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Lucien Lands in La Jolla With a 13-Course, Big League Tasting Menu

Chef Elijah Arizmendi joins to discuss leaving home at 15, training in Vegas and New York, and his ingredients-based tasting menu

By Jackie Bryant December 24, 2025

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On this week’s Happy Half Hour, host Troy Johnson sits down with chef Elijah Arizmendi, the 30-year-old behind Lucien, La Jolla’s new 12- to 13-course tasting-menu destination that’s already getting “best in the city, maybe the country” texts from chefs like Travis Swikard (Callie, Fleurette).

Arizmendi traces his no-shortcuts path: leaving home at 15; early kitchen reps in D.C. and Sacramento, then Vegas (Spago), Robuchon, and a New York run that included opening The Bay in Tribeca; before choosing San Diego for what he calls the ultimate advantage of produce and microclimates.

The conversation gets deep into Lucien’s obsessive pantry-building: a house-fermented calamansi kosho (with habanero); a red curry squash “miso” inoculated with koji; a lineup of finishing salts; and multiple shoyus, including a koji shoyu he’ll drip onto everything from raw fish to a polarizing uni ice cream.

About Jackie Bryant

Jackie is a long-time freelance journalist covering cannabis, food/restaurants, travel, labor, wine, spirits, arts & culture, design, and other topics. Her work has been selected twice for Best American Travel Writing, and she has won a variety of national and local awards for her writing and reporting.

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