La Jolla’s Mandarin House restaurant returns after two years
La Jolla-based restaurant Mandarin House is again welcoming patrons in a slow reopening after being closed completely for nearly two years because of a fire.
The Mandarin House restaurant, located at 6765 La Jolla Blvd, began reopening in phases in 2021 while it underwent renovations. Now, it’s preparing to welcome even more customers, the La Jolla Light reported Sunday.
Although the La Jolla restaurant is still in the last phases of renovation, owner Nelson Law told the Light that “we are functionally open.”
Mandarin House first reopened for takeout service in June 2021 after being shuttered because of a kitchen fire in August 2019. Three months later, it became “half open” for in-person dining while some remodeling continued. In November 2021, the restaurant opened its larger back room.
The kitchen fire, which was seemingly caused by a buildup of grease, was initially only supposed to close the restaurant for a few weeks. Although Law acknowledged that the post-fire renovations took longer than expected, he said he feels good about being reopened.
“We feel good about being open again,” Law said. “The layout is the same … aesthetically it’s different. We went for a modern but an old Chinese restaurant feel. But we have the same food and flavors you are used to. For those coming for the first time, we’ve been in La Jolla since 1977, so we welcome you to come see what we’re all about.”
Mandarin House has been in La Jolla since 1977 and has been continually operated by Law’s family since then. Law’s father, Tat “John” Law, and his business partner, Wai “Bill” Man, worked as head chefs in Hong Kong before opening their first restaurant in San Diego in the later 1970s.
About the author: Mike Peterson is a freelance journalist and writer based in North San Diego County. He’s written and worked for a number of local media outlets, including the San Diego Union-Tribune, the North Coast Current, and the Oceanside Blade.
The banner photo in this article is courtesy of @mandarinhouselj on Instagram.
Named after Pearl Street in La Jolla, Pearl is the unofficial mascot of the various elves on the daily news desk at LaJolla.com. We’re writers, editors, and people who work on websites; sometimes so many people work on one project that no one feels like they should take the credit.
