Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Service stands out at Herb & Wood

A dining spot for the special occasion

The roasted pineapple made this pizza chewy and sweet, but the dough was too thin and cracker-like.
The roasted pineapple made this pizza chewy and sweet, but the dough was too thin and cracker-like.
Place

Herb & Wood

2210 Kettner Boulevard, San Diego

After one of the hype-iest openings in recent history, Herb & Wood remained for many months a place I was afraid to visit, lest it disappoint me the way a few other big-money, big-hype restaurants have. But one evening I gave my man sole restaurant-selecting power, and Herb & Wood is what he chose.

I’d seen plenty of photos, but they failed to convey the feel of the airplane-hangar-sized space. It was simultaneously capacious and cozy.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Inside? Outside? Yes.

We were seated at a small table for two in a room that, at first glance, seemed to be indoors. But a cool breeze from the west and the heatlamps situated throughout the area revealed it was more indoor/outdoor, with a clear partial ceiling. The lanterns hanging above and the greenery on the walls gave the dining space a pleasant, garden-room feel.

Ask Dominique. He’ll tell you all about the pork pâté.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Herb & Wood was the service. It was beyond reproach. Our server’s name was Dominique. Because it was our first time at this restaurant, David and I had plenty of questions about the menu and with each extensive, informative answer, our comfort level grew. For example, when I was curious about the pork pâté, Dominique let us know that chef Shane McIntyre’s signature preparation of the terrine involves a pork shoulder that is cooked for 12 hours to render the fat, which is removed before the remaining meat is ground. The rendered fat is then whipped back in, resulting in the lean, spreadable paste.

Roasted carrots, sweet with a nice char, served with nuts and yogurt. And Dominique-approved.

Dominique also helped us choose a bottle of wine after overhearing us discussing the options and our lack of familiarity with the selection. We gave a price point, and after admitting to overhearing our curiosity about a rosé on the menu he brought out two for us to taste — the second was not even on the menu.

The kitchen’s variation on the traditional Branzino

After asking about the Roasted Branzino ($39) and receiving an extensive, enthusiastic answer, I was all set to order it, along with a few other Dominique-recommended dishes, beginning with the pâté. The pickled vegetables, fruit mostarda (candied fruit), and mustard spread brought a sundry of flavors to the savory meat, and the brioche toast was so good David waxed on about how it might taste as the bun to his ideal lobster roll.

I was hesitant about the Roasted Baby Carrots ($10), but Dominique encouraged us to get them. The caramelized char with a nut mixture (cashews, and I detected hazelnut), Aleppo Yogurt, and “carrot top pesto” resulted in a unique, Mediterranean-esque combination.

Dominique had prepared me for the kitchen’s variation on the traditional Branzino, which is usually roasted whole and served bone-in. Here, we still got the whole fish, but it was rearranged — the head at one end, the tail at the other, but the body of it had been divided into three sections, each section wrapped in speck that replaced the fish’s skin with the crispy, wood-fired ham. Atop each lemon herb-stuffed section was the olive-chile tapenade, adding a salty and spicy component to each bite. It was a fun reinvention of the classic.

The closest thing to a disappointing note was David’s choice of entrée, the coal-roasted pineapple, habanero, red onion, and taleggio pizza ($19). The flavors were great, especially the roasted pineapple. But there was no habanero to be detected (we got significantly more kick from my olive-chile tapenade), and the dough was thin and cracker-like for David’s taste. He prefers a bit of chew to the crust, even if the pizza itself is thin. Overall, in light of the promise of all those interesting ingredients, the flavor was quite mild.

Still, from the moment we arrived to our last wave goodbye, the entire staff was welcoming and obliging. It’s now a “special occasion” dining spot for us.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

2024 continues to impress with yellowfin much closer to San Diego than they should be

New rockfish regulations coming this week as opener approaches
The roasted pineapple made this pizza chewy and sweet, but the dough was too thin and cracker-like.
The roasted pineapple made this pizza chewy and sweet, but the dough was too thin and cracker-like.
Place

Herb & Wood

2210 Kettner Boulevard, San Diego

After one of the hype-iest openings in recent history, Herb & Wood remained for many months a place I was afraid to visit, lest it disappoint me the way a few other big-money, big-hype restaurants have. But one evening I gave my man sole restaurant-selecting power, and Herb & Wood is what he chose.

I’d seen plenty of photos, but they failed to convey the feel of the airplane-hangar-sized space. It was simultaneously capacious and cozy.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Inside? Outside? Yes.

We were seated at a small table for two in a room that, at first glance, seemed to be indoors. But a cool breeze from the west and the heatlamps situated throughout the area revealed it was more indoor/outdoor, with a clear partial ceiling. The lanterns hanging above and the greenery on the walls gave the dining space a pleasant, garden-room feel.

Ask Dominique. He’ll tell you all about the pork pâté.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Herb & Wood was the service. It was beyond reproach. Our server’s name was Dominique. Because it was our first time at this restaurant, David and I had plenty of questions about the menu and with each extensive, informative answer, our comfort level grew. For example, when I was curious about the pork pâté, Dominique let us know that chef Shane McIntyre’s signature preparation of the terrine involves a pork shoulder that is cooked for 12 hours to render the fat, which is removed before the remaining meat is ground. The rendered fat is then whipped back in, resulting in the lean, spreadable paste.

Roasted carrots, sweet with a nice char, served with nuts and yogurt. And Dominique-approved.

Dominique also helped us choose a bottle of wine after overhearing us discussing the options and our lack of familiarity with the selection. We gave a price point, and after admitting to overhearing our curiosity about a rosé on the menu he brought out two for us to taste — the second was not even on the menu.

The kitchen’s variation on the traditional Branzino

After asking about the Roasted Branzino ($39) and receiving an extensive, enthusiastic answer, I was all set to order it, along with a few other Dominique-recommended dishes, beginning with the pâté. The pickled vegetables, fruit mostarda (candied fruit), and mustard spread brought a sundry of flavors to the savory meat, and the brioche toast was so good David waxed on about how it might taste as the bun to his ideal lobster roll.

I was hesitant about the Roasted Baby Carrots ($10), but Dominique encouraged us to get them. The caramelized char with a nut mixture (cashews, and I detected hazelnut), Aleppo Yogurt, and “carrot top pesto” resulted in a unique, Mediterranean-esque combination.

Dominique had prepared me for the kitchen’s variation on the traditional Branzino, which is usually roasted whole and served bone-in. Here, we still got the whole fish, but it was rearranged — the head at one end, the tail at the other, but the body of it had been divided into three sections, each section wrapped in speck that replaced the fish’s skin with the crispy, wood-fired ham. Atop each lemon herb-stuffed section was the olive-chile tapenade, adding a salty and spicy component to each bite. It was a fun reinvention of the classic.

The closest thing to a disappointing note was David’s choice of entrée, the coal-roasted pineapple, habanero, red onion, and taleggio pizza ($19). The flavors were great, especially the roasted pineapple. But there was no habanero to be detected (we got significantly more kick from my olive-chile tapenade), and the dough was thin and cracker-like for David’s taste. He prefers a bit of chew to the crust, even if the pizza itself is thin. Overall, in light of the promise of all those interesting ingredients, the flavor was quite mild.

Still, from the moment we arrived to our last wave goodbye, the entire staff was welcoming and obliging. It’s now a “special occasion” dining spot for us.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much
Next Article

Didja know I did the first American feature on Jimi Hendrix?

Richard Meltzer goes through the Germs, Blue Oyster Cult, Ray Charles, Elvis, Lavender Hill Mob
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.