The Beginning: Whisknladle

Opened February 2008, Whisknladle La Jolla is the "original." It's our first love, the first home for many of the dishes you love at Catania, and where local and national critics first fell in love with Chef Ryan Johnston's creative take on cooking. Today, Whisknladle continues to dedicate itself to that simple approach to dining, allowing the ingredients to speak for themselves.

Culinarily speaking, our Whisknladle team prepares as much food as possible from scratch—the way it used to be and the way it ought to be. Chef Ryan crafted the original menu to reflect the fresh bounty of the Southern California seasons. Through collaborations with local farms including Suzie’s Farm, Chino Farms, and our own Milagro Farm, Whisknladle dishes up elevated comfort food that leaves you craving more. With a commitment to seasonal ingredients, guests enjoy an ever-changing menu of handmade pastas, delicious salads, fresh seafood and more.

About Whisknladle Hospitality

Good food, good wine, great people:  This best sums up our philosophy on creating and running our restaurants. While we believe our food and beverage are better than good, we still subscribe to the “Great Good” Food Philosophy where less is more, simpler is better and it’s the quality and freshness of the ingredients that matters most. And Ms. Julia Child once said:

“You don’t have to cook complicated or fancy masterpieces, 
just good food from fresh ingredients.” 

Take a look at our family of Whisknladle-inspired creations...