The Haven – Kensington

Happy New Year! 2017 already? How many times will I write 2016 until 2017 will feel right? Anyways, I hope 2017 brings you better food, better drink, and more of each of them. 🙂

The Haven has been in Kensington since 2013. I went with one of my friends a few years ago, but have not had a chance to come back since. When that much time has passed it’s almost like trying a new place.

The holiday decorations were in full swing and it’s a smaller, but not cramped restaurant. It actually felt quite homey.

Wedge salad: butter lettuce, candied bacon, tomato, crumbled gorgonzola cheese drizzled with homemade gorgonzola dressing

Wedge salads are funny. You often pay more for them, yet you have to do some of the work preparing it! That doesn’t stop me from ordering it because there’s something satisfying about being able to cut your own pieces to your preferred size. This version was really good. The gorgonzola was not overpowering and the amount of dressing was just right.

Roasted brussels sprouts: topped with gorgonzola and roasted hazelnuts (with added candied bacon)

Brussels sprouts are still going strong. We enjoyed these as well. Bacon makes everything better and bacon seemed to be the theme of our meal. 🙂

They had some seasonal drinks on the menu and my love of ginger ale pulled me towards the ginger hard cider. The ginger flavor was definitely there. It could have been slightly sweeter for my taste.

Spicy Hawaiian pizza: spicy pizza sauce, mozzarella, candied bacon, pineapple, and jalapeños

Normally I don’t really like the mixture of sweet and salty. But the spicy factor messed with my tasting compass and the pineapple really worked well with the sauce and jalapeños.I’d be happy chomping away at this if it was all I had for the night.

Penne alla vodka: fresh penne with our homemade vodka cream sauce (with added meatballs)

Another favorite was this pasta. The penne was cooked perfectly al dente and the addition of the meatballs had us coming back for more. Michael and I convinced ourselves that 5 more small spoonfuls was less than w regular sized scoops.

“Besto” shrimp pizza: hazelnut pesto, paprika shrimp, tomato, seasonal onion mix, feta, and mozarella (with added bacon)

I did say we had a lot of bacon, right? Normally I like bacon, but am not a huge enthusiast like some. Sausage mcmuffin > regular mcmuffin all day. Still, we couldn’t turn down a chance to turn this pizza into surf and turf. It was nice but I wished the pesto had been turned up a notch.

Tiramisu: lady fingers dipped in espresso and Kahlua, layered with mascarpone cheese, topped with shaved chocolate

Last we ended with a little dessert. We were pretty full and we did our best to get something on the lighter side. Biting down on the lady fingers was like sinking down on a pocket of air. They were so fluffy and it all came at just the right moment. We might have tapped out after the first bite had it been more dense. The coffee essence also came off smooth and velvety, adding to a decadent, but soft finale.

Conclusion

We had an intimate encounter with bacon on this evening. While it was nice, I would venture to try some of the other enticing menu options next time. But one thing is for sure, the penne will reach my mouth once again if I have a say in the matter.

MenuDrink MenuDessert Menu

 

 

 

Disclaimer: We were invited to dine at The Haven and our meal was complimentary.  However, our opinions remain our own.

The Haven
4051 Adams Ave
San Diego, CA 92116
thehavenpizzeria.com

The Haven Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

About Darren

Fooood! I love it if you can't tell already. I love everything about it. The taste, the smell, the look, the feel, the satisfaction, the gratification, and ultimately: the fun! I've been in San Diego for about 10 years now and it amazes me that there are still places to uncover. Traveling, eating, and taking pictures of food has always been a hobby of mine. So naturally Michael and I thought it made sense to share what we found with all of you. I tend to side with the savory but never shy away from a knock out dessert. If you have a place you think we haven't tried let us know! We're always on the lookout...

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2 Comments on “The Haven – Kensington”

  1. ooh we just went here last weekend! the only food we had in common is the Brussels! we thought the pizza dough was amazing and couldn’t stop eating it. I think we’ll have a post up in about a week or so if I can keep schedule. happy eats for January! looking forward to your sdrw post too!

    1. Sweet! Yes, the pizza was pretty bomb. I’ll look out for that post. Hope your SDRW dinner is a good one! Ours is tonight. 🙂

      Sorry we had to bail from the other event. J was feeling his jet lag come on strong. Let’s grab an extra bite next time and catch up.

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