In the fast and furious race seen among downtown restaurants vying for San Diego’s “trendiest dining” trophy, the new Soleil @ K maintains a vaulting lead. Today’s winners possess seemingly bottomless budgets for constructing high-gloss interiors from which chefs enjoy enormous latitude to fairy-dust their menus with gourmet ingredients and crafty fabrications. It is what’s given San Diego a fresh culinary ranking by national food critics lately.

Soleil @ K is owned by Marriott International Inc., and resides in the street-level space of the San Diego Marriott Gaslamp Quarter Hotel, located only a few forks away from Petco Park. Not surprising, the ultra-hip motif was conceived by cb5 Restaurant Group, which previously unleashed its innovative design theories on W Hotel restaurants such as Rice in San Diego and Mojo in Los Angeles. But whether this season’s baseball-capped Padres fans will leap from their tailgate parties into Soleil’s trend-setting atmosphere has yet to be seen.

The restaurant’s edgiest feature is the communal seating, which occupies about 50 percent of the dining room. Diners can choose to sup with strangers at large rectangular tables containing centerpieces of fresh fruits and vegetables perched on three-tiered trays. Or they can “go private” in perimeter booths and smaller tables. Also, an outdoor patio offers casual respite from the dressier clientele inside.

Plump, juicy chickens rotating inside a large built-in rotisserie oven provides an eye-catching welcome. It adjoins a wall overlaid in mustard-yellow lava stone, which playfully conforms to the persimmon upholstery and Plexiglas ceiling fans. On warm days, the front windows open to the dilating din of the East Village, where the bustle will soon match that of the nearby Gaslamp District.

Soleil’s menu features some cutting-edge dishes built upon the faddish fare of yesterday. A commonplace Dungeness Crab Cake, for instance, receives out-of-the-box treatment with tomato remoulade, avocado mousse and wasabi greens. A terrine of Foie Gras gets flavored with zinfandel syrup and caramelized apples. The Wild Mushroom Wood-Fired Pizza that my soft-core vegetarian dinner partner ordered came with the added bonus of truffle cheese, creating a super-powered fungi taste that could be off-putting to some.

From the “small plates” category, the Shaved Baby Artichoke was stupendous – a slaw of raw, paper-thin chokes pointed up with lemon, olive oil and Parmesan, and served over flame-grilled ciabatta. Equally novel was the Wood-Fired Ricotta topped with a bold mixture of fresh basil, walnut pesto and black olive niçoise. Our only caveat was that the savory ricotta arrived lukewarm. A bowl of Baby Greens was also good, given its sweet balsamic vinaigrette. But the Honey Cured Chicken Wings with chili dip I ordered would have gone down more smoothly had the skins been crispier.

From the entrée list, my companion’s homemade Penne with porcini cream delivered him back to mushroom land. The dish, bedecked with wild mushroom ragout, was at least balanced with a fair amount of hardy Parmesan cheese and fresh, firm pasta. Though pleasing, he admitted afterwards that he should have varied his choices better, as even a side of Tallegio Mac and Cheese revealed hints of earthy truffle oil.

Still under the spell of the rotisserie oven, I ordered Chicken with Red Wine Jus and Polenta. The meat was soft and succulent, but again, the skin on it was elastic and challenging considering it came from a spit. An a la carte order of excellent Garlic Herb Fries served as a gluttonous accompaniment to both of our main courses. Dessert and sitting at a big table, we decided, would have to wait until our next visit.

In the bright array of “small” and “big plate” offerings you’ll also find Maine Lobster Risotto, Baby Artichoke Pizza with goat cheese, Alaskan Halibut with Parma ham, Rotisserie Double-Cut Pork Chop and Slow Cooked Lamb Shank with white bean mash. Dish presentations are lively. And the food is discernibly fresh.

Wine lovers will easily embrace the broad selection of California and international labels, some of which can be purchased by the half bottle. Or if you’re toting in vino, the restaurant waives its corkage fee on Sundays and Mondays, with a limit of two bottles per table. And perhaps the best perk of all that few downtown restaurants offer is free valet parking for up to three hours – just enough time to make table friends with other diners you may have eaten with in a past life.