One of the best meals and dining experiences in San Diego can be found in this $5.5 million, 9,300 square foot restaurant on the bottom floor of the Pacific Gate condo building in the Downtown Marina area. 

Brian Malarkey and his team have done it again with their new Asian fusion restaurant, Animae.  From the moment you walk in, you realize this place is not like most other restaurants that have opened in San Diego over the last decade.  Let's just hope that we are moving past the trend of big, loud and open spaces with concrete floors and shared tables and returning to an elegant dinner landscape like Animae brings to the dining scene.  The high ceilings with sound proof walls aligned with the thick drapes and carpet are meant to muffle the noise while the elegant olive green velvet booths are designed to bring an intimate and comfortable atmosphere. While sitting at one of the 15-seats along the bar, my eyes were drawn to an enormous art piece that reminds me of my favorite Japanese science fiction monster shows from my childhood.

Malarkey partnered with Chris Puffer once again on this venture, so I figured it would include outstanding decor and a unique menu.  But when they announced that Joe Magnanelli from Cucina Urbana would be the executive chef and partner, this was something I knew would be a hit.  And as predicted, this has now become my new favorite restaurant in San Diego. 

Much of the menu at Animae is designed to be shared as small plates, so this provides you with the opportunity to try several dishes in one sitting.  However, there are some larger entree meals too that could be shared or ordered individually.  We began our meal with the Sesame Miso Chicken Salad, which includes bok choy, red cabbage, taro, parmesan, nori and miso.  While I often have Asian chicken salads, the ingredients and flavors of this one really stand above the rest. Luckily, their satellite cafe NIMA, which is next door also has this item on their menu and they are open during the day.  So I intend to make this a regular stop when I'm looking to have a lunch salad.  The next item we were drawn to and ordered was the Coal Fired Octopus Skewer. It also came with shishito peppers with a very flavorful basil aioli and bacon XO. The octopus was cooked perfectly, not too chewy, but tender and meaty.  We were in the mood for a steak, so we agreed on the Wagyu Beef Skewer too.  It was excellent with the pickled onion, bulgogi & herbs.   We thought we better get a side dish, so we decided on the Ham Hock Fried Rice.  I know you can get fried rice anywhere, but this was the best I have ever had!  It came with mustard greens, barrel aged soy, English pea, and a fried egg with furikake. It's another item I could just order separately and eat all myself and be very satisfied.  

That meal may sound like a lot for two, but it was the perfect amount.  It allowed us just enough room for a little dessert.  I typically look for a chocolate cake or creme brûlée, but I ventured out of my comfort zone because I heard their Malasadas were out of this world.  They are donut like coffee pastries with coconut filling, passion fruit and served with green Thai curry ice cream. Best choice of the night!  Dessert was heavenly!  

Every fine restaurant should include great craft cocktails and Animae certainly delivers in this category. And amazingly, they aren't $20 each. All of their cocktails are the $12-$14 range. If you just want to have a cocktail and not have a full meal, then I suggest trying to snag one of the seats at the bar.  They have a Happy Hour every night from 4:30-6:30 p.m. which makes their already decent prices even more appealing ($7-$10).  I ordered the Animae Old Fashioned that came with Koji washed bourbon, demerara, and barrel-aged bitters.  We also ordered the Paper Crane which had Toki Japanese whiskey, pumpkin, lemon and ginger.  Quite an outstanding seasonal twist on the traditional Old Fashioned.