A new rooftop restaurant and lounge called Aries is set to take over the 11th floor of Hotel La Jolla at 7955 La Jolla Shores Drive, opening Wednesday, November 11. The concept replaces Sea " Sky, folding in Pan-Pacific coastal cuisine, live music, DJs and sweeping ocean views aimed squarely at the La Jolla nightlife crowd.
According to WhatNow, Aries will replace Sea " Sky at Hotel La Jolla, a claim corroborated by San Diego Magazine, which reports the restaurant is set to “reinvent the former Sea " Sky space it's replacing.” Per the same outlet, the new dining room seats around 140 guests, with a private dining room able to hold up to 80 people for events. The hotel's own site describes Aries as featuring “Pan-Pacific coastal cuisine” with “sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean,” per Hotel La Jolla.
The restaurant plans to serve lunch and dinner daily, plus weekend brunch, with live music and DJs filling out weekend evenings, San Diego Magazine notes. The aesthetic is being pitched as part “European seaside resort glamour” and part “dynamic mix of dining, music and nightlife,” according to the same report. Aries' own website is already promoting “an exclusive sneak peek during our soft opening,” and lists November 11 as sold out, with the celebration extended through November 15.
Who's Behind the Kitchen and the Concept
Chef Luis Aguirre will serve as Aries' onsite chef, handling the Pan-Pacific-inspired menu, while chef James Montejano is designing the broader culinary program alongside him, per San Diego Magazine. A separate report from SanDiegoVille describes Montejano as taking the lead in the kitchen of Aries Rooftop Restaurant " Lounge, and says the project reunites him with restaurateurs Alessandro Minutella and Giancarlo Guttilla, with Guttilla serving as co-managing partner on the project.
Minutella, identified as the restaurateur behind Aries, also has a portfolio that includes Copper Cowboy, Zama and AKA, San Diego Magazine reports. SanDiegoVille describes the overall concept as sushi-influenced coastal cuisine paired with DJs, live music and a completely redesigned rooftop, intended to blend sophisticated coastal dining with an energetic nightlife atmosphere that takes advantage of views of the Pacific Ocean, the coastline and the surrounding hills.
Permits, Filings and a Pending License Transfer
Public filings connect the project to La Jolla Shores Restaurant LLC, which operates under a reported temporary alcohol permit while a license-transfer application remains pending, according to SanDiegoVille's account of an October 22 California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control filing. That filing is reported to list AM Restaurant Holdings Inc. and GG Food Group Inc. as members and managing members connected to the operation. Business filing data reviewed by bizprofile.net shows La Jolla Shores Restaurant LLC was established on June 4, 2026, registered as a California limited liability company under document number B20260264135, and remains listed as active in state records.
A Rooftop With a Revolving Door of Concepts
Hotel La Jolla's top-floor space has cycled through several identities in recent years, a pattern SanDiegoVille frames as another reinvention of the hotel's coveted top-floor perch, following Cusp Dining " Drinks and Sea " Sky before Aries. Cusp closed in August 2023 as part of a sweeping hotel renovation that involved roughly $8 million in property upgrades, per the same report.
Sea " Sky, which opened inside Hotel La Jolla in 2024, focused its menu on fresh, local seafood and offered breakfast, lunch and dinner with weekend brunch, according to Eater San Diego. Its dining room and bar held 100 seats, and its menu was originally developed by executive chef Anthony Wells, formerly of Juniper " Ivy. San Diego Magazine reports Sea " Sky went through three chefs since its 2024 opening — Wells, followed by Ernest Lopez and then Neil Dandekar — before giving way to the Aries concept now moving in.
