Chef Bryan Stuppy knew he couldn’t compete — make that shouldn’t compete — with stunning bayside views at Dockside 1953, the nautical-themed restaurant at the Bahia Resort Hotel on Mission Bay.
So when he was finalizing the culinary lineup for the restaurant — which unveiled its dinner menu May 1 — he made sure it complemented the view rather than competed with it.
“It’s very seafood-forward,” he said on a recent Tuesday. “The previous menu had seafood but not a lot of it. It’s a beautiful view of the bay — how can you compete with that? You can’t.
Dockside 1953, at the Bahia Resort Hotel, unveiled its dinner menu on May 1, 2023, under the culinary leadership of chef Bryan Stuppy.
(Courtesy of Dockside 1953)
“We wanted to emphasize the experience — the communal experience. Not just eating dinner and rushing out. We wanted to celebrate being able to spend time together. So we added more appetizers and a raw bar section. We went in the direction of more shareable items to showcase the communal experience.”
Dockside 1953 opened in February 2022 after a renovation that began in the middle of the pandemic.
“There wasn’t a big grand opening because of COVID,” he said. “Back then, staffing was still an issue, so the menu was edited down so that the staff could execute it.”
Now that the dinner menu has made its debut, things are finally falling into place, all in line with Dockside 1953’s ethos. Its name is a nod to the Bahia Resort’s history. Founders William and Anne Evans were among the first to lease land on Mission Bay, having entertained offers from the city of San Diego in the late 1940s. In 1953, it officially opened with 52 rooms.
“The Dockside 1953 name conjures up fond memories of the Bahia Resort in the 1950s, as Mission Bay’s premier hotel,” Robert Gleason, the current president and CEO of Evans Hotels, said in a statement. “It’s an homage to the quintessential Southern California beach experience, coupled with a nautical look and feel that’s as elevated as the cuisine. We’re excited to present Dockside 1953, in conjunction with the 70th anniversary of the Bahia Resort this year.”
Dockside 1953, at the Bahia Resort Hotel, offers stunning views of San Diego Bay.
(Courtesy of Dockside 1953)
The resort’s rich history isn’t lost on the 41-year-old Stuppy, a graduate of the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute’s Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Program.
“Part of our goal is to give a little nod to the past, since the Bahia’s been here for 70 years,” he said. “We wanted to honor the past by going with some traditional dishes with a new spin on it.”
The pan-seared sea bass at the Bahia Resort Hotel’s Dockside 1953.
(Courtesy of Dockside 1953)
Take, for example, the sea bass. On the menu, it’s called Pan-seared Sea Bass Meuniere ($40), alluding to both the French sauce and method of preparation, usually for fish, that involves brown butter sauce, chopped parsley and lemon.
“It’s my favorite dish on the menu — a riff on a classic,” Stuppy said.
During a recent dinner, the locally sourced sea bass came out of the kitchen perfectly seared with just enough brown butter sauce and sitting atop a hearty portion of lemon garlic risotto, garnished with tomato confit and olive salad. The sea bass, seasoned just right, was cooked wonderfully — adequately crisp on the outside and juicy inside. It played beautifully with the risotto’s slightly acidic profile.
Seafood definitely gets top billing on the menu. Shareable dishes include Prince Edward Island mussels with garlic, fennel, white wine, Fresno chilies and grilled bread ($20), as well as seared scallops served with creamy polenta, corn, red pepper, edamame, chili and French butter sauce ($36). The catch of the day (market price) and the chef’s crudo ($20) change from day to day, depending on what fishmonger Tommy Gomes’ Tunaville Market has to offer.
Dockside 1953’s Big Seafood Tower.
(Courtesy of Dockside 1953)
The just-unveiled dinner menu has a raw lineup that includes ahi tuna tostada, featuring seared local tuna, crisp corn tortillas, avocado, jalapeño, radish, cilantro with crema ($20). For diners with big seafood appetites, there’s the aptly named Big Seafood Tower, which includes six oysters, six shrimp, ceviche and seared tuna ($65).
The shareable wagyu and lamb meatball, served in Calabrian chili tomato sauce with whipped Valbreso sheep’s milk cheese ($22), is a must-try. The meatball is delectably tender in a sauce that’s smoky and slightly spicy all at once.
A similar flavor profile appears in the Shrimp Arrabbiata entree: shrimp served with linguine, bacon lardon, San Marzano tomato, garlic, capers, vodka and chili flakes ($38).
For non-seafood diners, the menu’s “Feast” section — where one can find the aforementioned Pan-seared Sea Bass Meuniere as well as the Shrimp Arrabbiata — also features the Steak Frites Au Poivre (prime hanger steak in peppercorn sauce, with pommes frites and shaved vegetable salad; $48) and Chicken Under a Brick (Mary’s half chicken, sautéed greens, stewed white beans, charred lemon and brown butter; $34). During a recent visit, the hanger steak was tender and flavorful, though it might have been doused in too much sauce if you like your steak more on the unadorned side of things.
Dockside 1953’s Wagyu and Lamb Meatballs appetizer, sitting next to the Cucumber-rosemary Collins.
(Courtesy of Dockside 1953)
Elsewhere on the menu are little gems. The drinks menu has an extensive lineup of red and white wines as well as cocktails that include Cucumber-rosemary Collins, featuring the Sunday Gin from San Diego’s You & Yours Distilling Co. For dessert, one can’t go wrong with the multi-layered chocolate cake, but the key lime tart (key lime curd, white chocolate whipped cream and toasted coconut) stole the show (both $14).
Stuppy was headed for a career in graphic design before he discovered his passion for cooking in high school.
“My interest in graphic design waned after a while,” said Stuppy, who served as sous chef and chef de cuisine at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla for a decade before becoming executive chef at the Bahia Resort Hotel in September 2022. “Emeril (Lagasse) was on TV a lot back then, and I watched a lot of it. That’s when I realized there could be a future in this for me.”
These days, instead of watching Emeril, he’s busy in the Dockside 1953 kitchen, starting around 9 or 10 a.m., working with the kitchen staff to prepare the day’s menu, often dictated by the day’s fresh catch.
“We figure out what is fresh off the boats or what’s coming in and go from there,” said Stuppy, who added that he also sources seafood from San Diego-based Pacific Shellfish Wholesale Seafood and L.A.-based Santa Monica Seafood. “I love the freedom and creativity that comes out of that.”
The creativity that sparked his passion for graphic design is still there. But this time, instead of a blank computer screen, his canvas is an empty plate.
Dockside 1953
Address: Bahia Resort Hotel, 998 W. Mission Bay Drive, San Diego
Hours: Open for breakfast and weekend brunch at 7 a.m., lunch at 11:30 a.m. and dinner at 5:30 p.m., closing at 10 p.m.
Phone: (858) 539-7634
Online: bahiahotel.com/dockside-1953
Chef Bryan Stuppy came on board as executive chef of Dockside 1953 at the Bahia Resort Hotel in September of 2022.
(Courtesy of Bahia Resort Hotel)