San Diego's Michelin 3-star Addison restaurant unveils new look, champagne lounge
Addison by William Bradley, San Diego County’s only Michelin three-star restaurant, reopened Tuesday after a 52-day renovation that has given the space a lighter, more elegant and modern look, as well as a new champagne lounge with its own mini prix-fixe menu.
Addison’s founding Chef-Director Bradley said Friday that he had long wanted the look of the 55-seat Carmel Valley-based California Gastronomy restaurant to better represent the cuisine and level of service. So the interior revamp was conceived as a way to celebrate Addison’s 20th anniversary this year.
“What we were looking for was to take us back to that special moment when the restaurant was built in 2006, when we had this gorgeous, grand restaurant and wanted to emulate the cuisine and service style of that time and that place and that era,” Bradley said.
“Here we are 20 years later and things have evolved and changed,” he said. “Things have come and gone and we still have this beautiful shell of a restaurant. I wanted to reimagine it and make it feel warm, but also very elegant, clean and modern.”
Bradley worked on the renovation plan for more than 18 months with Stephen Knight of Bishop Pass, an interior design firm with offices in Los Angeles and Palm Springs that specializes in restaurant and hotel projects.
The refresh included replacing heavy, old-fashioned chandeliers with modern glass light fixtures, replacing the wood and tile flooring with lush, low-pile beige carpet with gold-toned flecks, and replacing the old dark and chunky, Spanish Revival-style furniture with modern, custom-made chairs and booths with new table tops and a stone bar counter. And instead of a montage of colors and décor materials, there’s now a more uniform color palette. The front-of-house staff also have new uniforms.
Bradley said the brighter interior lighting, both natural and artificial, reflects the preferences of today’s diners, who like to take pictures of their food and their companions. And the new seating was designed for comfort, since Addison’s 10-plus-course, $395 dinner service lasts for three to 3 1/2 hours.
“Lighting is everything,” he said. “We had lighting designers working on it. We want everyone to look and feel beautiful in this restaurant. And the new chairs are extremely comfortable. They’re great for sitting in for a while, and for looking great in.”
One of the biggest changes is the opening of the new champagne lounge, which replaced the restaurant’s former cocktail bar.
No reservations are required to drink or dine in the new lounge, which seats 25 to 30 guests. Bradley said the lounge was created to offer an easy, walk-in experience for people who live in the community, guests at the adjacent Fairmont Grand Del Mar resort, resort golf club members and anyone seeking a lighter and less-formal Addison experience.
A chef will work behind the bar counter, hand-preparing courses for a $198, five-plus-course tartlet menu, with three savory and two sweet courses, plus a few extra surprise bites. The tartlet menu service is designed to take 60 to 90 minutes.
The lounge offers an optional $198 champagne pairings menu, or guests can drink champagne or wines by the glass, mocktails or water. Bradley said Addison offers a selection of 650 champagnes from 150 producers.
Bradley said guest reactions since the restaurant reopened Tuesday have been very positive.
“We’ve seen a lot of people smiling,” he said. “The energy is really nice. It feels like a weight has been lifted off us. It was heavy and now it will feel light.”
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This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 5:07 PM.