This restaurant is creating quite the buzz in San Diego, and it’s not even open yet!
Kingfisher Cocktail Bar & Eatery is one of the newest additions to San Diego’s culinary scene, and it’s making quite the entrance. The concept is fresh authentic Vietnamese food and masterfully crafted cocktails, headed by the same team behind the Crab Hut eateries. However, like many in the industry, the pandemic has forced owners to delay plans and adapt. Subsequently, the opening of its future home in Golden Hill has been postponed until this summer.
In the meantime, Kingfisher has launched a pop-up dinner series so that hungry locals can get a preview of the delectable traditional dishes and fancy cocktails to come. And this isn’t your average takeout. Once a month, the restaurant prepares multiple-course dinners, complete with desserts and curated cocktail pairings. The pop-up series began last September and has quickly garnered attention – and with good reason.
The most recent pop-up is set for pick-up today (sold out), and is a special dinner for two, including smoked jidori chicken marinated and roasted in annatto seed oil, sugar cane, chili, fish sauce, and black pepper. This is accompanied by egg rolls, Vietnamese pickles, fresh herbs and xôi lá cẩm (magenta sticky rice).
And that’s just the first part! The dinner also includes Chè Đậu Trắng for dessert (fresh black-eyed peas, steamed new grain sweet rice and coconut milk) as well as a 750ml bottle of Apricot & Absinthe Aku Aku, a refreshing tropical cocktail.
It’s the total package with the most authentic traditional flavors. Plus, it takes all of the guesswork out of ordering takeout with the added bonus of handcrafted cocktail pairings. If you ask us, that’s a win-win in anyone’s book!
According to Eater, the next pop-up is set for February 12, in honor of the lunar new year. Tickets are made available for purchase about a week before the pickup date, and can be ordered on the Kingfisher webpage. Pickup is made at one of the restaurant’s sister Crab Hut locations. So mark your calendars, San Diego – the last pop-up dinner sold out in just 3 hours!
While it will be some months before we can experience these traditional flavors and classy drinks in-person, Kingfisher’s pop-up dinner series is certainly filling the void in the meantime. And if the brick and mortar location looks even half as good as the food, we can’t wait to see what’s in store for diners at the grand opening later this year!
Future location: 2469 Broadway, San Diego (summer 2021)
[Featured image: Kingfisher Cocktail Bar & Eatery]