Next month, the buzzy downtown restaurant-bar Lion’s Share will mark its 13th “anniverSAFARI” with a public celebration on Dec. 18.
Known for its exotic game-themed décor and menu, Lion’s Share’s owners Carlos Valente and Roy Ledo have more to celebrate this year than the Kettner Boulevard spot’s birthday. In April, they welcomed new executive chef, Dante Romero (of Two Ducks and formerly of Wormwood) and new sous chef Xavier Verdugo (formerly of Wormwood and Tiger! Tiger!). Their recently promoted bar lead John Gibian has also recently rolled out a new cocktail menu.
They’ve expanded their dinner service hours to midnight Tuesdays-Sundays to accommodate demand. And they recently refreshed the interior of the intimate venue, which is known for the taxidermied wild animal heads, cowhide rugs and hand-painted lion mural over the bar.
Romero, the new head chef, is well known around San Diego for Two Ducks, the 20-month-old, pop-up fine-dining concept he and his older brother and fellow chef, Danny Romero, present once a week in the loft space above Lion’s Share. The brothers also teamed up three years ago as the opening chef team at Wormwood, the absinthe-focused cocktail bar bar and restaurant in North Park, and they shared the kitchen at Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens in Liberty Station.
Dante Romero has known the owners of Lion’s Share for a long time and doesn’t think the successful concept needs any fixing. Instead, he has been gradually introducing new dishes that fit closely with the restaurant’s theme. He has also worked to refine the flavors, techniques and mouthfeel in some of the restaurant’s longstanding classics, like the boar Bolognese and salt & pepper frog legs.
Romero’s cooking style is French-Mexican, meaning he uses classic French techniques and incorporates the Mexican flavors he grew up with. Some of the eight new dishes he’s added to the menu are Coq au Vin with duck fat potato puree and house demi glace sauce; a patatas bravas starter with seared scallops; a charred broccolini appetizer with pepita jalapeño pesto and feta cheese; and a playful take on old-fashioned liver and onions that combines tempura-fried onion rings with a spreadable side of chicken liver mousse topped with house raspberry chipotle jam.
Romero said all of the dishes he makes at Lion’s Share are co-created by him, Verdugo and his brother Danny with ideas from other chef friends from around town. “Every dish is a very collaborative effort. It’s never myself. It’s never Javier or Danny. It’s everyone as a team.”
The Romero brothers — which includes middle brother Diego, who expedites dishes at Ponyboy restaurant in Point Loma — grew up in Calexico. Their parents worked long hours at their own businesses and the boys got tired of eating takeout and fast food. So in their tween years, Dante and Danny started cooking for themselves and their siblings, and Dante later worked for their aunt’s catering business in Calexico.
Danny and Dante moved to San Diego to attend college, where Dante said he launched his restaurant career as a dishwasher at BJ’s Restaurant and worked his way up to lead line cook. Then he moved to Barona Casino, where over the next five years he rose from buffet cook to sous chef, supervising 75 employees. Later he worked in istration for the casino’s other restaurants.
It was a good job, but Romero missed working as a chef, so he left Barona. First he ed his brother Danny at Stone Brewing, and later became chef de cuisine at Florence restaurant in Carmel Mountain Ranch. On their days off, the brothers ran Tortoise, a pop-up fine-dining concept the launched in 2018 with Ian Ward (Tortoise, Two Ducks and Lion’s Share are all named after Aesop’s fables). Then the pandemic arrived and Tortoise and Florence shut down.
When restrictions lifted, Romero spent a year as sous chef at Cohn Restaurant Group’s former Sea180 Coastal Tavern in Imperial Beach. Then the brothers were reunited at the award-winning Wormwood. In March 2023, they launched Two Ducks with an operating partner.
Romero, now in his early 30s, is enjoying his first executive position at Lion’s Share.
It’s a lot of responsibility when combined with Two Ducks, which operates one day a week in the space above Lion’s Share. To keep things humming, Romero credits the entire staff at Lion’s Share, as well as his ive girlfriend, Bianca Contreras, for helping make his dream come true.
“I’m tired but I feel fortunate,” he said. “I don’t feel I could do this if I wasn’t surrounded by people who are really ionate and want to keep growing.”
Lion’s Share 13th AnniverSAFARI
When: 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Dec. 18
Where: 629 Kettner Blvd., downtown
Phone: 619-564-6924
Online: lionssharesd.com
