An iconic restaurant space in San Diego is finally getting a second life.
The two-story, New Orleans-inspired grand dame in the heart of North Park—formerly Urban Solace, which was one of the major catalysts for the neighborhood’s modern food scene—will become Bacari, a Los Angeles-based restaurant concept inspired by the iconic wine bars in Venice, Italy. It’s slated to open early 2026.
Robert Kronfli, who co-owns Bacari with his brother Danny, says the team had been looking in North Park for about a year for its first expansion outside of LA.
“I walked by this space and loved it right away, but it wasn’t on the market,” he explained. “So I just kind of let it go.” His search continued until a few months later. “My broker calls me and said, ‘Hey, remember that building you really like?’”
Bacari (pronounced BOCK-are-ee) refers to the traditional wine bars in Venice, and currently has eight locations across L.A. They all center around a Mediterranean-ish small plates menu from executive chef and co-owner Lior Hillel. Originally from Israel, Hillel started his career with two years at New York’s three-star Michelin Jean-Georges, then moved to LA and partnered with Danny to open the first Bacari in 2008 near USC.
It obviously worked out pretty well.
The scratch menu changes a few times a year, but always focuses on shareables alongside a strong cocktail program. “There isn’t a section of big plates—the whole thing is small plates,” Robert explains. “The whole idea is to share.”
Signature items include glazed pork belly with sesame feeds, lemon, scallions, cilantro, and an umami mulling glaze; a spin on mac and cheese with a five-cheese fondue, toasted panko, while truffle oil, and scallion; and caramelized brussels sprouts with housemade pomegranate molasses, creme fraiche, and red beets. The cocktail menu also features made-from-scratch juices, syrups, and other ingredients with “flavor from all over the place… the idea is to have fun, put out a great, fresh product, be creative,and have fun with it.” Its runaway best seller is the Bacarita, a riff on a watermelon margarita.
Kronfli says no Bacari location looks or operates the same—some are dinner-only, others serve lunch, and the decor varies depending on the location. That’s intentional, Robert says. The neighborhood should inspire the concept, not the other way around.
“The Beverly Hills location is an old Art Deco building,” he says. “So the interior design there is still very Bacari, but I put a lot of Art Deco elements. Because North Park is already a New Orleans–style building, I’m not going to change that. I’m probably going to give it [more] New Orleans flair.”
Kronfi says they’ll do weekend brunch, and plan to stay open to cater to a late-night crowd. But he’ll let the locals dictate their hours. “If people want to stay and have fun till two in the morning, I’m staying open till two in the morning!” he says.
Taking over a beloved space that was near and dear to locals’ hearts comes with a lot of risk—something the Bacari team is acutely aware of. So while they’ll make aesthetic changes to express who Bacari is, “we’re not taking down walls.”
This is likely to be the first of several Bacari locations across San Diego (they’ve been scouting space in Little Italy, Leucadia, and Carlsbad). For now, Kronfli says they’re just excited to branch out of LA and see how San Diego responds. “I think it’s a really good fit for us,” he says.
Bacari in North Park opens in early 2026 at 3823 30th Street.
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