INCOMING: Sublime Tavern

The Sublime mini-empire to open third location in Del Mar

When I called James Limjoco, owner and exec chef of Sublime Ale House (San Marcos) and Sublime Pizza (Rancho Bernardo), the song playing on his phone while it rang was "What I Got"—the classic summery dub song from the extremely talented and severely overplayed band, Sublime. I told him it was very fitting. I think he already knew that.

Sublime Tavern (3790 Via de la Valle, Del Mar) will be his third restaurant. Limjoco recently signed a 10-year lease in the spot formerly housed by Tommy V’s, right across the street from the Del Mar Polo Field. That spot has been a real pain in the keester for the last couple of tenants—Tommy V's and Pasquale Del Mar. But both of those tried to do high-end, milking the corridor to Rancho Santa Fe. Limjoco says the Tavern will be relatively similar to his other two locations, running along the vein of craft beer and next-level comfort food (in the $12-$13 range). They will have an in-house bakery; all meats are butchered and ground on site; everything that can be, will be sourced locally.

Some menu snapshots: the Sublime Mac’n’Cheese, with béchamel sauce, sharp cheddar, Monterrey jack, roasted chicken, applewood smoked bacon, shrooms, truffle oil and topped with Parmesan and breadcrumbs. Another is the “Get Figgy With It” pizza with figs, prosciutto, arugula, Parm and a balsamic glaze. The bar program’s been beefed up, too. Limjoco's is adding 100 bottles of wine, with 20 by the glass (available in taster, half glass and full glass sizes), including a Quintessa and a Silver Oak. Sublime’s always been about beer, and the Tavern will house 55-60 taps with a vastly expanded bottle selection (including AleSmith Decadence and Avery Brewing Mephistopheles).

Design will closely mirror Sublime's other spots. Lots of reclaimed wood that James points out, ironically costs more; it’s “kind of like ripped jeans, you pay more for it,” he said. The new space is a gargantuan 7,000 square-feet. Its centerpiece will be a brightly lit cooler, housing the bottles of wine on one side, the 55 taps on the other. There will be a large lounge area, bar area, banquet room, meeting room with a long table, and a patio overlooking the polo field. All in all, occupancy is about 300.

Sublime's aiming for a May 29 open.

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