Mister A’s ready to debut its $2M makeover — same views but lots more seating for drinking

The new lounge area seats 48 and includes a new 18-seat bar.
The new lounge area seats 48 and includes a new 18-seat bar. The lounge area used to be recessed, with partially obscured views, but now it has been raised, level with that of the main dining room.
(Eduardo Contreras/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

A fine dining icon since the 1960s, Mister A’s is ready to reopen after a three-month renovation project that includes a new 90-seat, indoor-outdoor lounge for patrons interested in grabbing a cocktail and supping on lighter fare.

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For decades, the venerable Mister A’s has been known as a special occasion destination that rewards its patrons with stunning skyline and bay views and elevated continental cuisine.

When it reopens its doors this month following a three-month renovation, fine dining will still be a mainstay but there will be a bonus — a new indoor-outdoor lounge catering to those who want to come for the panoramic vistas without having to stay for a multi-course meal. It’s a reimagining of the 57-year-old restaurant that will not only make it a more efficient operation but also one that the new owner hopes will lure a much wider demographic of patrons.

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The debut of the reinvented 12th floor venue on Oct. 11 arrives 10 months after longtime employee Ryan Thorsen purchased Mister A’s from Bertrand Hug, who had owned it for more than two decades and was responsible for raising the profile of the cuisine and significantly updating the gilded venue, trading in the red velvet furnishings and gold cherubs for a muted, more contemporary color scheme of soft beiges, yellow and splashes of blue.

But little had been done since then to update the decor and make it a more functional restaurant, said Thorsen. A key goal of his, he said, was to bring in new customers who weren’t necessarily inclined to come for a full meal but wanted to enjoy cocktails in an inviting space while taking advantage of Mister A’s rooftop views.

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“In my 12 years here, we haven’t offered everything we could and have had to turn down people every night for drinks,” said Thorsen, who has been overseeing every detail of the remodel, from the purchase of updated patio furniture to bringing back some of the original chandeliers.

“Bertrand would be the first to tell you he loved the idea of doing this but his focus was always to make sure it had the European standards of fine dining. There was also the feeling that (a larger) bar could cannibalize the fine dining side. But our current management group’s take on it is we haven’t had the opportunity to ramp up to bring in new guests and make us feel more approachable.”

The outdoor patio seating area at Mister A's.
The patio area features contemporary wrought iron chairs and love seats with thick light gray cushions.

(Eduardo Contreras/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Toward that end, Thorsen has transformed an area that had previously been used more for special events and receptions into an inviting 48-seat lounge, including a grand new 18-seat bar. And outside on the Balboa Park side of the restaurant will be enough tables and chairs to seat 42 for drinks and lighter fare. It is a valuable piece of real estate that previously had not been regularly used, Thorsen said.

The lounge area used to be recessed, with partially obscured views, but now it has been raised, level with that of the main dining room. And the patio area has been spruced up with potted olive trees and contemporary wrought iron chairs and love seats with thick light gray cushions. Each outdoor table, Thorsen said, will have ice buckets in the middle for those ordering champagne.

Among the planned lounge menu offerings from chef Stephane Voitzwinkler are a mini lobster roll on brioche with caviar and smoked salmon potato skins with crème fraîche. The main dining room will be returning with popular standbys like prime beef tenderloin with bordelaise, along with new selections such as wild-caught salmon Wellington.

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“Total seating at Mister A’s will still be 300 but there will be a different mix — we’ll serve fewer dinners and serve more people for the bar crowd to make ourselves more approachable to the community,” Thorsen explained. “Before we would do up to 300 dinners on a night and now we’re aiming at 240 but serving 100 to 150 in the bar throughout the night. So smaller checks and larger margins and theoretically more clientele during the ups and downs.”

Opened in 1965 by founder John Alessio and his now late son, Dominic “Bud” Alessio, the storied restaurant is still partly owned by the Alessio family, which has retained its 20 percent stake.

While the remodel will include contemporary touches, there are also multiple nods to the classic feel of the original Mister A’s that for years has been the place where people have celebrated birthdays, anniversaries and engagements. Thorsen is especially excited about the restaurant’s original chandeliers, which did not remain when Hug took over the restaurant in 1999, a year after the elder Alessio’s death. But several of them were still with the Alessio family, and some are returning to Mister A’s, along with others that Thorsen procured.

The updated Blue Room at Mister A's restaurant.
The blue room has been updated with new blue carpeting, blue curtains and mirrored back wall, wood paneling, and a large chandelier.
(Eduardo Contreras/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

He’s also replaced all the wood tones with walnut and custom millwork, and the gray and blue damask wallpaper is a take on the original version. The new chairs pay homage to the originals — a deep royal blue that Thorsen calls Mister A’s blue, designed with a velvet channel back and blue leather seat. Another reminder of the old Mister A’s: The walnut armoire in the lobby will house the original coffee grinder engraved with a large A.

And in a throwback to the ‘60s, the blue room will return with its new blue carpeting, blue curtains and mirrored back wall, wood paneling, and a large chandelier. Hand-painted frescoes adorn the ceilings of the rotunda room and hallway.

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The grandson of John Alessio, who also built the 13-story building that houses Mister A’s, says the family is delighted with the reimagining of the restaurant and the efforts to include nods to the past.

“It’s refreshing to see how they cherish and celebrate the history of the restaurant and doing a little bit of a throwback theme,” said grandson John Alessio. “For us, the restaurant has been multi-generational. My grandfather and dad started that restaurant years ago and Bertrand took it for a nice 21-year run, and Ryan is taking it into the future and we couldn’t be happier.

“And with the bar, we’ve got the best of both worlds. We can maintain the fine dining and also have lighter fare, quicker in and out, grab a drink and quick bite and still experience the nice views.”

Thorsen characterizes the redo as the single biggest project in the restaurant’s history. Some of the larger changes won’t be visible to diners, like the retrofitting of the electrical and plumbing systems. One big upgrade that patrons will notice is a redo of all the bathrooms, which will be larger.

The new menu covers at Mister A's restaurant.
(Eduardo Contreras/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

“We literally had to empty the 11th floor so we could work through their ceiling to retrofit everything for mister A’s,” Thorsen said. “It’s occupied by a big law firm, and they’re some of our best regulars and dear friends of the restaurant. Some worked from home or relocated to other floors.

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“They’re going to get the first glass of wine poured at that bar top.”