Pricing:
$12-18. Most of the options being around $15. A few of the steak options run up to $22. Fairly typical sit-down dining prices.
Distance:
At the intersection of El Camino Real and Alga. About a 10-15 minute drive for most Encinitas residents.
Thoughts:
I'm not 100% certain what to think about Ignite. It's just too.... much. Too much blatant trendiness, too much of an attempt to be a wine bar, too many types of food... It's so much I'm not sure what unique thing I'm supposed to take away from the experience.
They offer a smattering of everything from fish tacos to pizza to calamari. The food is good but other places are better. Plus there really isn't a signature dish. They don't specialize in a particular type of food nor to they offer a dessert that will induce stage three diabetes.
They have wine but, surprisingly, this aspect of the restaurant (despite being called a wine spot) is not really emphasized. Yes, there is an area where you can pick wine. But it almost looks like it's wine on display rather than for shopping and drinking. You walk right by it more often than not and the servers rarely drop lines like, "would you care to head over and choose a wine to drink?" (I've been to this restaurant multiple times).
The location is large, sporting tons of indoor seating along with an outside patio and bar. If you wanted to hang out with friends and get a few drinks, this is probably the best feature about Ignite. But again, this is not something you couldn't find just about anywhere else. Right across the street are at least four equally good if not better dining experiences that also offer areas for the casual drinking experience.
So would I pitch a fit if I got invited here? Nah. It's not a bad experience. But would I go out of my way to eat here? Ehhh.....
