, I would marry this sandwich (iloveyou).
[croque monsieur with black forest ham and imported italian cheeses / $8.90]
This is David’s lunch – a Croque Monsieur. He described it as sort of an inside out sandwich since the cheese is grilled on the outside. Quite striking!
[il pavarotti with oven roasted turkey with cranberry jam and brie cheese / $8.60]
Jose ordered a sandwich kind of similar to mine except he got turkey and cranberry with his brie. I love the light grill marks.
Matt ordered a pasta dish and since I didn’t photograph the menu while we were there, I don’t know/remember what this is! I was surprised they even had pasta since it’s not listed online.
Everyone enjoyed their lunch and I especially loved mine (in case you couldn’t tell). The parking lot for Bella Vista Social Club is behind a pay lot, but you get validated at the restaurant. They are open in the evening for happy hour and appetizers which starts at 4PM. I’ll have to come back and check that out sometime!
Dennis of a Radiused Corner also wrote about Bella Vista
as well as Cathy of mmm-yoso
Bella Vista Social Club & Caffé
2880 Torrey Pines Scenic Dr
La Jolla, CA 92037
(858) 534-9624
Ooh yay! I’m glad you tried it out and liked it :DD
It was awesome! I even asked if they had the mushroom soup that day since I remembered the photo of it on your blog (that Dennis had) but they didn’t have any soup that day. Next time I want to try some of their desserts! I forgot to take a photo of the ones I saw.
Oh wow – your sandwich looks amazing! I like brie too – esp when it’s melted. But everything in your sandwich seems to really compliment each other!
I’m always worried about parking so thanks for the tip on that lot. I just clicked on their HH menu and it looks ok. Not as cheap as I had hoped but maybe the portion sizes are big?
The lunch prices look great and I like how it comes with a side of salad or something. For the Croque Monsieur, did the cheese taste burnt? And what’s the other side that came with it (not the salad + fruit).
Parking is a big worry for me, too! Hard to park = I don’t want to go!
Yeah, the HH prices aren’t stellar, but maybe they are just extra delicious? 🙂
On the Croque Monsieur, the side thing is tabbouleh. David didn’t particularly like it and I didn’t try it. The small bite of the sandwich I had was delicious, it didn’t taste burnt at all, just gooey and kind of toasted on top.
Yay! I wish my work was close to this place! I’d be there like everyday! I like how open the restaurant it. Nice sparse decor too. We had the same sandwich (great combo of brie, fancy ham and cheese).
I went this summer with Dennis and Jinxi:
http://www.pinkcandlesatridgemonthigh.blogspot.com/2013/07/bella-vista-social-club-and-caffe.html
I didn’t have any dessert that day. I don’t think they are made in-house though.
Oh I forgot you went here too! It’s not super close to my work but close enough! I’ll have to ask about the desserts sometime.
Really good food here and the breakfasts/brunch are really good. The plus for me is that it opens at 8, even on weekends. I just looked at my photos of the Brunch menu and no pastas are listed there; maybe they had some sort of ‘special’ listed somewhere…Very nice post.
Oh I’ll have to try and check it out for brunch on the weekend sometime. Thanks for the tip!