RoundAbout San Diego

As many of you know Alex and I go out every Friday for Happy Hour. I leave work at 3:30pm on the dot and make a mad dash for home to pick him up. Last night we decided to stay at home because we had done Happy Hour the night before with Charlie. So I thought this would be a good opportunity to tell you about Jayne's Gastropub – the restaurant we visited last Friday. We hadn’t gone out with the intention of having a meal but unfortunately Jayne’s doesn’t offer a Happy Hour.

From the outside Jayne’s doesn’t look like a pub or restuarant.

It has a very plain, but clean looking exterior which gives no hint to the great eating experience within. Because we were out for Happy Hour we arrived soon after they opened (5pm) and as soon as we opened the door we were greeted with great enthusiasm. We took our seats of choice, which as usual is at the bar, and started going over the menu while looking around and taking it all in.

I would say that Jayne's is more bistro than pub but with a few pub accessories. The floors have those fabulous little octaganol white tiles with a colored tile dotted here and there. The kitchen is lined with white subway tiling - all very clean looking with minimal distractions. There are small hooks under the bar for the ladies to hang their bags which is such a great convenience (while you find these in most pubs in the UK they are not found very often in American bars). The bar at Jayne's is small and cozy and has a great view of the kitchen but after a delicious appetizer of White Bean Crostini, with Chimay White Triple (Alex) and EQ Sauvignon Blanc (Beverley) we decided to move to the outdoor patio for dinner.

The patio has a very European feel to it with the brick wall of the adjoining building on one side and potted plants and trellises everywhere. It's a very comfortable and romantic setting. For dinner Alex had the Linguine with Pancetta and Baby Wild Arugula which was excellent but it didn't have quite the WOW factor that my scallops had. I had the special of the day with Scallops from Washington, gnocchi, and a leek saute.

The scallops were huge, rich, and succulent. I have never had scallops like these before and for days I could close my eyes and imagine biting into one. My only complaint, and it's more of a personal preference than a complaint, is that I wish instead of the gnocci (which on it's own was very good) that they had served something with a bit of crunch. With the velvety soft feel of the scallops I would have preferred more of a contrast in the texture for the side dish. To top off the meal Alex and I had the Bittersweet Chocolate Brownie con Gelato which was incredibly rich and a fabulous end to our unexpected dinner.