Unless you were looking for a fast meal at Burger Lounge or a pricey one at 1500 Ocean or Mistral, the pickings for organic, sustainable eats in Coronado have been nonexistent until the recent opening of Leroy's Kitchen + Lounge (think rib eye from Niman Ranch, black mussels from Carlsbad Aqua Farms and watermelon salad with arugula from nearby growers).
Owner David Spatafore was long aware of the farm-to-table void in his native Coronado, so rather than expand his existing cluster of island eateries (Lil' Piggy's Bar-B-Q; MooTime Creamery and Village Pizzeria), he turned to his cousin Leroy and opened what he calls his first "upscale-casual restaurant."
"Everybody loves Leroy," Spatafore explains in regards to naming the restaurant after him. "He was born in Amsterdam, lived in Paris and Suriname and speaks four languages. He represents everything that we're trying to do here as far as bringing in influences from all over the world. There's a need for this in Coronado."
Spatafore admits that his foray into purchasing locally sourced ingredients has been a learning experience. "I never knew the meaning of 'diver scallops' until opening Leroy's, that they're harvested by hand rather than tearing up the ocean floor to get them."
The menu extends also to Loch Duarte salmon, roasted Jidori chicken and charcuterie boards featuring artisan cheeses from Bellwether Farms and Cowgirl Creamery. As for the whole heads of roasted garlic that come on the boards, "I was eating a flatbread at Tra Vigne in Napa and knew right away that we needed to have them on some type of plate at Leroy's."
