Mackerel mille-feuille. | Lucien Lucien is popping up at Kingfisher before it opens in La Jolla An ambitious tasting menu-styled restaurant from a team with Michelin-starred backgrounds is moving forward with construction in La Jolla, where the 30-seat Lucien is set to open on Girard Avenue in Spring 2025. With its debut is still months away, San Diegans can get an early taste of what’s to come on Tuesday, December 3 when Kingfisher will be welcoming Lucien chef and co-owner Elijah Arizmendi into its Golden Hill kitchen for a seven-course dinner in collaboration with Kingfisher executive chef David Sim. Arizmendi grew up in Sacramento where he started working in restaurants as a teenager, sparking a fast-rising career that includes stops at Cotogna in San Francisco, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas, and the two-Michelin-starred Daniel in New York. He and business partner Brian Hung met at the three-Michelin-starred Per Se in New York, also cooking together at the Michelin-starred l’Abeille before trading coasts for California. Lucien Uni tart. The chef has been getting to know area farms, fishermen, and producers since moving to San Diego earlier this summer, and tells Eater that his dishes for this dinner are a first opportunity to show how he’ll work with the local ingredients that will be core to Lucien’s eventual tasting menu, which will feature extra courses and amore elaborate guest experience. Seafood will be at the forefront — the Kingfisher dinner will include spiny lobster, Pacific mackerel, and sea urchin — paired with seasonal produce like winter radicchio from Chino Farm and hachiya persimmons from Shaner Farms in Valley Center. Lucien x Kingfisher Collaboration Dinner Menu: Spiny lobster | passion fruit | hoja santa Ossetra caviar | bánh xèo | crème fraîche Pacific mackerel | potato mille-feuille King crab | pomelo | cilantro | thai chili Sea urchin | okinawan sweet potato | umeboshi Amadai | caramel fish sauce | tofu Heritage pork loin | nuớc chấm | rice vermicelli Aged duck | winter radicchio | satsuma citrus Mezcal | makrut lime | chartreuse végétal Hachiya persimmon | earl grey | grilled vanilla Perigord black truffle | brioche | wildflower blossom honey Pandan marshmallow | sesame butterscotch | lychee pâte de fruit Lucien A palate cleanser.