Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Homegrown Comfort: Leroy's Kitchen and Lounge

Home grown success story David Spatafore opened his first place, MooTime Creamery in Coronado, in 1998. Since then, he’s gone on to launch Village Pizzeria in two locations, the now defunct Beach-N-Diner, Lil’ Piggy’s, a second MooTime in the Hotel del Coronado, and Coronado Coffee Cart at The Landing. All are operated under the NadoLife, Inc. restaurant group.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/02/27199/

Beach-N-Diner, despite an enviable location on Orange Avenue, wasn’t taking Spatafore in the direction he wanted, so he made the decision in early 2011 to close it and reopen as Leroy’s Kitchen and Lounge, moving from the diner concept to a more upscale, farm to table venue. The construction, after unexpected delays and construction issues, took over six months, and Leroy's finally opened just about a year ago.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/02/27198/

Executive Chef Gregory Chavez, who’s previous experience included serving as sous chef for 1500 Ocean at the Del, the Lodge at Torrey Pines, and the Fishery, makes use of local ingredients on the menu, which changes seasonally.

There’s lots of exposed wood beams and brick, sunshine streams in the large front windows, perfect for people watching. It’s family friendly, but not accommodating for groups larger than eight. (There is a private room that can hold up to twelve.)

On this gorgeous Sunday afternoon, we stopped in during Social Hour to take advantage of the discounts on food and drinks.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/02/27205/

The cocktail menu looked interesting, lots of classic drinks as well as new twists on old friends. The Basil Gimlet, using Nolet’s Gin, or the Caipirinha de Laranja with Leblan Cachaca, tempted me. In the end, I chose Ballast Point’s Brother Levonian Saison ($4 at HH), a crisp, refreshing ale with citrusy overtones and honeyed maltiness. Perfect for a warm summer afternoon.

John chose three items from the Bites + Shares menu in lieu of an entrée. Blistered Padron Peppers ($5) were glistening, bright green and nicely charred. Smoky, with a slowly building burn, they were great with the sweet maltiness of the beers. On the side was a cup of chorizo cream cheese, tasty but odd, it was too thick and chunky to dip.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/02/27202/

Truffle fries ($6) have been done to death, and unfortunately they’re often done poorly. Hot, salty and crispy, they have just a hint of truffle oil. It’s a good sized portion, and lucky for me, perfect for sharing. Creamy, garlicky aioli and tangy pomegranate ketchup provided sweet and savory touches.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/02/27203/

The Poke Tacos ($10) were a fun take on an old standard. Cubes of red ahi are nestled into shells of fried wonton skins, then topped with a tangy Napa slaw and a spicy creamy sauce. A delicious combination of soft and crunchy, creamy and tangy, spicy and sweet.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/02/27201/

I decided on the Bacon Pepper Prawns ($21), six fresh, jumbo Gulf shrimp, grilled and nestled into a bed of grits. Sandwiched in between were lightly sautéed baby spinach, fava beans, hunks of crisp bacon pieces and fresh corn, grilled and sliced in slabs off the cob. A spicy-sweet and tart hot red pepper sauce was lightly drizzled throughout. A couple of the shrimp could have been taken off the grill a bit sooner, but overall it was a success, big, bold flavors and textures well balanced by the soft, creamy grits.

Leroy’s Kitchen and Lounge is open weekdays from 11:00 am till midnight, Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am till midnight. Social Hour is 3:00 - 6:00 pm and 10:00 - midnight daily.

Leroy’s Kitchen and Lounge

1015 Orange Avenue, Coronado, CA 92118
 | (619) 437-6087

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

2024 continues to impress with yellowfin much closer to San Diego than they should be

New rockfish regulations coming this week as opener approaches

Home grown success story David Spatafore opened his first place, MooTime Creamery in Coronado, in 1998. Since then, he’s gone on to launch Village Pizzeria in two locations, the now defunct Beach-N-Diner, Lil’ Piggy’s, a second MooTime in the Hotel del Coronado, and Coronado Coffee Cart at The Landing. All are operated under the NadoLife, Inc. restaurant group.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/02/27199/

Beach-N-Diner, despite an enviable location on Orange Avenue, wasn’t taking Spatafore in the direction he wanted, so he made the decision in early 2011 to close it and reopen as Leroy’s Kitchen and Lounge, moving from the diner concept to a more upscale, farm to table venue. The construction, after unexpected delays and construction issues, took over six months, and Leroy's finally opened just about a year ago.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/02/27198/

Executive Chef Gregory Chavez, who’s previous experience included serving as sous chef for 1500 Ocean at the Del, the Lodge at Torrey Pines, and the Fishery, makes use of local ingredients on the menu, which changes seasonally.

There’s lots of exposed wood beams and brick, sunshine streams in the large front windows, perfect for people watching. It’s family friendly, but not accommodating for groups larger than eight. (There is a private room that can hold up to twelve.)

On this gorgeous Sunday afternoon, we stopped in during Social Hour to take advantage of the discounts on food and drinks.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/02/27205/

The cocktail menu looked interesting, lots of classic drinks as well as new twists on old friends. The Basil Gimlet, using Nolet’s Gin, or the Caipirinha de Laranja with Leblan Cachaca, tempted me. In the end, I chose Ballast Point’s Brother Levonian Saison ($4 at HH), a crisp, refreshing ale with citrusy overtones and honeyed maltiness. Perfect for a warm summer afternoon.

John chose three items from the Bites + Shares menu in lieu of an entrée. Blistered Padron Peppers ($5) were glistening, bright green and nicely charred. Smoky, with a slowly building burn, they were great with the sweet maltiness of the beers. On the side was a cup of chorizo cream cheese, tasty but odd, it was too thick and chunky to dip.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/02/27202/

Truffle fries ($6) have been done to death, and unfortunately they’re often done poorly. Hot, salty and crispy, they have just a hint of truffle oil. It’s a good sized portion, and lucky for me, perfect for sharing. Creamy, garlicky aioli and tangy pomegranate ketchup provided sweet and savory touches.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/02/27203/

The Poke Tacos ($10) were a fun take on an old standard. Cubes of red ahi are nestled into shells of fried wonton skins, then topped with a tangy Napa slaw and a spicy creamy sauce. A delicious combination of soft and crunchy, creamy and tangy, spicy and sweet.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/02/27201/

I decided on the Bacon Pepper Prawns ($21), six fresh, jumbo Gulf shrimp, grilled and nestled into a bed of grits. Sandwiched in between were lightly sautéed baby spinach, fava beans, hunks of crisp bacon pieces and fresh corn, grilled and sliced in slabs off the cob. A spicy-sweet and tart hot red pepper sauce was lightly drizzled throughout. A couple of the shrimp could have been taken off the grill a bit sooner, but overall it was a success, big, bold flavors and textures well balanced by the soft, creamy grits.

Leroy’s Kitchen and Lounge is open weekdays from 11:00 am till midnight, Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am till midnight. Social Hour is 3:00 - 6:00 pm and 10:00 - midnight daily.

Leroy’s Kitchen and Lounge

1015 Orange Avenue, Coronado, CA 92118
 | (619) 437-6087

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.