Chef Amy DiBiase Joins All-Star Culinary Team At Downtown San Diego's Incoming InterContinental Resort

June 22, 2018

Ahead of its anticipated September opening, the incoming InterContinental San Diego Resort has announced that Chef Amy DiBiase will be joining Director of Food & Beverage and longtime local chef Paul McCabe to lead the culinary program at the upscale high-rise. The luxury hotel will have five distinctive dining venues, each with gleaming views of the bayfront, including the soon-to-be-announced signature restaurant, the first-ever California location of Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, The Reading Room 19th floor rooftop bar by San Diego's Consortium Holdings (Craft & Commerce, Ironside Fish & Oyster, Born & Raised), and an unnamed 4th floor pool bar and café.

Chef Paul McCabe and Chef Amy DiBiase will be the culinary leaders at the highly anticipated InterContinental hotel. Merging together their respective industry expertise, culinary flairs, and loyal followings, the power duo will collaborate on a signature restaurant concept and solidify InterContinental San Diego as downtown’s newest culinary hotspot. Reconnected after briefly working together in years past, McCabe and DiBiase have a history of camaraderie and stirring up exciting new ventures.

In addition to helping shape the hotel's signature restaurant, Chef Paul McCabe will oversee the hotel’s comprehensive food and beverage program, including banquets serving 95,000 square feet of event space. A seasoned industry veteran with over 30 years of experience and training in Californian, Mediterranean, Southwestern and Pacific Rim cuisines, McCabe was previously with Town & Country Resort and Convention Center in San Diego, Royal Palms Resort and Spa in Arizona, and is most known for his instrumental role in putting L'Auberge Del Mar’s KITCHEN 1540 on the map. McCabe has garnered esteemed industry awards and recognition over the years, including being named as a "rising star of American cuisine" by the James Beard Foundation.

Longtime San Diego chef Amy DiBiase will manage all aspects of the hotel’s signature restaurant, 4th floor pool bar, and in-room dining. DiBiase brings over a decade of San Diego-specific experience to her new role, following her most recent stint with Grand Restaurant Group and the opening of Tidal at Paradise Resort & Spa, which won numerous awards as San Diego’s best new restaurant in 2014. In the kitchen, DiBiase is known for putting a California twist on Italian and French cuisine and plans to bring a fresh take on some of her signature dishes.

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InterContinental San Diego’s signature restaurant and bar will be located on the hotel’s 3rd floor adjacent to the lobby and will overlook the nearby USS Midway and San Diego Bay. The outdoor pool bar will command the 4th floor open-air deck with unaltered views of the waterfront. Both venues will debut upon the hotel’s official opening in September 2018 with further concepting details to be revealed later this summer. The ground-level Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse will serve up bold and delicious cuisine alongside an extensive award-winning wine list upon opening in the later part of 2018. The hotel’s café and 19th floor rooftop bar are expected to open in early 2019.

San Diego hospitality company Consortium Holdings - known for such restaurants as Underbelly, Neighborhood, Soda & Swine, Polite Provisions and many more - is rumored to be tasked with the opening of the InterContinental's 19th floor rooftop sky bar & outdoor terrace restaurant, tentatively named The Reading Room. The Reading Room will have expansive views of San Diego Bay, a bar program from Anthony Schmidt, and likely a shareable plate food menu to be developed in partnership with CH's corporate chef Jason McLeod.

InterContinental San Diego is expected to open this September at 901 Bayfront Court in downtown. For more information, visit intercontinentalsandiego.com.