San Diego Restaurant Recommendations

[DougandEric]

Hi  All,

We will be in San Diego 2 nights before our Eurodam Panama Canal cruise.  We arrive on Thursday 11/14/2019 and sail on Saturday 11/16/2019.  Staying at the new Intercontinental Hotel opposite the pier (Bayfront Ct.).  We're looking for some recommendations on restaurants.  Any feedback on the restaurants below?  For breakfast and lunch, we like casual but for dinner we prefer a more upscale vibe with a nice atmosphere, preferably a full bar and nice wine selection.  Italian/Mediterranean/Middle Eastern are our go to cuisines but open to anything provided they offer some vegetarian and seafood options.

 

Breakfast

Brickyard Coffee & Tea (been here before for breakfast)

Richard Walker's Pancake House

Harbor Breakfast

 

Lunch

Mezze Greek Fusion

Athens Market Taverna

Margarita's Kitchen and Cantina

 

Dinner

Salvatore's

Buon Appetito

Rovino Rotisserie and Wine

Bencotto

Mimmo's

 

I'd like to be able to make reservations for dinner, especially for Friday night.  Trying to eat at local places and stay away from chains we have here in Tampa (Ruths Chris, Roys, Eddie V's, etc).  E loves grilled fish, seafood, not much meat and I prefer vegetarian but eat chicken and a little beef now and then.

 

Thanks

Doug

[princeton123211]

Do yourself a favor and sample some of the best Mexican food in the country around Chula Vista. Theres tons of options with a google search (I'm not going to taint the conversation with my favorites) but you wont be disappointed. Wont be anything fancy but it will be delicious. 

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

You mIght enjoy Tin Fish for lunch.  Also, Lou & Mickey's, Toscana Cafe & Wine Bar,  Roy's, Buster's Beach House, and Edgewater Grill.  There are so many great places to eat in SD it's hard to pick.  We visit 2-3 times a year for the last 40 years and these are some of our more recent fav's.  If you have a few hours to kill take the walking tour of Gaslamp "Brothels, Bites & Booze".

 

If you want to take the ferry over to Coronado then at The Landing is Il Fornaio and Phoie's.  

[Splinter]

I don't think you will find a bad restaurant in Little Italy! Any that are not good quickly go out of business. Avoid Born & Raised though. It is overpriced and I think it has poor service for what you pay. I would also add to your dinner list the following:

Indigo Grill

Juniper & Ivy

Herb & Wood

Prep Kitchen (Little Italy)

Kettner Exchange

The upstairs Top of the Market at the Fish Market next to Seaport Village is also very good.

In the Marina area, I like Sally's at the Marriott Hotel.

Puesto! at the Headquarters (near Seaport Village) is also very good.

While I have not eaten there myself, Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse at your hotel has had rave reviews as well.

 

For breakfast, add Cafe 222 and Brian's 24. Richard Walker's is good, but often long lines, especially on weekends.  Harbor Breakfast is very new...have not had a chance to try it yet. Also consider Farmers' Table in Little Italy.

 

For informal lunches, while I love Athens Market, I usually go there for dinner. Lots of good places for lunch in Little Italy. You might even want to check out the Food Hall there, which has great food and a nice outdoor eating area where you can people watch. Also, right on the Embarcadero near the cruise ship pier is Carnitas Snack Shack (Embarcadero location) which is excellent.

 

For Mexican food, check out El Agave in Old Town. Authentic gourmet Mexican food, not touristy, and they have a huge selection of tequilas as well. Coastaterra on Harbor Island is good, although not as authentic, but has a spectacular view. 

 

Edited June 25, 2019 by Splinter

[Splinter]

1 hour ago, ATSEAMYLIFE said:

If you want to take the ferry over to Coronado then at The Landing is Il Fornaio and Phoie's.  

 

Peohe’s is fine, but I think Il Fornaio is better.

[DougandEric]

Thanks for all the suggestions.  I've looked at many of these already.  I was curious about some of the seafood restaurants right on the water - sometimes the view is far better than the menu - glad the Fish Market is recommended.

 

I appreciate the recommendations.

Doug

[riffatsea]

Hi,

Everyone has different taste buds!

I would not go to Coronado for Italian at Il Fornaio.

Peohe's is not a foodie spot but their outdoor terrace is lovely and the small plates are "gigantic" and very tasty! We have had fun sharing several of them.

To me the upstairs at the Fish Market is pricier but nicer as the downstairs is nothing special and quite noisy! It's always fun to read menus and decide where you'd like to eat.

I use Open Table to make reservations and to read reviews as you can only review if you've actually eaten at the restaurant. I don't use Trip Adviser or Yelp food reviews at all!

Edited June 27, 2019 by riffatsea

[Kartgv]

Lots of good suggestions so far.   One thing to think about...if you get a good sunshiny day, the view looking back towards the city when the sun reflects back into the bay off all the building windows is spectacular just before sunset.    Good places to view it...Peohe's & Il Fornaio on Coronado or any of the cluster of restaurants on Harbor Island - Costerra, Island Prime, and C Level.    .   

Edited June 28, 2019 by Kartgv

[Splinter]

On 6/27/2019 at 10:35 PM, Kartgv said:

Lots of good suggestions so far.   One thing to think about...if you get a good sunshiny day, the view looking back towards the city when the sun reflects back into the bay off all the building windows is spectacular just before sunset.    Good places to view it...Peohe's & Il Fornaio on Coronado or any of the cluster of restaurants on Harbor Island - Costerra, Island Prime, and C Level.    .   

 

Coasterrra. C level is the upscale section of Island Prime (same restaurant). Don't go to Tom Ham's (awful food).

[katstoy]

One of my favorites is Hash House a Go Go - go for their brunch!  You'll need to take a taxi or Uber as it's a few miles from downtown and the port area.  While there are several across the country (mostly in touristy areas and Las Vegas) San Diego is the original.  It's small with a nice outside covered patio in the back.  It's comfort food with a gourmet twist - or twisted farm food as they call it.  We try to go there every time we go to San Diego.

 

Edit to add:  The HH Blood Mary - best bloody mary ever!

Edited July 2, 2019 by katstoy

[Nevada Jen]

Totally agree on Hash House A Go GO . Forgot about that one!  I really like Rockin Baja Lobster.  It embodies San Diego for me.  But is quite possibly a sentimental thing and not an awesome food thing!

[woody14h]

20 hours ago, Nevada Jen said:

Totally agree on Hash House A Go GO . Forgot about that one!  I really like Rockin Baja Lobster.  It embodies San Diego for me.  But is quite possibly a sentimental thing and not an awesome food thing!

First time we went there we were awed with the margaritas and prices (good).  Second time 2 years later not so much, disappointed. I guess it is luck of the draw. We like Miguel's, another tourist spot near Old Town. Agave with its huge selection of tequilas etc.  great food. Also near OT. Funny how we out of towners can wax eloguently on local restaurants. Hope some local foodies chime in.

[katstoy]

Just one thing to be aware of -- the dreaded "surcharge" that seems to be appearing in a lot of restaurants in California, especially in San Diego.  Because the state has increased the minimum wage (let's not get me started on that) a lot of restaurants are passing this on to the consumer as a 3% surcharge.  Usually it's noted somewhere on the menu, but sometimes it's either not there or I have missed it.

 

If you need to raises your prices to make ends meet or keep your profits up - do just that, raise your prices.  I probably wouldn't even notice the increase.  Don't slap this "service charge" on my bill, rubbing it in my face that I need to pay more because you don't want to!    Ok, stepping down off my soapbox now.  I feel better.  😜

[Editrix]

On ‎6‎/‎22‎/‎2019 at 1:12 PM, DougandEric said:

Any feedback on the restaurants below?

 

Breakfast

Brickyard Coffee & Tea (been here before for breakfast)

Richard Walker's Pancake House

Harbor Breakfast

 

Lunch

Mezze Greek Fusion

Athens Market Taverna

Margarita's Kitchen and Cantina

 

Dinner

Salvatore's

Buon Appetito

Rovino Rotisserie and Wine

Bencotto

Mimmo's

 

Trying to eat at local places and stay away from chains we have here in Tampa (Ruths Chris, Roy's, Eddie V's, etc.). 

 

You asked for feedback on these restaurants and no one has given you any. I would love to help, but I'm not familiar with them. Sorry.

 

I have eaten at Il Fornaio in three cities: San Jose, Palo Alto, and Burlingame. The food is fine but can be found at more than 20 other locations, so not exactly local. There are four Fish Market restaurants in the Bay Area, and I have eaten dozens of time at three of them: Santa Clara, Palo Alto, and San Mateo. I love the Fish Market, even the noisy downstairs. It is always my first choice for fresh fish prepared simply and, in my opinion, would be a good option for one of your lunches.

Edited July 12, 2019 by Editrix

[KeepCalmBearOn]

Geeze, I hate being a food snob (sort of), but wow, so many bad food recs..... Peohe's was good until Landry's bought Chart House (Peohe's was Chart House's attempt at upscale), now it is bad. By all means go for cocktails, but not a meal.

 

C Level isn't the "upscale" area of Island Prime, it is the bar area of Island Prime. Again, good, but more about the view than great food. I do really enjoy the wine flights at C Level; I wish more places did wine flights.

 

San Diego has some of the best Mexican food in the country and none of it is found at Miguel's, which is part of the Brigantine chain. But as mediocre as Miguel's is, Rockin' Baja Lobster is truly dreadful. It is Taco Bell with buckets of overpriced Coronas. El Agave on the other hand is excellent and very upscale, not a taco and burrito place. Mariscos El Pulpo Barrio Logan is a good Mexican seafood restaurant in San Diego's best know Mexican American neighborhood.

 

I like The Fish Market and Top of the Market, but Water Grill and The Fishery (Pacific Beach) are much better. The choice there is good food and a view or great food and no view.

 

Hash Hash A-go-go used to be fun because it was so unique, but they've gone national and lost some luster. Cafe21 in University Heights fills that unique space now. I do like Richard Walker's, but I'd get there early. I hate waiting in line to eat.

 

For the lunch ones you asked about, San Diego is not noted for its Greek food. But between Meze and Athens Market Taverna, AMT wins hands down.

 

Margarita's is okay, but I like Puesto, across the street, better.

 

Salvatore's, Buon Appetito, Bencotto and Rovino Rotisserie are all excellent. Mimmo's is out of place in that company. To choose one of the other four comes down to taste. Rovino Rotisserie is my current fave because it feels like eating in Tuscany to me.

 

Eater San Diego is my go to source for new, good places. Here are the two lists I follow

Eater San Diego Hot List

Eater San Diego Essential 38

 

 

 

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

Here's a couple of links that might be of interest if you're a foodie

 

http://ediblesandiego.ediblecommunities.com/

 

www.bajatestkitchen.com

 

I know the dates don't work for you, but the location might worth trying anyway.  

 

https://www.bajatestkitchen.com/tasting-tours-events-list/edible-baja-dinner-javier-plascencia-july-11-2019

 

 

Edited July 12, 2019 by ATSEAMYLIFE

[Weluv2cruise2gether]

We were in San Diego last June. We loved Richard Walker's for breakfast. I had a stuffed crepe and DH had a baked omelette at the La Jolle location. We both did eggs, bacon and potatoes at the Glasslamp district location. We still tell everyone how good it was. We even took pictures like we were foodies which we are not, but that should tell you how good it was!

 

We didn't eat at any of the other restaurants you mention. But we did really enjoy Rockin  Baha Lobster. We ate at their location in Old Town and in the Glasslamp district. Also really liked The Lions Share in downtown San Diego. I tried antelope sliders (never had antelope before) and they were delicious. DH had a sausage board with 3 different sausages (boar, rabbit and elk) which he said were also delicious. We also went to the Crack Shack in Little Italy. DH seen it on the Food Network and wanted to try it. Really good fried chicken! Seating is outside and it gets busy but we did enjoy it.

 

On Coronado Island, we went to the Bluewater Boathouse for lunch. Had an excellent lobster roll!!! And the water views are nice. It's across the seat from the famed Coronado Hotel and the staff said the building used to be a boathouse for the hotel.

 

Hope you have a great trip!

[RSF Cruiser]

I highly recommend El Jardin (The Garden) in Liberty Station. As the name implies, the vegetables come from the restaurant's own garden to the side of the building! The owner/chef is an award winning chef and the food is upscale with a Mexican twist. The selections are in no way traditional Mexican options. We just ate there the other night and had three delightful, creative dishes. Some kind of shrimp dish served on a beef bone - you eat the dish by scooping out a bit of marrow with the shrimp and spread the mixture on yummy toasted bread. Then we had a selection of four stuffed peppers that were stuffed with either a crab or cheese mixture. Absolutely delicious. Our third course was a 2.5 pound roasted sea bass that was incredible. I've also had their guacamole, and it was the best guacamole I've ever had! There is no view, although they do have inside and outside seating.

 

Liberty Station is a re-purposed military base and has a large people's market patterned after the public market in Seattle, lots of restaurants, some interesting museums (comic book, women's, and I can't remember the others), and just an all around fun place to visit. Liberty Station is adjacent to the San Diego Airport, so the planes taking off fly directly overhead. It's noisy when a plane takes off, but you get to see the belly of the plane up close and personal!

[riffatsea]

We love to sit outside at Peohes and order small plates/apps. I think they do those very well!

I know it is not a "foodie" spot but we have enjoyed many many lunches there!