Award-winning

Animae

Name: Animae
Address: 969 Pacific HWY, San Diego, CA, United States, 92132
Telephone: (619) 432-1225
Price range: $50 and over
Rating: 4.7

4.7

2461 Reviews

$50 and over

Contemporary Asian

Top Tags:

ANIMAE’s eclectic West Coast cuisine, layered with Asian influences, comes to life under Celebrated Chef Brian Malarkey. Applying a California cooking style to ANIMAE’S traditional coal-fired oven and grill, Chef Malarkey’s menu is as thoughtful as it is refined, elevating local produce and seasonal ingredients to create a lively and progressive culinary program.

Make a reservation

Party Size

2 people

DateTime

Dec 8, 2023

7:00 PM

Booked 76 times today

Experiences are available.

Dining areas

Additional information

Dining style
Fine Dining
Price
$50 and over
Cuisines
Contemporary Asian, Californian, Steakhouse
Hours of operation
Dinner Mon–Thu, Sun 5:00 pm–9:00 pm Fri, Sat 5:00 pm–9:30 pm
Phone number
(619) 432-1225
Website
https://animaesd.com/
Payment options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Dress code
Smart Casual
Executive chef
Brian Malarkey
Private party facilities
The Great Gatsby-meets-Madmen-meets-The Matrix interior is a fantastical futurist’s journey, transporting diners to the Shikoku firefly forest in Japan, an event venue that’s both ethereal and theatrical. ANIMAE is the perfect space to host and celebrate your special events.
Private party contact
Jarrod Zimpfer: (619) 432-1225

Location
969 Pacific HWY, San Diego, CA 92132
Award-winning
1. MICHELIN Plate 2022
Neighborhood
Downtown
Cross street
Pacific Highway and West Broadway
Parking details
Street Parking
Additional
Banquet, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Full Bar, Non-Smoking, Private Room, View, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Featured in

A Guide to the Best Date Spots in San Diego

Experiences

Christmas Eve at ANIMAE
$110.00 per person
Dec 24, 2023 only
Celebrate Christmas Eve with Chef Tara at ANIMAE! $110, 4 course prix fixe menu to be released soon. $42 for children
NYE at ANIMAE
$115.00 per person
Dec 31, 2023 only
Enjoy a glamorous New Year's Eve celebration at ANIMAE! $115, 4 course prix fixe menu to be released soon. Parties of 2 - 5 have reserved the table for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Parties of 6+ have reserved the table for 2 hours and 15 minutes. We kindly ask that you keep your experience within this time frame in order to honor later bookings. Thank you!
NYE at ANIMAE
$130.00 per person
Dec 31, 2023 only
Enjoy a glamorous New Year's Eve celebration at ANIMAE! $130, 4 course prix fixe menu to be released soon. Your experience includes a champagne toast to ring in the new year!

Popular dishes

Aji Amarillo
bright-orange chile with medium heat
Bonito (Katsuobushi)
dried, fermented, smoked, & shaved skip jack tuna
Choy Sum
mustard green
Dashi
rich japanese soup stock
Dukkah
egyptian mix of nuts, seeds and spices
Espelette
a basque pepper with mild heat
Furikake
seasoning with dried seaweed & spices
Gochujang
korean red chili sauce
Hon Shimeji
small mushrooms
Hiramasa
yellowtail amberjack
Mizuna
mild japanese mustard green
Ponzu
citrus-based vinaigrette
Sea Bean
tasty succulent found in salt marshes
Shiso
part of the mint family
Tatsoi
flavor similar to spinach
Rau Ram
vietnamese coriander leaf
Togarashi
japanese spice blend commonly made with chilies, ginger, orange peel, sesame

What 2,461 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.7

4.7 based on recent ratings

4.7Food
4.8Service
4.8Ambience
4.3Value

Noise • Moderate

Loved For

San Diego
Innovative
San Diego
Good for special occasions

2,461 Reviews

BM
BruceM
Phoenix
53 reviews
vip
5.0
53 reviews
Dined 4 days ago
Overall5Food4Service5Ambience5
First visit and it was amazing. Food was very good, staff, service, and ambiance were excellent. Really enjoyed our meal and evening
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MB
MelissaB
Denver
10 reviews
vip
4.0
10 reviews
Dined 6 days ago
Overall4Food4Service5Ambience5
Steak was almost flavorless. We returned it and new one was better but not great.
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GR
GreggR
Los Angeles
5 reviews
vip
5.0
5 reviews
Dined 6 days ago
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
Definitely lived up to reputation. Look forward to another visit.
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CG
CorrineG
San Diego
5 reviews
5.0
5 reviews
Dined 6 days ago
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
Food was delicious!! Service was also great. Will definitely be back!!
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TC
TimC
San Francisco
7 reviews
vip
3.0
7 reviews
Dined 7 days ago
Overall3Food5Service3Ambience4
The food was great! I wish the service was the same. It started when we were escorted to our table, my wife asked about sitting at a booth. The hostess told us we weren’t VIP’s. What?! As a Physician, I take care of people everyday. I treat everyone like a “VIP”. If she said it was reserved for another party, that would have felt better but she was sure to let us know we weren’t “VIP’s”. When our entrees came out, a male waiter asked if we wanted boxes. We just started eating! Would not go back, but hope Chef Monsod the best because she creates an amazing meal. Take out maybe the best thing to do for people interested in the food
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OT
OpenTable Diner
San Diego
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on November 29, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
This is always our favorite restaurant to celebrate our birthday.
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r
rayw
Orange County
9 reviews
vip
5.0
9 reviews
Dined on November 29, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
Animae was an AMAZING experience from the delicious food to the great service and nice ambiance. Easily one of my favorites in San Diego.
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OT
OpenTable Diner
San Diego
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on November 27, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
Nice experience and perfect date night.noght that you won’t forget
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K
Kate
Hawaii
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on November 27, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
All of the food was amazing! Apps came out quickly. Meat was phenomenal. Short ribs fell off the bone. Wagyu was exceptional. The service was great. Waters were never empty. Desserts were unique!
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OT
OpenTable Diner
San Diego
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on November 27, 2023
Overall5Food5Service3Ambience5
Absolutely love the food and drinks. One of my all time favorites in San Diego.
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VB
VictorB
San Diego
2 reviews
5.0
2 reviews
Dined on November 26, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
Great service and kind staff. The food was on the more expensive side but I'd say definitely worth the cost.
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LB
LauraB
Miami
5 reviews
5.0
5 reviews
Dined on November 26, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
The ambience of the restaurant is vibrant and chic. The food is AMAZING!
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GP
GPitsqrd
San Diego
2 reviews
4.0
2 reviews
Dined on November 26, 2023
Overall4Food4Service4Ambience3
Food was very good. The Taiwanese Chicken appetizer is just as good as the Karaage that it replaced. The music was good but just a little too loud.
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OT
OpenTable Diner
San Francisco
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on November 25, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
This restaurant was amazing. The ambiance and service were 10/10. I have nothing but nice things to say about the food and service. The wonton and cucumber dishes were amazing, I will crave both of these dishes for a long time to come. The items on the menu were creative, and very expressive. The experience is amazing. The FOH and BOH worked fluidly. They coursed the meals and everything ran so smoothly. Animae is a full experience and I will recommend it to anyone in the area who wants a truly authentic fine dining experience.
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JL
JulieL
San Diego
22 reviews
5.0
22 reviews
Dined on November 25, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
This restaurant is quite lovely. We enjoyed the atmosphere and the food was phenomenal!
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GA
GwenA
Phoenix
7 reviews
5.0
7 reviews
Dined on November 24, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
Everything, and I mean everything, is top shelf at Animae! There are absolutely NO disappointments whatsoever in our dining experience! Our compliments to the Chef for designing a, “Masterpiece of a Menu”,(as quoted from my son).
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OT
OpenTable Diner
San Diego
3 reviews
4.0
3 reviews
Dined on November 24, 2023
Overall4Food3Service5Ambience5
Leela and Abraham were excellent and very helpful.
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AL
AnneL
San Diego
3 reviews
vip
5.0
3 reviews
Dined on November 24, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
The chef created a great combination of all the familiar Korean flavors and new ones. The new flavors were great. Chef’s presentation was beautiful too. We’re definitely came back
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JP
JimP
San Diego
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on November 23, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
Efficient valet parking nice touch. Excellence all around, service, food ambiance. Pricey but worth the money.
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RC
RocioC
Greater Boston
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on November 22, 2023
Overall5Food4Service4Ambience4
Very good food, unfortunately very noisy Good service
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LM
LisaM
Minneapolis
3 reviews
5.0
3 reviews
Dined on November 20, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
Awesome Service!! Food was so delicious 😋I will be back. Thank you
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T
Tyler
Los Angeles
1 review
4.0
1 review
Dined on November 20, 2023
Overall4Food4Service5Ambience5
Food was amazing. Caviar shrimp toast was a new and fun experience. Wagyu was terrific. Drinks were just ok. Nothing super memorable about the cocktails
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OT
OpenTable Diner
Orange County
2 reviews
4.0
2 reviews
Dined on November 19, 2023
Overall4Food4Service5Ambience5
It was great but never got my cappuccino, servers were nice.
Is this helpful?
LM
LorenMsY
San Diego
1 review
4.0
1 review
Dined on November 19, 2023
Overall4Food4Service3Ambience4
The first time I went, my partner and I had a great server who was super friendly. It was to celebrate our anniversary and he took care to make the experience feel a little more special, even sent out a dessert. This second time I took a friend for a birthday because it was her first time. She had wanted to go for a birthday some time back, but friends had flaked. Our server was fine, but didn't particularly do anything beyond the standard. We didn't even get a little candle sent out. Will probably stick to Herb and Wood of Malarkey's ventures, still one of my favorites.
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CF
ChristinaF
San Diego
10 reviews
5.0
10 reviews
Dined on November 17, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
This is our third time to Animae and the food, service and ambiance never disappoints! I love the unique flavors and Filipino/Asian fusion and the presentation of every dish is thoughtful and beautiful!
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AH
AustinH
San Francisco
10 reviews
5.0
10 reviews
Dined on November 16, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
Phenomenal food and great service, can’t wait to come back
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JG
JoelG
San Diego
9 reviews
vip
5.0
9 reviews
Dined on November 13, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
The food was delicious. I wanted to buy the wagyu steaks but end up getting the regular ribeye due to extremely expansive price difference. It would have cost $1000 for the same number of ounces as the 38 oz ribeye.
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CH
CaitlynH
Washington DC
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on November 12, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
Absolutely phenomenal! Highly recommend if you are in the San Diego area!
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CL
ChezLorenzo
San Diego
20 reviews
vip
3.0
20 reviews
Dined on November 12, 2023
Overall3Food2Service4Ambience4
We have been coming here since they opened and we now find the menu to be lacking. They dropped the whole fish which we loved and reduced the overall menu options. We found the food to be presented well but lacking that wow factor that restaurants in this class should create. I tried the chicken that while having a tasty sauce, I found the skin tough and the meat very difficult to separate from the bone. The couple we brought with us had similar concerns. We won't be back until we see menu changes.
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D
Debral
Las Vegas
6 reviews
5.0
6 reviews
Dined on November 12, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
Amazing evening. Every dish was amazing. Not a weekly meal. But for a special occasion, yes, yes and yes.
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C
Claudia
San Diego
10 reviews
vip
5.0
10 reviews
Dined on November 12, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
My fave restaurant in san diego. Food ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Service⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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p
phototraveltrips
San Diego
5 reviews
3.0
5 reviews
Dined on November 12, 2023
Overall3Food3Service4Ambience4
The cocktails are amazing. The food was good but very expensive. The overall experience was good but not worth the money.
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L
Linda
Los Angeles
38 reviews
vip
5.0
38 reviews
Dined on November 12, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
Wonderful meal coupled with attentive service. The ambiance is upbeat and lively. Overall a five star experience.
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NF
NFerr
San Diego
8 reviews
5.0
8 reviews
Dined on November 11, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience4
Explosion of flavors! Delicious food, excellent service. Great ambiance and decor. Noise level is very loud.
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OT
OpenTable Diner
Los Angeles
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on November 11, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
Awesome experience- good vibe, very good food and drinks and superb service!!!
Is this helpful?
L
Linda
Los Angeles
52 reviews
vip
3.0
52 reviews
Dined on November 9, 2023
Overall3Food3Service4Ambience5
Would have loved the option to have our champagne served on arrival. Also the lobster was difficult to n crack and share. Very expensive for lovely but light dinner for 4
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J
Julian
1 review
4.0
1 review
Dined on November 8, 2023
Overall4Food5Service4Ambience3
Food was very tasty and gave me memories of growing up in Indonesia. But the dining room was quite dimly lit.
Is this helpful?
OT
OpenTable Diner
Las Vegas
4 reviews
vip
5.0
4 reviews
Dined on November 8, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience5
One of the best experiences I’ve ever had at a restaurant. Mr and my husbands were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. Animae went out of their way to make it memorable and very special. The food and service was amazing!!
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P
celestrialPlanet
Los Angeles
2 reviews
5.0
2 reviews
Dined on November 7, 2023
Overall5Food5Service5Ambience3
The food and service was fantastic! Very glad to have tried it and would definitely come back more often if they opened for lunch too! Ambience wise, it was dark and dramatic - maybe a tad too dark so I wouldn’t bring my parents here.
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d
doctorclara
Portland
19 reviews
5.0
19 reviews
Dined on November 6, 2023
Overall5Food4Service4Ambience5
The room was sumptuous and overall had a beautiful design. The dim lighting and vibey music added to the atmosphere. The cocktails and whisky menu were outstanding. Foodwise I enjoyed everything we got, the napa salad was a perfect cold starter, piquant and sour. We also got the steamed buns with sour cream on top, it was an interesting and creative combo and we scarfed them all. I also got wontons and lechon kawali. The apple sarsa went so well with the lechon. It was the fanciest lechon I've ever had! Sadly we were too full to get anything else because we'd eaten something earlier, but next time I'd like to try one of the steaks. Oh wait, we did get dessert and they were amazing. The ube profiteroles had little bits of cheese on top and they were just out of this world. The thing I would improve is to make things friendlier for vegetarians. There's very little on the menu that would allude to the fact that they have vegetarian items besides just side dishes (it's always a downer when there are no vegetarian entrees), but we were told of things that weren't on the menu when we arrived. If we'd known, I wouldn't have made my partner eat beforehand. Or, would it be so hard to have a tofu entree since it's an Asian restaurant. I bet Animae would knock it out of the park. When you welcome vegetarians, you welcome their meat-eating friends.
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Safety precautions

Cleaning & sanitizing
- Surfaces sanitized between seatings
- Common areas deep-cleaned daily

Screening
- Sick staff prohibited in the workplace

FAQs

Animae is rated 4.7 stars by 2461 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

Party Size

2 people

DateTime

Dec 8, 2023

7:00 PM

Booked 76 times today

Experiences are available.

969 Pacific HWY, San Diego, CA 92132

Dining areas

Additional information

Award-winning
1. MICHELIN Plate 2022
Cross street
Pacific Highway and West Broadway
Neighborhood
Downtown
Hours of operation
Dinner Mon–Thu, Sun 5:00 pm–9:00 pm Fri, Sat 5:00 pm–9:30 pm
Price
$50 and over
Cuisines
Contemporary Asian, Californian, Steakhouse
Dining style
Fine Dining
Dress code
Smart Casual
Parking details
Street Parking
Payment options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Executive chef
Brian Malarkey
Additional
Banquet, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Full Bar, Non-Smoking, Private Room, View, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Website
https://animaesd.com/
Phone number
(619) 432-1225
Private party facilities
The Great Gatsby-meets-Madmen-meets-The Matrix interior is a fantastical futurist’s journey, transporting diners to the Shikoku firefly forest in Japan, an event venue that’s both ethereal and theatrical. ANIMAE is the perfect space to host and celebrate your special events.
Private party contact
Jarrod Zimpfer: (619) 432-1225

Featured in

A Guide to the Best Date Spots in San Diego

Animae

Make a reservation

Dining areas

Additional information

A Guide to the Best Date Spots in San Diego

Christmas Eve at ANIMAE

NYE at ANIMAE

NYE at ANIMAE

Taiwanese Chicken

Short Rib Kare Kare

Wonton

Wagyu

Aji Amarillo

Bonito (Katsuobushi)

Choy Sum

Dashi

Dukkah

Espelette

Furikake

Gochujang

Hon Shimeji

Hiramasa

Mizuna

Ponzu

Sea Bean

Shiso

Tatsoi

Rau Ram

Togarashi

Overall ratings and reviews

Loved For

Cleaning & sanitizing

Screening

FAQs

How is Animae restaurant rated?

Is Animae currently accepting reservations?

Make a reservation

Dining areas

Additional information

Featured in

A Guide to the Best Date Spots in San Diego