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Enter Sami Ladeki. After 37 years, he remains one of San Diego's most legendary hospitality heavyweights behind a timeless family of restaurants spawned from a single woodfired pizza op bearing (a version of ) his name. From 1998 to 2015, that network included Roppongi Restaurant & Lounge, an upscale pan-Asian staple in La Jolla Village. Despite being a bona fide hotspot, sky- high rent made for an infeasible situation, prompting Ladeki to reluctantly bid adieu to his piece of Prospect Street. Years elapsed — a full decade — but his clientele's inquiries about when he would reopen Roppongi remained plentiful. It was enough to inspire a full-scale revival, with Ladeki reinstalling his concept in the very same space where it was born. In doing so he aimed to update its aesthetic, partnering with interior designer Stephanie Parisi to bring in handcrafted oval tables, a leathered quartzite bar, eye-catching ceiling sculptures, nature-rooted wall art, and a pair of worldly fireplace-anchoring Buddhas. e reimagined Roppongi is softer — zen even — with an aura akin to an art museum. While he was determined to alter the restaurant's environs, Ladeki was equally gung-ho about bringing back many of the fan-favorite dishes from Roppongi's first run. He worked directly with his kitchen team (helmed by former Roppongi headman and current Ladeki Restaurant Group exec chef Alfie Szeprethy) to make sure they arrived intact, while also ushering in new offerings, including fried rice, dumplings, and assorted noodle dishes. e result is a menu Ladeki readily admits rivals the length of any other in town, but remains purpose-driven, either in giving longtime fans flavors they've missed or expanding their options. ere is no set method for making one's way through the new menu. A couple could start with an array of sashimi or nigiri (tuna, salmon, eel, sea urchin), then transition to one of eight entrées with fried rice (crab, duck, beef with Chinese broccoli); a larger group might explore a roster of "Asian tapas" that's 24 items strong, while also sharing dumplings (duck confit, lobster, lemongrass shrimp) or a noodle dish. It's all fair game and meant to be accommodating. Just be sure you're ready for whatever you order as service is lightning-fast and it will be there in a matter of minutes. Roppongi's sushi section includes an octet of rolls, from classics like a spicy "rainbow" (shrimp, salmon, tuna) and a signature number with tempura shrimp, eel, and tobiko (flying fish roe), to crunchy snow crab with avocado and habanero sauce, and a surf- and-turf creation with (plenty of ) lobster, steak, and a (smoky Peruvian) anticucho sauce. e novella-sized tapas section is home to many of Roppongi's original dishes, which include a Polynesian crab stack with lump crab in a ginger-lime dressing, crispy onion rings seasoned with togarashi, and strip steak seared atop hot rocks. Spring rolls stuffed with tender Kahlua pork and served with a brightly acidic "Asian guacamole" are impressive, as are immense diver scallops mounted on potato pancakes with an unapologetically rich hollandaise perked up by sun-dried tomato. at throwback foil creates something of a time-capsule effect, making one wonder where those tangy gems disappeared to (and why). Ahi poke, kung pao calamari, hamachi tacos, and dynamite shrimp are also available, and that's just (some of ) the sea fare. Indulge dining << ranchandcoast.com 44 FEBRUARY 2026 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE