Bertrand at Mister A's

We were not disappointed by picking Bertrand at Mister A’s for a celebration of my birthday. It was our first visit to this most famous of San Diego’s upscale restaurants. The twelfth floor location at Fifth and Laurel, as promised, provided stunning views of airplane landings at Lindberg Field, the bay, waterfront, downtown skyline, Balboa Park, Mission Hills and more. Arriving a little early we enjoyed sauvignon blanc at a patio table with a view of planes landing.

Patio seating was also available for dinner (three sides of the roof area) but we picked an inside-the-restaurant table with a great view of downtown. Our very distinguished waiter Marc was attentive and helpful, perfect. The service was timed to our conversation, never rushed or disruptive and the food was delivered promptly. I have never had better service in a restaurant.

Our favorite food all night was the famous truffled fries ($7) with parmigiano regiano, absolutely delicious. One order was more than enough for all three of us. Highly recommended, a bargain.

For an appetizer I had the Maine lobster strudel (fresh lobster and assorted mushrooms in filo dough with cognac lobster sauce): honestly I was a little disappointed, somewhat dry and lacked the explosion of taste expected. Not recommended. My wife had the multicolored young beet salad with goat cheese in filo served with a horseradish vinaigrette: good she said but I noticed only half was eaten. My daughter had the garden salad with baby vegetables and champagne vinaigrette: OK she said, just a salad. Presentation on all three were very nice, colorful, fresh.

For the main course I ordered the duo of Alaskan halibut and sea scallops served with saffron sauce, angel hair pasta and braised fennel: loved the scallops, halibut was just OK, nice presentation. My wife had the vegetarian entree after a discussion with our waiter: it looked like they put considerable effort into the preparation; after a taste we all thought it was, at best, just so so. My daughter ordered the winner, the pan seared beef tenderloin with gorgonzola cream sauce and gratin dauphinois: fabulous, perfect, absolutely perfection but priced to feed a family of four for a month in several parts of the world. Oh, forget price, it was my birthday and a celebration.

The two deserts and paired late harvest wines we tried were both pretty good, creme brulee and bread pudding. Coffee service was unexceptional. Total bill with tip and valet parking: $332.

Will I go back? Maybe, but we have so many great choices in San Diego… Do I recommend it? Well, yes, the views are really something and I loved the truffle fries. Minus one star for being 30 percent overpriced. Minus one star for serving food that does not taste as good as it looks.

If you are celebrating a special event or want to show off to your friends or clients, then head up to Mr. A’s. For my 2 year anniversary with my ex (which is like 10 years in gay time), I wanted something special. So I asked him to book reservations at Mr. A’s.

I had heard about the great downtown view from the restaurant. The night time view of the San Diego skyline delivered, but I was actually hoping the airplanes would fly past closer to the building.

The food was pricey, but expected. Iced tea cost $4.00. My pina colada cost $7.00 but was yummy. For appetizers we ordered macaroni and cheese ($13.50) and black truffle risotto ($15.50). I ordered the mac n cheese because of the truffle oil that was listed as an ingredient and I had heard that the best mac n cheese has truffle oil. It wasn’t the best mac n cheese I have ever tasted, but it was definitely delicious. My ex bf and I weren’t as impressed with the risotto. I thought the rice was undercooked.

For our main courses, he had the beef tenderloin ($41.50) and I had the fresh seafood paella ($29.50). I had a taste of the beef tenderloin. It was good but slightly dry – I think the meat was aged. My ex bf loved it because he devoured almost everything on his plate. My seafood paella had chicken. the flavor was good, but like the risotto, I don’t think the rice was cooked enough. I think if the paella were cooked earlier and allowed the flavors to settle into the rice longer, it would have tasted better. The clams on the paella were fresh and tasty. However, if I do visit again, I will try another dish.

For dessert, we shared an order of creme brulee. The sugary crust was overcooked and had a bitter taste. The inside creamy part had a good flavor and was not overpowering or too rich. We both agreed it wasn’t to die for creme brulee, it was just average. To help celebrate our anniversary, we were given complimentary cookies. The cookies were okay.

Altogether, the total damage was $130.92 (not including tip). Thank goodness neither of us drink wine. The service is very friendly and attentive. They took our pics outside with the skyline as a back drop. When we returned to our tables I noticed they redid our napkin cloths which I thought was a nice touch.

My ex bf told me that before Mr. Bertrand took over the restaurant, this used to be a mob owned joint not open to the public. The police on the mob payroll were allowed to eat inside the kitchen. I heard that Mr. Bertrand does show up at the restaurant, but he was not present at the time of our visit.

Because of the price, I would not return to this place unless I was celebrating another special event. There is street parking (pay attention to the signs) and the building also has parking for guests.

Loved it. The Beef Tenderloin topped with gorgonzola with a generous cut of gratin was to die for. The creme brulee was also notable. Perfect ambiance for a quiet fancy dinner, beautiful view of downtown San Diego. Service was up to par as expected for fine dining!

Whoever posted that Mister A’s is closed provided misinformation. Bertrands at Mister A’s is alive, well, open and fully booked for the foreseeable future.

There’s no question that between the ambiance they’ve put together inside the restaurant and excellent view that this place is an outstanding choice for a date. The food was beautifully presented and good but not great. I had the rack of lamb and my date had the gnocchi. Both were very good but the flavors were just a bit short of being great. All in all a very nice evening and worth the money.