Kettner Exchange

I really enjoyed my experience here. The professionalism of the restaurant stands out right away — the hosts, hostesses, and service staff are all welcoming, attentive, and genuinely friendly, which makes the dining experience feel polished yet comfortable. The food is a great fusion of Western flavors and Chinese Szechuan-style cuisine. The dishes feel familiar and approachable rather than overly experimental, making it easy to enjoy and share with others. Everything we tried was well-balanced and thoughtfully prepared. The restaurant serves tapas-style small plates, so plan on ordering about 2–3 dishes per person to share. It’s perfect for trying multiple items and experiencing a variety of flavors. The drinks are excellent as well, and they’re clearly known for their cocktails — creative, well-balanced, and a great complement to the food menu. I especially recommend this spot for date nights or special occasions. The atmosphere feels intimate and elevated. I wouldn’t suggest coming with large groups, though, as costs can add up quickly. Parking is convenient with valet available, but street parking can be challenging depending on the day and time, so plan accordingly. Overall, a lovely dining experience with great service, thoughtful food, and a refined yet relaxed ambiance.

4 weeks ago

Kettner Exchange - what a dinner! It was our first visit to San Diego and KEX made our list of places to visit. Highly recommend for those who have never been. Our waiters were absolutely fantastic- super knowledgeable and helpful with making our food selections. Here are the fan favorites from our meal: - Spicy tuna crispy rice: little circles of crispy rice, with a nori-covered avocado and tuna (LOVE the presentation and just as delicious) - Butternut squash dumplings: as expected and with a great flavor - Duck meatball: MASSIVE single meatball in a little skillet with grits and tons of sauce. The meatball was the perfect texture, consistency, and flavor which isn’t the easiest feat. - Molten chocolate lava cake: ah-MAZING. The perfect consistency of melted chocolate, and how can you pass up a vanilla McFlurry ice cream!?! The answer is you shouldn’t. Fantastic meal. Cannot wait for our next trip back!

a month ago

I’ve only ever been to Kettner to get drinks so I was curious to try out the restaurant for their actual food. We came for Sunday brunch on Super Bowl so there was no wait for a party of 2. Parking: As with any other downtown establishments, be prepared to drive around to snag a paid street parking— unless it’s Sunday, then most meters are free. Vibes: It’s a huge 2-story restaurant with lots of outdoor and indoor seats. They can seat a large group party. We were seated upstairs on the patio since it was a nice day out. They had at least a couple TVs. There were regular tables, bar seats, and low tables with couches on the patio. Service: Huge shoutout to Zach who was our great server! He was personable, explained the menu well, and gave us a great experience. Food: The brunch menu is mainly tapas style. There were only 2 of us so we were limited on the dishes to try. If you have more people, you’d be able to try out more. -Caesar Twinkies ($15): 3 pieces of brioche crouton filled with mascarpone. Absolutely delicious. You’d think that the crouton would be too hard to bite but it was the perfect crunch consistency with the flavors of the mascarpone. A must get!! -Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice ($22): comes with 4 pieces of crispy rice and the spicy tuna is on the side topped with half an avocado. Generous servings of spicy tuna since it was served as a whole mound. The taste itself was nothing special, however. -Szechuan Fried Chicken ($25): 3 big pieces of juicy thighs. The flavor was great. Not too spicy for me (but I like really spicy food). I’d get this again only if we had more people. -Honey Butter Toast ($13): 1 piece of thick toast topped with creme. I enjoyed the taste but it didn’t wow me as much. But what we enjoyed more was the Budino: crème fraiche topped with caramel! Overall: I can attest that their brunch menu is pretty good. Perfect place to enjoy a nice sunny day meal. I’d love to come back to try their dinner menu sometime.

2 weeks ago

So my first time going to Kitna exchange very excited to try this place out so I book on OpenTable for New Year’s Eve. They have a set dinner menu for New Year’s Eve on paper sounded amazing so I arrive with my wife they put us at a table that was against the wall, which wasn’t even a table which at first I wasn’t too mad until I saw a lot of other tables that were still open that were a nice view I was wondering, why didn’t they just sit us there which they weren’t reserved because 20 minutes later somebody comes in and gets sat there. And again everything was already prepaid with my Chase sapphire card so I’m already in $360. Drinks not even included service was pretty up to par very tentative, but the food which is the reason why we’re here was not the best part might’ve been the dessert and the scallops the shrimp dish, which looked amazing but lacked flavor. My wife didn’t enjoy some of the meals more than me. We go to probably 80 restaurants a year and wanted to close out the year with something special and it fell far from that. Maybe it was because it was a fixed menu so I didn’t really get to try there better selection, but for the cost, I usually would give another place. Another chance this is probably a never again would I ever advise no even when I went to waterfront after the bartender there so that place used to be good but with the new chef doesn’t come close anymore especially for what you’re paying so 1000% even if I was offered a free mail there highly doubt I would go. Honestly, the best thing I appreciate it was the Photo Booth that they added easily was the best part of the night at that establishment.

2 months ago

Love this place. Def a great a lot to come to when in San Diego. The food, the vibes, and they even have music at night. Great drinks and bites. Love coming here and Everytime I come here I have a good time. Highly recommend coming here any day of the week and seeing what all the talk is about.

5 months ago