Dora represents the next chapter for the husband-and-wife team behind North Park’s Cori Trattoria Pastificio, the nationally recognized Sicilian restaurant and one of only six in the U.S. to receive Gambero Rosso’s prestigious Tre Forchette award. Named after Chef Lota’s grandmother, Dora is rooted in the chef’s upbringing in the agricultural town of Menfi, where the flavors of the Mediterranean shaped his earliest cooking instincts.
Lota went on to train under renowned culinary figures including Sergio Mei at the Four Seasons Milan, two-Michelin-starred chef Pino Cuttaia of La Madia in Licata, and later Bernard Guillas at The Marine Room in La Jolla. His national and international accolades include the 2017 Barilla World Pasta Championship, which helped cement his reputation as one of the region’s most exacting and creative Italian chefs.
With Cori firmly established as a local favorite, Dora marks both an expansion of his culinary philosophy and a return to the coast, weaving together Sicilian tradition, Southern California seasonality, artisanal technique, and a sense of whimsy designed to harmonize with the surrounding arts campus. The restaurant brings an expansive, theatrical, and deeply personal culinary vision to UC San Diego’s Theatre District Living and Learning Neighborhood, just steps from the La Jolla Playhouse, where its debut intentionally coincides with the premiere of the new musical “Working Girl.”
The 100-seat restaurant sits within a newly built tower and was designed by Los Angeles–based architectural studio Bells + Whistles to evoke a modern coastal Italian atmosphere layered with refined textures and subtle theatrical flourishes. A sweeping Campari-red oval bar anchors the space, accompanied by a 16-seat private dining room, a six-seat chef’s counter for tasting menus, an indoor dining room lined with hand-laid Italian marble and stone tile, and a lush 48-seat patio framed by greenery and ocean air.
The 100-seat restaurant sits within a newly built tower and was designed by Los Angeles–based architectural studio Bells + Whistles to evoke a modern coastal Italian atmosphere layered with refined textures and subtle theatrical flourishes. A sweeping Campari-red oval bar anchors the space, accompanied by a 16-seat private dining room, a six-seat chef’s counter for tasting menus, an indoor dining room lined with hand-laid Italian marble and stone tile, and a lush 48-seat patio framed by greenery and ocean air.
The interior is distinguished by a floral mosaic constructed from recycled Italian glass windshields, while acclaimed UCSD art professor Monique van Genderen was commissioned to paint original murals inspired by the coastlines of Pantelleria, particularly Elephant Beach, where a natural stone arch resembles an elephant’s head drifting into the sea. The space is built to serve as both a neighborhood restaurant and a cultural complement to the Playhouse next door, where Dora will curate pre-show and post-show dining experiences tied to the theater’s productions.
Chef Lota will helm the kitchen alongside Chef de Cuisine Luis Esteva, whose résumé includes leading Nolita Hall’s culinary program and a six-year tenure as chef de cuisine at Kettner Exchange. The bar and beverage programs will be overseen by bar manager Mark Young - formerly of CH Projects, where he developed beverage programs for Lou Lou’s Jungle Room and Born & Raised - as well as wine curator Federico Cavalleri, the sommelier behind Cori’s award-winning wine list. Cavalleri has crafted Dora’s list to focus on lesser-known Italian varietals from small and family-run producers, balanced by West Coast bottles and 15 to 20 world-class selections, with approximately 80 wines available by the glass or bottle.
Chef Lota will helm the kitchen alongside Chef de Cuisine Luis Esteva, whose résumé includes leading Nolita Hall’s culinary program and a six-year tenure as chef de cuisine at Kettner Exchange. The bar and beverage programs will be overseen by bar manager Mark Young - formerly of CH Projects, where he developed beverage programs for Lou Lou’s Jungle Room and Born & Raised - as well as wine curator Federico Cavalleri, the sommelier behind Cori’s award-winning wine list. Cavalleri has crafted Dora’s list to focus on lesser-known Italian varietals from small and family-run producers, balanced by West Coast bottles and 15 to 20 world-class selections, with approximately 80 wines available by the glass or bottle.
General Manager Steven Schwob, one of San Diego’s most respected hospitality leaders and formerly director of operations and partner at Trust Restaurant Group and general manager at Marisi, rounds out a leadership team that blends luxury-hotel training, Michelin-level attention to detail, and a clear vision for sincere, neighborhood-driven hospitality.
Dora’s lunch and dinner menus are expansive, seafood-forward, and firmly anchored in handmade pasta, wood-fired specialties, and seasonal produce. The lunch menu includes lighter offerings such as Prosciutto Crudo with 24-month Crudo di Parma, arugula, mozzarella, and aceto balsamico; fennel and persimmon salads; roasted winter squash with chestnut and pomegranate; and truffle-studded arancini. A selection of pizzas, including a truffle-laden Tartufata and a Menfitana with olives, capers, and oregano, reflects Chef Lota’s Sicilian roots. Pastas include ravioli with ricotta and foraged mushroom, rye-flour bucatini with pomodoro and basil, truffled gnocchi, and seafood spaghetti with mussels, clams, prawns, and lemon zest. Desserts lean indulgent and playful, from Cioccolato, Cioccolato, Cioccolato - combining custard, mousse, and gelato - to Meyer lemon mousse with passion fruit and Italian meringue.
Dinner service expands the menu with more robust plates. Guests can expect porcini-truffle arancini, roasted artichokes, grilled octopus with cannellini beans and pesto trapanese, Dungeness crab soup with celery-fennel broth, and beef-and-veal meatballs with citrus leaves and ammoglio. Handmade pastas include basil-infused cavatelli with mussels, ’nduja, and cherry tomatoes, as well as decadent truffle-enhanced gnocchi. From the wood-fired oven, pizzas arrive blistered and deeply aromatic, including a Margherita with imported mozzarella and a Crudo di Parma crowned with prosciutto and arugula. Entrées highlight Dora’s coastal focus: grilled half chicken with blistered grapes and fennel pollen; crispy-skinned branzino with herbs and sunchoke; and Mazara-style couscous di pesce with prawn, calamari, mussels, and clams. A family-style menu offers multi-course options at $70 and $105 per person, showcasing signature dishes like timballo di pasta, branzino croccante, arancini, and porcini-crusted ribeye.
The bar program is similarly robust, featuring a rotating Cocktail of the Month, signature cocktails such as the Dora Fashion with bourbon and bergamot, the olive-oil–infused Uliveto Martini, and the Bolla Rosa sparkling aperitivo. Young also plans to launch house limoncello and “fruit-cello” programs, tableside aperitivo service, barrel-aging, and seasonal pickling treatments. Beer selections feature San Diego breweries like Harland and Abnormal, while the wine list highlights regional Italian varietals such as Nerello Mascalese from Mt. Etna, Sardinian and Friulian whites, Lambrusco, Albana orange wine, and Sangiovese blends from Tuscany.
Dinner service expands the menu with more robust plates. Guests can expect porcini-truffle arancini, roasted artichokes, grilled octopus with cannellini beans and pesto trapanese, Dungeness crab soup with celery-fennel broth, and beef-and-veal meatballs with citrus leaves and ammoglio. Handmade pastas include basil-infused cavatelli with mussels, ’nduja, and cherry tomatoes, as well as decadent truffle-enhanced gnocchi. From the wood-fired oven, pizzas arrive blistered and deeply aromatic, including a Margherita with imported mozzarella and a Crudo di Parma crowned with prosciutto and arugula. Entrées highlight Dora’s coastal focus: grilled half chicken with blistered grapes and fennel pollen; crispy-skinned branzino with herbs and sunchoke; and Mazara-style couscous di pesce with prawn, calamari, mussels, and clams. A family-style menu offers multi-course options at $70 and $105 per person, showcasing signature dishes like timballo di pasta, branzino croccante, arancini, and porcini-crusted ribeye.
The bar program is similarly robust, featuring a rotating Cocktail of the Month, signature cocktails such as the Dora Fashion with bourbon and bergamot, the olive-oil–infused Uliveto Martini, and the Bolla Rosa sparkling aperitivo. Young also plans to launch house limoncello and “fruit-cello” programs, tableside aperitivo service, barrel-aging, and seasonal pickling treatments. Beer selections feature San Diego breweries like Harland and Abnormal, while the wine list highlights regional Italian varietals such as Nerello Mascalese from Mt. Etna, Sardinian and Friulian whites, Lambrusco, Albana orange wine, and Sangiovese blends from Tuscany.
In partnership with the La Jolla Playhouse, Dora will offer rotating prix-fixe menus themed to each production. For the premiere of “Working Girl,” the pre-theater menu includes fennel-persimmon salad or a Dungeness crab and celery-fennel soup; cavatelli with mussels and ’nduja, grilled half chicken with blistered grapes, or roasted squash with pomegranate and almonds; and a choice of stracciatella gelato with local figs or Meyer lemon mousse with passion fruit and bitter orange. Two production-inspired cocktails - the Working Girl and the Boss Queen - round out the inaugural theater collaboration.
With the restaurant now preparing to welcome diners beginning November 18, Dora stands positioned to become a new anchor for the La Jolla Playhouse district and a significant addition to San Diego’s coastal dining scene. The project blends Chef Lota’s Sicilian culinary heritage with the warmth and conviviality of Southern California, supported by a leadership team well-versed in the artistry of hospitality. As Dora opens its doors, it carries forward the spirit that made Cori one of the city’s most admired Italian restaurants - now translated onto a larger stage, in the cultural heart of La Jolla.
With the restaurant now preparing to welcome diners beginning November 18, Dora stands positioned to become a new anchor for the La Jolla Playhouse district and a significant addition to San Diego’s coastal dining scene. The project blends Chef Lota’s Sicilian culinary heritage with the warmth and conviviality of Southern California, supported by a leadership team well-versed in the artistry of hospitality. As Dora opens its doors, it carries forward the spirit that made Cori one of the city’s most admired Italian restaurants - now translated onto a larger stage, in the cultural heart of La Jolla.
Dora Ristorante is located at 9165 S Scholars Drive on the UCSD Campus in San Diego's La Jolla. For more information, visit doralajolla.com and check out the launch menus below.
Originally published on November 13, 2025.
