My dining companion at Addison in The Grand Del Mar resort suggested I start my review with, “This is too good for most people.” What he really meant to say was the new, 6,000-square-foot restaurant, inspired by architectural visionary Addison Mizner, flies off the rating charts by San Diego dining standards. And perhaps due to its sheer opulence and shockingly astute wait service, we who have succumbed to mediocrity may well be shaken to the core by such elevated decorum that seems to stem from another time and place.

Indeed, with no expense spared in its construction, the restaurant’s design follows suit with Mizner’s proclivity for building posh Mediterranean Revival villas and manors in the 1920s throughout Florida. Here, though, on a generous stretch of acreage east of Del Mar, the tucked-away structure carries the hand stamp of Manchester Grand Resorts, which succeeded well in replicating a high-society dining atmosphere overlooking an 18-hole golf course, plus an amenity-loaded resort set to open next year.

Addison is a wonderland of architectural details replete with stately rotundas, towering archways, mosaic marble floors, ornate ironworks, heavy wooden ceiling beams, four fireplaces and breezy verandas where one might imagine a congregation of aristocratic Europeans discussing art while drinking cognac and smoking cigars. Yet for all its cumbrous trappings, the “palace” feels richly authentic rather than preposterously contrived.

The kitchen, too, is meticulously blueprinted. Free reign was given to Executive Chef William Bradley, who designed a laboratory-like layout for efficient line cooking, giving joyous wiggle room to his sauciers and sauté and pantry chefs. He arrives at Addison after bestowing his artisanal cooking on the nationally acclaimed Vu restaurant in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Guests choose from three different meal plans. A six-course tasting menu features fish, meat, steak tartare, farm cheese and dessert for $95 per person. Or, starting at $160, you can yield to the restaurant’s congenial sommelier, Jesse Rodriguez, who will pluck lauded wines from an imposing storage room that he pairs with each course. Hailing from Napa’s famous French Laundry, he delivers amazing magic acts in his selections. A chef’s menu is also offered at a negotiated price depending on your food specifications and course count.

We focused mainly on the a la carte menu, beginning with prawns wading in browned butter with a blot of intense lemon-lime jam perched on the lip of the plate for dabbing. The flavor combination was momentous, a blithesome collision of sweet and tart skipping all the way down our throats. The other seafood appetizer matched diver scallops to dried cherries and grainy Pommery mustard. Again, a novel alchemy of ingredients that seemed always meant to be.

And then there was a starter portion of flawless risotto spiked with pine nuts and Parmesan Reggiano – modestly creamy with just enough cheese incorporated to keep you wanting more. Ditto on the foie gras; its fatty attributes were uniquely complimented by candied quince and braised cabbage.

The concise wording of entrées reveals little at first. “Beef,” “Cod,” “Lamb” and “Bass” are listed in those generic terms to provoke inquiries. It’s a clever tactic that allows the wait staff to demonstrate their in-depth knowledge about the cuts and preparations of the fleshes at hand.

My companion’s lamb dish involved a rack of the meat cut away from the bone and encased in potato crust, plus a bonus ball of course-ground lamb sausage concealing a warm core of creamy goat cheese. The plate also gave way to a triangular goat cheese tart prettied up with pickled plums and sorrel. And we loved in the place setting the pearly-handled Laguiole cutting knife that resembled a polished switchblade you’d find in a collector’s display case.

A filet of delicate sea bass countered by nicely crispy skin on one side was deliciously interesting when dabbled in the flavor enhancements surrounding it. A puddle of deep-green arugula puree instilled a fresh grassy flavor to the fish, while a tiny sheet of preserved lemon boosted its mild essence much like raw ginger gives verve to sushi. The entrée also included a side dish of bacon-lobster fricassee, adding knockout decadence to the overall scheme.

The chef’s masterfully crafted dishes are highly complimented by service that is anticipatory, formal and coddling all at the same time. Never throughout our meal did we lack for clean silverware or encounter empty wineglasses. And when we stepped out to one of the verandas between courses, our vino followed us on a silver tray delivered by our waiter. This is fine dining at its best.

Pastry chef Jack Fisher heads the dessert menu, which currently features figs with goat cheese gelato and walnut sponge cake, plus panna cotta capturing roasted pineapple and coconut milk, which we found a little on the thin side, and a bittersweet chocolate tart dressed in passion fruit, caramel and milk chocolate ice cream.

Within moments after you’re seated, it becomes obvious that Addison doesn’t allow itself a single misstep while aiming for the high level of quality and comfort it provides to guests.