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'Tis the season for cakes, cookies, pastries, pies, profiteroles, and other sweet treats—just don't tell your dentist to send us the bill
It’s a cardinal sin to serve a cold brownie à la mode. Thankfully, this restaurant always plates a soft, warm chocolate brownie topped with their signature espresso-Bailey’s ice cream. And thanks to Chef de Cuisine Tyler Nollenberger’s love for chocolate pretzels, the most recent iteration includes pretzel crumbles with a drizzle of chocolate sauce. “This dish really takes me back to my childhood,” says Nollenberger. “When you’re 10 years old, what’s better than a brownie and ice cream? And making the ice cream with Bailey’s? Well, that appeals to my adult side.”
2202 Fourth Avenue, Bankers Hill
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
Justin McChesney-Wachs
“I love the idea of a toasted frosting where you dig in to discover what’s inside,” says Vivian Hernandez-Jackson, owner and chef of the Ocean Beach dessert shop that combines her Cuban background with French pastry training. At the center of this white chocolate soufflé cake—served in individual portions—is a tart passion fruit cream, and on the outside are raspberries and a glossy vanilla bean cooked meringue icing. “Passion fruit tastes like a tropical vacation—it really transports people and has such a unique taste. I use it anywhere I see lemon in recipes.”
4820 Newport Avenue, Ocean Beach
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
Pulling from his tenure at the two-Michelin-star Spago in Beverly Hills, Herb & Wood’s Executive Pastry Chef Adrian Mendoza has a slate of five-star desserts at this glam Little Italy restaurant. The showstopper is the soufflé, a gluten-free option with flavors that rotate seasonally (blueberry in the summer, pear currently). He uses Bartlett pears sourced from Penryn Orchard Specialties in Northern California and a touch of sugar to create the base, then folds in meringue and lavender whipped crème fraîche. On top is a drizzly caramel sauce and salted caramel gelato. It’s quick to prepare but requires the precision of a scientist with the sugar, the ramekins, and especially the egg whites. “If you underwhip, it won’t rise as high, but if you overwhip, the soufflé will rise tall then deflate within seconds,” Mendoza says. “If it’s whipped just right, the soufflé has a three-to-five-minute window before it starts descending.”
2210 Kettner Boulevard, Little Italy
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
Cannoli can fall victim to stale shells and overly sweet cream. Not so at this traditional Italian deli owned by a sweet husband-and-wife team. After the arancini, pasta, and focaccia, save room for this one. They’re not reinventing the cannoli wheel, and we’re thankful for that. Expect a perfectly balanced ricotta filling and a crunchy shell for an ideal contrast. Bellissimo!
7918 Ivanhoe Avenue, La Jolla
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
Owner and pastry chef Karen Krasne pulled inspiration from a cake she had in Uruguay for her version, made with a dark chocolate sour cream base, chocolate mousse, and burnt caramel, plus a crunchy layer of macadamia nuts and crushed French wafers. The genius is in the housemade dulce de leche (a caramelized condensed milk). It’s been on the menu since Extraordinary Desserts opened, but it shot to stardom after chef Marcela Valladolid picked the cake on the Food Network’s Best Thing I Ever Ate: Cake Walk. Krasne may be closing her original location near Balboa Park, but she’ll open a larger, more modern one a few blocks away at Bankers Hill’s Louie Lofts soon.
2870 Fourth Avenue, Bankers Hill; 1430 Union Street, Little Italy
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
On the menu since Puesto’s first location (in La Jolla) opened in 2012, the frozen horchata was the brainchild of cofounder Eric Adler and Executive Chef Luisteen Gonzalez. The idea was to present the traditional Mexican drink in a fun new way. As for the recipe, that’s a family secret, but it does involve Straus organic cream and cinnamon. Best of all, $1 of every frozen horchata is given to a charity, which rotates monthly. To date they’ve raised $48,000 for No Kid Hungry and the Surfrider Foundation, among others. This month your buck will go to Workshops for Warriors, a veteran-focused nonprofit.
789 West Harbor Drive, Downtown; 1026 Wall Street, La Jolla
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
The menu and wines are Italian, so it only makes sense that the Bankers Hill restaurant would want authentic desserts, too. They pulled from the Italian tradition of restaurants frying and sugaring leftover dough to serve to kids after school in brown paper bags. Cucina Urbana (and their Kensington offshoot, Cucina Sorella) no longer uses the paper-bag presentation, but the crux of the dessert remains the same. Flavors for their dipping sauce change seasonally, like a blood orange syrup. “They are just so simple and dependable,” says Executive Chef Joe Magnanelli. “It’s fried dough, sugar, and Nutella. There’s nothing complicated, and that’s comforting.”
505 Laurel Street, Bankers Hill; 4055 Adams Avenue, Kensington
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
In a quaint corner of South Park lies this vegan, Victorian gothic restaurant-bar with its pink wallpaper and occult decor touches. And the menu is just as delightfully irreverent—think charcuterie boards made with fig sausage. There’s lots of fun in the plant-based dessert menu, too. “There’s no lack of inspiration or innovation in a dairy-free world,” says Kindred’s head chef, Emmy Miller. She combines dark chocolate blended with oat milk and Tcho chocolate with a black pepper crème anglaise, gingered almonds, nasturtium flowers, and seasonal fruit. “Each element plays its part. Sweet, salty, creamy, crunchy—sugar, spice, and everything nice!”
1503 30th Street, South Park
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
Look around at this La Jolla restaurant and you’re bound to see most tables finish their meal with this budino, a grown-up take on pudding. Theirs is a butterscotch custard topped with salted caramel, whipped cream, and housemade brown butter blondies. “It’s been off and on the menu since the opening,” says Culinary Director Ryan Johnston. “Every time we attempt to replace it, it always makes its way back on.” The budino is the brainchild of Whisknladle’s first pastry chef, Tracy Wei, and is a staple of the dessert menu. “Even if you think you don’t have any room left for dessert,” Johnston says, “we definitely subscribe to the ‘treat yourself’ mentality.”
1044 Wall Street, La Jolla
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
Justin McChesney-Wachs
Many pies at this Encinitas bakery are seasonal—the peach and pecan are particularly great for summer and fall, respectively—but thankfully, the strawberry rhubarb is available year-round. A buttery lattice crust encapsulates chunks of juicy berries and tart rhubarb. You can add fixings like butterscotch, whipped cream, or ice cream. And if you want to add a traditional touch to the holiday spread, try their Thanksgiving pie, a buttermilk biscuit crust filled with roasted turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, and stuffing baked golden in a sage buttermilk biscuit crust that’s served with chipotle cranberry sauce (available through December).
155 Quail Garden Drive, Encinitas
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
On the menu since Executive Chef Bernard Guillas joined the team 24 years ago, the Marine Room’s crème brûlée is almost as famous as its high-tide spectacle. This version, on the menu since May, has a macadamia-liqueur-spiked custard that gives off nutty scents of roasted almonds, plus notes of dried citrus and pepper. It also includes macerated blueberries soaked in passion fruit syrup, preserved orange peels, cardamom-flavored shortbread cookies, and a raw turbinado sugar on top to give it a crunch. That stoneware dish? It’s made by Guillas’s friend Mike Totah at Leucadia pottery shop The Wheel.
2000 Spindrift Drive, La Jolla
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
Some believe Akbar Mashti was the owner of the first ice cream parlor in Tehran, Iran, but there are other origin stories too. “An Indian man suggested it was named after Akbar the Great, the 16th century Mughal king of India who promoted Persian art, fine cuisine, and poetry,” says Soltan Banoo co-owner Sanam Govari. “He loved the ice cream so much that his cooks learned to make it for him.” Folklore aside, the traditional saffron-flavored ice cream, with hints of rose water and pistachio, comes sandwiched between two thin wafers. “The wafer for Iranians is like the cone for Americans.” The final touch is a drizzle of tart sour cherry syrup on to top balance the sweetness.
4645 Park Boulevard, University Heights
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
Neapolitan pizza may be its calling card, but it’d be a sweet sin to miss out on Buona Forchetta’s desserts, curated by owner Matteo Cattaneo’s mother, Augusta. Every October, she comes to San Diego from Italy for a few months to make the desserts herself. She has a new lineup this fall, including an Italian riff on cotton candy, but we love the classics, like her tiramisu, just as much. “I grew up eating this,” Matteo says. “It’s a traditional summertime dessert for us because it’s so hot in Umbria!”
3001 Beech Street, South Park;
Officine Buona Forchetta: 2865 Sims Road, Liberty Station
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
Danielle Jackson
Luxurious and delicious? We’d expect no less from the Hotel del Coronado restaurant, run by Master French Chef Patrick Ponsaty. Like many of his fellow European-trained chefs who began putting a playful touch on more serious cuisines, Ponsaty created a lemon dessert that looks like, well, a lemon. He starts with a special silicon mold in the distinctive shape. The center of the dessert has a poached Meyer lemon core with chocolate mint from The Del’s on-site garden and a yuzu-spiked white chocolate mousse. He then coats the frozen dessert with white chocolate and natural yellow colorant. The finishing touch is a dust of gold spray. Luxury all the way.
1500 Ocean Avenue, Coronado
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
It’s the most popular dessert on the menu at Richard Blais’s Little Italy restaurant. For proof, just look at all the tables around you ogling at the theatrical way they serve it. Pastry chef Bradley Chance whips up a cylinder of tempered dark chocolate filled with hazelnut brittle, coffee “soil,” chocolate pudding, chocolate pearls, freeze-dried and fresh strawberries, chocolate cake, and white chocolate chiboust cream. Make sure to get your camera out when the server begins pouring the milk chocolate ganache on top. As Chance says, “It’s all in the presentation.”
2228 Kettner Boulevard, Little Italy
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
Cheese as dessert? “Leave it to the French to propose such a thing!” says Gina Freize, co-owner of Venissimo Cheese. “But cheese is like crème brûée for those who prefer savory to sweet, since cheese is essentially creamy milk with salt. And creamy things are a wonderful digestive.” She suggests a blue cheese to cleanse and a Brie to soothe the palette, and an aged gouda, which is naturally sweet and texturally crunchy. Her picks? Bayley Hazen Blue cheese served with fresh figs, chocolate, and balsamic; the hard cow’s milk Appenzeller from Switzerland paired with apple slices and caramel sauce; and ginger snaps and sour cherries with Ewephoria, a sweet sheep’s milk gouda out of the Netherlands.
Locations in Del Mar, Liberty Station, Mission Hills, and North Park
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
You don’t have to cross the border to get piping-hot, sugar-dusted churros. Just visit this small kiosk inside Las Americas Premium Outlets in San Ysidro. The churro masters make sundae and ice cream sandwich spins on the namesake, but we prefer them clásico. Served in six- and nine-piece batches or a fun 20-piece mini option, you can dip the churros in chocolate or cajeta (caramel) sauce. For an extra $1.50, add Bavarian cream, strawberry preserves, or lechera, a sweetened condensed milk.
211 Camino de la Plaza, San Ysidro
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
Owner Crystal White honed her skills at San Francisco’s famed Tartine Bakery before opening Proof Bakery in LA, then launching a series of pop-ups. Thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, she now has her own brick-and-mortar—which recently got a write-up in the New York Times—where she slings loaves, tarts, morning buns, and more. The cream bun is our favorite, a croissant bun filled with pastry cream and a seasonal component. “It’s a way to showcase San Diego’s incredible produce in a morning pastry,” she says. “The outside of the croissant can expand as it bakes, which makes the outer texture flaky, crispy, and crunchy. But the inner and bottom of the bun are confined in a muffin tin, so they remain soft, chewy and buttery.” Future flavors for fall include apple butter with honey, pear vanilla, and maple date.
5525 La Jolla Boulevard, Bird Rock
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
The La Jolla restaurant has served more than 50,000 of these cakes since its opening—that’s 2,375 pounds of dark chocolate, 20,000 eggs, another 20,000 egg yolks, 1,250 pounds of sugar, and 172 pounds of flour. Crafted by Nine-Ten’s first pastry chef, Jack Fisher, who wanted to create his own version of the famous molten chocolate cake made by acclaimed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, the cake comes with a housemade vanilla bean ice cream and caramel sauce. The secret to its success is ensuring the sides are fully baked, so it holds its form while the middle remains melted.
910 Prospect Street, La Jolla
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
They may have just opened an ice cream shop next door (Stella Jean’s), but we’re still suckers for the original concept, an ode to sweet and savory pies of all shapes and sizes. For dinner, the five-inch steak and ale pie and roasted veggies with curry pie are popular, but we don’t leave without the 3.5-inch coconut cream pie. The best-seller combines tender young coconut from Thailand with a coconut-milk-based pastry cream that’s topped with fresh whipped cream and toasted coconut flakes.
4404 Park Boulevard, University Heights
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
The eponymous pastry chefs learned how to make European-style cakes in their native Holland before opening this low-key Bonita bakery in 1991. Their menu spans cheese Danishes, caramel walnut tortes, lemon bars, and elaborate cakes like Colombian mocha buttercream, but the fan favorite—especially during the holidays—is the fresh fruit strudel, a thick puff pastry base layered with fluffy Bavarian cream and topped with berries, kiwis, apricots, and more. The dessert stretches two feet long, but you can also find individual-size strudels in the dessert case if you’re not one for sharing.
5080 Bonita Road, Bonita
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
Pastry chef Jeremy Harville takes flour, milk, butter, eggs, and salt and transforms them into pillow-soft dough balls topped with a brown sugar crumble and seasonal cream fillings. “I wanted a play on a croquembouche,” he says. This month, he’ll serve horchata cream profiteroles with cajeta (a goat milk caramel sauce) and pumpkin seed brittle. “I put them on the second dessert menu after opening and haven’t been able to take them off since—due to possible protests and rioting.”
3752 Park Boulevard, Hillcrest
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
The menu at Cowboy Star reads a little like its decor—Old West tradition (cowboy gear and wooden beams) mixed with some industrial touches (exposed brick, steel accents). The same goes for this dessert, a staple since the East Village steakhouse opened in May 2008. Chef-partner Victor Jimenez wanted a “wow factor” dessert, so he took inspiration from a memorable bread pudding he had tasted in New York City. Now a signature dish, the pudding is made with housemade brioche, chocolate chips, and custard—the perfect post-steak palate cleanser.
640 10th Avenue, East Village
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
The stylish, plant-based restaurant—basically vegan except for its use of honey in some dishes—is known for lentil bowls, raw pesto kelp noodles, and mole tempeh, but don’t overlook their menu of sweets, made sans egg or dairy. There’s the vegan riff on Almond Joy chocolate bars and gluten-free chocolate chip walnut cookies, but we always head straight to the cakes and pies. The highlight is the coconut cream pie, which has a photogenic swirl of dark chocolate and a crust made out of dates. Look for it on the menu under the eatery’s signature affirmation-style name, the Irresistible. We couldn’t agree more.
1980 Kettner Boulevard, Little Italy
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
Formerly known as Wow Wow Waffle, the charming eatery behind a laundromat may have changed its name, but the thick, fluffy, Liège-style waffles are all the same. The menu, which offers “Sweet,” “Not So Sweet,” and “Savory” waffles also serves seasonal spins, like a pumpkin butter with bananas. We go for the Nutella, with its generous layer of hazelnut spread, sliced strawberries, whipped cream, and powdered sugar (also offered in a smaller size for kids). Take it to the fire pit, preferably with a cup of Coffee & Tea Collective coffee by your side.
3519 30th Street, North Park
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
When the Coronado eatery retired its first Hostess-inspired dessert, the Naughty Ding Dong, Executive Pastry Chef Lori Sauer decided to continue the trend. Her gourmet Ho-Ho is made of a chocolate sponge cake with marshmallow whip, fudge, cacao, and a large scoop of MooTime Creamery coffee ice cream. “It’s a twist on a nostalgic American sweet treat,” Sauer says. “The name and description alone just sucker you into trying it.”
1015 Orange Avenue, Coronado
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
Tracing the origins of this dessert involves a little history. The egg custard tart in a puff pastry shell, or pastel de nata, was created in Portugal but also found a fan base in the Portuguese colony of Macau and in its neighbor, Hong Kong. Bakers in the megalopolis put their own spin on the dessert by adding more egg yolk and cutting down on the sugar. The resulting dan tat has proliferated in Taiwanese bakeries, like the 85°C chain, where the palm-sized tart (and all their other pastries) are made hourly. It’s soft like panna cotta with a flaky crust like pie.
Locations in Kearny Mesa, Mira Mesa, National City, Point Loma, and UTC.
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
Keeping with the tradition of creative desserts born in Asia, this Kearny Mesa spot has brought over one of Taiwan’s most popular street foods. The sundae starts with a soft, bulbous waffle—the puffle—and gets a hefty dose of custard. Then comes the fun part: the variety of themed toppings. You can get the Perfect Matcha with a green-tea-tinged puffle, green tea custard, mochi, and a condensed milk drizzle; the Black Out, an Oreo puffle paired with vanilla custard, Oreo cookies, and a chocolate drizzle and others.
4619 Convoy Street and 7655 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, Kearny Mesa
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
Rose Donuts
In a sea of out-there flavors, this legendary bakery near USD remains true to classics, like glazed and cinnamon sugar donuts and maple bars. The cash-only shop is lined with cases of the fried goodies that are just as fresh in the afternoon as they are at 5 a.m. We wake up early for the apple fritters, the huge pastry that’s glazed and crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, and dotted with juicy apple chunks throughout. Word to the wise: The fritters are often the first item to sell out.
5201 Linda Vista Road, Morena
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
Justin McChesney-Wachs
Pastry chef Eli Peralta wanted to put something on the menu at The Patio on Lamont that paid tribute to his favorite sweet, banana bread. But this is no subtle dessert. The housemade bread comes with peanut butter mousse, a rich topping balanced by vanilla ice cream, brûléed banana, and foster sauce. Since hitting the menu in 2012, it’s now become available at The Patio on Goldfinch in Mission Hills and The Patio on 101 in Encinitas.
4445 Lamont Street, Pacific Beach
The Patio on Goldfinch: 4020 Goldfinch Street, Mission Hills
The Patio on 101: 345 South Coast Highway 101, Encinitas
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
This traditional Mexican sweet bread, named for its shell-like appearance, is a breakfast staple and coffee snack whose origin is said to trace back to brioche, brought over by the French during European settlement in Mexico. The base is a yeasted, sweetened wheat dough covered in a crumbly sugar topping. Beyond the classic version, it also comes in chocolate.
Locations in Barrio Logan, City Heights, Golden Hill, and North Park
73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
At the fast-casual component of Herb & Wood, Executive Pastry Chef Adrian Mendoza crafts some of the city’s best croissants. While his butter version is the number-one seller, we prefer the almond. The process begins with an 18-hour dough starter that then proofs, or rises, for one hour before it’s chilled and folded with (a lot of) butter. After it’s divided and shaped, it’s left to rise for another two hours before it bakes for 22 minutes at 385°F to get the deep brown, flaky exterior.
2210 Kettner Boulevard, Little Italy
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73 Must-Try Desserts in San Diego
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Warm chocolate brownie
Discover eateries, outings, and shops within this inland North County community
Just south of Lake Hodges near 4S Ranch and Poway, Rancho Bernardo is a suburban community that blends residential neighborhoods with industrial pockets, elevated by a decidedly diverse food scene.
Over 60 years ago, this North County neighborhood was once part of a family ranch. Since that time, big tech companies have taken up residence here, including Amazon, Sony Electronics, Oura Ring, HP, Teradata, and ASML. Rancho Bernardo Inn serves as a community hub, with locals frequently meeting at the hotel’s restaurants, golf course, and spa.
Whether it’s work or a round of golf that brings you to Rancho Bernardo, we’ve taken care of the agenda planning with our guide to the area’s best restaurants, activities, and shops.
Sample ingredients plucked straight from Rancho Bernardo Inn’s onsite garden and served at their signature restaurant Avant. One of the neighborhood’s most upscale dining options, they serve a French-inspired menu with nods to California, including many seafood options. Don’t miss their more casual sister restaurant Veranda for al fresco dining.
17550 Bernardo Oaks Drive
Wood-fired pizzas and handmade pastas are standouts at The Kitchen, Bernardo Winery’s counter-service restaurant specializing in Sicilian flavors. Charcuterie boards and bruschetta make for great starters or snacks while wine tasting.
13330 Paseo Del Verano Norte
Fast-casual and family-owned eatery Bushfire Kitchen recently opened a location in Rancho Bernardo, serving sandwiches, bowls, salads, burgers, protein plates, and housemade empanadas. Bushfire prepares comfort food with healthy ingredients, and offers plenty of vegetarian and vegan options.
11962 Bernardo Plaza Drive, Suite 110
Some might call The Cork & Craft an overachiever. This gastropub has an in-house craft brewery and winery: Abnormal Beer and Wine. The more, the merrier. Their sushi menu is definitely worth exploring, but don’t miss other specialties like garlic noodles, chicken wings, and pork belly.
16990 Via Tazon
You don’t have to leave Rancho Bernardo to get a white tablecloth steakhouse experience. Carvers Steaks & Chops has prime rib (their best seller), filet, ribeye, porterhouse, New York strip, and other cuts, served alongside crab-stuffed mushrooms, wedge salad, French onion soup, potato skins, and other steakhouse specialties.
1940 Bernardo Plaza Drive
This no-frills Burmese restaurant is known for its traditional tea leaf salad that’s topped with sesame and sunflower seeds, garlic chips, peanuts, tomatoes, jalapeños, fried yellow beans, and fermented green tea leaf dressing. Tucked into a nondescript strip mall, Burma Place is a great takeout option when you want to eat garlic noodles, fried rice, chicken curry, and samosas from the comfort of your couch.
16719 Bernardo Center Drive, Suite A
Find authentic Vietnamese cuisine at Phở Ca Dao, including favorites like phở noodle soup, vermicelli noodles, broken rice dishes, and spring rolls. One of eight locations throughout San Diego, this family-owned chain uses robot servers for food delivery.
11808 Rancho Bernardo Road, Suite 100
It’s all about the sauce at fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant The Kebab Shop. Smothering your chicken shawarma, gyro, or falafels in garlic yogurt, cilantro jalapeno, fire chili, and dill yogurt sauce is practically a rite of passage. The hardest part is deciding whether to order a wrap, bowl, or salad.
11980 Bernardo Plaza Drive
Get a taste of South Asian flavors at Casa Lahori, a Pakistani restaurant noted for its grilled meat kabobs. Other best-selling dishes include beef nihari, chicken biryani, and shahi paneer— best enjoyed with naan bread.
11975 Bernardo Plaza Drive
Grill your own meat on the tabletop at Kangnam Korean BBQ, an interactive, all-you-can-eat experience that’s well-suited for large groups. Marinated beef bulgogi, grilled galbi short ribs, and spicy pork are served alongside traditional banchan dishes like kimchi, japchae glass noodles, and flavorful stews. Weekday lunch specials provide a nice discount on these filling meals.
11828 Rancho Bernardo Road, Suite 117–119
Dig in to your favorite curries and kebabs at Curry & More Indian Bistro. Most entrees are served with a choice of two side dishes, including basmati rice, potatoes with cumin, daal, naan, or mixed greens. Help offset the spice with one of their sweet mango or strawberry lassi drinks.
11808 Rancho Bernardo Road, Suite 123
Kai Oliver-Kurtin is a San Diego-based writer who covers travel, dining, events, and culture. Her writing has been published in USA Today, Condé Nast Traveler, Fodor's Travel, Marie Claire, and HuffPost, among others.
Telefèric Barcelona will open its first San Diego location early this summer
Westfield UTC mall is adding yet another “first” to the ever-growing roster of restaurants. The first US location for China’s stir-fry sensation Chef Fei is on the way later this year, Japan already reinvented crispy rice pioneer Katsuya by opening the first Katsuya Ko, and now, it’s Spain’s turn—Telefèric Barcelona opens early this summer.
The family-owned, Barcelona-based tapas joint first opened in the US 10 years ago in Walnut Creek, California, but co-founder and CEO Xavi Padrosa says they’ve had their eye on San Diego for years. Westfield UTC “just clicked,” he says, pointing to the burgeoning collection of world-class eateries already within the mall’s walls. Plus, La Jolla’s breezy vibe echoes Spain’s easygoing tapas culture.
The indoor/outdoor space spans 5,526-square-feet, with seating for 150 inside, 60 on the patio, and 16 more at the bar. Xavi’s sister and co-owner Maria Padrosa designed the Mediterranean-inspired space as a contemporary take on coastal Catalonia, using imported furniture and materials from Spain like hand-glazed tiles and wood accents. And if all the dining spaces are planets, the center of the suite’s universe is the bar.
Padrosa points to signature favorites like patatas bravas (fried potatoes drizzled with a spicy red sauce and house aioli), jamón ibérico de bellota (Spanish ham from free-range pigs raised on acorns, cured for 38 months and sliced to order), gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp), pulpo Telefèric (octopus with potato purée and pimentón XO, a spicy Spanish/Cantonese fusion sauce), and croquetas (a popular fried tapas dish coated in breadcrumbs and made with béchamel mixed with fillings like jamón or king crab.
There are a very small handful of legit paella spots in San Diego (Costa Brava in Pacific Beach and Cafe Sevilla in Gaslamp Quarter come to mind), so I’m personally looking forward to giving Telefèric’s a go—especially the squid ink paella negra, which is perhaps the most goth paella of all. Every location also offers different weekend specials, La Jolla’s being seafood-driven and meant to pair with beverage director Alex Serena’s drinks. There are over a hundred Spanish wines, Spanish-inspired cocktails, sangria, and of course, plenty of twists on the iconic gin and tonic. The restaurant will also have a gourmet market called The Merkat with imported Spanish sundries.
With more US locations in the works (Newport Beach will open soon after La Jolla), Padrosa says the company hopes to open more across California, but are open to anywhere in the country that feels right. “We don’t know exactly what new cities will appear on our map in the coming years,” he says. But in true Catalan fashion, anywhere they go should be ready for big plates of hearty Spanish cuisine.
Telefèric Barcelona La Jolla opens early summer 2026 in Westfield UTC. Opening hours will be Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Most of the time, you have to be 18 years old to change your name. In Arcana’s case, it was about a month. The immersive speakeasy behind Archive in Encinitas updated their moniker to Animga (a play on “enigma”) earlier this month, after what one can only assume was an upset letter from a similarly-named business. However, partner Paula Vrakas promises that the concept remains the same—mystery, cocktails, and a forthcoming bottle locker membership club. Since the only constant is change, Anigma is off to a good start!
Listen Now: The Latest in San Diego’s Food and Drink Scene
Have breaking news, exciting scoops, or great stories about new San Diego restaurants or the city’s food scene? Send your pitches to [email protected].
Beth Demmon is an award-winning writer and podcaster whose work regularly appears in national outlets and San Diego Magazine. Her first book, The Beer Lover's Guide to Cider, is now available. Find out more on bethdemmon.com.
From San Diego’s coastline to Los Angeles stadium and fan zones across the region, here’s how to experience soccer’s biggest event
When three nations and 16 cities come together to host the FIFA World Cup 2026, the scale stops feeling like a tournament and starts feeling like geography. A continent becomes the stage as borders soften into corridors. And Southern California—shaped by migration, sport, entertainment, and constant movement—sits inside that landscape with all eyes on it.
San Diego and Los Angeles have always felt connected. Hop on the Pacific Surfliner, and the trip unfolds in one continuous stretch of coastline, passing beach towns, neighborhoods, and city centers.
Traveling from San Diego, everything still feels slightly suspended as the Pacific Surfliner follows the coast north with ocean on one side and a slow suburban blur on the other. San Diego stays in exhale. Los Angeles is already building toward something louder.
This summer, Los Angeles will host eight matches of the FIFA World Cup at Los Angeles Stadium, including the US Men’s National Team opener on June 11, while the region stretches into 39 days of programming across stadiums, parks, transit hubs, beaches, and neighborhoods. Instead of one massive fan hub, Los Angeles is embracing a citywide celebration, with fan zones spread across its entirety.
But this pattern has been rehearsed here for decades. In 1994, Southern California became one of the defining stages of the World Cup, when matches at the Rose Bowl placed global attention on the region and turned local stadiums into international landmarks, confirming its ability to hold the world at scale.
What distinguishes Southern California is not just infrastructure, but cultural permeability. Fashion, music, film, art, and sport constantly overlap here, creating an environment where identity is flexible and always in motion. From the Venice boardwalk, where skate culture shaped modern street style, to global soccer stars rubbing shoulders with Hollywood celebs, to authentic Spanish cuisine moving up and down the I-5 corridor, everything circulates.
The World Cup is not introducing anything new here, it’s showing up for the summer and showing out, revealing what this city has always known about itself. What follows is a look at the fan zones and how Los Angeles turns itself into a city-wide stage for the tournament, one neighborhood at a time.
As the heart of Los Angeles, Union Station is an official Fan Zone June 25-28 during the World Cup, but in practice it never really stops being one.
It is the city’s circulation point, its meeting ground, its pressure valve. Commuters, travelers, match-day crowds, and everyday Angelenos all move through the same space, and everything mixes, overlaps, and scales in real time. In a way, this is where the World Cup stops arriving in Los Angeles and starts moving through it.
The Pacific Surfliner from San Diego to Los Angeles makes that shift feel almost too easy. No stress or gridlock anxiety, just a straight line up the coastline with ocean on one side and everything slowly becoming more built on the other. It’s one of the rare ways into LA that doesn’t feel like arrival as friction. You can sit with a laptop, watch the Pacific drift past, grab coffee from the café car, and let the city come to you in pieces.
That’s the beauty of arriving at Union Station. Instead of feeling like you’re on the edge of the city, you’re immediately surrounded by it. And, inside, the station already reads like a World Cup nerve center: banners, movement, multilingual energy, the sense that something global is about to funnel through this exact point. The Heart of the City Fan Zone only sharpens that feeling, with simultaneous match screens, DJ sets, meet and greets, and immersive activations built around marquee games like USA vs. Türkiye.
From there, the city splits outward.
ROW DTLA feels like the first exhale after arrival. A converted industrial campus turned creative district where restaurants, retail, and open-air courtyards form a self-contained ecosystem. If you’re looking for the perfect first meal in LA, make it lunch at Pizzeria Bianco. The thin-crust pizza is reason enough to go, but the space leaves just as much of an impression.
What I liked most about ROW DTLA is how quickly it resets you after the train. One minute you are stepping off at Union Station, and the next you are in a space that feels like its own version of LA, a city inside a city with some of the most curated shopping I’ve ever seen.
Bodega hides itself behind a convenience-store front, a sneaker and streetwear space disguised as something ordinary, like LA refusing to make anything feel too obvious. The whole campus moves like that, part retail, part gallery, part neighborhood you are only temporarily inside.
Isabella Dallas is a freelance writer for San Diego Magazine and the Arts and Culture Editor at The Daily Aztec in her final year at San Diego State University. She previously worked as an editorial intern for SDM, but when she’s not writing, you can find her trying the best coffee spots in SD, devouring the latest rom-coms, and indulging in anything and everything pop culture.
The annual event honors middle market companies creating jobs, scaling up, and investing in the region
San Diego is known for its startup culture and innovation economy, but what happens when the company moves beyond its early-stage years? The San Diego Business Impact Awards aim to answer that question, spotlighting the middle market businesses helping drive the region’s economy.
Hosted by San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and JPMorganChase, the second annual awards celebration takes place on Thursday, July 23, from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. at Scripps Research Auditorium. More than 200 executives, entrepreneurs, and business leaders are expected to attend the networking and cocktail event honoring some of San Diego County’s fastest-growing companies.
Businesses headquartered in San Diego County that have operated for at least two years are encouraged to submit their nomination by Thursday, June 18 at 4 p.m. Companies across industries—from technology and life sciences to tourism and consumer products, as well as pre-revenue startups—are eligible for recognition.
For EDC President and CEO Mark Cafferty, the event is as much about building connections as celebrating success. “We’ve had a longtime partnership with JPMorganChase; their work aligns with our efforts to support underserved communities and drive talent development,” says Cafferty. “And the networking was invaluable last year. I’m still in touch with people I met at last year’s awards.”
EDC is an independently-funded nonprofit that works directly with San Diego companies to help them grow the local economy, make the region as a whole more competitive, and attract and retain top-tier talent with quality jobs. Through EDC, companies can get help starting or expanding their business with support for things like site selection, permit navigation, and regulatory guidance, plus connections to local resources and potential business collaborators.
The San Diego Business Impact Awards began as an idea with one of EDC’s longtime strategic partners, JPMorganChase. The two organizations share a commitment to San Diego and are dedicated to bolstering middle market businesses.
“We’re blessed with a robust innovation economy and startup community,” says Aaron Ryan, San Diego Region Manager for JPMorgan’s Commercial and Investment Bank and vice chair of the firm’s’ San Diego Market Leadership Team. “But one of the segments of the business community we felt was overlooked was emerging middle market companies—the businesses that are no longer small but not yet large.”
Ryan says supporting those companies is critical as they scale and decide where to invest, hire, and grow.
San Diego’s high cost of living remains one of the region’s biggest business challenges, making talent recruitment and retention increasingly competitive. But local leaders point to the region’s quality of life, climate, and collaborative business community as advantages that continue to attract employers and workers.
“In order to support thriving households, there has to be enough high-quality jobs for people to be able to afford to live here,” Cafferty says. “Once a company grows and excels past that middle market point in their growth cycle, they become much more likely to pay higher wages and compete globally.”
Both Cafferty and Ryan proudly tout the unique collaboration that exists among San Diego County businesses. Bringing together top universities producing high-quality talent, cutting-edge research institutions, a robust military and defense presence, leading ocean science and environmental organizations, and a binational, cross-border identity creates a distinct business ecosystem that defines and strengthens the San Diego region.
Last year’s San Diego Business Impact Awards celebrated nearly 60 honorees from 49 industries, representing a total of 8,232 jobs across eight sectors, including: software and technology, healthcare and life sciences, consumer goods, professional services, finance, construction and manufacturing, defense, and hospitality and tourism. On average, honoree companies doubled their revenues over the previous year, employed more than 145 San Diegans each, and offered an average annual compensation of $192,415.
Top honorees included defense contractor Innoflight, environmental consulting firm Bancroft Construction Services, life sciences startup Element Biosciences, defense technology contractor GALT Aerospace, organic grocery store chain Jimbo’s, and biopharmaceutical company LENZ Therapeutics. During the event, Innoflight Founder and CEO Jeff Janicik held a fireside chat offering his insights on investing in the community and embracing San Diego culture.
This year, organizers hope to continue highlighting the middle market players driving economic impact across the region. Nominations are now open through June 18 at 4 p.m. Get your tickets to the San Diego Business Impact Awards celebration to enjoy drinks by Snake Oil Cocktail Co., light bites, live music, and networking.
Talking farm to table, fraud-to-table, and the feasibility of the movement with the beloved restaurateur who saw it all
Garden Kitchen was special. During its seven-year run on a quiet street in Rolando, even the farmiest-to-table devotees were pointing to chef-owner Coral Strong and slow-clapping. When a dramatic rent-hike forced her to close in 2022, Strong wasn’t sure what to do next.
Farm-to-table wasn’t new by any means—chef Alice Waters spawned the movement at her pioneering restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley in the early ‘70s, and many San Diego chefs did it right. But by the mid-2000s, the idea had been so co-opted by the mainstream that the meaning was almost completely lost.
“In the beginning, I used to get very honestly angry and upset when I would go to other restaurants that were claiming they were farm-to-table, but knowing some of the chefs or prep cooks inside [telling me] ‘Oh no, that comes from Restaurant Depot,’” she says.
Food critic Troy Johnson’s cover story in 2015 documented the fraud, titled “Farm to Fable.” At Garden Kitchen, Strong only used produce and meat sourced from local San Diego farms—an honorable, if not arduous endeavor.
Strong grew up in Cardiff before her parents moved the family to Costa Rica in 1989. They’d bounce between the two countries for months at a time, but when they lived in a motel by the beach while building their own house, she witnessed an incredibly tight-knit food culture. “As a Latin American country, everyone kind of cooks together,” she says. Everyone chopped, prepped, prepared, and served as a unit. “[That] definitely shaped my adolescence as to how I thought about food and the community of food.”
When her father, a commercial fisherman, brought the family back to San Diego, Strong leaned into an entrepreneurial streak, moving from coffee to accounting and eventually bartending to pay the bills. But food remained a passion, especially after she met her future husband, who was working at a farm and ranch in Escondido.
“We were just always disappointed with the vegetables out at restaurants and were like, ‘Why can’t they just make vegetables taste good?” she wondered. She realized that despite having more small farms than any other county in the country, most restaurants in San Diego simply weren’t using local ingredients.
So she decided to do it herself.
Strong opened Garden Kitchen without any formal culinary training—just a commitment to getting the freshest vegetables, meat, fruits, and other produce onto people’s plates. Her first chef quit within a month, telling her it was impossible. “So I got in the kitchen one day and said, ‘I can do this, let’s figure it out.’ I taught myself how to cook.”
She already had connections with farmers, fishermen, and ranchers, and designed a different menu almost daily based on what she could get. “My farmers sometimes delivered in the middle of dinner service,” she laughs.
Garden Kitchen lasted until after the pandemic, but before the current economy cut into already razor-thin margins. Could Garden Kitchen exist today? She’s not sure.
“The biggest thing right now is just looking at the finances and how expensive it is,” says Strong. “Obviously, the cost of food is up right now, gas is crazy right now… it just crushes you.” Despite that, she believes that committing to the true farm-to-table ethos is as easy as one decides to make it.
“If you think it’s hard to order directly from your farmer, if you don’t understand the absolute pleasure in doing that and you’d rather order from a computer, then that’s your own difficulty,” she says. “People say they’re into it, but are they willing to make the effort like I am, to drive an hour to go get my meat, or drive 35 minutes to go to my farm to go pick it up? I don’t know.”
Today, Strong works as a private chef, hosts pop-ups, and offers catering services, all still using seasonally available ingredients from San Diego. And while she has no intentions of opening another restaurant, she says we might see even more of her in the future.
“I have a large property [in Valley Center], and let’s say that there will be more of my food to come,” she promises.
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Beth Demmon is an award-winning writer and podcaster whose work regularly appears in national outlets and San Diego Magazine. Her first book, The Beer Lover's Guide to Cider, is now available. Find out more on bethdemmon.com.
We rounded up the city’s best events, activities, and restaurants to celebrate Dad on June 21
Father’s Day is often the overlooked summer holiday that doesn’t quite get the extravagant brunch treatment or overflowing bouquets that Mother’s Day does. Sure, there’s the annual pair of socks, Padres hat you’re convinced he doesn’t already own, beer subscriptions, phone case doubling as a wallet, plus the classic “Best Dad” keepsakes. But this year, let’s flip the narrative with events, activities, and specials made with Dad in mind.
Whether he wants a quiet dinner, a big screen full of San Diego sports and wings, or a weekend that somehow includes NASCAR, a jazz festival, and a Broadway reimagining, there is something for every dad. Here’s your guide to a memorable Father’s Day in San Diego.
Jump To: Activities | Bars & Drinks | Dining Specials
Nothing says “Happy Father’s Day” like the sound of engines ripping across Naval Base Coronado. NASCAR is turning this into a historic race weekend that feels less like a casual outing and more like a full-scale San Diego moment people will be talking about long after June is over. This is the first time a NASCAR Cup Series race has ever taken place on an active military base, which instantly puts it in “you had to be there” territory.
It’s fast, loud, and very on-brand for a Father’s Day where Dad suddenly becomes an expert on tire strategy, pit stops, and track positions. The bar might be set unreasonably high for every Father’s Day that follows, but that’s a next-year problem, right?
Price: Tickets available on Ticketmaster
Dates: June 19–21 | Weekend Schedule
Address: Naval Base Coronado
At Humphreys, Father’s Day gets a little more sophisticated. Roger Friend and an all-star lineup of jazz musicians bring decades of international experience to the bay, where dads can lean into their musical side with head nods and shoe taps. It’s smooth, layered, and exactly the amount of jazz you didn’t realize your playlists were missing.
Price: Tickets available on Ticketmaster
Time: 6 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Address: 241 Shelter Island Drive, San Diego
Belmont Park is rolling out a Father’s Day lineup that basically turns Mission Beach into a living garage scene, with a free car show featuring everything from polished 1960s Camaros to classic Bel Airs and lowriders. If he has a ride of his own, vintage car owners can join the lineup for $35 per vehicle. After the chrome tour, it’s straight into a Mission Beach classic: boardwalk strolls, fish tacos on the sand, and rides at Belmont Park.
Price: Free to attend | Register vehicle here
Time: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Address: Belmont Park, 3146 Mission Boulevard, San Diego
I think it’s an unspoken rule that dads love Bob Dylan. Mine is already figuring out how he’s getting to San Diego for this. But this isn’t just a Father’s Day activity, it’s a cultural event that happens to land on Father’s Day weekend and immediately becomes the plan. Bob Dylan at The Rady Shell means you’ll be surrounded by city lights sparkling across the harbor, legacy music, and at least one moment where Dad leans over and whispers, “You know, this guy wrote everything.” And honestly? He’s not wrong.
Price: Tickets available on Ticketmaster
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Address: 222 Marina Park Way, San Diego
The San Diego County Fair returns with fried everything, questionable decisions, rides that definitely looked safer in the 2000s, and Dad’s very confident plan to “just walk around for an hour” that somehow turns into an entire day. It’s also the biggest, longest-running community event in San Diego County, running Wednesday, June 10 through Sunday, July 5, with a “Once Upon a Fair” theme. It basically becomes part of the Father’s Day season whether you planned it or not. So, consider this your annual reminder that “happily ever after” can, in fact, involve Cajun honey dogs, cinnamon rolls, a Ferris wheel you swore you wouldn’t go on, and Dad somehow knowing exactly which booth has the best Spam wonton tacos.
Price: Tickets available here: website
Date & Time: June 10 – July 5 (closed Mondays & Tuesdays) | 11 a.m.
Address: 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd, Del Mar
Isabella Dallas is a freelance writer for San Diego Magazine and the Arts and Culture Editor at The Daily Aztec in her final year at San Diego State University. She previously worked as an editorial intern for SDM, but when she’s not writing, you can find her trying the best coffee spots in SD, devouring the latest rom-coms, and indulging in anything and everything pop culture.
Scripps study shows that some patients may be able to taper their dose and maintain results
While glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agents have been used to treat Type 2 diabetes for more than 20 years, their recent emergence as weight-loss wonder drugs marked a new frontier in medicine. But their effectiveness has left some patients wondering what to do once they’ve reached their goal. Stopping the medication could mean regaining some, if not all, of the weight. A Scripps Clinic internal medicine physician recently conducted a small study of whether GLP-1 patients who had reached their goal weight could maintain that weight by taking their regularly prescribed injection every other week instead of weekly. Spoiler alert: 30 of 34 patients did. Read more about the study here and what that may mean as pharmaceutical companies roll out oral GLP-1s.
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