Since the opening of Jack’s La Jolla earlier this year, I’ve literally eaten my way up to the top floor of this three-level operation, ending high enough last week to where I could gaze over the neighborhood’s low commercial structures and gawk at the ocean several blocks away. This, while chewing on wildly fresh Peekytoe Crab Cocktail and other stupendous fare crafted by chef and co-owner Tony DiSalvo.

The Ocean View Room is the final venue to open at Jack’s, a culinary multiplex boasting a snazzy grill and wine bar on the first floor, a fine-dining restaurant on the second and what feels like an exclusive rooftop lounge at the summit. By all accounts, Jack’s is an ambitious venture that reflects the overdue culinary renaissance hitting La Jolla. (Cendio and Excelsior are among the other contemporary restaurants helping to enliven the area’s dining scene.)

With a food consultant and a well-known French chef in tow, we nestled into a breezy cabana with windows and got right down to business with an elaborate California Roll from the sushi menu. The plate actually features four of the firm rice rolls, each topped with glistening caviar colored by wasabi, citrus yuzu and sweet plum sauce. At the center of the arrangement sat the half shell of an avocado filled with Dungeness crab and dabs of curry aioli. The presentation and flavors were impressive. And the abovementioned crab cocktail was so wonderfully chilled and clean tasting that nothing detracted from its flavor except for a few choice leaves of silky fresh butter lettuce resting beneath.

On the regular menu, you’ll find straightforward listings for steaks and seafood with an obligatory organic chicken breast tossed in for those with more reserved appetites. In this posse, none of us were counting fat grams, so we unleashed on the beef, especially knowing that all of the cuts are aged for 21 days and originate from the local family-owned farm, Brandt Beef.

The fun thing about ordering red meat here is that you get to try a variety of house-made sauces, kind of like a quasi meat fondue dinner if you order all of them like we did. Because of the large choice of side dishes caught our attention, we shared only two steaks between the three of us – a luscious 14-ounce prime porterhouse and a 12-ounce New York strip, both arriving medium-rare as requested.

The bernaise sauce in the lineup was put through the highest level of scrutiny by the French chef in our trio. “Very well prepared,” he commented passionately. A soy-caramel jus also earned raves; it’s a thin and buttery-sweet gravy of sorts that sinks easily into the grain of the meats, infusing their juices with a perfectly subtle caramelized flavor. The homemade steak sauce was punctuated by an exotic twist of tamarind for extra sweetness while the mustard miso imparted the kind of tangy sharpness that lends a nice edge to the earthy flavor of beef. A severely sweet red-wine reduction, however, got cast aside, if only because it was overly reduced with too much sugar.

From the fish selection there’s wild king salmon, Alaskan halibut, local swordfish and Alaskan king crab legs running at $26 a pound. Though we skipped over the menu’s ocean treats, we delved into a few excellent side dishes designed to be eaten family style.

A novel bleu cheese bread pudding was firm, filling and delectable, melting on the tongue upon first bite. Pairing finely with our steaks were Hen of the Wood Mushrooms, which were lightly salted and rich and meaty unto themselves. The roasted sunchokes (no relation to artichokes) augmented our dinner palette with a nutty flavor and a texture resembling potatoes. A relative of the sunflower, these North American tubers rarely appear on local restaurant menus and shouldn’t be overlooked because they match well to just about any meat or seafood entrée.

Both chic and comfortable, the Ocean View Room features its own bar, not to mention a sushi and raw bar, plus solid textures and fine fabrics that tell you the owners spared no expense when designing it. The place turns “clubby,” I’m told, after 10:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, when the pianist ramps up the energy around that time.

And if you can’t land a window cabana (as there are only three of them), the seating area further inside doesn’t disappoint. Stylish banquettes are arranged smartly, and the sun’s rays and fresh air pouring in manage to reach the back to remind you that you’re dining in top-of-the-town, rooftop style.