University Club Atop Symphony Towers

I love this place. Staff is amazing, especially Amy. Ive been a member for years, and I highly recommend it. Best view at a restaurant in San Diego. Wish they got with the times and became less snobby and uptight/​more casual but I understand its a business club.
Thanks Uclub!

I’ve only been coming here for two short months now, as a new member, and yet every occasion has been the same five star experience.
I’ll focus this review on the special «Bistro Supper» that I attended just a few weeks ago.
Every couple of months, the Club has a specialty dinner, and this particular evening, it was a five course dinner with a matched pairing of Gainey Ranch Vineyards wines.
Executive Chef Lance Repp and Food & Beverage Director Jeff Apodaca conspired to put on an amazing presentation of deliciously tasty foods and wine pairings (see photos).
First up was the Charred Endive Salad, served with shaved, aged pecorino, drizzled with orange chive vinaigrette. This was paired with the 2013 Sauvignon Blanc.
Our intermezzo before the two «main events» was a goose liver torchon (a very traditional form of terrine), served atop a sweet cornbread, accompanied with sectioned grapefruit and sour apple, perfectly paired with the fuller bodied 2013 Chardonnay. As my wife refrains from eating meat, she was served a plate of roasted beets and tomatoes.
The first of our two «mains» was the Curry Poached Sablefish. We were in total agreement that this was the star of the evening (perhaps Chef will add this to the regular menu)!!! This super-​moist and most flavorful fish was served atop a bed of lentils, with young pea tendrils, roasted turnips and radish. Paired with the 2013 Riesling, I was in delight wanting seconds of this dish.
The second «main» was a Cocoa dusted Lamb Saddle Roulade, with smoked tomato jam, and wild, baby arugula. The special addition of lamb bacon to the dish went together well with the 2013 Pinot Noir. My wife’s dish was a combination of gnocchi & root vegetables.
Our finale for the evening was the exquisitely presented Whipped Humboldt Fog. Humboldt Fog cheese is a light, soft cheese, layered with a vegetable ash. This whipped creation was served atop a swirl rye/​pumpernickel toast with black currant preserves. The 2013 Merlot was the perfect accompaniment for this dessert, and ending to the glorious dinner.
Throughout the evening, we were perfectly serviced by a cadre of waitstaff, who unobtrusively whisked platters away and delivered our next morsels without interrupting the flow of the conversation we enjoyed, and learning about the food and wines from Chef Lance and the Winemaker.
The fine evening certainly ranks among the very best «wine dinners» I’ve experienced in many venues throughout the world. What a delight to know that I will be enjoying the future creations of our Chef in my new Club!!!

I’ve been here many times, and its always a treat, but today I had lunch with my friend who’s a member! Great views as usual tho the place we sat was a little too direct sunlight, still great spot to have any meal any time of the day! I ordered the fish tacos and my friend had the salmon, both we delicious! They have a dress code tho just so people are aware, I wore flip flops and had to barrow a pair of shoes to stay and eat.

The service was really good. Grace was friendly and attentive.
The food wasn’t bad, it just didn’t live up to the price tag:
Potato Crab Cake ($ 13): BGH says it was ok
Sea Bass ($ 41): not bad, but not a $ 40 dish.
Bread Pudding ($ 9): meh

Date of visit: 11÷7÷2015
A little over a year ago, I found out about the University Club Atop Symphony Towers through Unilocal and was sad that it was a membership only club since the food and views looked amazing. About a month after that, Issac invited me to the University Club for his realtor’s client appreciation party and I was absolutely stoked to go. Now, a year later, I am back to review this beautiful restaurant after another party with Issac’s realtor with an even more glowing review.
There’s a dress code for this place, which I didn’t even look at since I knew I would be dressing up. For those of you lucky enough to be members or invited by a member, I highly suggest looking at the dress code before coming so you don’t get in trouble. Based on some of the reviews I’ve read, they are strict about the dress code. For the party, I wore heels and a strapless knee length dress, and Issac wore a collared shirt, dress pants, and tie. We weren’t questioned about our attire, but were in one of the ballrooms though, so it might have a different dress code policy than the main dining area.
When entering the dining area, we were warmly greeted by Issac’s realtor and by a staff member of the University Club who was giving out glasses of sparkling wine. All of the staff members were extremely friendly and really good about refilling our glasses of sparkling wine when requested throughout the night.
The ballroom we were in had a couple of dark spots that had poor lighting. Unfortunately, this is where the charcuterie and cheese plates were, so people were a little confused as to where the food was coming from. Of course, food location information spreads fast, so this really wasn’t a huge issue.
For the main entrees, there was turkey, steamed veggies, mashed sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Everything tasted really good, but I wasn’t a fan of the sweet mashed potatoes. It had cinnamon in it and seemed like more of a dessert. Luckily Issac finished the portioned I had given myself. I’m not sure how they keep their turkey so moist, but it was definitely delicious — better than my home cooked turkey! For dessert, the staff brought in coffee, brownies, and cookies. These were just okay — it was nice to have something sweet with my coffee.
Overall, this was a great event and the staff worked really well with Issac’s realtor as far as working around the party events. The food was great and I’m super jealous of those who can afford to be a member here. Maybe I’ll have the funds to come back someday. Also, the views from the top of the tower are absolutely breathtaking. It’s a little hard to see everything at night, but looking out at the San Diego skyline and watching airplanes fly in is absolutely amazing.

This is for the breakfast buffet – scrambled eggs are creamy, cooked just right, and really tasty. My 14month old certainly loves the scrambled eggs, which we ate two days in a row! We also really love the corned beef hash – the potatoes which are strings are mixed with the corned beef and grilled onions, which I love. (I do not like my corned beef to be served with a ‘side’ of potatoes). We also enjoy the thick apple wood smoked bacon.
Usually, there is a rotating hot dish that is vegetarian and a meat dish; toast and pastries; granola; yogurt; fruit; and oatmeal or grits, and juice/​coffee/​water. So far, the schedule for the hot dish seems to be as follows:
–Mon: scrambled eggs with feta, spinach, tomatoes and separately sausage
–Tues: scrambled eggs; and corned beef hash separately
–Wed: scrambled eggs; bacon separately; chilaquiles separately
–Thu: pancakes; bacon separately
–Fri: crustless quiche; sausage patties
(My least favorite is pancakes and crustless quiche)
Members get breakfast buffet as part of their paid membership, and just pay tax and gratuity.
I bring my baby girl to breakfast; she is a regular!

Situated at the highest floor of the Copley Symphony Hall, the University Club sits in all of its wondrous glory. The view alone gets 5 stars… absolutely stunning view of downtown and the Coronado bridge through the floor to ceiling windows.
My sister-​in-​law Cel is a member of the prestigious, exclusive club and asked me if I wanted to join her for breakfast. With me being the simple peasant, she was kind enough to grace me with an invitation and I happily accepted! How gracious, lol! ;) I love my sister-​in-​law, she is the absolute best! It is upscale ladies and gents… and men, if you don’t have a coat, they will offer you one. Yes, hoity-​toity to the fullest but the service, ambience and food you receive plus the steep membership fee, it makes sense that it should be that way.
As you take the elevator to the top floor, you are greeted by friendly reception and they show you in. We were seated in the perfect spot and I literally gaped at how gorgeous downtown San Diego was. I’ve lived here all my life but have never seen it from this view before. We decided on the breakfast buffet and I helped myself to some fluffy scrambled eggs, toast and fresh fruit. They offer a variety of beverages and I chose their gourmet chamomile tea and honey.
Afterwards, Cel took me on a tour of the club and we explored the private rooms and lounge areas that are at the members disposable. Fancy indeed! If you are ever given the opportunity to dine here, consider yourself very fortunate. I can’t wait until she takes me back for dinner!

I’ve been a guest a couple of times here. The 1^st time was for a seafood buffet which was beyond impressive. Most recently we celebrated a friend’s 50^th birthday in a private room and it was equally memorable. The room was on a corner so the views in every direction were outstanding. While un-​pc I did order the Chilean seabass and it was absolutely outstanding. Everyone who ordered that dish got pretty quiet because we were too busy stuffing our faces. I was disappointed that the people who ordered the ribeye were served a portion big enough for 3 people and nobody could finish it… that was unfortunately pretty wasteful.
The service is undoubtedly 5 star. I can’t speak to the prices so that’s why I left off the 5^th star.

Visiting from Texas. Howdy! I’m a member of the Tower Club in Dallas and my membership allowed access to this swank pad via the member hotline. I invited my niece, a San Diegan, who enjoyed her time at the University Club atop Symphony Towers just as much as I did.
It all started with had a happy hour dirty martini. Svedka is the house vodka, stiffly served in lampshade martini glasses. A bargain at $ 4 if I remember correctly, they are basically vodka as their primary ingredient and who stops at just one?
The ahi tuna sashimi and mahi mahi tacos were delightful. Steven our waiter was polite and responsive – my niece said he was reminiscent of a Ken doll, but was quite modest. We both wondered what it’s like to walk around and be that beautiful – oh, wait I meant we totally could relate. ;-)
Ladies, I’m sure you’ll order martini after martini with that delightful combination of cuisine, service, and ambience.
We truly enjoyed our early hot August evening together. Later after we parted ways, she posted a thank you note on Instagram, «Great time laughing with you over fancy cocktails and apps.» As for me, I’ll hold swank University Club in my fond memories and hope I can come back for another round… and another… the next time I’m in San Diego.

I recently had my wedding at this venue. It was classy and modern. It even suited my green and gold theme. The view was amazing. The food was delicious. I love their spicy ahi taco and crab cake. I opted for a buffet for the reception since some people eat more and some eat less. It did indeed save us the trouble of figuring out who wanted what entrée.
As much as I loved my wedding, it doesn’t come without headaches. A part was due to the service. There was an issue within staff which caused lack of communication. I had to go to the actual venue to figure out the situation and find a new contact person since we weren’t receiving anything by email or phone. Then, at the actual wedding, we had a tab at the open bar. Some random stranger, was sitting at the bar drinking. It was definitely NOT one of my guest and found out he actually worked there. Really? During the wedding? Very unprofessional. He walked in acting as if he was a VIP at the wedding.
Despite the bad apples, we had the best bartender! Shout out to CJ for putting up with us and pouring away with the drinks. We had a blast.

My childhood friend had her wedding here and I was fortunate to be apart of her bridal party. Arrived at the venue which is on the top floor during the day and the first thing that caught my eye when I walked out of the elevators was the view! You could see the whole span of the Coronado bridge through their wide open windows. Continuously glancing around in awe I noticed that you could literally see the entire scope of the Coronado island. How beautiful! Even more magical at night. This was the perfect place for her wedding since their color scheme was green and gold, so the interior of that floor matched perfectly. All of the employees were very courteous and professional. The bartender CJ was also a cool guy pouring drinks for all of us the entire night! It was definitely a night to remember (even with all the drinks)!

Oh so fancy! I love fancy dinners. I don’t think i’ll ever become a member though. My friend is a member and invited me to come. She forgot to mention the dress code to me though. Whoops! Totally came in jeans so I couldn’t go in the dining room area. We were able to sit near the bar and still order dinner which was great. The best table was available right by the window at the corner.
I love the view. I just got back from a month long vacation and went here the night I got back and it was awesome. So glad to be back in San Diego and to enjoy the view.
We had a four course meal and it was amazing. I ordered the ahi sashimi for my appetizer. I should’ve asked if they had soy sauce though. It was fine without. It came with seaweed salad also and it was delicious. For my soup I had the mushroom soup. I recently started liking mushrooms a few years a go and this is the best mushroom soup I have tried. The taste was so strong and delicious. I loved it. My main course was the steak and lobster. The steak was so tender. I loved every bite. The lobster was just the tail. I liked how it was presented. I didn’t have to pull out the lobster meat from the tail. I was pretty much full so I took the food and dessert home. I ordered the bread pudding and it was amazing. Im not a big leftovers type of person but the food here was still great even after a day.
I would love to come again when I can afford to come and when someone invites me.

What a gorgeous venue! We stopped by for the Once Gown Event put on by our church and were blown away by how beautiful everything was!
Right as we stepped into the building, the cool touch screen elevators took my breath away. Even as we ascended to the top of the tower, I was so impressed that I was super giddy and excited to have stepped foot in such a beautiful venue.
Every room was beautifully decorated and reminded me of a penthouse that a posh princess would live in. I really enjoyed the service by the staff and the food was delicious! My fiancé and I had considered them as our wedding reception venue but it was way out of our budget. However, if we had an unlimited budget, we would most definitely have it here!
One negative thing about this place is the parking. If you have a lot of guests at your event, they would have to pay for parking. I guess if you could afford to be here, what’s a few more bucks for parking, right?
This place is as good as it gets. Check it out for yourself!

San Diego’s finest… And that’s because it’s a private club. You like have to know somebody that knows somebody…
The view is spectacular though on the 30 something floor. You can see the whole SD downtown and bay. Food is decently priced for happy hour and they had green beer specials for St. Patrick’s day. My friend and I crashed the St. Patrick’s day happy hour because her roommate works with some of the people that comes here all the time. We definitely didn’t know it was a private club.
Service was so so. They already added gratuity on your bill but don’t tell you. Our girl server wasn’t all that nice to us but she did her job. We got some drinks, deviled eggs with caviar, shrimp cocktail and the seasoned fries. Food was good for the discounted happy hour price. I don’t think I ever had caviar and it was my first time with the deviled eggs. The shrimp cocktails were huge! Every one else here was so nice, you can tell it was for an upscale crowd.

Totally not that exclusive since I’ve been here so many times… I would never join any club that would have me as a member as they say. To be fair exclusivity isn’t exactly what this place is about. It’s easy to get the wrong impression if you haven’t been here a few times.
But seriously folks, I enjoy having happy hour here and taking in the view. The staff are super nice and the prices are right. It’s never too crowded and most people are interesting to talk to. It really is a relaxing environment.
Events are fun as well. They have wine tasting and alumni events a lot. It can be as social as you want to make it. I’ve never not come home with some odd story!
Meals are a little formal for my liking. The last one was a lunch and it was very good. Everyone seemed to enjoy their dishes. Indeed, BCBP probably could have had another piece of fish. They don’t bat an eye if you make it a two martini lunch. Honestly by the third I don’t even look for reactions.
I suggest coming to eat here a few times and attending some events before you take the membership plunge. As to whether you get your money’s worth it all depends on what value you place on intangibles associated with membership.
In all I usually enjoy my time!

Came here for lunch with a client and a colleague who is a member today. Views are amazing all around. Staff is super friendly and service is top notch. (Just as one would expect in a private club.) Jackets are not required for lunch but most men had on suits so I was glad I also wore a tie and jacket.
I ordered an anti pasta salad and salmon. Both were nicely prepared and presented. Everything seemed fresh, again to be expected in a place like this next to the shore.
Glasses were filled before they were half empty. There is a nice bar and sitting area. This is a great place to do business (we closed the deal!) and spend a few minutes talking in the lounge. I would love to come here for dinner and watch the sun set over Coronado Island.
Two thumbs up!

If I could afford a membership here, I would totally get one. The University Club is membership only, or you must either be attending an event or accompanying a member. The service, food, and events at the Club are top notch for both members and guests. I have been to a TEDx talk and TED Talk Tuesdays here. Waiters are constantly circulating the Club, and they know most of the members by heart, which is impressive. They are always making sure their guests are well taken care of, and you can even help yourself to some hot coffee or refreshing infused water at the station in the main dining area.
There are also private rooms for varying sized events, from two person meeting rooms to 20 person conference rooms. All very high class and cozy.
As for the food, my favorite is hands-​down the calamari. I’m not usually a fan, but these pieces are fresh and thick and come with a tasty cocktail sauce. Super filling! Anyways, the main perk is the fabulous service, from the front desk ladies to the bartenders. Make sure you are dressed in at least business casual when visiting. The U-​Club has a classy professional vibe with a breathtaking view of San Diego from the 34^th floor.

I have been a member of the University Club since the early 2000’s and you cannot beat the ambience, the great view, the service and the food.
I love to entertain and bring clients to the University Club for the great view of the city and to experience first class dining.
The food and wine selection is second to none and I highly recommend this place if you want to make a great first impression.

This is one of the best values in the country in terms of a private members only club. It is a ClubCorp facility (
). Check out what you get with membership. It is amazing.
It is without question the best place in San Diego for great sunsets all year long. I love the reciprocal services with other clubs around the country. I love the special functions they throw. I have loved the special functions my company had har catered here. The dining room is nice albeit very formal. The bar and living room are GREAT!
I cannot say enough good things about this place. For the price, it is a great value!

I have no idea what University Club is like as a regular restaurant — and I’ll probably never know, since I’m too much of a plebeian to spring for a membership. That said, University Club is absolutely spectacular as a wedding venue.
As a wedding guest, I was totally blown away by the place. It’s perched high up on the 34^th floor of the Symphony Tower, and you can tell that it’s a classy and elegant sort of place from the moment you step out of the elevator.
It’s all about the view here. On a clear day, you can see up and down the coast, from North County SD all the way down to TJ. You can also see Islas Coronados beckoning you from offshore. Attention, Instagrammers: polish off your camera lenses, because there are copious photography opportunities up here.
The wedding I attended was swanky and gorgeous. The reception hall had an old-​school elegance — more of the subdued variety. (Of course, things feel much less subdued once you’re downing cocktails from the open bar, snapping round after round of silly selfies in the photobooth, and twerking like an idiot on the dancefloor.)
The food was outstanding. The Caesar salad? LOVE. The chicken, steak, and broccolini on polenta? LOVE. The dessert bar with copious cookies and cupcakes? LOVE LOVE LOVE.
My evening at the University Club was one of the most memorable in a long time. Can’t wait to visit the place again. Attention couples of Unilocal: if you promise to invite me to your wedding here, then I’ll promise to bring you a nice gift!