After launching as a pandemic dinner delivery service, evolving into a backyard pop-up, pizza residency, and brunch takeover, taking nearly two years of planning and building a permanent location… chef Sebastian “Sebi” Becerra has finally found a permanent home for Pepino in La Jolla. The Peruvian-inspired all-day cafe opens Nov. 2.
Becerra’s a local with a hell of a resume. Born and raised in La Jolla, he finished high school working at Roppongi (which is getting ready to reopen later this month after a 10-year hiatus, just a few blocks down from Pepino) before his own stint at CIA Hyde Park. That led to tenures at some of the top restaurants in the country, including Eleven Madison Park in NYC, and Rich Table and Coi in San Francisco. But San Diego and his family always beckoned in the back of his mind, and in 2019, it was time to come home. He landed at chef Brian Malarkey’s Herb & Wood… just in time for the pandemic.
Bored at home and a little broke, he launched a pop-up called Pepino, Spanish for “cucumber” and an homage to his grandfather’s nickname. The menu varied, but was always simple, high-quality food—the kind of dishes he’d make for a family meal at a restaurant, inspired by different cuisines from around the globe.
First, he and his wife Julia tried to deliver the three-course meals. “It was just a disaster,” he says. They switched to pre-paid pickups. At first, they had around 20 preorders a week. “Closer to the end, we were getting into the 90s and 100s,” he says.
They knew they were onto something.
Becerri took a private chef job in New York to earn some start-up capital, then returned home to La Jolla and applied for a microenterprise home kitchen operation permit (MEHKO). They turned their backyard patio into a little (legal) cafe. They outgrew that almost immediately, but it proved the concept.
“I was just like, ‘all right, this is it,’” he says. “This is what I want to do—daytime spot, simple food, approachable, working with local vendors, and just as much of a local vibe as possible, to create something for the community.”
It took almost two years and a lot of curveballs. But after working in big-name kitchens under big-name chefs, being able to come back to his roots and create something wholly his own—something approachable and ambitious, technique-driven and unpretentious, and hopefully very fun, he says—is a dream come true.
“For me to be able to take a lot of the experiences that I’ve had and bring something back and contribute back to the community that has given me the best life I could ever ask for—it’s an honor for me,” he says. “We’re so hyped to be a part of that.”
For Pepino’s sous chef, Becerra has tapped Marissa Williams, who previously was the executive sous at Herb & Sea, plus sommelier and wine curator Lucas Lanci (ex-Quigly Fine Wines) and Matt Bone (former wine director at Hatchet Hall and Greekman’s in L.A.) to collaborate on the wine program that focuses on California and South America. The food will focus on Southern California bounty and purveyors like Ramona’s Happy Hens Eggs and Talitha Coffee in San Diego.
Initial service will include breakfast and lunch: lomo saltado-inspired breakfast burrito (think traditional Peruvian beef-meets-California burrito), a pan con lechon sandwich with pickled onion and salsa verde (inspired by the breakfasts he enjoyed as a child when his family would travel to Punta Hermosa in Peru), and plenty of housemade pastries from his mother’s and godmother’s recipe books. Dinner will (hopefully) come sooner rather than later, says Becerra, but when it does, they’ll be able to add more adventurous Peruvian specials like ceviche and pollo a la brasa.
As for the space, the 1,383-square-foot space (formerly Pizza Pronto) seats 25-30 inside, another 30 or so outside, all designed by local interior designer Vanessa Whitley. Becerra brought in as many locals, friends, and family members as he could to build and decorate the first restaurant where he’s fully at the helm. His wife Julia hand-knitted one of the decorative tapestries, and a painting by his grandmother in Peru hangs inside. Local ceramic artist Joe Skoby, who Becerra grew up surfing with, designed a sculptural light installation.
On the edge of opening his own spot, Becerra thinks back to the first time the idea of becoming a chef piqued his interest. During a visit to Peru (his family goes every year), he had a conversation with an older cousin (his godfather’s son, but close enough) who had graduated from CIA.
He peppered him with questions about what it was like to work in a real restaurant. “Immediately, his first response was like, ‘Don’t do it,’” Becerra recalls with a laugh. “[But] being younger [and] growing up with two older brothers, I was like, ‘Okay, when someone tells me don’t do something, now I’m intrigued.’”
So during the summer of his sophomore year of high school, he flew to Peru to stage in his cousin’s kitchen. “He just threw me into the fire,” he says. Six days a week, 12 to 14 hour days. It was the real deal to see if he could handle the life of a chef, because it’s definitely not for the faint of heart or thin-skinned.
“I was hooked.”
Pepino opens at 7556 Fay Ave, Suite F in La Jolla on November 2 with a Grand Opening celebration featuring a live DJ set from Adam Salter from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Guests can enjoy merch for sale, face painting, and more.
