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| Top of the Market's new spiced lamb shank dish |
December 15, 2015
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May 26 kitchen fire resulted in over $2 million in damage repairs to downtown San Diego's The Fish Market and its upstairs eatery, Top of the Market. The Fish Market
reopened this past August, but Top of the Market had to remain closed for a total of 7 months. After a full restaurant refresh, Top of the Market will finally reopen for business on December 17 with a new chef running the kitchen and additions to the restaurant's seafood-centric menu. The restaurant's new debut will coincide with its 26-year anniversary as an icon of the downtown culinary scene with breathtaking bay front views.
In the process of repairing and rebuilding as a result of the heavy fire and water damage, the restaurant's owners and management team took the opportunity to update and refresh Top of the Market with everything from a new color palette, fabrics and wall coverings, to new lighting, ceiling treatments, furniture and seating. They added a new fireplace table to the outdoor dining area, larger windows were installed, and a portion of the dining room was elevated to enhance bay views.
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| Scallops with curried parsnips, apple and sorrel |
During Top of the Market's downtime, they
lost the very talented Chef Ivan Flowers as executive chef. Now, Stafford Mather is leading the kitchen as the restaurant's current Chef de Cuisine. He will continue dishing out Top of the Market favorites, featuring some of the freshest seafood in San Diego. While the new menu is still evolving, a few new dishes include scallops with curried parsnips, apple and sorrel; spiced lamb shank with fregola, root veggies and hazelnut-mint pesto; and blue crab "jumbo lump" crab cake with citrus butter, pickled mustard seeds and Old Bay.
As a ‘Thank You’ to first responders that helped save the building, the restaurant will donate a portion of its initial sales following re-opening to the San Diego Fire Rescue Foundation, which has kicked off a fundraising campaign to purchase life-saving devices for firefighters.
"We are grateful to those who helped us during the fire and its aftermath and in getting us back open, including the San Diego Fire Rescue Department, Harbor Police, Port of San Diego and City of San Diego", said Jim Wendler, the company's President. "Given what we experienced, we are excited to support a cause for our first responders."
Top of the Market and The Fish Market are both located adjacent to the U.S.S. Midway Museum at 750 North Harbor Drive. For more information, visit
thefishmarket.com and check out the photos below.
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| New jumbo lump crab cake |
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| Grilled swordfish with dragon tongue beans, braised fennel, olives, haricot vert and sauce vierge |
