By  Eric Noland > Travel Editor

SAN DIEGO - It's usually a good rule of thumb to avoid hotel restaurants when traveling. It's not that they're substandard, but the independent restaurants just tend to work a little harder to stay viable; they can't fall back on a steady stream of business travelers opting for the convenience of dinner in the lobby.

San Diego's newest hotels belie this principle, however. For the most part, they are home to first-rate eateries, which take some culinary chances while providing a level of service that assumes you live around the corner - and might be back in a week.

A look at some of the offerings:

Nobu: Since opening his first restaurant in Beverly Hills in 1987, Nobu Matsuhisa has carved out a global restaurant empire, and the Nobu at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego lives up to the high standard.

We had a friendly, helpful New Zealander for a waiter, and he guided us through a lovely dinner that we ordered piecemeal, according to whim, as we went. That meant yellowtail sashimi, toro sushi roll, a divine special of Kobe beef dumplings, shrimp tempura and, just for something green, asparagus tempura.

It's a busy place, which might account for pacing that was a bit rushed - the dumplings came out while we were still working on the sashimi and the sushi. We also could have done without the incessant, thumping soundtrack, but this is, after all, the Hard Rock.

The restaurant promises al fresco dining sometime this summer.

207 Fifth Ave., www.noburestaurants.com/sandiego/index.html#home, (619) 814-4124.

Quarter Kitchen: If you want to offer a first-rate hotel restaurant, find an accomplished chef familiar with the genre, and at the Ivy Hotel, that means Damon Gordon, who previously cooked at the Royalton in New York, the Delano in Miami and St. Martins Lane in London.

The Asian-influenced menu has such items as Kobe carpaccio and blackened hamachi amid the requisite hotel fare of 16-ounce rib-eyes and rack of lamb. One intriguing menu category, between the appetizers and the main courses, is "enough to share," which needs no explanation. The miso-glazed black cod among these selections was superb, a generous filet accompanied by a raw vegetable salad (and a real value at $18).

Service was impeccable ... once we were seated. This was one of those restaurants that tells you there will be a five-minute wait when the room is virtually empty, and "Would you like to have a drink at the bar?" When you decline and choose to stand nearby, that five-minute wait magically shrinks to 15 seconds.

600 F St., www.ivyhotel.com/quarter_kitchen.aspx, (619) 814-2000.

Grand Del Mar: Alas, the resort's acclaimed Addison restaurant was closed on the Monday night of our stay, but it was a pleasant surprise to find such a nice dinner in the Mediterranean-themed Amaya - the rare three-meal hotel restaurant with a bit of flair. It was also a nice choice for lunch, with its patio tables.

5300 Grand Del Mar Court, www.thegranddelmar.com/dining, Addison: (858) 314-1900, Amaya: (858) 314-2727.

Currant: This restaurant off the lobby of the Sofia Hotel has generated some buzz in San Diego culinary circles, which may have raised our expectations a bit high. The food is very good - notably charcuterie, ahi mignon and duck confit - but the service lags far behind. It's the kind of place where a server arrives at the table and says, "Who had the salad?" Or, later, "Are you done with that?" while you're still chewing.

Also, it didn't reflect well on the kitchen staff that on a menu of only eight main courses, they were out of two by 7:30 p.m. There was an entree special, but we didn't hear about it until long after we'd ordered. There was a chef's tasting menu, but we didn't learn of that until we were done eating. The pricing on the wine list, meanwhile, was exorbitant.

140 W. Broadway, www.currantrestaurant.com, (619) 702-6309.