The Penthouse Dining Room Above La Jolla Shores Changes Hands Again. This Time It Wants a Nightlife.

"La Jolla has never had a shortage of beautiful places to dine. What it's been missing is a little electricity," Alessandro Minutella said in a release quoted by San Diego Magazine, describing Aries, the new restaurant and lounge on the 11th floor of Hotel La Jolla at 7955 La Jolla Shores Drive. His co-managing partner, Giancarlo Guttilla, told La Jolla Light's lajolla.ca something similar: "We're creating something that we believe La Jolla has been missing."

The room itself has heard that pitch before. Decades ago, the space now becoming Aries was Elario's, which worked as both the hotel restaurant and one of San Diego's best-regarded jazz venues, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Every concept since then has been built around the food and the view. Aries is the first in a long time to plan for music, DJs and late weekend evenings. It's the seventh restaurant in this room, and it's betting on the thing the room was first known for.

Seven Names on the Same 11th Floor

The Union-Tribune called Sea & Sky "the hotel's sixth incarnation" of the space when it opened in 2024. That makes Aries the seventh.

The table shows how often the room changes. Cusp lasted about 11 years, the longest run on record here since Elario's. Sea & Sky lasted a little over two. The penthouse closed for renovation in September 2023. Sea & Sky didn't open until May 2024, and the hotel was without its signature room for eight months. This handoff went faster. Sea & Sky ran through August. Aries is already welcoming guests in a soft opening, with its grand opening set for Nov. 11.

Why the Last Remodel Matters to This One

Aries inherits a room that was opened up only recently. When Sea & Sky arrived, the Union-Tribune reported that its renovation enclosed the existing open kitchen with glass. That change made it possible to use the floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors that open to the outside. For years those doors had stayed sealed because the show kitchen was open to the dining room. The work was part of an $8 million renovation of the 110-room hotel. It ran from an expected December 2023 opening to May 2024. General manager Adam Lund told the paper that "there's a [permitting] process with the city [of San Diego] and you find stuff you might not be expecting."

Aries brings its own look to that room. Cassandra Builer of Huntress Decor designed the interiors, drawing on Saint-Tropez and Cannes. San Diego Magazine reports that Sea & Sky's wood floors and modern gold accents are gone. They've been replaced by a diagonal grid of cream, brown and taupe tile, geometric light fixtures and soft rose booths with blue, green and off-white pillows.

The room is also getting bigger. Sea & Sky was a 100-seat fine-dining room. Aries seats around 140 and adds a private dining room for up to 80. That's a room built for groups and for lingering after dinner.

The Kitchen Changes Hands Too

Sea & Sky went through three chefs in about two years. Juniper & Ivy alum Anthony Wells came first, followed by Ernest Lopez and Neil Dandekar. Aries starts with two. Chef James Montejano, whose background includes L'Auberge, Four Seasons and Japengo, is designing the menu. Chef Luis Aguirre, who has cooked at La Valencia Hotel and Kettner Exchange, will run the kitchen day to day.

Guttilla describes the food as Pan-Pacific coastal cooking with California influences and Asian flavors. The lajolla.ca piece says diners can expect fresh seafood, crudo, sushi and elevated American dishes. The restaurant's own menu page says the soft-opening menu is limited, full menus are coming soon, and guests should call for current offerings.

The team also has a track record downtown. Minutella and Guttilla manage Zama and AKA in the Gaslamp Quarter, and Minutella is also behind Copper Cowboy. That background explains the weekend plan.

Weekend Nights Are the Real Experiment

The weekday plan reads like a hotel restaurant: daily lunch and dinner, weekend brunch and a sunset happy hour. Friday and Saturday evenings are where Aries departs from Cusp and Sea & Sky. Those nights will have curated DJs and live entertainment. Minutella told San Diego Magazine the feel will be "à la Mykonos or Cabo."

The concept also reaches beyond the 11th floor. Aries will run all of Hotel La Jolla's food and drink, including room service, catering and banquets. The team also plans monthly parties at the hotel's newly renovated pool. The project is backed by more than $1 million and supported by CL Hotels, hotelier Joao Woiler and Kawa Capital. Kawa Capital Management and CL Hotels bought the hotel in 2021, according to GlobeSt.

In the room's history, Elario's is the closest match to this plan. A restaurant that was also a well-known music venue is the closest the 11th floor has come to what Aries describes. In its history, music at night is the room's original identity.

This Week on the 11th Floor

The grand opening on Wednesday, Nov. 11, sold out, and Aries extended the celebration through the weekend. Here is what remains:

1. Thursday, Nov. 12, through Sunday, Nov. 15, 5 to 9 p.m. The celebration continues by the pool before dinner. Entry is free with a dinner reservation and includes passed appetizers and one complimentary glass of champagne. Additional food and drinks are available for purchase.
2. Reservations. Booking is through OpenTable.

For a first visit, San Diego Magazine recommends arriving at golden hour for sunset over the Pacific. Guttilla told lajolla.ca that the view is part of the name. Aries is a fire sign, and he sees that "fire" in the colors of the daily sunset from the room.

The view from the 11th floor across La Jolla Shores toward the Pacific is the one thing that has stayed the same through seven concepts. If an evening at Aries has you looking down at the streets below and wondering what that view is worth from your own windows, the Nelson Brothers Team knows how coastal view lines and position on the block affect home values in the Shores, and we're happy to talk it through over coffee or a sunset drink. Let's Connect.